How much sodium do POTS patients need per day?

Dysautonomia International recommends 3,000-10,000mg of sodium per day for POTS patients, though your doctor should give you a specific target. My cardiologist recommended around 6,000mg daily. Most people eat about 2,300mg normally, so you're looking at adding 1,000-4,000mg or more on top of your regular diet.

Can electrolyte drinks replace salt tablets for POTS?

They can be part of your strategy, but most electrolyte drinks don't have enough sodium on their own. A single Liquid IV has about 560mg of sodium — helpful, but not enough by itself. Most POTS patients use a combination of electrolyte drinks, salty foods, and sometimes salt tablets or capsules like Vitassium to hit their daily target.

Why does LMNT cause stomach problems for some POTS patients?

LMNT contains 1,000mg of sodium per packet — roughly double what most other electrolyte drinks offer. That concentrated sodium hit can cause GI distress including nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, especially in people with comorbid conditions like MCAS or gastroparesis that are common alongside POTS. Many Reddit users in POTS communities report similar issues.

What is the best electrolyte drink for someone just diagnosed with POTS?

I recommend starting with Liquid IV Lemon Lime. It has a moderate sodium content (560mg) that won't overwhelm your system, it tastes good, and it's easy to find. Pair it with a V8 in the morning (920mg sodium per 11.5oz can) and salty foods throughout the day. You can always increase your sodium intake from there.

Do you have to take electrolytes every day with POTS?

Consistency matters more than most people realize. I've found that skipping a day doesn't feel much different in the moment, but the next day hits harder — worse tachycardia, more brain fog, less energy. Salt today is an investment in how you'll feel tomorrow.

Best Electrolytes for POTS: What Actually Works (And What Doesn't)

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TL;DR — The Quick Picks

Daily driver: Liquid IV Lemon Lime — 560mg sodium, tastes good, easy starting point

Underrated MVP: V8 Original — 920mg sodium per 11.5oz can, plus potassium, and it’s actual food

Community favorite: Vitassium — salt capsules made specifically for dysautonomia patients

Skip it: LMNT (GI nightmare for many of us), Buoy Drops (50mg sodium — why bother?)

Why POTS Patients Need So Much Sodium

If you’re reading this, you probably already know the basics: POTS means your blood doesn’t stay where it should when you stand up, your heart races to compensate, and sodium helps your body retain fluid to keep blood volume up.

Dysautonomia International recommends 3,000-10,000mg of sodium per day for POTS patients. My cardiologist told me to aim for about 6,000mg daily. The average American eats around 2,300mg. So yeah — you need a lot more salt than normal.

The tricky part isn’t knowing you need more sodium. It’s figuring out how to get it without feeling terrible in the process.

My Daily Sodium Routine

Here’s what an average day looks like for me:

Morning: A V8 Original (11.5oz can) — 920mg sodium right away, plus potassium from the tomatoes
Afternoon: One Liquid IV Lemon Lime mixed into a big glass of water — about 560mg sodium
Throughout the day: Salt added to foods that would otherwise be bland (I even put a pinch in smoothies)
Regular meals: Reasonably salty diet otherwise

That puts me somewhere around 4,000-5,000mg of sodium daily. I monitor my blood pressure and keep it around 115 systolic, which is where I’m comfortable.

The Products, Ranked

1. Liquid IV Lemon Lime — The Daily Driver

Sodium per serving: 560mg | Buy on Amazon

Liquid IV is my main electrolyte supplement and what I’d recommend to anyone who just got diagnosed. It has a moderate sodium content that won’t overwhelm your system, it includes B vitamins (one less pill to manage), and the lemon-lime flavor actually tastes good.

Here’s the thing nobody tells you though: most of the flavors smell terrible and the smell doesn’t go away.

I started with lemon-lime, then tried the variety packs. The berry flavor tasted great. But that powder creates a fine residue that sticks to your clothes, your counter, your hands — everything. And the smell. I’d lock myself in my office with the window open just to mix it. Even an hour later, if I opened the door, my spouse could smell it from across the house.

If you live with someone who has ME/CFS or any kind of sensory sensitivity, this matters. A lot. We’re talking about conditions where a strong smell can trigger a crash.

Stick with lemon-lime. It’s the only flavor that doesn’t do this.

One limitation: you shouldn’t have more than one packet per day because of the B vitamin content. So Liquid IV can’t be your only sodium source.

