#Vitassium

[3liza]

I want POTS people to know that Vitassium is just 5 parts salt and 1 part potassium. you can make it at home if you want. put five scoops (any size of scoop) of salt (sodium chloride) in a jar. put one scoop (of the same size as the salt scoops) of potassium chloride or citrate (usually sold as "salt replacer" for people with high blood pressure, but you can search "potassium citrate" or "potassium chloride" on Amazon and find big bulk bags of it) in the same bowl. mix it up real good. that's Vitassium. you can put it in empty gelcaps, which are also very cheap on Amazon or wherever. I haven't done the math so I don't know how much cheaper it is per dose than brand name Vitassium (which is about 24 cents per capsule) but it's probably a lot. if you don't have trouble with doing small dexterity tasks like making capsules then it's a good savings. if you have trouble with those tasks and buying premade is worth it for you, disregard this post.

[cookinguptales]

time to shill for Big Salt!!!

Okay, so like I said in my last post, I recently became a ~Vitassium Ambassador~, which is a fancy way of saying that I shilled for this company for free for so long that now they're paying me to do it.

In salt. Much like a deer.

Anyway.

Vitassium is SaltStick's line of products specifically for POTS, EDS, Cystic Fibrosis, Vasovagal Syncope, and other forms of autonomic dysfunction. Essentially speaking, SaltStick has been making electrolyte products for years, and when they realized that a lot of their patients buying them were doing it for medical reasons, they started doing research into creating products specifically for that purpose. And that's how the Vitassium line was born.

Vitassium generally has more salt and less magnesium/calcium/potassium than SaltStick's other electrolyte products, which is good if you need a lot of salt and you don't want to take too high a dose of the rest. Personally, I tend to use a mixture of both of their lines so I can get a little calcium/magnesium boost sometimes but more salt other times. (The amount of potassium is fairly similar in both lines, with a little more in the SaltStick line.)

Either way, it has a lot less sugar than Liquid IV, which I get sick off of due to sugar sensitivities. Like... *googles* 11g of sugar in Liquid IV vs. 2g of sugar in Vitassium, with the same amount of salt in each serving. I have to be pretty careful about my sugar intake, and I suppose I can't speak for everyone, but my stomach handles Vitassium a lot better than most of the other alternatives on the market.

So I've been using it for several years now and I'm really happy with their products! Like -- I may now officially be a shill for Big Salt, but I don't plan on lying or exaggerating anything here. I use their products every day, and sometimes that's the only way I can manage to take a shower.

(My fellow POTS/EDS-sufferers know, the shower struggle is real. lmao)

Anyway, they just sent me one of everything in their Vitassium line. They didn't actually ask me to show it off, but I'm doing it anyway because this is my blog and I cannot be stopped.

From left to right, we have a bottle of their electrolyte capsules (these are sugar-free extended-release salt pills with a bit of potassium added), both flavors of their electrolyte fastchews (chewable electrolyte candies that provide quick relief... think salty sweettarts), a cute bottle full of packets of their electrolyte drink mix, sample packs of the fastchews, and some stickers.

Personally, I mostly use the fastchews. I've tried salt capsules in the past and had some stomach upset, but now that they sent these to me for free, I guess I'll try them out again. The fastchews are basically sour candy full of salt lmao. (They also have about 2g of sugar per serving, just like the drink mix.) They really are effective, though, so I tend to take them as needed throughout the day.

I usually just keep a bottle of them in my purse, but the sample size bags are resealable and fit well in pockets, bags, etc. I'm happy that they sent me some little sample bags because now I can refill them, haha.

I used to just buy the normal SaltStick fastchews, and my go-to flavors in that line are orange, wild berry, and lemon-lime! I haven't tried the mango because I'm allergic, the peach is okay if very sour, the coconut pineapple is a nice piña colada taste but a little sweet for me, and I really hate the watermelon ones!

(Look, I promised to be honest with you. lmao)

The Vitassium fastchews are newer, and they only come in two flavors so far. I always buy the fruit punch because I despise artificial grape flavor. They just gave me a bunch of grape ones, so I tried them. Good for what they are, but I still hate grape.

(Do any of my chronically ill followers want these? lmk)

The drink mix is the newest Vitassium product! I like it quite a bit; the relief is quicker when you drink it vs. eat it, and speaking as someone who generally hates drink mixes, the flavor is pretty good.

