thirsty and bad when i miss breakfast

[ramakentesh]

Two things ive noticed recently - firstly that when an episode comes on im always thirsty constantly and urinating constantly as well - up twice during the night, and going constantly all day - ive been tested for sugar related issues and apart from occasional low blood sugar, its normal - and my urine gravity has been low, but never constisantly low like in diabetes inspidis.

I cant work out the mechanisms that are causing this. Should i try to up the salts contents of my waters?

Secondly, if i miss my breakfast in the morning - being salty foods now - i find that i feel like crap and that it starts a bad reaction that lasts most of the day - dizzy, getting dizzy after eating, orthostatic intolerance -whereas if i eat my breakfast as soon as i wake up i tend to be ok.

Also does anyone get reactions to anti inflammotory drugs?

[Gena]

Hey there. I notice that when my symptoms flare up that I stay thirsty and pee a lot too! I often get up in the night a few times to use the bathroom. I am going to see a urologist soon to have her do some tests and make sure my kidneys and potassium, sodium, etc. are okay. I generally go by what my body's telling me...if I'm thirsty I drink! I put a 1/4 -1/2 tsp of celtic sea salt in about 16 oz. of water and drink that before even getting out of bed in the morning. Licorice root can also help you retain water, so I do use that too.

As far as your question goes about anti-inflammatory drugs...the only one I take occasionally is Advil and never had any reactions to it. It's listed on the NDRF site as a drug to help with post prandial hypotension (low BP after eating), so I take it once in a blue moon for that.

I would like to find answers too about being thirsty and peeing a lot. I do have interstitial cystitis of the bladder, so I know that contributes to the issue. However, since having POTs it seems like I make even more trips to the bathroom than usual.

[yogini]

I agree that seeing a doctor is probably a good idea. You could also try upping your salt intake to see if that helps. I used to constantly have to go to the bathroom, even before I got POTS. But since I have been on florinef and high salt I don't have this problem anymore. I can't take salt tabs, so I drink soup broth in the am and keep salty stuff at work (instant soup packets) to beef up my BP if needed.

[Michelle Sawicki]

I definitely notice an increase in thirst when my symptoms are at their worst. Drinking pedialyte seems to help.

I do take motrin now and then, and have noticed a positive effect. It definitely helps "tame" my POTS symptoms.

Take care,

Michelle

[ramakentesh]

i was feeling quite poorly today until iu had a glass of salty water and it was almost and instant improvement. Is there any health risks in drinking glasses of salty water?

Im quite sure that this thirst and urinating - which came on in me before the actual symptoms - is related to the problem. would anyone like to comment on whether this is a reaction to the inability to maintain blood volume, which results in hypovolumia - dizziness, palps, weakness, symptoms,??

I was reading that the eyes eat up more oxygen than any other part of the body - so if there is a problem with blood flow and oxygen flow to the eyes, they are often the first parts effected - thus the weird vision when the dizziness comes on?? And this could explain the vitreous floaters?

[Gena]

Drinking salt water will definitely help raise your blood volume and it can also help raise your blood pressure. If you're one of the small percentage of folks on the board who have high blood pressure, then you'd want to keep an eye on your blood pressure if you're salt loading. But usually hypvolemia and low BP go hand in hand.

One other things to consider when drinking or eating a lot of salt, is that it can deplete potassium (which is used for muscle, nerve and cardiac functions). Usually there's no need to supplement potassium, because you can normally get enough of it in the foods you eat...here are some foods that contain potassium...

bananas, raisins, apricots, oranges, avacadoes, dates, cantaloupe, watermelon, prunes, broccoli, spinach, carrots, potato, sweet potato, winter squash, mushrooms, peas, lentils, dried beans, peanuts, milk, yogurt, lean meats.

Plenty of us on the board rely on drinking these glasses of salty water every day and it truly helps us function. So if it makes you feel better, go for it. I have had my sodium/potassium balance checked twice in the last six months just to make sure it's okay and it has been fine. I 'm glad you have found something that eases your symptoms.

[yogini]

Ramakentesh,

I think that a high salt intake (from food and/or drink) is usually recommended for most POTS patients to help with low BP and hypovolemia. You should check with your dr, but Gena is right that it should help unless you have high BP. For me eating large meals makes my tachy worse because it lowers my BP further, so salty water (soup broth) is key.

That is an interesting theory about the eye problems being related to low BP. Now that I think about it, I had bad eye problems at first, and they seem to come back only when my symptoms are at their worst (probably when my BP is really low). I will have to keep track!

-Rita