2. V8 Original — The Underrated Pick

Sodium per serving: 920mg (11.5oz can) | Buy on Amazon

Nobody in the POTS electrolyte space talks about V8, and I genuinely don’t understand why.

An 11.5oz can of V8 has 920mg of sodium and potassium from the tomatoes. It’s actual food — vegetables, not just a supplement dissolved in water. Your body processes it differently than a sodium bomb powder packet, and in my experience, it goes down easy without any GI issues.

I drink one every morning. It’s become as automatic as brushing my teeth. If you hate the taste of tomato juice, this isn’t for you, but if you’re even neutral on it, try starting your day with one for a week and see how you feel.

3. Vitassium — The Community Favorite

Sodium per serving: 500mg (2 capsules) | Buy on Amazon

Full disclosure: I haven’t tried Vitassium. I don’t have a good reason — it’s just one of those things that hasn’t happened yet.

But I’d be doing you a disservice not to mention it. Vitassium is the electrolyte supplement in POTS communities. These are buffered salt capsules (sodium and potassium) specifically designed for people with autonomic disorders. They’re recommended by Dysautonomia International, and if you spend any time in POTS support groups, someone will bring them up within five minutes.

If you can’t stand the taste of electrolyte drinks or you just want a no-fuss option, capsules might be your best bet. I’ll update this article when I finally get around to trying them.

The Products I’d Skip

LMNT — Too Much, Too Fast

Sodium per serving: 1,000mg | I’m not linking this one.

LMNT is the darling of the keto and biohacker world, and some POTS sites recommend it as a top pick. I tried it. It made me feel awful.

From my journal notes (July 2025): after taking LMNT, I felt motion sick, lightheaded, and my resting heart rate dropped into the mid-50s — lower than my normal baseline. The next day, I felt GI distress coming on. I tried it again anyway. More lightheadedness, blood pooling feeling in my legs, abdominal pain on my left side. When I stopped taking LMNT, the abdominal pain stopped.

Here’s the kicker: during that same stretch, eating a plate of nachos helped my symptoms more than LMNT did. Same sodium, completely different delivery. Something about that concentrated 1,000mg sodium hit in liquid form just didn’t agree with me.

And I’m far from alone. Search “LMNT” in any POTS subreddit and you’ll find thread after thread of people reporting GI issues. When you’re already dealing with conditions like MCAS or gastroparesis on top of POTS, dumping that much sodium into your stomach at once is a gamble.

Could LMNT work fine for you? Maybe. But I’d rather point you toward options with better odds.

Buoy Hydration Drops — Basically Useless for POTS

Sodium per serving: 50mg

I bought three bottles of Buoy because I saw it recommended somewhere. I used an entire bottle before I thought to check the label.

50mg of sodium. 10mg of potassium. That’s it — the rest is trace minerals and B vitamins.

For context, a single pinch of table salt has more sodium than a serving of Buoy. If you need 3,000-6,000mg of sodium a day, a product that gives you 50mg is not a meaningful contribution. You’d need to use the entire bottle in a day to get what one Liquid IV packet gives you.

It also doesn’t taste great. I don’t understand why anyone would use this for POTS.

How to Track Your Sodium

If you’re serious about hitting your sodium target, you need to track — at least for a few weeks until you get a feel for your routine.

I use the Cronometer app. The free version lets you log food by the gram or by serving, create custom recipes, and tracks all your micronutrients — not just sodium. The paid version unlocks custom charts, recipe sharing, auto-repeat items (so your morning V8 logs itself), and recipe import from URLs. You can also add custom biometrics like “dizziness” or “brain fog” and start correlating them with your sodium intake over time.

Fair warning: it’s kind of annoying to use properly because you really should have a food scale. But even rough tracking is better than guessing. After a couple of weeks, you’ll have a much clearer picture of where your sodium is actually coming from.

The Delayed Effect: Why Consistency Matters

This is the thing I wish someone had told me earlier.

If I’m salt-light one day — maybe I skip my V8, forget my Liquid IV, eat lighter than usual — that same day often feels fine. No big deal. But the next day? Worse tachycardia, worse brain fog, less energy.

The heart rate increase itself isn’t the worst part. It’s that elevated heart rate just saps your energy. Everything takes more effort. Your brain works slower. You’re winded doing nothing.

Salt today is an investment in tomorrow. Consistency matters more than any single product you choose. Pick a routine, stick with it, and don’t skip days because you feel okay.