I've tried both the fruit punch and the pink lemonade, and I think I prefer the pink lemonade. The flavor suits the salt a little better, imo, and I think weirdly it mixes a little better?

I usually buy the drink mix in the canisters because it's cheaper that way and produces less waste (the canister pictured there is one I already had) but the packets are very handy to keep in your bag. They're easy to tear open and even when you tear off the whole top, the opening is small enough that it pours smoothly into small-necked bottles. I like to put some ice in mine and shake it up.

(Side note: Vitassium has specifically designed all their packaging to be as easy to open and use as possible because they know that so many of their customers have arthritis, EDS, and other connective tissue disorders. Which, as someone with EDS, I truly appreciate.)

Finally, one thing I genuinely like about Vitassium is that they try to make their products as accessible as possible for their customers who use them for medical reasons. They have something called the Vitassium Club, which allows registered users who have a medical condition to get 25% off all their electrolyte products. You don't have to get a doctor's note or anything like that, just send in a quick online form and wait for them to change the status of your account.

That brings the cost of the product down considerably for the people who need it most, which is good because honestly? Electrolyte boosters add up fast when you need to consume that much salt every day.

Uhhhh, I think that's everything for now! If you have any questions, lmk! I'm fairly passionate about this kind of thing because when I was first diagnosed with POTS/EDS like... god, 15 years ago now, they didn't have anything like this. I remember struggling to develop a diet that worked for me with no one to teach me and honestly? That fucking sucked. I don't want anyone to be in that position.

So now here in 2023, I'm happy to pass on any chronic illness-related tips I have. Like drink Vitassium! And add salt while you're cooking, not at the end! The flavor will be less strong that way! And a packet of sugar-free hot cocoa mix will often have as much sodium in it as a bag of chips!

Stay salty, friends. 🧂💜😎

[zuuriell]

what triggers your POTS?

thought i’d share mine too! heavy emphasis on heat, stairs and bathing 😭 they all kick my ass but those 3 are like a devilish trio, and lord so help me if i had to do a combination of them

there’s probably more triggers than this list shares, so if you’ve got any others feel free to comment/re blog and share them!! /nf

🫶

[akayeh1]

Is it lights out yet?

Yes, it’s Albert. No, that’s not his usual hair style. He had a rough day. We both did. He spent it “On Alert”. I spent it sick with a rather rotten bout of POTS. (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome for those not familiar with the alphabet soup 😁) Dusty would alert any time my heart rate was elevated. Mostly this was helpful. Though him having a fuss because you’re vacuuming and moving furniture wasn’t all that helpful at times. He was sweet and caring but I really don’t think he could tell the difference between the two.

Then comes Albert. And when I’ve said he’s scary smart, I don’t mean rabbit smart. I mean I’ve had him a little over two months. I haven’t even started to work on medical alert skills yet. We are working on basic communication commands. We’re throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. He’s mostly gotten the marked ones at 50% or better:

Hungry? *

Dinner *

Munchies (various greens) *

Water *

Treat *

Back up *

Stay *

Stand up (for a treat) *

Stay *

House in *

House out

(Giving his world names from various toys and the door to his house he likes to swing when out to the fence of his playground and his tunnel and even his stuffy George.)

(Learning that to make humans move we don’t bite their feet!) *

As you can see, communication goes both ways! When he’s out, I feel like an auctioneer for about the first fifteen minutes he’s out as I name everything he touches with his nose. Then my voice gives out.

Today was the fourth—yes fourth—time he’s given an alert. The first time I wasn’t really sure what he was saying. The second time took quite a while to connect. The third time was a moment of hmm let’s watch this. Well it’s certain. Albert isn’t identifying a heart rate. He’s identifying when my salt levels are off!

People with POTS have difficulty maintaining proper salt and liquid balances. I always joke that everyone has a super power, just some are really dumb. Mine is the ability to drink about 40 ounces of liquid in five minutes flat. And not get sick from it. Can’t get blood from my arm? I can fix that! Just wait five minutes and try again.

It took two salt pills (Vitassium), a medium bottle of Gatorade (not the gallon one), and two bags of popcorn over the course of the day to finally balance it. Oh and Gatorade when you can’t taste the salt in it tastes seriously nasty!!! And if that sounds like a lot of salt. It is. And because I hate Gatorade there’s lots of tea too.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better! (And I haven’t even been out in the stupid heat dome centered over my stupid state!).

Stay cool—Drink lots!

