How it went
Did it last?
- 2 of 18 said the benefit wore off (including the 1 who relapsed).
- 4 of 18 needed to keep doing it to stay well.
Read from what people wrote. A story that ends without a follow-up counts as lasting, so treat these as minimums.
| Outcome described | Accounts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full recovery | 3 | 17% |
| Near-full | 4 | 22% |
| Substantial | 2 | 11% |
| Partial | 8 | 44% |
| Relapsed | 1 | 6% |
| No benefit | 0 | 0% |
By how ill people were
| Severity at worst | How it went | n | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mild | 1 | 100% | |
| Moderate | 3 | 67% | |
| Severe | 9 | 33% | |
| Very severe | 5 | 20% |
0 accounts don’t say how ill the person was.
Who published these accounts
Right-hand number: share describing a full or near-full recovery. Pages that sell something, and advocacy sites, tend to publish only the successes.
How often it comes up
Posts that mention Salt, fluids and compression, per 1,000 posts each year. Hover a point for the count.
Show as a table
| Year | Posts mentioning it | All posts | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 184 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | 4 | 682 | 5.9 |
| 2011 | 3 | 704 | 4.3 |
| 2012 | 7 | 1,491 | 4.7 |
| 2013 | 3 | 1,708 | 1.8 |
| 2014 | 6 | 2,352 | 2.6 |
| 2015 | 16 | 2,158 | 7.4 |
| 2016 | 8 | 1,431 | 5.6 |
| 2017 | 13 | 3,110 | 4.2 |
| 2018 | 14 | 2,201 | 6.4 |
| 2019 | 3 | 1,075 | 2.8 |
| 2020 | 11 | 2,581 | 4.3 |
| 2021 | 6 | 1,867 | 3.2 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1,166 | 3.4 |
| 2023 | 3 | 1,000 | 3.0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 1,237 | 2.4 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1,019 | 4.9 |
| 2026 (so far) | 11 | 840 | 13.1 |
Posts in the forum threads we archived, 26,806 in all, counted per year. A mention means the post names the treatment, not that the writer took it. These threads all contain a recovery story, so they show what those communities discussed, not everyone with ME/CFS or long COVID. All trends
All 18 accounts
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Radical Rest and Beyond
The author of Encephalogirl (who signs as Michelle) treats her ME/CFS-related dysautonomia and POTS with guanfacine and low-dose Abilify (titrated from 0.5mg down to 0.25mg after migraines, then back up to 0.5mg), an increased dose of low-dose naltrexone, a…
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The Strange Syndrome: MCAS, ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia and Long COVID (comment)
Xolair (omalizumab), given as a bi-weekly injection by her GI doctor for mast cell activation syndrome. The patient, described by her father in a comment, had intense MCAS for five years alongside ME/CFS, POTS and gastroparesis, and was very severely ill:…
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Lucie's Surprisingly Simple Road to Recovery
Lucie had ME/CFS for over a decade, ill enough to cut back to part-time work and give up cycling. Under Dr Rowe's care she combined naproxen taken with salt water, compression stockings and pacing. She reports full recovery with no restrictions, while noting…
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Lucie's Surprisingly Simple Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Recovery Story
Lucie became ill with relatively mild but disabling ME/CFS around 2011, unable to exercise and with her work and social life sharply curtailed. Following pacing advice and an orthostatic-intolerance protocol of high salt and 2.5 litres of water daily, she…
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Bring It On!
Helen manages her long COVID with about 8 unnamed tablets each morning plus more through the day, along with increased fluid and salt intake, supine exercises, and heart rate monitoring for POTS — no specific drug names or doses are given. She had a mild…
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REMISSION! (suspected enterovirus, Dr. Chia treating)
Under Dr. Chia's care for suspected enterovirus, .jm. built up to running 40 miles/week by an April 2021 update (up from an initial "REMISSION!" post 18 months earlier), with insomnia and Raynaud's resolved, while tapering oxymatrine down to a maintenance…
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Oral Rehydration Solution More Effective than Saline IV at Improving Orthostatic Intolerance (comment)
Homemade oral rehydration solution, mixed as half a teaspoon of pink salt and a teaspoon of turbinado sugar per liter of water, drunk at about four liters a day alongside a potassium-chloride supplement taken under a doctor's supervision. Sandra Smith…
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The Suffering of One - Relieved: Kyle McNease's ME/CFS Recovery Story Detailed
Kyle McNease, an Oxford student, became severely ill for three and a half years after arsenic poisoning from renovating an old barn, compounded by genetic detoxification impairments; at his worst he was emaciated, unable to communicate and near death. He…
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Sirin Gnadeberg Shares How She Cured Her ME/CFS and POTS
Sirin Gnadeberg added salt to her drinking water starting in April 2016, which significantly improved her POTS symptoms, then took 16 weeks of antibiotics after a Lyme specialist found elevated antibodies to Bartonella, Chlamydia and Mycoplasma (despite…
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Step by step I took my life back. My life's big turnaround, I call it
She attended a four-day intensive program at what was then called Frihamnsenteret, now the Clinic for Stress Medicine, near Bergen, covering stress-system education, group and individual therapy, mindfulness and physical activity, and continued mindfulness…
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Dr Park's 90% Recovery Protocol (LD-IVIG / IV Saline / ART / Nutrition) - What can we learn?
Strict Aggressive Rest Therapy -- total silence, no TV or music, complete physical and mental rest -- from a completely bedbound baseline produced full remission lasting 2-3 years: "it was completely gone... I was able to do everything I previously was…
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Whats FINALLY worked for me.
After eight years severe enough that she could stand only minutes and needed help toileting, and with co-diagnoses of babesiosis, candidiasis, leaky gut and POTS, this poster spent about a year on IV/oral artemisinin and curcumin, 4.5mg LDN and 450mg/day…
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Mayo Protocol plus Venofer Iron Infusion Helps Teenager Recover
A teenager named Jack developed ME/CFS and POTS with an acute flu-like onset and was mostly homebound for about 20 months, as told by his father. Mayo Clinic's POTS rehabilitation protocol, Venofer iron infusions for low ferritin, midodrine, salt and water…
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? for those who feel "totally healthy" out of the blue
Made dietary changes, eliminated food intolerances, and used amino acid supplements, CoQ10 and salt loading (possibly along with Emergen-C or guarana). Experienced repeated episodes of feeling "completely healthy" lasting from hours up to 3 weeks, including…
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Compression pants alleviating POTS
Compression stockings, waist-high at 20-30mmHg, gave this bedbound ME/CFS patient remarkable stability, letting her stay propped upright for about 2 hours. Illness duration before starting is not stated. That initial benefit was followed by adrenaline surges…
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Compression pants alleviating POTS
Compression stockings, specifically Class 2 medical compression tights at 20-30mmHg, were worn for about 10 years by this severely ill, eventually bedbound ME/CFS patient, who calls them "the best." Illness duration before starting is not stated. The tights…
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ME/CFS - Whitney Dafoe
Percutaneous jejunostomy (J-)tube feeding, inserted in 2013 after his stomach became completely paralyzed, used daily since alongside a separate PICC line for saline hydration. Whitney Dafoe had been severely ill with ME/CFS since 2004, and by 2013 was…
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Fasting - full water only variety - has anyone here tried it?
Hufsamor did a 10-day water-only fast (with a teaspoon of Himalayan salt per liter) under a doctor's supervision as part of a small group of four ME/CFS patients the doctor was treating with repeated fasts. They were "very, very sick throughout the fasting"…