POTS and sport drinks, how to use them

[Valentijn]

I'm trying my first electrolyte mix - probably long overdue But I don't think I can use any dry commercial mixes since it sounds like they're all a bit fizzy. And fizzy drinks make my mouth burn rather painfully!

So I'm doing 1/8 tsp potassium and 1/8 tsp sodium for now, in 1 cup of water. The somewhat scary thing is that it tasted really good, even before adding lemon juice, albeit a bit nauseating at the same time. I've been having an OI flare over the past week, so I'm hoping this helps

I drank about half the glass, and am also drinking plain water. I'll sip the mix a bit more later I think.

 

[Sushi]

I'm trying my first electrolyte mix - probably long overdue But I don't think I can use any dry commercial mixes since it sounds like they're all a bit fizzy. And fizzy drinks make my mouth burn rather painfully!

ElectroMix fizzes when you first dump it in the water, then it behaves very calmly, just like a "flat" drink. But, it has to become available again.

 

[Valentijn]

ElectroMix fizzes when you first dump it in the water, then it behaves very calmly, just like a "flat" drink. But, it has to become available again.

Yeah, some of the fizz actually remains for a long time in those sorts of things. It's a lot milder, but it's still very unpleasant for me

 

[mango]

Yeah, some of the fizz actually remains for a long time in those sorts of things. It's a lot milder, but it's still very unpleasant for me

i'm very sensitive to "fizz" too, but electromix is not a problem at all for me. it's not like any other fizz-at-first drink, it really does go properly flat very quickly, so don't let that stop you from giving it a go

 

[mango]

re: electromix. i wrote alacer (pfizer) an email, and got this reply today:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts concerning Emergen-C® Electro Mix™. Unfortunately, there is a product shortage and the product is expected to be back by the end of June.

(@SOC @Sushi )

 

[ahimsa]

So I'm doing 1/8 tsp potassium and 1/8 tsp sodium for now, in 1 cup of water.

Potassium chloride, or potassium citrate or some other kind? Sodium chloride (NaCl = table salt), or sodium bicarbonate, or something else?

I'm always curious about what ingredients other folks are using.

Just to use one example, the WHO oral rehydration salts recipe calls for the following to be mixed into a liter of water:

Sodium chloride 2.6 grams

Glucose (aka, dextrose) 13.5 grams

Potassium chloride 1.5 grams

Trisodium citrate 2.9 grams

People with NMH/POTS probably don't need any glucose since we're not losing fluids due to vomiting or diarrhoea. I sometimes don't add glucose. But when I'm feeling too exhausted to eat anything, and only drinking this mix, then I include some glucose (1/2 to 1 tablespoon, somewhere between 5-10 grams) to help with absorption.

I have read in several places that some kind of sugar (glucose, sucrose, etc.) is helpful for absorption. But I confess I don't have the biology background to evaluate statements like this:

Sodium won’t get to where it needs to go without glucose and sucrose.
Here’s a scientific explanation:
– Sodium is absorbed into the cell by several mechanisms, but chief among them is by co-transport with glucose, sucrose and amino acids – this means that efficient sodium absorption is dependent on absorption of these organic solutes.
– Absorbed sodium is rapidly exported from the cell via sodium pumps – when a lot of sodium is entering the cell, a lot of sodium is pumped out of the cell, which establishes a high osmolality in the small intercellular spaces between adjacent enterocytes.
– Water diffuses in response to the osmotic gradient established by sodium – in this case into the intercellular space. It seems that the bulk of the water absorption is transcellular, but some also diffuses through the tight junctions.
– Water, as well as sodium, then diffuses into capillary blood within the villus

Without glucose and sucrose, the constant “flow” of sodium and water into the body becomes rate-limited (i.e. slows down as the body tries to find glucose to work with the sodium for the co-transport effect described above).

I hope this post is not too complicated/confusing because I know brain fog is a problem for most of us.

 

[Valentijn]

Potassium chloride, or potassium citrate or some other kind? Sodium chloride (NaCl = table salt), or sodium bicarbonate, or something else?

Sodium chloride and potassium chloride.

I have read in several places that some kind of sugar (glucose, sucrose, etc.) is helpful for absorption. But I confess I don't have the biology background to evaluate statements like this:

Interesting, I'll give that a try today. Though not nearly as high a ratio as is given in the WHO recipe

 

[Valentijn]

The electrolytes seem to be working pretty well. I had my first one 2 days ago, and have had one cup of water + 1/8 tsp sodium + 1/8 tsp potassium + lemon juice each day. I felt a bit better the first day, and about the same yesterday.

At some point yesterday I was annoyed that I was still feeling a bit light-headed, but realized I'd been able to sit up all day. For the past week or two I've been sitting up about 15-30 minutes of every hour, so I was actually doing pretty good yesterday after all

Today I added 1/8 tsp brown sugar this morning, and slowly drank it until around 1pm. And I'm now feeling pretty damned decent, by ME standards

 

[ahimsa]

The electrolytes seem to be working pretty well.

Congrats! I know these electrolyte mixes are not a cure but they have helped me, too.

My only big question is whether drinking them every day makes them "wear off" (e.g., provide less improvement from my baseline, provide less relief from a "crash") or whether it's better to just drink some every day.

