Some questions regarding salt

[Misfit Toy]

One of the things that has helped me is E-lyte electrolytes by Patricia Kane. She has worked with Amy Yasko. It's a bottle of electrolytes that is perfectly balanced. You add it to soups, food or I just drink it down. It really helps my BP and energy.

Salt really upsets my tummy. I have to drink it down in increments but I pour it on my food.

 

[optimist]

Have you done a pmttt yet ? This is how I found out that I had pots and not just oh.

So here are my results this morning for you to interpret
My BP monitor has built in memory, so I just went through it.
I cannot understand how it took me 10 minutes from first measure to the second... I suppose that must be something wrong with the BP monitor's clock... I guess I will have to try it again and pay more attention.

11:56 101/52 hr 43 - Just woke up, lying in bed.
12:06 123/70 hr 51
12:08 106/74 hr 51 - This one was a bit abnormal, or what?
12:10 116/75 hr 53
12:17 117/67 hr 55

You (@xchocoholic) said in your DIY PMTTT thread that "A 20 pt drop in your bp 3 minutes means you have orthostatic intolerance."

So I am sort of close then having a 17pt drop... :/

 

[xchocoholic]

Yikes. Do you have a cardiologist ? I'm new to bradycardia but read that hr below 60 qualifies. Anything below that seems important to get checked. I don't know how valid the ttt results would be if someone has bradycardia.

Fwiw, I'm not qualified to interpret anyone's pmttt other than my own and hopefully said that in my original thread. I'd had about 20 of these so already I knew I had oh.

Getting to know "your" body via repeatedly doing a diy pmttt was where I was going with that thread. I understand some doctor has instructions on this too. It's probably in that thread.

We can't go back and edit our posts here after x days so there were probably changes that I didn't get to make. Or I just forgot. Life on PR. Lol.

Tc ... x

 

[Valentijn]

At the 12:08 time stamp your pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic) has dropped to 32, which is somewhat low. Were you still in bed what you got that reading? What happens if you're sitting up or standing up for a while?

 

[optimist]

Yikes. Do you have a cardiologist ? I'm new to bradycardia but read that hr below 60 qualifies. Anything below that seems important to get checked. I don't know how valid the ttt results would be if someone has bradycardia.

Hehe, no I have got no cardiologist. I was a bit surprised to see it was at 43. I guess it must have been even a bit lower before I started to move and put on the BP monitor... but, I believe this is something running in the family. My father has more or less the same.

At the 12:08 time stamp your pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic) has dropped to 32, which is somewhat low. Were you still in bed what you got that reading? What happens if you're sitting up or standing up for a while?

No, only the first was in bed - the rest was standing up straight.

 

[xchocoholic]

Hehe, no I have got no cardiologist. I was a bit surprised to see it was at 43. I guess it must have been even a bit lower before I started to move and put on the BP monitor... but, I believe this is something running in the family. My father has more or less the same.

If I were you I'd make an appt with a cardiologist. Tc .. x

Ps I had too much salt this morning and it's giving me a slight headache.
Lol.

 

[optimist]

If I were you I'd make an appt with a cardiologist. Tc .. x

I am for the moment consulting another very good doctor - his name is Wikipedia hehe!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradycardia

He says: "During sleep, a slow heartbeat with rates around 40–50 BPM is common, and is considered normal."

Btw. what is the meaning of Tc .. x?

Ps I had too much salt this morning and it's giving me a slight headache.
Lol.

I've actually been having a slight headake the last two-three days as well.... It has been very small, so I haven't bothered, but I do notice it's there...

 

[xchocoholic]

I am for the moment consulting another very good doctor - his name is Wikipedia hehe!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradycardia

He says: "During sleep, a slow heartbeat with rates around 40–50 BPM is common, and is considered normal."

Btw. what is the meaning of Tc .. x?

I've actually been having a slight headake the last two-three days as well.... It has been very small, so I haven't bothered, but I do notice it's there...

Dr wikipedia can't run any medical tests on you. Lol. I'm assuming you were awake when you did your pmttt ?

I have a heart condition, left bundle branch block, and was told to watch for bradycardia. I was told that if my hr starts running too low they'll consider putting in a pacemaker. So far so good. I've met 2 people who have pacemakers and said it made their lives so much better.

Tc= take care. X is short for xchocoholic.

I'd noticed a slight headache before from taking too much salt at one time. It's a pita (pain in the arse) getting just the right amount of salt.

Tc .. x

 

[optimist]

I'm assuming you were awake when you did your pmttt ?

Haha, yes Can it be done while sleeping too? That one seems tricky to me

I have a heart condition, left bundle branch block, and was told to watch for bradycardia. I was told that if my hr starts running too low they'll consider putting in a pacemaker. So far so good. I've met 2 people who have pacemakers and said it made their lives so much better.

I thank God that we have pacemakers, but I feel quite confident that this is a family genetics thing. Nevertheless, I will bring my newly acquired BP/HR data to my docs attention.

I'd noticed a slight headache before from taking too much salt at one time. It's a pita (pain in the arse) getting just the right amount of salt.

