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How Much Water Do You Typically Drink In A Day


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Guest tearose

I too drink tons of water. When needed I toss my electrolyte packet into it.

I drink an average of 10 8oz glasses of water so that is about 80 oz per day.

tearose

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I too drink tons of water. When needed I toss my electrolyte packet into it.

I drink an average of 10 8oz glasses of water so that is about 80 oz per day.

tearose

I'm interesting in learning about these electrolyte packets and why you use them. Pardon me for my lack of knowledge :)

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Guest tearose

The electrolyte packets are the powder that makes up a balanced formula of all the ingredients you will find in Pedialyte. (or Gatorade without all the sugar.)

I is actually made for infants and children and it has a balance of sodium, potassium, and a small amount of dextrose. It is an oral re-hydration solution. Since it is made for smaller bodies, we adults can use it and not worry about overdosing on electrolytes. It has been easier for me to carry the packets so I only use them as needed and other times I can just drink water or other beverages.

I should add, to use the packet, you open it up and pour the powder into 8oz of water, shake or stir and drink!

Hope that answers your questions!

best regards,

tearose

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The electrolyte packets are the powder that makes up a balanced formula of all the ingredients you will find in Pedialyte. (or Gatorade without all the sugar.)

I is actually made for infants and children and it has a balance of sodium, potassium, and a small amount of dextrose. It is an oral re-hydration solution. Since it is made for smaller bodies, we adults can use it and not worry about overdosing on electrolytes. It has been easier for me to carry the packets so I only use them as needed and other times I can just drink water or other beverages.

I should add, to use the packet, you open it up and pour the powder into 8oz of water, shake or stir and drink!

Hope that answers your questions!

best regards,

tearose

I guess I'm having a little difficulty understanding why electrolytes would be beneficial for someone with POTS. Could someone please explain to me?

Thanks

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Guest tearose

Okay, I'll give this a try. I wish I was better at explaining this for you.

People with POTS have 1) very fast heart rate that makes the heart burn more potassium and 2) tend to dehydrate and need to drink lots of water.

Plain water in large doses can be dangerous. Electrolytes help you hydrate and not deplete sodium you need to hold the water and potassium to keep the heart working with less problems.

Does this make it clearer?

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one of the first line treatments for many (perhaps most) with just about any variety of dysautonomia is fluid & salt loading. salt/ sodium is one type of electrolyte & often the most important for those with dysautonomia. the idea is to increase the blood volume...done via increased fluids + salt to help retain said fluids. for reasons that aren't quite as clear many people struggle with low potassium as well.

as a general rule someone who is dehydrated & in need of a lot of extra fluids needs to make sure they are supuplementing their fluid intake with electrolytes as well...while the person with dysautonomia may not technically be dehydrated it's the same idea in that the goal is to achieve balance...too much water on its own can - in the extreme - "flush out" one's electrolytes.

hope this helps,

:P melissa

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one of the first line treatments for many (perhaps most) with just about any variety of dysautonomia is fluid & salt loading. salt/ sodium is one type of electrolyte & often the most important for those with dysautonomia. the idea is to increase the blood volume...done via increased fluids + salt to help retain said fluids. for reasons that aren't quite as clear many people struggle with low potassium as well.

as a general rule someone who is dehydrated & in need of a lot of extra fluids needs to make sure they are supuplementing their fluid intake with electrolytes as well...while the person with dysautonomia may not technically be dehydrated it's the same idea in that the goal is to achieve balance...too much water on its own can - in the extreme - "flush out" one's electrolytes.

hope this helps,

:P melissa

I've been reading up on electrolytes. I know when you are dehydrated, like you said, you need to replenish your electrolytes and that plain water is not enough. I also know that drinking too much water (not sure how much) can, as you say, "flush out" the electrolytes.

But dysautonomics are not necessarily "dehydrated" (except maybe if vomiting or diarrhea is an issue). Are electrolytes simply a method of "salt-loading" but keeping your potassium in balance?

I did read on this site that dysautonomics, through some mechanism, do not retain sodium very well. Does anyone here know why this is? And as a result, they retain less fluid, which causes their blood plasma level to drop. Therefore, substituting with salt would cause more fluid retention, leading to higher blood volume, yes? Ok so I get why salt would be necessary in patients who have this issue with retaining sodium. But how does one know if they need to load up on salt or not? Have you all had your sodium levels checked and confirmed that they are low? I'd be hesitant to "load up" on salt if I wasn't sure that it was a problem, because like you said and as I explain below, it could result in a deficit in potassium (and therefore some heart-related issues). At least for me, I was told that hypertension could be a problem for me as my bp readings are usually on the high side (not upright). I know that is not true for a lot of you who are trying to raise your bp. So, do most of you have low bp readings while sitting, or is it only a problem when you are upright? I believe mine is on the high side (pre-hypertensive) sitting but I have noticed a slight drop upon standing.