I take salt tablets and Rx potassium supplements (and many other supplements, LOL!) every day. But I don't mix up and drink this electrolyte mix every day.

 

[Mel9]

I also don't like sports drinks. They have too much sugar for me.

I mix up my own version of an electrolyte drink at home. It's close to what is in Pedialyte. It has a similar ratio of sodium and potassium. Sometimes I add in dextrose (about 1/2 of what is in Pedialyte) since that seems to help me with absorption. But sometimes I make it without any.

Back to the question of how to drink it, I usually mix up a liter and then drink it over a couple of hours.

I find gastrolyte fizzy tablets very good

 

[Valentijn]

My electrolyte mix finally arrive ... Alacer's ElectroMix wasn't available, so I got the Electrolyte Stamina Power Pak from Trace Minerals Research. Some of the fizz remains, but it's fairly mild. So more unpleasant than painful. I'll try pre-mixing batches so they're properly flat by the time I drink them.

 

[SOC]

My electrolyte mix finally arrive ... Alacer's ElectroMix wasn't available, so I got the Electrolyte Stamina Power Pak from Trace Minerals Research. Some of the fizz remains, but it's fairly mild. So more unpleasant than painful. I'll try pre-mixing batches so they're properly flat by the time I drink them.

I was about to cheer that someone found another electrolyte powder we could try when.... FOLIC ACID! Yes, I'm yelling. Why do they have to put folic acid in everything? We're hoarding up our remaining ElectroMix, doling it out carefully for daughter who can't have folic acid, and praying ElectroMix comes back. She'll resort to DIY eventually if she has to, but I'm not sure it's going to be wise for her to try to carry a bag of random white powder on her honeymoon in SE Asia.

Keep us posted on the Electrolyte Stamina Power Pak. At least I could take that one if I had to.

 

[Valentijn]

@SOC - Yeah, some of the vitamin forms in the Power Paks don't thrill me. But I don't have MTHFR issues, so I'm not worried about a bit of folic acid. And I inject a ton of hydroxoB12, which should easily handle the cyanoB12.

 

[SOC]

@SOC - Yeah, some of the vitamin forms in the Power Paks don't thrill me. But I don't have MTHFR issues, so I'm not worried about a bit of folic acid. And I inject a ton of hydroxoB12, which should easily handle the cyanoB12.

I know what you mean. I'd live with the folic acid, but daughter definitely has MTHFR issues and has been told to stay away from folic acid, which is nearly impossible with all the folic acid supplementation in the US. Since she gets some folic acid in all kinds of foods that are difficult to avoid, so it seems silly to deliberately drink it in her water.... sigh.

 

[u&iraok]

How about coconut water? Not the packaged stuff but the real water from coconuts. Just cut off the top and put a straw in the hole. Ahhh. Refreshing.


Calcium 57.6 mg
Magnesium 60 mg
Phosphorus 48 mg
Potassium 600 mg
Sodium 252 mg
Zinc . 2 mg
Copper .1 mg
Iron .7 mg
Manganese .3 mg
Selenium 2.4 mg
Vitamin C 5.8 mg
Folate 7.2 mcg
Thiamine, Riboflavin, B6, Pantothenic Acid - .1 mg each
Niacin .2 mg
Choline .26 mg
Sugars 6.3 g
Fats .5 g

 

[wiltedflower77]

I know this is an old post but just wondered if anyone knows if all electrolyte drinks/powders have an alkalizing effect or is it just the bicarbonate form ones? I tried 1 tsp of electrolyte powder in glass water and drank in one go then got diarrhea about 1 hour later after my breakfast. It had mag carbonate potassium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate only. Confused!

 

[ahimsa]

I know this is an old post but just wondered if anyone knows if all electrolyte drinks/powders have an alkalizing effect or is it just the bicarbonate form ones? I tried 1 tsp of electrolyte powder in glass water and drank in one go then got diarrhea about 1 hour later after my breakfast. It had mag carbonate potassium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate only. Confused!

I don't know what "alkalizing effect" means. So I'm not sure I can answer the question but I can tell you that I've never had diarrhea from any electrolyte product (not that I've tried very many).

Maybe you are reacting to some specific ingredient in the product that you bought?

I don't get any ill effects from my basic, homemade electrolyte mix. It's made from sodium chloride (that's just plain, non-iodized table salt), potassium chloride, sodium citrate and a bit of dextrose powder, then mixed with water.

Many online recipes use baking soda instead of sodium citrate. Here's one (can use much less sugar or leave it out entirely):

I have no trouble if I drink Pedialyte (the clear, unflavored variety) or any of the generic knock-offs (Walgreens makes one).

I have also tried Nuun tablets. No ill effects but I did not care for them very much and mixing up my own is so much cheaper and easier. I have not tried any of the other brands.

 

[juniemarie]

@ahimsa where do you buy your dextrose powder?

 

[ahimsa]

@ahimsa where do you buy your dextrose powder?

I bought a bag of it from a local supplement store. But you can also find it online at Amazon and other stores. https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-6925-Dextrose-32-Ounce/dp/B008GQ2JPO

 

[JaimeS]

I know this is an old post but just wondered if anyone knows if all electrolyte drinks/powders have an alkalizing effect or is it just the bicarbonate form ones?

Just bicarb -- same effect for me.