Salt Tablets Gave Me The Same Reaction As Florinef!

[ramakentesh]

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[mkoven]

Hard to imagine it's the blood volume-- maybe how the salt and licorice interacted, as licorice has florinef-like properties?

[Lenna]

My son's doctor told him to take a TOTAL of 1000 mg. a day, broken up into 3 doses over the day, to be taken with meals. He also said to work up to 1000 mg. very slowly...start with 250 mg. a day for awhile, and so forth. My son never did this because the tablets made him very nauseaous, so I can't report on whether they helped with his symptoms. However, I think you probably took way too much and way too fast. Even something like salt tablets should be taken with medical advice/direction. Maybe other people who take salt tablets can weigh in.

Maybe you can try it again. Good luck.

Lenna

[Guest Sandy Sims]

You get sicker after you excercise?

GEESH I wish I could post web links here!

I KNow I'm beating a drum an no one's listening. But after 2 years of my life lost to dys I can't help but want folks to have a cure.

I am just starting to ramp up metformin--a med to stablize blood sugar. Right now I get a night dose--but nothing in the day til my next doctors visit--and have to take finger sticks myself to show results.

EXCERCISE LOWERS BLOOD SUGAR! Hypogycemia CAUSES adrenal surge!

I ate lunch and tested sugar at 111--good for after eating. So I walked the dog--slowly--on a cool day--for 20 minutes. Came back inside shaky--with that old nasty heart racing dizzy stuff--took sugar level again and it was 70!!! Had to eat AGAIN fast! Then got fine as it went back up.

Salt will NOT fix this--whole grain carbs with protien will help. Metformin will help more. Now I walk at night--after my med--and sugar stays stable and I get no symptoms!!!

Please! Get glucose tolerance testing WITH insulin levels to test for hypogycemia. There is a cure for this!!!

Just want you to feel better too!

XOXOXOX

Sandy

My son's doctor told him to take a TOTAL of 1000 mg. a day, broken up into 3 doses over the day, to be taken with meals. He also said to work up to 1000 mg. very slowly...start with 250 mg. a day for awhile, and so forth. My son never did this because the tablets made him very nauseaous, so I can't report on whether they helped with his symptoms. However, I think you probably took way too much and way too fast. Even something like salt tablets should be taken with medical advice/direction. Maybe other people who take salt tablets can weigh in.

Maybe you can try it again. Good luck.

Lenna

[MomtoGiuliana]

It is true that some POTS patients may have a problem with hypoglycemia. But hypoglycemia is not generally a symptom of POTS, from what the literature indicates anyway. My POTS specialist has explained that we get symptoms that mimic hypoglycemia.

As stated above there are tests to determine whether you are experiencing hypoglycemia, in addition to POTS.

[juliegee]

I think Lenna's probably right here. You might have taken too much salt, too quickly. At his worst, my son took 6 Thermotabs daily, 452mg of sodium chloride in each tablet. He worked up from a small dose to that whopping dose over a week or so. He took 2 tablets with each meal. At that point he was also taking .2mg of florinef daily.

I wonder what your BP was doing while you were feeling so badly? Did you have a headache? That could be a sign of hypertension caused by an OD of salt/licorice.

Sandy may be on to something. Did you feel any hunger when the bad symptoms came on? I am having severe hypoglycemia problems too. You described them perfectly. It seems like you would also feel hunger if that were the issue.

Best of luck figuring this out.

Julie

[EarthMother]

I'm another POTS person with reactive hypoglycia and I was also mistaking the onset of my crash last year to the dysautonomia and anxiety ... It was a long way to diagnose even an endo who saw my glucose tolerance test which soared while I was in the hospital in June dissmisses reactive hypoglycimia. But waking up with a glucose reading of 54 there's little doubt in my mind or my PCP.

However long term hypoglycimia is not a quick fix. You don't feel better right away even when you change your diet/eating habits. I've been on a hypoglycimia diet for 6 months and only now can I see my levels nomalizing (no more unexpected big swings) and I can get out of bed a bit more each day. Can't wait until I can walk the dog again!

Good luck finding something that works for you.

~EM

[yogini]

I would start again with the salt tablets and add them in slowly. It takes a few days of salt loading (with lots of water) to have the full effect of raising BP. I think our bodies can be sensitive when we introduce any new substance into our systems. I wish I could handle even one salt tablet - I throw them up!

[Guest Sandy Sims]

Actually, diet did NOT work for me--it helped during the day--but I still had dys symptoms and woke EVERY night sweating from crashing blood sugar.

Metformin fixed this the first night!!!

I hear often folks say Dys causes hypoglycemia--and I cringe when they say eat a cracker--or modify your diet. How do I do that when I WANT to be asleep?

Have made the long trip--been to the autonomic docs--got my valsavla and other tests--and Yes I got my Dys diagnosis--was hyperadrenal--cachtecholamines surging--sympathethically off kilter big on sweat testing!

