Am I having stroke symptoms or keto flu?

#1

So I have been below fifty carbs for about 48 hours. I was sitting and writing when my hand felt weak. I took a break and noticed that it feels really weak and it was harder to do things than normal. like the way it would feel if I had worked out for three hours straight. If I had just been lifting weights then this would have been completely normal for me. However, I have done no exercise at all. Then the other hand started to feel similar.

I called the paramedics. All vitals normal, including blood sugar. Blood pressure perfect.

Anyone else experience this kind of muscle issue during the phase of transitioning into ketosis from a high carb diet?

(MooBoom) #2

Yes I was weak as a kitten for a few days and was quite worried. All that has passed now and am brimming with vitality.

Having said that, you absolutely did the right thing in calling the paramedics. It is always better to be safe than sorry, always.

Glad you’re ok :+1:

#3

Thank you! That makes me feel a lot better.

(MooBoom) #4

Good I’m glad. Nevertheless, if anything else goes bung, get thee to a doctor. And please check in to let us know you’re doing ok as the days progress.

#5

Will do. Going to try to get in tomorrow. I will keep you all posted.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

Try to stay hydrated and keep your salt intake up. Dr. Phinney says that can help mitigate the worst of the keto flu and recommends broth as a good way of achieving it.

#7

Thank you. I drank a bunch of chicken stock that I had simmered collard greens in (and ate the greens). Hopefully that helps!

(Linda Culbreth) #8

More salt + more water + more salt + more water + more fat + more salt + more water + more :bacon:! Yes, you did right by getting checked out. Keep us posted and don’t be surprised if your doc is clueless about LCHF and KETO!

(KCKO, KCFO) #9

Dehydration can cause that to occur. No it wasn’t a stroke, everything checked out normal for you :slight_smile:

You are releasing salt going keto, you have to supplement it like crazy to stay hydrated. Phinney recommends 4 to 5 Grams of sodium and drink as much water as you can.

#10

So, Monday night I felt slightly better and went to bed. Tuesday the weakness was still there but less so and not noticeable or maybe even gone by the evening. Wednesday (today) it was completely gone! Then I went for a bike ride and right after the ride it was back. So it seems like my body, specifically my hands, is overreacting to exercise (Monday night I had just written three pages of writing by hand, today holding the handlebars on my bike). I suspect Potassium deficiency due to the dumping early in the diet so I ate a potato (only 15 carbs, it was small) and drank a big bowl of chicken stock with collard greens, onions and garlic. Potassium deficiency has exactly this kind of effect: fatigue/weakness.

I will update tomorrow. If I’m not over this tomorrow I will go to the doctor.

My only concern is that it may be a harmless, temporary keto side effect that will go away but my doctor may tell me to get off keto and then I will be conflicted between medical advice and personal experience (a year of keto, before my recent long break, went FANTASTIC for me, so I don’t want to quit!).

Water fast with me plz
#11

Avocados have a lot of potassium, might be a better choice. If you are in the US, Wholly Gucamole makes these small 100 calorie tubs that are relatively low carbs and you can eat them straight or dip vegetables into them

(MooBoom) #12

So don’t :wink:

You can fix a potassium deficiency!
Eat yoghurt, salmon, broccoli, chicken, tuna- add Celtic sea salt to your diet. I did all this and haven’t had shakiness or weakness since.

If your doc says quit, get a second opinion from a doc who believes in keto.

#13

Drink ketoade until you feel like you’re gonna float away. You are experiencing a bad case of keto flu. Not sure if you drink coffee but I feel better without caffeine. Good luck.

#14

Thanks. Good advice. I need to learn how to concoct one of these keto potions that I keep hearing about so I can drink my Potassium.

#15

Thanks. I am looking into recipes for this concoction. I can’t do caffeine at all. Five years of daily doses and then after quitting for a year I just do not like the way it makes me feel.

#16

Thank you. I will look into that.

#17
#18

Okay update:

Didn’t go to the doctor but I needed to work with my hands a lot over the weekend so I ate lots and lots of carbs, both as a way to make the flu stop and to test and see if it really was keto flu.

The symptoms subsided in about 12 hours and by 24 hours were completely gone. They stayed gone until today, and today I am back in ketosis. So it seems highly probable that it was simply keto flu and nothing to worry about. I am taking lots of potassium to combat this.

(MooBoom) #19

Glad to hear it :+1:

#20

Me too. Very much so. I’m one of a couple of resident “strokees” here. I’m not posting a lot yet, but I stop by and read when I can. I’m using keto and fasting both for weight loss but also (hopefully) for better recovery and removal of plaques and stroke-related debris. Strokes are major bad news. Anytime anyone mentions stroke, it gets my attention. So I’m very glad you’re feeling better!