#pots problems

[Comic of Potsie and Susan eating dinner–Potsie is pouring tons of salt on her food while Susan frowns and says, “The American Heart Association must hate you.” Above them are the words “POTS Problem #2: Salt!”]
What’s your favorite salty food? ⁣
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Fun fact: While pickles and pretzels are often a go-to salty snack for POTSies, there are a lot of other options out there! A quick google search for “saltiest foods” or “saltiest snacks” shows that condiments, breads, and even cake mixes can be surprisingly high in sodium! Basically, processed food is terrible for “normal” people because so much of it is so high in sodium—but that makes it pretty good for us! Just check the labels on the things you’re looking at when you shop and see what sorts of things are high in sodium! ⁣
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Sodium/salt is important for POTS patients because it helps hold in all that extra water we’re supposed to be drinking. The salt + water combo = a higher blood volume, which helps combat symptoms like blood pooling and low blood pressure. Finding the amount of salt that works for you can take some experimenting, as everyone has different salty needs, and some people need so much extra sodium that they can’t get it all via food and have to take salt tablets. Talk with your doctor about your own adventures into the land of salt and see what they recommend for you specifically—you don’t wanna add too much salt, as it can make you feel gross. As with most POTS things, finding the right salt + water combo is a delicate balance and can be a bit tricky, but many patients find that a proper balance really helps their symptoms! ⁣
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What high-sodium food have you found that’s surprised you? The internet told me Raisin Bran is super high in sodium, which I thought was really weird. ⁣

[Drawing of Potsie at a table, drinking glass after glass of water. Another girl cheers her on, “Chug, chug, chug!” Above them are the words “POTS Problem #1: Hydration!”]

How do you hydrate? ⁣
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It’s been a long while since I posted my POTS Problems comics, so I figured it might be fun to post this series again! Of course, that also means that every time I look at the older ones, I feel the urge to redraw them… But, hey, it just means my stick figures are improving, right? ⁣
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Hydration is important for everyone, and staying well-hydrated does lots of good things for your body! But it’s especially important for POTS patients because adding in extra water AND SALT to your daily routine helps to increase your blood volume. Many POTS patients (like me) have a low blood volume to begin with—add on to that things like blood pooling and low blood pressure—other common POTS Problems—and your body is in quite a mess. Increasing water and salt intake increases that low blood volume and can help with lots of symptoms. ⁣
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Figuring out how much water and salt you need every day is a very individual process, as every body is different and has different needs—but a good place to start is 2 liters of water and 3-5 grams of salt each day, according to Dysautonomia International. Experiment with salt and water intake to find a balance that works for you! ⁣⁣