Electrolytes

[MJOkayy]

Hi lovely people! Please help me out!

I don't understand electrolytes!

I have dioralyte sachets at home for when I am feeling dehydrated. They have to be measured out exactly and taste gross!

I also have a few tubes of sports electrolyte tablets which I drop into water when I go for a run. They taste quite nice!

Then I also sometimes have a lucosade electrolyte drink, which I also like the taste of.

So ... What is the difference between all these?

In my head, because the dioralyte tastes so disgusting, I assume it must work the best to rehydrate me!! But is that wrong?

Why does dioralyte taste so gross if it's the same as other electrolyte solutions?

What is the difference and what is the most hydrating solution?

I'm confused! Help me understand!!

Thank you!!

Dioralyte is a medical grade rehydration drink. Is meant for severe dehydration from D&V with high sodium and lack of sweeteners of flavourings because it is medical not for pleasure.

Electrolyte drinks are for light rehydration after sports - filled with sugar or sweeteners. Designed to be pleasant. Less effective than dioralyte because they are only meant for casual rehydration after light activities.

Thank you!

So my hunch that dioralyte was more effective was accurate I think!

Is it safe to use dioralyte every couple of weeks or so, if I've got a headache from dehydration? Or is it really best to just use it when you have D&V (I never have D&V (touch wood), but do find I get dehydrated easily on mj, and it brings on migraines so trying to work out the best solution!)

Do the sweet electrolyte sports drinks work? Are they worth the balance of sugar?

Thanks :)

How are you getting so dehydrated that you need electrolytes? Are you sweating excessively or living in a hot country?

You can just put some lemon juice, salt, and sugar in ice water. That will do basically the same as your sports tablets. Add a spoon of baking powder if you have some.

if you have a headache you need more water not dioralyte

Thanks.

I feel like I'm drinking enough. I am drinking a lot but still thirsty and dry mouth at night. I watched a few YouTubers who recommend electrolytes. It would seem that GLP1 users in the USA are quite big on using 'electrolytes!' So I thought I'd try it and see if it helped with the thirst and reduced headaches! I think dioralyte helps. But I had got myself confused with all the different types of.electrolytes available. Some US YouTubers seem to take 'electrolytes' daily while on glp1.

Thanks!

Do you know the quantities? (how much salt and sugar for X mls of water?)

You can make your own electrolytes with Potassium powder, Himalayan Pink Salt, Bicarb Magnesium and lemon juice. Fraction of the cost and more effective.

Recipe. There’s an upper limit of most of these things daily eg don’t go over 4500mg potassium per day which is 2 tsp potassium chloride powder.

https://science.drinklmnt.com/electrolytes/best-homemade-electrolyte-drink-for-dehydration/

Oh, tip: google "St Mark's Solution NHS" and it will give you the electrolyte recipe. I used to make it all the time when I was a carer, so now it's just second nature.

Electrolytes aren't magic, by the way, and you can have too much. So don't have them unless you need them. If you've got the runs, or you're losing a lot of water in some other way, it's a good idea, but otherwise you can just drink normal water.

Don't drink crazy amounts of water! 2-3 litres is fine. You don't need to drink more than that. That can also make you sick. Literally anything can make you ill if you have too much.

If you’re drinking plenty of water, and eating a varied diet then unless you’re running long distances or doing significant exercise you really don’t need electrolytes and rehydration drinks.

Thank you!!

Thanks!

Agree. You’ve posted under WL injections/treatments so is this severe dehydrations due to this?
I think looking into why you’re taking something that’s causes (you think) you to need to replace lost electrolytes would be a good first step.

If you are drinking plenty of water and your main symptom is dry mouth at night, there are lots of other explanations for why you have a dry mouth (which our bodies automatically interpret as thirst)
Main one is whether you sleep with your mouth open as this will automatically leave you with a dry mouth.

You don't himalayan pink salt to make an electrolyte drink - normal salt is fine and himalayan pink salt is a finite resource.

Unless you have a medical condition which leaves you prone to clinical dehydration (not just thirstiness) I wouldn't advise using diarolyte or medical electrolyte recipes unless you experience acute fluid loss through diarrhoea or vomiting.

Simply speaking, when experiencing diarrhoea or vomiting, the balance between salts (electrolytes) and water in the blood is thrown out, and imbalance in either direction will contribute to further diarrhoea. Diarolyte is an isotonic drink which means its been formulated to ensure the balance of salts and water will remedy an imbalance of salts/water resulting from illness.

Things such as lucozade sport are also isotonic, but not true isotonic drinks (like a pp described in the first post), so they are appropriate for every day use while diarolyte is kept for illness.

You'd be better off avoiding caffeine, fizzy drinks (which can contribute towards low level dehydration) and drinking a sports drinking or adding a tiny pinch of salt to a glass of squash, or putting a little salt on your food (assuming you otherwise keep to a low-sodiun diet).

If you think you need medical grade isotonic formulas then you should consult with a doctor before proceeding, because unless you're unwell (from virus, bacteria or some medical conditions) or an athlete you really shouldn't need them and they're potentially harmful.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/sports-drinks.html

https://biologydictionary.net/isotonic-vs-hypotonic-vs-hypertonic-solution/

https://www.aimhightri.com/post/isotonic-hypotonic-and-hypertonic-sports-drinks-what-s-the-difference

Thank you!

I follow a lot of USA GLP1 YouTubers and they all use "electrolytes"! So I thought it was a normal thing to do when you use GLP1s! But in the UK I think things are a bit different and definitely I got myself confused with the different types of electrolytes (e.g. dioralyte, lucosade sport etc..)

I use Dioralyte for my IBS a few times a week, I crap so much it is just water and mucous coming out so feel the electrolytes make me feel better

@MJOkayy maybe it’s just not a thing on Mumsnet, I follow a few UK forums and lots of people on there also take daily electrolytes. I have more energy and less headaches since adding them to my routine. I take the High5 ones from Amazon.

Brawndo's got what plants crave. 😉

If you’re eating really low carbs then electrolytes will help with headaches. You lose a lot more water than normal with very low carb.

Thanks! I'll look into those!

That's interesting, thanks