And knowing that did me NO GOOD!

I could still keel over with the best of them!

Beta blockers

Alpha blockers

Short term fix--then worse.

They ALL affect blood sugar!!!

Next was steriods???? For life???? NOT A PLAN!!!

Could it be that the cart is b4 the horse here?

Check the symptoms for reactive hypoglycemia and for Dys. They match!!!!!

Is it that Dys causes hypoglcemia--or hypoglcemia causes Dys! Are you sure? Cause I can find research BOTH WAYS! Just depends on if you search for POTS or reactive hypoglcemia.

Most Dys patients have tried ALL SORTS of cures.

And most still have trouble.

I was told with EVERY symptom--"that's just the Dys--and there's no cure for it."

Maybe check this hypoglycemia and insulin resistance thing out?

The test is simple to get ordered--results easy to see--the cure now--metformin--is quick and effective. Used to be there was nothing BUT diet!! Hypoglycemia was just a curse to learn to live with. But Now there's a better way!!!

Again, trying to help some one to NOT live thru the two years of soul sucking illness that I did. Tonight I WILL sleep longer than 4 hours--will NOT wake up and start my day feeling like warmed over death--tho I did NOT for 2 YEARS!

XOXOXOX

Sandy

[juliegee]

I feel like we are hijacking this thread, but I really want to continue the conversation. Look for a new topic entitled "Hypoglycemia & Dysautonomia." Ramakentenesh, if you think hypoglycemia may be a part of your problem, jump over to a new topic with us.

Julie

[ajw4790]

Hi,

I really do think that you took too much too fast, and became electrolyte and fluid imbalanced. Which could do a number on your BP and HR. It could even lead to a state of hypernatremia. I would not think of it in terms of your body not tolorating the increased blood volume. Your blood volume may have increased, but it is much more likely that an electrolyte imbalance is to blame for the symptoms. So, I would not rule out Procrit because of it. Even if your blood volume increased significantly, it is more likely that your body couldn't tolerate the sudden fluid shift and reacculamate its self in a short period of time. If done slowly your body is more likely going to be able to tolerate it.

Hope that helps!

[ramakentesh]

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[Guest Sandy Sims]

I had a normal GTT too--because no one ran insulin levels.

By the time it's abnormal they call it diabetes--and its for life.

<<<Reactive hypoglycemia is a common problem for both POTS and CFS patients, and occurs through a complex series of neural and hormonal interactions which are not yet fully understood. The traditional definition of hypoglycemia is an abnormal lowering of blood sugar levels after the body overreacts to carbohydrates with excessive insulin production. Researchers now understand that this lowering of blood sugar levels is not the only cause of symptoms. Recent studies show that when patients with reactive hypoglycemia eat carbohydrates, which cause a sudden increase in blood glucose levels, their bodies abnormally produce excessive amounts of adrenaline and other stress hormones. These stress hormones themselves cause many negative symptoms of their own in addition to the eventual crash in blood glucose levels due to excessive reactive insulin production. >>

Here's a link--

home.att.net/~potsweb/POTS.html

There's tons more--just google "reactive hypoglycemia symptoms" and you'll find autonomic dysfunction high on the list. It there--just no one is looking for it. I didn't either--and was ticked to be tortured with --yet another--"makes me sick" test.

But now I'm well and VERY glad.

I WANTED my life back--wanted to be well--was willing to try ANYTHING--and kept my mind open. Swallowing that first dose of metformin was the hardes thing I've done in my life. So many meds tried--so many AWFUL side effects.

But, somehow, I found the guts to swallow the pill. And am VERY glad I did!

Again, unless you are already well, why NOT keep trying?

<hugs>>>

Sandy

[ramakentesh]

I had my insulin levels checked as well three times i believe without any abnormality found.

[Guest Sandy Sims]

I had my insulin levels checked as well three times i believe without any abnormality found.

Again, fasting levels of both glucose and insulin may be close to normal--the "reaction" of a body in hypogylcemic shock is to pour out adrenaline to push up blood sugar--which works--but with the obvious side effects of frequent adrenal surge--that is until adrenals run out--then you get chronic fatique and very low blood sugars without symptoms that can be quite dangerous. Also this tends to cause spikes of high blood sugar as a rebound effect.

The feeling of hypoglcemia is a shocky state--with low BP and high pulse rate (common to dys patients)

The feeling of chronic fatigue or high blood sugar spikes is a druggy, very tired, sleepy state--also with low BP.

The ONLY way to know this is to do glucose tolerance testing WITH insulin levels checked at each blood draw.

Another cause for this is suffocation--due to sleep apnea.

The two together can be very tuff to live with. I know. I had both. But both are easily treatable.

This is just another suggestion for something for people with these symptoms to have checked out. It can't hurt and it may--as it did with me--give you your life back!

XOXOXO

Sandy