Jyoti Posted April 30, 2021 Report Share Posted April 30, 2021 Just wondering if anyone has encountered this and/or if anyone can opine on preferred electrolyte boosters. My neurologist suggested either Vitassium or Normalyte. He gave me some samples of Vitassium, which I used while waiting for the Normalyte to arrive. I got the impression he thought the Normalyte was superior so I thought I would give it a go. No problem with the SaltStick (Vitassium) and perhaps some improvement. So I was excited to get started on the Normalyte. Whoa..... I got so sick (dizzy, confused, shaky, super tense upper torso and neck) by the afternoon of the first day. I thought...well, it may just be a coincidence. The second day--same. Third day (today) I decide to cut back dramatically but I still had about half of one pack and sure enough, two hours later I felt awful. The weird thing is that I kind of suspected I got too much potassium on board. That is a tough one since hyper and hypo kalemia have pretty similar symptoms. I have had problems with hypokalemia in the past, but it did not make any sense to me that I would experience low potassium symptoms after having ingested a significant dose of it. Unless...the salt was unbalancing things. In the end, I did try some V-8 one night and dried apricots today and both times, adding a source of potassium seemed to ease things. I am going to steer clear of Normalyte for now, but am curious if anyone has experienced anything like this and/or if there is an obvious explanation I am missing. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted May 1, 2021 Report Share Posted May 1, 2021 @Jyoti - have you compared the ingredient in both products? I guess whatever is higher in the Normalyte could be the culprit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyoti Posted May 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2021 18 hours ago, Pistol said: I guess whatever is higher in the Normalyte could be the culprit? Yes. Exactly @PistolAnd that is the really strange part. To the best of my ability to see, Vitassium has a 5:1 salt to potassium ratio, whereas Normalyte has a 3.7:1 ratio. In other words, Vitassium has more salt, less potassium. Normalyte delivers more potassium per serving. I am trying to figure out why, if that is the case, Normalyte reaction --which could be hyper or hypo kalemic based on symptoms, but which should be hyper based on quantities (if anything) would ameliorate with the introduction of potassium-rich foods. Why would adding more potassium relieve hyperkalemia? That sounds impossible. But how could taking something with a higher delivery of potassium trigger hypokalemia? I may never figure this one out, but I am staying away from Normalyte! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted May 1, 2021 Report Share Posted May 1, 2021 @Jyoti The Relationship Between Potassium and Sodium | Livestrong.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyoti Posted May 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2021 Thanks, @Pistol. I have read a fair amount about the potassium/sodium relationship; for some reason mine never follows the rules. I guess that is part and parcel of having dysautonomia--we tend to be extra-ordinary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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