Florinef And Electrolyte Water?

[jem15]

Hi,

I'm about to start Florinef soon. I tried to read through other posts to find out about side effects and anything to/not to do.. and it seems like the main things were..

-continue eating salt/drinking

-check your BP

-get your Potassium checked

While I was thinking about the Potassium, I wasn't sure if it highered/lowered it while on Florinef.. and was wondering, is it still ok to drink electrolyte water while you're taking it? since that has potassium,etc.. in it,ha i think?

The fellow from my doctors office called me back, but sounded like he had no idea...he told me not to eat more salt, but my doctor told me to eat salt when I asked if I should cut back the salt on Florinef.. when i asked the fellow bout the electrolyte stuff.. he was all like why are you drinking that? i'm like, instead of gatorade, during the summer, just figured it'd be better than regular water at times..and he didnt think i should drink it at first with Florinef... then after i corrected him on the salt thing.. he was like, well just dont drink more than what you're already drinking.. ha,i dont think he has a clue, and I'm not going to call back with the same question, it's not worth it.

so just curious if anyone here knew anything about it?

[jknh9]

Wow, that's frustrating that he had no idea. I wish doctors and people at hospitals/doctor's offices would just SAY they aren't sure.

My doctors- two cardiologists and a primary care physician- told me to drink fluids with electrolytes. My PC doc said she wants to see me with a bottle of Gatorade or similar ALWAYS in my hand, and my main cardiologist told me it's really important to replace electrolytes after I exercise and in the heat (I'm in SC, so heat is a big issue here this time of year). I don't like the taste of Gatorade, so I drink Vitamin Water Zero and Sobe Lifewater Zero. I drink a full bottle of one or the other with breakfast each day, then I have regular water and sometimes a second bottle throughout the day. If I exercise or sweat a lot, I try to drink a second bottle. I notice a big difference when I don't drink it, but I don't know if that's a psychological thing, ha! Sometimes I will do SmartWater too, but it doesn't have as high of amounts of electrolytes as the other two.

[abnel]

Hi Caterpilly,

I am on 0.1mg Florinef and I have read medical information that advises that in a certain percentage of people, Florinef causes their bodies to loose potassium.

My POTS specialist never bothered to check my potassium levels for the first few months while I was on it. I ended up having a major breathing crisis where I was sent to Emergency where it was found I had low potassium levels. I now have to take potassium supplementation. Even with potassium tablets I still don't have what is considered a normal healthy potassium level for someone of my age, such is the effect of florinef.

Even though I still have breathing problems it is not as severe as it was in those weeks leading up to the day of hospitalisation. So not sure if it is coincidence re the breathing issue, but I would strongly recommend getting your potassium levels checked for the first few months. One of my doctors explained that lack of potassium in the body can cause a whole host of issues, including breathing and heart issues.

As for salt, I continue to take exactly the same amount of salt as I was taking prior to Florinef. I have not been told not to and I have read that it is important to keep taking salt as Florinef does not work as well without it. I also take electrolyte drinks as needed. Interestingly since I've been on Florinef I don't notice as much when I've accidentally missed a salt tablet.

Best of luck with the Florinef, I hope it helps you.

[jem15]

Ok thanks:-) Ha, yeah I don't know why doctors can't just say, "I'm not sure, or let me check".. and I always thought it was like POTS 101 to drink gatorade or electrolyte type drinks..so it's funny this guy just had no idea. Ha, good to know I'm not losing it, and I did remember that correctly.

and ok, good to know about the potassium.. if it can lower it, than it shouldnt be a problem to drink the water with it in it..ha, maybe it would help.

And yea I have to ask him about how often to get the potassium tested, dont want to mess around with that!

Sorry to hear about the issues you had with it, lotusflower. Hope things will continue to improve for you.

[jknh9]

Thanks for bringing that up, lotusflower! I've been on 0.1 mg Florinef for about 7 weeks now and my docs haven't mentioned getting potassium levels checked. I guess that's something I should bring up at my next appointment. I wonder if there's anything that predisposes some people to that percentage that is affected by the Florinef?

[Jan]

Eat lots of Potassium with Flornief. Milk, tomatoes, bananas, and potatoes are great. I have been on Florinef for 10 years and get checked every year and so far, no problem, I get enough in my diet. I drink a lot of milk. I can't stress that milk is actually better for electrolytes than sports drinks, and less sugar. At one time the American Dairy association was going to try to push milk as a sports drink but didn't because it requires refrigeration.

[yogini]

I think electrolyte water (smartwater) only has trace amounts of minerals, so for most people it should not interact with florinef one way or the other. Most literature says to continue to salt load, even when on florinef. If you get bloated/high BP, it is better to cut back on florinef than salt intake.

[jem15]

thanks everyone, good to know!