[goofygargoyle]

I'm not sure which of these I should get

They're very similar. Same price. Same amount of capsules.

the Vitassium says to take 2, but if you do the math...

Sodium: 215mg vs 250mg

Potassium: 63mg vs 50mg

Other Vitamins: 22mg of calcium 11mg magnesium 100ui of Vitamin D vs none

the bottle and capsules are smaller. the Vitassium has a popcap while SaltStick has a twist off.

[teresiel]

Just spent the last of my paycheck on Vitassium for my recent uptick in POTS issues (thanks consistent 90° weather!)

I have run out of Nuun tablets (I've been using these to tide me over until I can get actual salt tablets) and am in need of compression stockings.

My mental well-being would also likely improve if I were able to get a pulse oximeter, as I've been much more faint lately and am freaked that it might be low oxygen. I've yet to faint due to POTS, but this summer is the weakest I've felt with the highest HR I've seen since starting to monitor.

None of these are especially pricey, but I am having a hard time waiting until my next paycheck and will likely need to immediately spend all of that paycheck on bills and have yet to get an update if I'll even get the financial assistance I've applied for.

If anyone can share, I would be extremely grateful. It's not an exaggeration to say this is life-saving (or at least helps me to maintain my quality of life).

In total I'd need around $80-100 for two sets of socks, two bottles of Nuun, and the oximeter, and that's only if I get the cheapest of the cheap options (seriously, compression socks are no joke price-wise and will run me $40 just for two sets, ugh)

My PayPal is linked to: thercery@gmail.com

[aspoonfullofsalt]

Before I got my POTS diagnosis, electrolytes were just something you found in Gatorade. Now, they’re an essential, critical component to my self-care routine. What questions do you have about electrolytes? #POTS #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #PeopleOfTheSalt #POTSie #Dysautonomia #SaltShakers #Vitassium #EDS #MCAS #BVD #Spoonie #Electrolytes #Sodium #Potassium #Magnesium #Calcium https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq5w6pOLmam/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[micah-has-fallen]

Dysautonomia post #1 (Days 1-3)

Day 1: The type of Dysautonomia you have

- I don’t yet know what specific type I have yet as I’m still in the official diagnosis phase. But my guess is something similar to POTS.

Day 2: Your diagnosis story

- I’m still in the diagnosis phase. I’ve been experiencing symptoms since age 11 and they’ve progressively just gotten worse and worse. They just ran a one week long heart monitor on me and I’m awaiting those results but itll definitely be a long process. (It took so long to seek help because my mom experiences similar things and really doesn’t want a diagnosis so she didn’t get why I should want one)

Day 3: How long it took you to get diagnosed

- As mentioned before it’s been almost six years fighting to even get to see the doctor. As of right now I’ve been in the official process for about six months. So who knows.

[aelianated-star]

After a few very mild dysautonomia days, I can easily say today was *not* a good day. My resting heart rate was 160, and I don’t even want to talk about my standing 💀

I love genuinely feeling like I’m dying! Send spoons and a shit ton of 🧂

[dissociacrip]

okay so the consensus seems to be that it may just be a POTS thing. so probably not chronic OH that i need to worry about. i def have OH atm though bc pms'ing or w/e. vision gets dark every time i stand up. i'm suffering at work it fucking sucks ass.

[disabled-is-not-a-dirty-word]

The only advice I have is that Vitassium (SaltStick) has something called Vitassium Club for people who use their products to treat chronic illness. It's free to join, and if you are approved, you'll get 25% off all of your purchases with them (In the USA. There is a smaller discount outside of the US). They can reject or ignore your application for any reason, but it's worth a try.

Two of the most important treatments for my POTS are compression hose and buffered salt capsules. Both are expensive, both must be purchased over and over again, and neither are covered by most insurance. To give you an idea of what I'm dealing with:

Compression Hose: in my prescribed level of compression, image from compressionsale.com. I am supposed to wear these every day, all day. I have a few pairs of the correct hose, but I've outgrown two and the other pair has holes.

Buffered electrolyte salts: I go through a bottle every 25 days and SaltStick is the only company that manufactures the correct dosage of potassium and sodium for me.

I usually wear lower level, knee-high compression socks and I've darned most of them two or three times. Anybody have any suggestions or info I'm missing?