You mentioned many low on potassium as well. This does not surprise me because I learned in Biology that sodium and potassium are "antagonists" with each other through the sodium-potassium pump of cells. So a surplus of salt would naturally cause potassium levels to drop. That's why potassium lowers bp and salt raises bp. But as I think about it, wouldn't taking electrolytes (which contain potassium) hinder increasing your sodium levels?

Thanks for the knowledge it is much appreciated and correct me if I'm wrong.

James

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How to know when/if you need to add sodium & potassium...

Let me take a stab.

My POTS doctor simply asked me how much I pee. Do you experience this: You are dehydrated (black under the eyes, dry lips, thristy feeling), so you drink a glass of water. Twenty minutes later you pee it all away, and remain just as dehydrated as before? OR Do you have to pee frequently? (LIke a diabetic.)

I know that some doctors use intake:output measurements (i.e. measure precisely how much fluid you drink, and also measure the pee). If it's the same, you are dumping it. But the frequency is an easier way to tell. Some POTSers really suffer a lot from peeing all the time, even wakes them up in the middle of the night.

They can also measure blood volume. Hypovolemic POTSers are probably dumping.

But my doc is very experienced, and he only asked me if I feel like I pee a lot. Then he prescribed Florinef, a steroid designed for Addisons disease patients to suppliment for hormones that the adrenal glands should produce (but do not due to adrenal dysfunction). Florinef is a common med for POTSers, but it was not designed just for us, and therefore has many ingredients that we really don't need. So it also has side effects. (I personally could not tolerate it; it made me completely psychotic....really wierd experience.) Addisons patients are "salt dumpers" because of the adrenal dysfunction. We are too. It's just another internal organ that should be regulated partially by the autonomic nerves. Addisonians also expereince "episodes" by the way, which look like siezures...only theirs can be fatal so they have to wear alert bracelets.

I had an adrenal function test to rule out Addison's Disease some years ago. They said my adrenal gland was not functioning properly (low cortisol levels in my blood indicated this). But then when they injected me with ATC (hormone produced by the pituitary gland near the brain) some weeks later, the levels rose adequately. IN fact, they said that on the second testing, the baseline (before ATC injection) was high. So they just said: You're normal. Go home. But actually the low and high were probably POTS related dysregulation of the adrenal glands. I had undetected POTS at the time, which is why they were testing me for other stuff.

Cortisol (which is released by the adrenal glands) is responsible for blood volume. Low cortisol means low blood volume necessarily. Increases in cortisol during pregnancy due to hormone sharing between a female fetus (even a male fetus to a lesser degree) during the first trimester (before placenta blocks them) helps to raise the mother's blood volume. So many POTSers enjoy a sort of "eye of the storm" during pregnancy due to cortisol increase and blood volume increase.

I experienced that during my pregnancy with my daughter. I didn't faint for two months (this is like between multiple daily fainting periods). SEcond trimester, I immediately started to faint again.

THere's probably lots of other stuff, mechanisms, etc. going on behind it. We're just so complicated. But that's the part I know about.

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Oh, yeah, forgot. The salt + potassium relationship....they go together, like they are attracted chemically or something like that...I forgot exactly how...but sodium and potassium will always have a certain ratio relationship. SO if you lose salt, your potassium flies out the window too. Potassium dumpers (which occurs rarely in a particular kind of diarrhea) will experience corresponding dumping of sodium (just like we lose potassium due to sodium dumping). Yeah....what else...I'm going brain dead here. NEvermind, I'll remember later.

Oh yeah, so you have to suppliment potassium too, not just salt. Great news for those of us who have IBS problems and cannot tolerate fresh vegies and fruits. Nt.

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Ok, so I'm going ot see my new PCP next Monday. Are there any tests that I should ask him to do that would determine if I have a problem retaining salt and therefore would need to start consuming more salt? I guess everyone is different and not everyone with dysautonomia or showing POTS symptoms would have this problem, correct?

I am not usually thirsty all the time. To reach my 64 oz quota I need to drink even though I am not particularly thirsty. When I drink a lot I naturally have to go to the bathroom more, but I never have problems with having to wake up in the middle of the night to relieve myself. I'd just like it to be confirmed by a test and not just salt-load because it is standard protocol.

I don't exactly remember the NA-K relationship myself, but I know it has to do with the Na-K pump of cells (learned in biology couple years ago). Would taking electrolytes be the best way to go, since you get your salt and potassium?

By the way, how would you all feel if you did not "salt-load"? Just interested.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

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I just learned about this whole sodium/potassium relationship earlier this year, when I was in the hospital. I had low potassium caused by drinking TOO MUCH!

