3 months in - can't shake ongoing cold. Suggestions?

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#1

Hello All,

Looking for your advice and thoughts – thanks in advance for reading this long post:

I transitioned to keto in December 2017.

I’d tried going ketogenic for some years, but I wasn’t able to do it – going without starchy carbs for even a few hours made me bonk (run out of brain gas :slight_smile: ), even with a sedentary lifestyle.

Some known issues:
• Hashimotos, with Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) at appx. 800 IU/ml
• Chronic fatigue for almost a decade
• Anxiety / panic attacks.

I’m 48, male, single, total weight 187lb / 85kg, lean body weight 150lb / 69kg.

I’m not exercising regularly. That petered out 2 years ago as energy levels dropped. If I have a good day, I’ll do a walk.

It was a hernia that pushed me into ketosis. I had surgery that helped for 6 months, and then failed. I was in severe pain and the surgeon told me there was nothing he could do.

So I figured the one thing that would help would be to lose weight. And the one sure way to do that was fasting.

So I read a bunch of Dr. Fung’s stuff and watched some extended fasters on youtube and did a fast for 37 days:
• 2 weeks of salt + water
• then 2 weeks of bone broth with fat
• then the remainder with slowly increasing protein (meat).

I made it through a keto rash that resolved itself. Then towards the end of the fast, I started to feel fairly unwell. I think there was an electrolyte imbalance, but I wasn’t able to figure it out, so I came off the fast into a zero carb diet.

That didn’t work well, so after about a week I settled into a keto diet.

My current macros in cronometer: appx. 23% protein, 73% fat, 4% carb.

That’s give or take 110g protein, 20g net carbs, and 160g fat.

Total calories consumed daily is appx 2300kcal

These number vary a little from day to day, but I’m strict and not cheating. I’m preparing all my own food, not eating out / no keto frankenfoods.

Blood ketone measurements are low in the morning, then rise throughout the day to 0.5 – 1.0 by early evening.

It’s a fairly limited diet – steak / ground beef, beef fat / sheep fat, egg yolks, and a variety of leafy greens, avocado, and low carb veggies. Some cheese and a few blueberries. I had an orange but that seemed to trigger an anxiety attack.

I’m supplementing with vitamin D, C, K2 and I’m taking digestive enzymes – they seem to help me with fat digestion.

So the good news:
• After some refeed weight recovery, I lost 8kg and put my hernia into remission.
• My weight is stable – not losing, but not gaining.
• My anxiety is in remission – instead of 3 panic attacks a day, I have had 3 panic attacks in the last 3 months.
• I no longer need starchy carbs – I can get through the day with leafy greens and low carb veggies only.

The bad news:
• 10 days after ending the fast – at the end of Jan 2018 – I got a winter flu. And I have not yet recovered. I was sick for months – hacking and coughing up phlegm, chest congestion, poor sleep, and with low energy.
• Near the end of April, I thought it was behind me. I seemed to recover for a couple of weeks – I even had a day where everything was awesome – I got more done in 24h than in the previous 3 months. Then things settled into moderate energy levels.
• And then last week I got sick again – heavy exhaustion and brain fog. So bad it’s been hard to work.

So in the last month, I’ve had a two short periods where I felt absolutely amazing – for a day, and for half a day. Good energy, good mood, a feeling of wellness. I hope that is the keto at work, underneath this cold or whatever it is. But I can’t seem to shake the flu / cold.

I’m working with a functional medicine doc, and I’ve got some supplements try to for my hashimotos. But I can’t get out from under this cold long enough to be fit to try them.

So I’m wondering…
• Has anyone else has had a rough transition to keto like my experience?
• Is it just hard to transition at 48 years old?
• I don’t know if I’m sick, and my immune system is depressed, or whether this is just me having a hard time adjusting to keto?
• Could keto be affecting my immune system or ability to recover from the cold?
• Maybe I’m doing something wrong? Thoughts / suggestions / tweaks?
• Maybe keto isn’t for me or not easy for me – but I really want the benefits for energy levels and anti-anxiety. Thoughts?
• Maybe once I hit the thyroid supplements things will improve?