[cookinguptales]

oh dang!

for the past few years, I have consistently recommended vitassium to my friends with POTS (or related illnesses) to help with salt intake and I've always been like "hey vitassium, you should sponsor me, I rec you to people all the time! lmao, just kidding. unless......"

anyway guess who vitassium just sent a bag of salt to

outta my way, losers, I gotta go shill for Big Salt

[zuuriell]

i felt like doing something so imma do this for the month! i’ll put all my answers below the cut because it’ll probably get quite long lol

1. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (aka POTS)

2. well, it’s pretty complicated 😭 i’ve had some symptoms for probably like a year, but around late april/early may this year i couldn’t even shower or stand up too long from how bad it got. the uk healthcare system is absolute shit though, so even tho i’ve been a&e multiple times and tried to explain how much it’s all been affecting me, i still don’t get to see a cardiologist until february 2024 :( but we’ve ruled out other options of what it could be, and my mum’s cardiologist friend agreed when i said i thought i had POTS, and my GP agrees, and my potsie friends agree so i’m kinda like unofficially diagnosed as of now?

3. relating to the last point, i am not officially diagnosed yet because of the slow asf NHS so yeah :,) but i mean to figure out what i was experiencing was POTS, it did take me like 8 months? but probably around 10 for me to accept the fact that i most likely have it too 😭 an official diagnosis unless i can rack up the money to go private is probably gonna take me like another year at this rate, but hopefully it won’t be that long

4. i have to pick just one? LOL uhh probably the blood pooling! it’s so annoying because especially when im out and about, i can’t be with my legs in the air 24/7 so it’s always bound to happen. compression socks help but only to an extent, and it stops me from doing so muchhhh :( it means that queueing for things and standing for more than a couple minutes is so so much harder, and if i have too much blood pooling in one day then my can legs ache for DAYS after that. it’s so painful and annoying and just aaghhh i hate it

5. on a regular day: i wake up, chug water which i leave by my bed for the mornings, get out of bed slowly and walk downstairs to make breakfast. i chug electrolytes and go for a short dog walk, then come home to do schoolwork and my family make lunch/dinner so i don’t have to stand around too long. i’ll make sure i get any chores done that i can, and i’ll try to chill in the evening

on a bad day/flareup: i wake up a lot later, have my electrolytes with water and only get out of bed when i need to. i’ll do schoolwork from my bed (if i feel well enough to concentrate), and have salty snacks rather than proper meals, unless my family make me anything. i stretch from bed to combat deconditioning, and if i feel decent enough i can have a bath

6. i don’t have access to any specific medication unfortunately, so i currently just manage with painkillers when my chronic pain is extra bitchy + anti-nausea meds when i feel sicky

7. salt sachets (the little ones you get at like mcdonald’s and stuff) to shove in my purse/pocket in case symptoms flare while i’m out, compression garments, electrolyte tablets, and a recliner bed so i can raise my legs more when resting

8. electrolyte drinks!! not the tablets though (i hate the taste of all the tablets except like 1 lol) - my fav is making electrolyte drinks from scratch! at the moment i really love iced lemon water with honey and salt. i also saw smth about this fancy coconut water drink to make so i may try that and it may become my favourite :0

9. salty crackers, salt and vinegar/ready salted crisps, mcdonalds fries (stfu i know these aren’t healthy but they’re my favs 😭), pretzels, nuts

+ my fav foods to dump a bunch of salt on: pasta, veggies and dips (SALTED CUCUMBER IS SO GOOD), pizza, chips, soup, risotto, probs almost anything i eat tbh

10. i’ve only got one pair but i love them so shoutout to my knee-length black compression socks <3

11. i don’t have any 🥲 i really wish i could have a cane or maybe even a rollator but my family make fun of me and i can’t afford one lolsies

12. i try to do some stretching in bed so that i can safely work against deconditioning, keeping very hydrated, trying to stay upstairs as much as possible so i don’t have to suffer my staircase, asking family to make food for me so i can save energy, taking pain meds when needed, having a cold bath (if possible), trying to keep preoccupied with work if i can, but if not i’ll watch movies on my ipad and stuff

fun fact: i wrote this on a flare LOL so oddly fitting and now i’ve already made myself a plan for the next few days!

13. the thing that’s helped me most is accepting that something is wrong and remembering to listen to my body. going through life pretending that i’m perfectly abled and don’t have anything wrong causes much more harm to me than letting myself rest a few days. it definitely isn’t easy though - i still find myself getting stressed over work deadlines don’t get me wrong, but i’d like to think i’m getting better at adapting to things and noticing when a flare is coming on so i can be prepared to take the time for my body to rest.