I drink about 2-3L of water every day. Before I knew about the importance of sodium, I would just drink water like crazy and hope to feel better even though the water was passing right through me. I guess I am one of those POTS patients who usually pees a lot or pees shortly after drinking if I drink water by itself. Before I came to these boards, I would just drink slowly and that would help. I tried introducing a bit of sodium into my diet and it has made a huge difference in holding on to water!

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A simple test to start is to check your specific gravity. It is just a urine test and it says if you are dehydrated. It doesn't test potassium, but it will show if you are retaining enough water.

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I just learned about this whole sodium/potassium relationship earlier this year, when I was in the hospital. I had low potassium caused by drinking TOO MUCH!

I drink about 2-3L of water every day. Before I knew about the importance of sodium, I would just drink water like crazy and hope to feel better even though the water was passing right through me. I guess I am one of those POTS patients who usually pees a lot or pees shortly after drinking if I drink water by itself. Before I came to these boards, I would just drink slowly and that would help. I tried introducing a bit of sodium into my diet and it has made a huge difference in holding on to water!

How much water would you say you were drinking each day that flushed out your potassium (must have been a lot more than 3L I'm guessing)? Did the low potassium land you in the hospital? What kind of symptoms were you having?

What connection did you learn about sodium and potassium? Are you now supplementing with both?

Thanks

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I drink 4-5 liters of water and/or gatorade a day because I'm painfully thirsty all the time.

Also, I drink a lot because I do get dehydrated more easily than normal people, I suspect because my body doesn't regulate the absorption of fluids very well. Even slight dehydration makes my POTS symptoms much much worse. For example, I think most healthy people could go half a day or so without drinking anything and not really feel any differently. If I go more than an hour without anything to drink, my hr skyrockets and my POTS symptoms are much more dramatic than when I am well-hydrated.

I have had low potassium at times and had urine tests with a low spec gravity, but I don't always have these problems, and these problems don't seem to necessarily be related to anything. For example, when I had low K, I didn't feel any differently than when my K is normal, and I wasn't doing anything differently.

I know that for me, I don't have OH or hypovalomia, so I don't need to salt-load. I also have borderline high BP all the time, although now that I'm on BBs my BP is lower. Before being diagnosed, I didn't eat hardly any salt (I don't really like it) and I had a lot of trouble with fluids just flushing right out of my system and not being absorbed. Now I try to eat a normal amount of salt to help me retain more fluid, but frankly it's still a big problem for me. I can't sleep for more than two hours at a time because I'm so thirsty.

I think some lifestyle changes for POTS people depend a little bit on who you are and your particular constellation of symptoms. If you have POTS but not OH, you might not need to salt-load as much as someone with both. If you're not thirsty all the time, it might be less important to push fluids. You can decide these things with your doctor.

jump

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How much water would you say you were drinking each day that flushed out your potassium (must have been a lot more than 3L I'm guessing)? Did the low potassium land you in the hospital? What kind of symptoms were you having?

What connection did you learn about sodium and potassium? Are you now supplementing with both?

Thanks

I wouldn't necessarily say I was drinking MORE than 2-3L of water per day...I just tended to drink quite a bit in one sitting thinking that it would get me hydrated when in fact it just passed right through (flushing out all the electrolytes, too.) For example, each morning I would wake up and feel horrible with the racing heart stuff. Usually, when I can hold onto some water, this problem decreases quite significantly...So before I went to my morning classes I'd just down a ton of water. I'd keep drinking more because drinking a lot after I eat lunch or dinner always helps *non-coincedentally, I consume foods containing sodium for lunch and dinner almost always, unlike breakfast!* so by continuously drinking in hopes of feeling better I was actually making my situation worse.

I ended up going to the ER because I was having chest pains, had incredible fatigue for weeks prior, and my POTS symptoms were pretty much unbearable. I usually am never truly fatigued, as in muscle weakness, but in the weeks leading up to my ER visit it was horrible. When they ran the blood tests, the only thing that was "off" was low potassium, but the doctors say that the low potassium didn't cause the symptoms I was having. Who knows!! Anyways, I got 2 little cups of liquid potassium and it was horrible, but it restored my levels.

I do not supplement with potassium. My doctors told me to eat balanced and I should be fine. Apparently, they said that potassium is hard to deplete even though it seems so many people here have problems with deficiency! Just another example of doctors' unfamiliarity with pots. Anyways, I got my blood tested 3 months later and I was in normal range. I will say though, I did take actions on my own try to include more potassium-rich foods in my diet like Yams, potatoes, bananas, etc. and that seemed to help. I have recently begun increasing sodium intake and it helps, which apparently helps with potassium as well.

Hope this answered your questions, anything else let me know!

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A simple test to start is to check your specific gravity. It is just a urine test and it says if you are dehydrated. It doesn't test potassium, but it will show if you are retaining enough water.

Is that the same as the 24-hour urinary Sodium test? I'm gonna ask my doc about that, as that should determine if I need more sodium, correct?

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