If you’ve read this far – thanks so much. I very much appreciate your responses. I really really want to make keto work.


#2

One thing is you may want to reduce your protein.
I would say you should be at 1g per kilo of lean body . I like Cronometer but I ignore their precentages. To me it is 20g carbs, calculated protein and then fat until I am done eating

Most people report that they get sick less but honestly I have read many posts from long time keto people where they had the flu or a cold,

I have been keto for over a year. Here is a thread about my experiences getting sick

Not to jinx myself but I have not had anything in over a month and feel good. I do drink apple cider vinegar mixed in soda water daily. I have had other weird symptoms such as possible gout, possible UTI and possible gallstones (which are not that weird since the mechanism may be the same or similar to each other although obviously not to colds). Most were in months 2 - 6. I mostly resolved them with supplements and ACV
I am female, over 50 with weight to lose and Hashimotos on Synthroid. Curious as to what supplements your natureopath recommends and how does he or she feel about supplemental iodine? I eat one Brazil nut a few times a week for the selenium. Currently considering taking iodine or possibly eating a lot of seaweed. Not a big fan of seafood

I have been low energy for many years. While my energy on keto is not perfect, it is much better than preketo


(Leslie) #3

Just a couple of thoughts.
The process of fat burning to generate ketones is the most efficient and effective way for supplying our bodies with energy. This makes our bodies stronger and more capable of healing and of fighting disease.
That being said, it makes no sense to eat any other way.
I do have to wonder about the health of your microbiome. Not really knowing that much about you, even though you were quite thorough in your post, I suspect that you may have a leaky gut.
Have you done any research on leaky gut syndrome?
Also, remember that being in ketosis and running on fat is done most optimally in the presence of a high fat diet. Many of the podcast hosts I listen too, and I, do not measure our fat. We eat little to no carbs, protein at every meal and then fat to satiety. Your macros are terrific but you might find you feel better with even more fat.
Remember to get plenty of minerals in your food. The keto flu as it’s called can be relieved with proper mineral intake.

I hope you find this helpful
Keep calm and keto on


(Bunny) #4

”…Inflammation from Hashimoto’s disease, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, often leads to an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism). Hashimoto’s disease is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. …” - Mayo Clinic

Using A Ketogenic Diet For Hypothyroid:

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/thyroid-when-to-cycle-in-out-of-ketosis/34238?u=atomicspacebunny


So so cold!
#5

Hi Saphire,

Thanks for responding.

What is your thinking behind reducing protein? I understand that Phinney and Volek recommend appx. 0.7g protein per pound of lean body weight. That’s about 1.5g per lean kilo. I’m interested in how you arrived at a lower number. Might be worth trying.

My functional medicine guy has recommended porcine glandular concentrate and an adrenal glandular supplement. Unfotunately the formulations come bundled with some other things (zinc, selenium, copper, some B vitamins) and I don’t handle them well. I’m still testing to see if I can tolerate them. Otherwise, he suggests I will need to look at synthroid. Have you found the synthroid to be helpful? Any side effects? Re: iodine, he feels it is useful in some cases, but it’s very individual.

I may have found a partial solution by accident – I had some peanuts last night, and that gave me a boost. I felt energy and brain cleared. This afternoon I tried some macadamia nuts and had a similar effect. So I may need to up my fat intake, and get more of the fats that my body likes – maybe I’ll try to find some kind of fat bomb formulation that works for me, or just eat a lot of nuts. I’ll play around with the whole nut thing in the coming days.


#6

Hi Leslie,

Thanks for responding.

Yes, leaky gut may be an issue. I’m investigating that. For now, I’m eating foods that I don’t appear to react to.

Upping the fat is an interesting thought. I will give that a go. I think I will also try to do fat bombs between meals and see if that has any effect.

