u/teridop

i know this has been posted about a LOT, but i’m having a really hard time finding a good answer.

i’ve been drinking liquid iv for years, and i’ve become reliant on some sort of flavoring in my water. i usually put about 1/3 a packet in my 30 ounce water bottle so it isn’t insanely too strong that it makes me gag. i really struggle with dehydration mainly because i have functional heartburn (basically every time i eat or drink, the nerves in my esophagus send pain signals that cause chest pain and make me feel like i have heartburn even when i don’t) and drinking liquids has always been the worst trigger. i notice that for some reason when my water is flavored, the feeling isn’t nearly as bad, and i can drink a lot more fluids.
i’m really tired of liquid iv and i know it isn’t the best choice for electrolytes anyway. my pots has gotten a lot better since i was diagnosed about 10 years ago, so i don’t need an insane amount of electrolytes like a lot of others do. having just one packet of liquid iv per day pretty much does the job.
i’ve been looking into other options and thought i’d settled on LMNT before seeing the warning about them supporting RFK Jr and lying about ingredients and yadda yadda. saltt sounds like a great option but i can’t afford to spend that much money just to try something out and possibly not like it, and i’m living in a pretty underdeveloped area without access to specialty stores, so there’s no chance of finding it anywhere other than online.
i’ve also seen recommendations for nuun tablets, but the effervescence is a no for me, as it makes the functional heartburn worse as well. i plan to try waterboy, as i’ve seen it at walmart, but i’ve read that the flavoring isn’t super strong and i would probably need more flavor than that. people recommend to add mio or other name brand sports drinks/powders to strengthen the flavor, but in addition to pots, i have eds that really compromises my digestive system, and all of those options have a bunch of extra unnecessary shit in it that aren’t great for the digestive system.
i usually try to go for sugar free stuff because i unfortunately have a sugar addiction and get more sugar in a day than i should just from eating sweets (yes i know that is bad, i am trying to work on it).
am i screwed? is adding real fruit for flavoring pretty much my only option?
if anyone else is unlikely in the same position, what do you do??