Potassium is still frequently infused but the rate does need to be limited to 10-20 mEq/h. You can get away with faster rates for severe hypokalemia in patients who have a central line. K through a peripheral line, as many of us have experienced, can really burn and blows IVs, necessitating the rate to be slowed. They often replete using both IV and PO K and as CT mentioned with close monitoring (daily K levels). In super sick ICU pts, hourly K levels. I agree, don't take K unless prescribed with monitoring.
Bubba, I meant to respond earlier in your course but didn't get a chance. I have had a ton of obstructions, one with my end ileo then several with my loop ileo. Hospitalized twice for them, the rest I stayed at home. I always struggle like you with when to go in or not and my threshold for going to the ER, after observing how each obstruction behaved and resolved, is intolerable pain and vomiting. Both times I went in, I just couldn't handle the pain any longer (even with burning through left over opioids at home) and then shortly after started projectile vomiting. The way I see it, the danger of not going in is developing bowel necrosis requiring surgery. My last obstruction, I had fat stranding around my severely distended bowel and an elevated lactate so flirting with a surgical issue. The pain and vomiting that time was impressive so I can now use that as a barometer of the danger zone. If my pain is "tolerable" and I'm not vomiting, I'm probably not in need of a surgical eval and all they will do is decompression, NPO and time. I ask myself, "self, is this so bad that you are willing to have an NGT?" Once the vomiting starts the answer is usually yes.