I should mention that I am not dealing with keto flu. My issue is a bronchitis like chest cold that has really lingered.


#7

Hi Atomicspacebunny,

Thanks for the links and graphics. I wasn’t aware of Dr. Jockers. Some great info here.

Have you done the carb cycling on keto as he suggests? If yes, how has your experience been?


(Bunny) #8

Love it :heartbeat:!

It works!


(Leslie) #9

Just a caution; snacking between meals is not an effective way of maintaining ketosis.
Every time we consume food, our body responds in a very specific way. The more frequently we eat, the more of our food is stored, even when the majority of our diet is fat.
The most effective way to get into and stay in ketosis is to restrict eating to a window, otherwise known as intermittent fasting.
This can be done in intervals of hours or days. I personally like to eat all of my food for the day in a four hour window. Others eat in a six hour window. Some who have become really well fat adapted fast for three days to three weeks at a time

Do some research.
Listen to the Obesity Code podcast

Be positive
Keep calm and keto on


#10

To be honest I have been hearing that number so long that I do not remember who originated it. There seems to be a lot of controversey about the protein macro with huge discrepencies from I believe Ron Rosdale (I think) on the low end to what you are quoting for Phinney and Volek.

Here is an article that goes through the various postulates


#11

Not sure what you mean by this. I do not tolerate most selenium well and zinc to reduce a cold seems to extend it and make it more annoying on me. I do eat Brazil nuts, one per day, for Selenium. I do not believe peanuts are ideal carb wise. There is a big difference among nuts. DietDoctor has a nice graphic that explains the carb counts. I did find a brand of selenium that does not seem to make me feel sick. B vitamins in pill form also make me feel sick but I am ok with drops or chewables. I do not take them every day because of the carbs.

I found this older post on another thread that talks about protein


#12

Thanks, Saphire.


(Todd Allen) #13

My wife and several other teachers at her school have had a challenging lingering cold this winter followed by a long spell of bronchitis. I eventually got it too and am still getting over it. It was not awful but annoying especially the slowness which with it clears. Just talked to a couple friends that I haven’t heard from in the past couple of months and they have had it too.


#14

Thanks, brownfat. Appreciated.
I’ll keep on practicing patience…


(James H Shaffer) #15

had the opposite experience, everyone in my family and all my coworkers have been sick multiple times this winter, have had no flu, virus, what have you all winter.


#16

Hi Saphire,
I would be curious about how you are doing now concerning the colds and flus, l do hope you‘re better:-)

I am in my 7th week of the keto diet. Right before starting l had a quite terrible flu and bronchitis that lasted for more then 4 weeks, and right now again l am in my third week of sinusitis and coughing, and it really lasts in a very challenging way…

I was wondering about two possible things: does the transition to keto weaken the immune system? Or is it a cleansing because of the new healthy way of eating, and the body gets rid of stuff he couldn‘t evacuate
before?

Anyhow l am taking the usual supplements and probiotics because there is a study from the Charité clinic in Berlin that compared the microbiome of MS patients before and after 6 months of keto. In the beginning their already poor bacteria diversity got even worse, and that for quite a time. But after 6 months of keto eating (without taking probiotics) the microbiome had adapted and was in a better shape then before:-)
That lead me to the conclusion that it might be helpful to take a probiotic when starting keto. It didn‘t protect me though from the cold…

Take care:-)


#17

@atomicspacebunny

How often do you cycle in and out of Ketosis? I’m trying to figure out the best way to carb cycle because I have low thyroid caused by Hashimoto’s.


(Bunny) #18

Here is some interesting reads I posted on other threads about this:

  1. https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/keto-vs-emotional-eating-accountability/75690/21?u=atomicspacebunny
  1. https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/keto-vs-emotional-eating-accountability/75690/23?u=atomicspacebunny
  1. https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/keto-vs-emotional-eating-accountability/75690/2?u=atomicspacebunny
  1. Exciting Study on Maintaining Metabolic Rate with Intermittent Kcal Restriction in 2 Week Blocks