14. chairs are your best friends now. i steal the chairs/stools from the kitchen table whenever i’m doing chores standing up for more than 30 seconds. compression socks also help! OOH and if you’re using hot water/heated stuff and struggle with temperature dysreg, i usually grab myself a cup of ice to munch on or an icepack to hold on my chest so that i don’t overheat :)

15. i’m afraid i don’t have much input for this as i left school for health reasons 😭 but i suppose keeping hydrated, getting accommodations such as not too many stairs + being allowed to take more days off to rest for flares, compression gear where possible, staying high on sodium + electrolytes, and extended deadlines would be good!

16. i’m gonna sound so silly for this but i love rewatching my comfort stuff. i’ve got my fav youtubers + fav films/series all compiled in a list, and i spin a wheel to decide which one i’m gonna watch! other activities i enjoy though are reading, playing video games, doing goofy quizzes online, chatting with friends, and going on pinterest sprees!

17. leading on from the last prompt, my fav is a marvel movie - tbh all of them bring me so much comfort but my favs are avengers, black widow, loki and any of the thor films <3

18. my main support system is my wonderful boyfriend, kurtis @agere-tomhiddleston-imagines 💚💛 he’s helped me through so much and he’s so supportive of me no matter what, and i love him dearly for that (and how awesome he is in general ofc) <3 other than that, my parents are semi-supportive! they still get things wrong sometimes but overall they’ll help if i need things and they handle all the shitty healthcare workers for me so i truly appreciate them for that 😭🙏 ooh and definitely just the general online community of chronically ill people/potsies!! i love y’all so much 🫶

19. okay i don’t know if this counts because she was an orthodontist rather than a doctor/nurse, but when discussing me getting braces she asked about my medical history and i explained it all but said i haven’t been diagnosed so i understand if she can’t accommodate me. then she said to me, “hun.. just because you don’t have a piece of paper with a few words on it, doesn’t mean you aren’t ill. if you’ve got symptoms but no confirmed cause, you’ve still got the symptoms, and i’m not gonna ignore those unless you want me to” - the validation was so relieving after years of fighting for doctors to listen to me and believe me :,) ❤️

(i’ll update this throughout the month! <3)

[mizuta]

life update for those who don't follow me on mastodon or cohost: i got electrolyte salt tablets today and a mesh binder this week, and it is... so, so lifechanging, so far.

[needs-more-duck]

+1 recommendation for the plain Vitassium capsules! I've been using them daily for just about six months and they're really forgiving on the stomach (i.e., I can take them on an empty stomach without issue). Vitassium Club's automatic 25% off is really, really good, and the application for it is easy and doesn't require a referring doctor. I got accepted for it the day after I submitted the online form.

For my needs, I like them a lot better than other salt pill formats I've encountered. Ymmv of course but if you can get yourself a bottle I definitely recommend giving them a shot!

Hi! Do you have thoughts on/info about/experience with Vitassium capsules for POTS? I'm trying to figure out how they compare in practice to plain ol' salt + potassium capsules which would be cheaper lol. (Plz ignore if you don't have the spoons to answer! The question does not press direly and I can always just compare them myself; I would just be interested if you have anything to say on the topic :) )

I've only ever used their plain ones (the flavored ones use stevia, which I can't have), and those work the same as the regular ones my doctor prescribed.

I will say the appeal for most people is the flavored options, so if that's something you're keen to try, you can get a 25% automatic discount through the Vitassium Club if you suffer from POTS or some other long-term chronic illness and have a referring doctor you can give them a reference to. I don't know if that'd make it any cheaper for you, but it makes it cheaper for me than the ones my doctor gives me on insurance.

[disabled-bug]

Going Out: A POTS Survival Guide (summer-friendly)

-handheld fans, battery operated or chargeable, fit easily into bags and can help cool you down

-bring electrolytes/a drink when you go out

-vitassium fastchews are amazing if you’re dizzy & need hydration, sodium, increase your blood pressure, ect.

-have salty snacks in your bag

-ginger chews or ginger Dramamine are great for nausea, and so are a product called “sea bands” (whatever works for you), it can also be reassuring to have a “sick bag” with you, just in case

-while by no means a necessity, it can be nice to have some kind of makeup remover or moist towelette on hand if you experience hot flashes or getting clammy…also recommend having chapstick for if you get a dry mouth

Hope this helps somebody!