I read somewhere that people also take extensive doses of salt and vit-C to kill lyme bacteria. I had lyme as a kid, and just read in a medical magazine at the doctors office that recent studies shows that one can most likely never get it out of the system. So if that is an underlying cause of my condition, perhaps the headache is due to dying boreliose bacterias, which would be nice... but, the realist in me says that it is more likely a bodily reaction to raised salt levels

 

[optimist]

One of the things that has helped me is E-lyte electrolytes by Patricia Kane. She has worked with Amy Yasko. It's a bottle of electrolytes that is perfectly balanced. You add it to soups, food or I just drink it down. It really helps my BP and energy.

Salt really upsets my tummy. I have to drink it down in increments but I pour it on my food.

Thanks @Misfit Toy. I wonder why you guys get upset stomachs from salt. Anyways, it is interesting to see so many having positive results from these minerals.

 

[sming]

on the topic of ingesting a lot of salt, I don't think anyone has mentioned buffered salt tablets e.g. Thermotabs. I tried them a while back for a different condition and it was better than downing a load of table salt!

 

[Revel]

My POTS consultant recommended I upped my salt intake quite substantially, but I struggled with the daily intake he suggested as it irritated my guts.

I was prescribed slow sodium tablets to tide me over until I was able to adjust to the new regime. Must be taken with plenty of fluids but I found them to be more gentle on the digestive system than adding straight salt to food and drink in the early stages.

These days I take everything with a pinch of salt . . .

 

[optimist]

These days I take everything with a pinch of salt . . .

Haaaah

Can I ask what daily amount you do?

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi again. You may be interested in a thread here titled "The salt poll" by Cort. Tc .. x

 

[Revel]

@optimist, I was told to take 10g salt/day (about 2 teaspoons). It doesn't sound a lot, but my diet was very low in sodium as I didn't eat processed food or add salt to cooking since I found the taste unpleasant. It was surprisingly difficult for me to reach 10g/day, hence the slow sodium tablets.

I have now become accustomed to the taste of salt and add it to virtually everything that I eat and drink (I start the day with 500ml salt water). My sodium level is now within normal range.

I wish that I could say that the increased salt/fluids have helped my POTS symptoms but, sadly, this has not been the case.

 

[optimist]

@optimist, I was told to take 10g salt/day (about 2 teaspoons). It doesn't sound a lot, but my diet was very low in sodium as I didn't eat processed food or add salt to cooking since I found the taste unpleasant. It was surprisingly difficult for me to reach 10g/day, hence the slow sodium tablets.

I have now become accustomed to the taste of salt and add it to virtually everything that I eat and drink (I start the day with 500ml salt water). My sodium level is now within normal range.

I wish that I could say that the increased salt/fluids have helped my POTS symptoms but, sadly, this has not been the case.

I guess that's a very reasonable amount. I too, like you have not been salting my food, and that has probably been a problem for me as well, even though I haven't tested my levels. I noticed a big uplift in energy and clarity of mind when I re-added it to my diet. I am always very happy when I find something that helps Sorry that was not the case with you

 

[SpecialK82]

Hi @SpecialK82

Thanks for the info on Thermotabs. It's on my grocery list now. It seems like a quicker way to get more sodium.

What do you mean by you're still working on the dosage ?
Me too but it's because I can't remember to salt load unless my finger tips are prunish.

I don't notice any acid reflux anymore but I'm still getting constant irritation in my esophagus. I have too many allergies to manage and haven't found a good non drowsy allergy med. I have slow stomach emptying too tho. Hmmm.

Hey @xchocoholic

Sorry for the late reply! I might have misled you when I said something like "the burning in the esophagus in due to constant acid reflux...." or something like that. I meant to say that "the burning in my esophagus is due to the acid....", hope I didn't sound as if I was deeply familiar with your esophagus, lol.

However, since you mention that you have delayed stomach problems as well, you might want to check out laryngopharyngeal reflux.

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/laryngopharyngeal-reflux-silent-reflux

I had this diagnosed on top of my GERD by my Ear, Nose, Throat Doc. I went in to his office because my voice was constantly hoarse and I had what I thought was constant post nasal drip. Even though I was already taking 1 Nexium a day for GERD, he prescribed that I start taking 2 capsules a day because he could see damage to my vocal cords. He said that this is totally different than the usual heartburn and it produces different symptoms (I didn't have any burning sensation with it). It might be the cause of some of your throat issues....


About the dosage of thermal tabs, I am still playing around with it just building up slowly. I realized that I didn't get much of any salt in my breakfast so decided to take start taking one tablet at that time. I'm worried about the acid reflux if I take too many so just trying to notice if I feel differently and then I will build up to 2 in the morning and so on......I know this is a very small dose to start.

Interesting about your fingers being prunish when needing salt. Mine vary between prunish and a "shiny" look but I have never thought about the conditions under which each are present. I'm going to start paying attention to that. It would be a great barometer to have

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi @SpecialK82

Thanks for the info on silent reflux. I have that but never realized it could cause problems.

I totally forgot to salt load today. Lol.

Tc .. x

 

[optimist]

Hi @SpecialK82I totally forgot to salt load today. Lol.

Hehe

 

[Calathea]

I was already salting my food And my water (I was told to drink 3l a day) but I thought I'd try salt tab lets, the Electrolytes Plus from MyProtein. I took 10 yesterday, which is an additional 2g sodium/5g salt, and drank 4l. I've been feeling like hell since last night, especially breathlessness, absolutely conked out in bed. I've not been this bad in years, not since starting mast cell meds and ivabradine. Any ideas?