Drinks That Made Me Feel Better
Before my stomach shut down, there were a few drinks that made me feel better which I thought I might share. One of which is kind of puzzling.
The first is Pedialyte (I recommend the unflavored kind to avoid sketchy flavoring chemicals but whatever works for you) which is commonly used among ME/CFS patients. There was a time when I drank a bottle every day. It felt like it was lubricating my brain. Definitely doing something good. I later cut out the pedialyte - for some reason I stopped craving it. But I started adding a tiny pinch of high quality sea salt to my water which helps with absorption and makes it tase really good (but as it turns out isn’t a good idea). And I drank three large mason jars full of water per day.
A recent post by Cort Johnson on Health Rising brings light to the benefit I experienced from Pedialyte and lists powdered formulas which are just as good but much less expensive than Pedialyte. (And also mentions that adding salt to your water has negative side effects and these formulas are much better). A recent study showed that the World Health Organization (WHO) formula for rehydration solution works better than IV saline at helping POTS and Orthostatic Intolerance and actually increases blood flow to the brain. And it’s much cheaper and easier to administer than IV saline!
https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2020/09/15/saline-ors-oral-rehydration-pots-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/
Here’s a link to the cheapest WHO formula powder mix rehydration formula available. Its made by a company called Jianas Brothers and it looks like the ingredients are simple and pure. No extras.
http://rehydrate.org/resources/jianas.htm
You call them at 1-816-421-2880 to order a carton(s) of the packets. They cost 0.55 cents per packet (way cheaper than Pedialyte!) but you have to order a minimum of one carton which has 125 packets and costs $68.75. Well worth it as a better alternative to Pedialyte or IV saline.
It’s also available on Amazon and someone here in the comments found a WHO powdered formula that is even cheaper and obviously easier to order.
https://www.amazon.com/Rehydration-Organization-Poisoning-Electrolyte-Replacement/dp/B00OG8G9UM
UK
Here is a link to buy WHO formula tablets on amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/R-S-Hydration-Electrolyte-Tablets-Blackcurrant/dp/B00NGTCKWS
Or direct from the company either in the US or UK
https://www.orshydration.com/en-gb/
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: not all electrolyte formulas are the same. And neither is salt and sugar. Please use a WHO formula or you could cause harm. Read Cort’s article for details.
“Sucrose, it should be noted, does not produce the same effect – many commercial oral rehydration or electrolyte enhancing solutions use sucrose.”
“Many people try to increase their blood volume by adding salt to water. Drinking large amounts of salt water, however, can be dangerous – and Medow reported that “conventional oral hydration” techniques are not effective in improving orthostatic intolerance. Drinking a lot of salt water will cause the water to go into the tissues – not the circulation. Then the sodium has to be excreted – potentially causing declines in potassium.”
The second drink that helped me is coconut water. Which was probably doing the same thing as pedialyte but maybe with additional benefits, there’s lots of good stuff in coconut water. Early in the progression of ME/CFS my main symptom was lightheadedness (along with post exertional malaise ie. PEM, memory issues and general physical weakness) and coconut water helped the lightheadedness. I remember some nights my friends would be drinking beer and I’d be drinking one of those super large cans of coconut water, the kind available with or without chunks. I don’t know if they still make it. There’s better quality coconut water but it’s way more expensive and comes in tiny juice boxes.
The third is carrot juice, which is a bit of an eye brow raiser. It really helped with my lightheadedness, even more than coconut water. A bottle made me feel way better. I have no idea what it was in it but I highly recommend you all try it if you haven’t already. But not everyday or you’ll get too much vitamin A. I believe one Trader Joe’s/Odwalla sized bottle every two days is the maximum recommend amount. I drank it less than that, just when my lightheadedness was really bad.
I hope this helps someone out there.
The first is Pedialyte (I recommend the unflavored kind to avoid sketchy flavoring chemicals but whatever works for you) which is commonly used among ME/CFS patients. There was a time when I drank a bottle every day. It felt like it was lubricating my brain. Definitely doing something good. I later cut out the pedialyte - for some reason I stopped craving it. But I started adding a tiny pinch of high quality sea salt to my water which helps with absorption and makes it tase really good (but as it turns out isn’t a good idea). And I drank three large mason jars full of water per day.
A recent post by Cort Johnson on Health Rising brings light to the benefit I experienced from Pedialyte and lists powdered formulas which are just as good but much less expensive than Pedialyte. (And also mentions that adding salt to your water has negative side effects and these formulas are much better). A recent study showed that the World Health Organization (WHO) formula for rehydration solution works better than IV saline at helping POTS and Orthostatic Intolerance and actually increases blood flow to the brain. And it’s much cheaper and easier to administer than IV saline!
https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2020/09/15/saline-ors-oral-rehydration-pots-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/
Here’s a link to the cheapest WHO formula powder mix rehydration formula available. Its made by a company called Jianas Brothers and it looks like the ingredients are simple and pure. No extras.
http://rehydrate.org/resources/jianas.htm
You call them at 1-816-421-2880 to order a carton(s) of the packets. They cost 0.55 cents per packet (way cheaper than Pedialyte!) but you have to order a minimum of one carton which has 125 packets and costs $68.75. Well worth it as a better alternative to Pedialyte or IV saline.
It’s also available on Amazon and someone here in the comments found a WHO powdered formula that is even cheaper and obviously easier to order.
https://www.amazon.com/Rehydration-Organization-Poisoning-Electrolyte-Replacement/dp/B00OG8G9UM
UK
Here is a link to buy WHO formula tablets on amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/R-S-Hydration-Electrolyte-Tablets-Blackcurrant/dp/B00NGTCKWS
Or direct from the company either in the US or UK
https://www.orshydration.com/en-gb/
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: not all electrolyte formulas are the same. And neither is salt and sugar. Please use a WHO formula or you could cause harm. Read Cort’s article for details.
“Sucrose, it should be noted, does not produce the same effect – many commercial oral rehydration or electrolyte enhancing solutions use sucrose.”
“Many people try to increase their blood volume by adding salt to water. Drinking large amounts of salt water, however, can be dangerous – and Medow reported that “conventional oral hydration” techniques are not effective in improving orthostatic intolerance. Drinking a lot of salt water will cause the water to go into the tissues – not the circulation. Then the sodium has to be excreted – potentially causing declines in potassium.”
The second drink that helped me is coconut water. Which was probably doing the same thing as pedialyte but maybe with additional benefits, there’s lots of good stuff in coconut water. Early in the progression of ME/CFS my main symptom was lightheadedness (along with post exertional malaise ie. PEM, memory issues and general physical weakness) and coconut water helped the lightheadedness. I remember some nights my friends would be drinking beer and I’d be drinking one of those super large cans of coconut water, the kind available with or without chunks. I don’t know if they still make it. There’s better quality coconut water but it’s way more expensive and comes in tiny juice boxes.
The third is carrot juice, which is a bit of an eye brow raiser. It really helped with my lightheadedness, even more than coconut water. A bottle made me feel way better. I have no idea what it was in it but I highly recommend you all try it if you haven’t already. But not everyday or you’ll get too much vitamin A. I believe one Trader Joe’s/Odwalla sized bottle every two days is the maximum recommend amount. I drank it less than that, just when my lightheadedness was really bad.
I hope this helps someone out there.
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