Diet

[Meg.Limbach]

I am not a big fan of salt or sports drinks (***** for me huh?) What are you favorite high sodium foods? Anyone have any good recipes that actually taste good with lots of salt? I also read that for those who have lots of pain with POTS should avoid MSG. Is there anything else yall cut out of your diet to help? I have gained over 100 pounds since POTS (wish I would have gone the other way!).. any tips for losing the weight since exercise is practically a no go for me?

[potsyturvy]

I don't really like V8 juice, but I drink it every day because it is high sodium and high electrolytes. I love Taco Bell (even though I know it has tons of MSG in it) because it tastes good and is really salty. I also found some Pillsbury pizza rolls that have a lot of salt in them. The main thing I do for salt intake,though, is eat a scrambled egg with 3-4 grams of salt in it each morning. The protein in the egg makes the salt easier to digest, as large amounts of salt make me sick to my stomach. I carry slim jim's with me everywhere too, because they also are a pretty good source of salt.

I tried cutting MSG out for a little while, but found it too difficult. I don't really have the energy to cook good nutritious meals and almost everything storebought has MSG. I currently eat yeast-free, but that is because of a severe allergy to yeast. It hasn't helped my POTS symptoms, but I don't get allergic reactions anymore Hope some of this helps!

[Allene]

I like eating pickles Pickles have always been a favorite of mine, and now I can eat all the pickles I want!

It feels so bizarre to me to be able to eat as much salt as I can. I was born with a heart defect which required my blood pressure to stay low to ensure I didn't develop congestive heart failure. I wasn't allowed any excess salt. I was even on blood pressure medicine to keep my BP down. Since it's been repaired, I'm able to eat salt normally, but until recently my cardiologist has always warned me to not eat too much. Now he says I can forget about salt restrictions altogether!

[Libby]

^ totally with you on the pickles.

I like boxed soup, like Mrs. Grass. It's ridiculously high in sodium and delicious.

[potsgirl]

I also have Egg Beaters in the morning and add a lot of salt to them. V-8 occasionally, but I basically just salt my food as heavily as I can without upsetting my stomach. Even the salad I buy from the store I salt instead of using dressing. I try to eat low-fat foods and eat healthily while maintaining my high salt intake.

Good luck!

[hholmes13]

I'm not a huge salt fan, so this whole high sodium diet hasn't been quite as fun for me. However, I realized that cottage cheese is pretty high in sodium, so I eat that with some fruit during the day. The thermotabs were making it way too hard for me to eat, so my boss gave me a good suggestion. I've been dissolving bouillon cubes in water and drinking that during the day too. It's easy on my stomach and tastes like chicken broth and there's a lot of sodium in it. The only downside is there's MSG and stuff in it. I've never had any food allergy issues, so it doesn't bother me. (On a gross side note, he tends to be a little hypotensive with no other symptoms and craves salt like crazy and actually ***** on the bouillon cubes. He actually keeps them in his desk at work. Ick!)