Florinef vasovagal

[somemonkey]

So if I want Florinef to stop my vasovagal episodes do I really need sodium tablets?

[somemonkey]

Thanks! Are there any good sodium tablets? Any good salty food? Chips?

[Heiferly]

Florinef relies on a supply of sodium and water in your system in order to function.  It causes retention of sodium and water, so the less there is to retain, the less it can do.  That being said, we all start at different points with regard to sodium intake in our diets in the first place.  The average American diet is already very high in sodium.  With dysautonomia, if you're already eating an "average" American diet, you may not need that much additional salt to meet the 5000 mg/day recommended for people with dysauto who are salt loading.  On the other hand, if your diet is mostly organic, no fast food, very little processed foods/preservatives/etc., it is probably quite low in sodium too.  

As halbashes mentioned, a relatively small proportion of patients can tolerate salt tablets due to GI upset.  Getting 5000 mg of dietary salt daily is do-able if you start making the lifestyle change of salting your food heavily, adding in high-salt options such as pickles/V8/canned soups/soy sauce/etc., and otherwise sneaking in extra salt where you can.  

Bottom line:  talk to your doctor.  If the florinef isn't giving you results alone, boosting salt is probably what you need to be doing.  

[halbashes]

While the effectiveness of Florinef, (Fludrocortisone), does have a tendency to depend upon dietary sodium, I would not preclude that the drug was useless salt tablets.

Personally, I have yet to find a salt tablet that I can tolerate without becoming immediately nauseated.  If you are able to find a salt tablet in which you are able to tolerate, and it seems to help, then it may be worth taking.  Otherwise though, it may be that it's more beneficial to rely on a high-sodium diet.

Perhaps, as a community, we can create a sort of high sodium foods list.  This may be helpful too for non-medicated patients with infrequent Vasovagal episodes.

[DizzyJ]

It really depends on how low your blood pressure gets. Sometimes Florinef alone will help you retain more fluids and raise your B/P to a functioning level and sometimes you need the added sodium intake.

[evo123]

I am on florinef (fludrocortisone) but I have not been put on sodium tablets.  But I do not have bp drops - its actually a bit raised at the moment, I am unsure why I have been placed on these, maybe as not much is known about POTS at the hospital where I am being treated.

I have read many times though that these are to be taken in conjunction with sodium to increase bp so I would deinately seek further advice.