Anyone have feedback?

(Julie Harrington) #1

Hi All!

I’m not new to keto but rather new to the forum. I’ve been a ketoer since the beginning of February of 2017, the day I realized that not only had I developed retinopathy as a result of insulin shots but neuropathy too. The short story is my eyes started bleeding 90 days after I administered my first dose of insulin, my feet followed along at around 12 months later. This was after I had done everything “right.” I followed doctor’s orders. Weighed, measured, and recorded the food I ate. Increased my exercise dramatically to about 14 miles per day, 5 days a week. It took me losing nerve function in my feet (in addition to my bleeding and swollen retinas) to finally realize I wasn’t the one at fault, but rather it was the crap advice I was following. 150 carbs a day and administer 200 units of insulin to counteract. “But don’t worry,” I was told. “I have patients who need 1,000 units of insulin to keep their blood sugar normalized.” I swear on my life that is an exact quote from the so called doctor I was entrusting with my health. I was on nine different medications at that point. Dutifully I followed orders as I dealt with the disease that I had only been diagnosed with for less than 2 years at that point. I was newly married and we just underwent a miscarriage, so I was going to face the disease head on, heal, have babies, not be a burden on my husband and start the third decade of life on the right foot. Or so I thought…as I laid on my couch that morning, bawling my eyes out, wondering how this could happen to me. All I could think to type into the search bar of my phone was, “is insulin bad?” That’s when I found Dr. Jason Fung. He is my savior. He prevented me from unwittingly inflicting more harm on myself and allowing my doctors to do the same. The last 18 months I’ve immersed myself into this way of life. I’ve self taught based on the available materials at the end of my fingertips. I’ve spent literally hundreds of hours researching any and all I can about this disease and the treatment options. I’ve made some mistakes (one piece of pizza will kick you out of ketosis, no matter how small it is, especially if you are as deranged as I am) I haven’t had “normal” pizza since by the way. I started my journey straight out of the gate with a, 21 day water fast and going off EVERY SINGLE medication! (Yes, I hear the collective GASP of those of you reading this) I was desperate at that point and had invested approximately 3 hours of research into this way of eating, but Dr. Fung really resonated with me. I just knew he was right because it was like he was narrating my journey from the past two years! Trust me, I’m not normally “a fly the seat of my pants person”, but I asked myself what I had to lose? So I went all in and never looked back. Truly, I didn’t intend to type all of this. The words just flowed from my fingers.
Ok, enough said, that’s my back story. Just quickly My A1C

(Julie Harrington) #2

Sorry my fingers are clumsy…My A1C was 9.8 when I started insulin. I do strict keto and tons of fasting. I’m definitely deranged as it’s taken 18 months to bring my A1C down to 5.9. Still very high, though my fasting insulin is 4.5. I know I have a ways yet to go, and I would like to continue fasting, yet I’ve noticed the last month fasting has become horribly difficult for me. It used to be I’d IF everyday with no problems. Eat once a day and be fine, or go 24 hours up to 3 days with few problems. I’ve fasted a total of 6 days in June, and something had changed. I’m horribly hungry ALL THE TIME. I wake up needing breakfast now. I eat lunch and dinner! I absolutely eat keto, it’s second nature to me. There is nothing but keto in the house, so it’s the default pattern. I wouldn’t say I crave carbs, just the thought of eating that junk grosses me out truly. I crave food and LOTS of it. Has anyone experienced this? Any thoughts or tips would be graciously welcomed. In all my hours of research I hadn’t really encountered this subject. It’s usually the exact opposite. That had been my story too up until four weeks ago. As I type this, my stomach is growling horribly, but I’m resolute in the fact that I want to IF today. I’ve only ever used pee sticks for measuring ketones; I’ve gotten good at picking up on the signs of ketosis, and I’m observing those obvious signs in my body now, so I’m pretty positive I’m in ketosis and I am consistently, but I’m puzzled about this ravishing hunger I am feeling lately. Thanks to those who stuck with the post to make it to the end!

(CJ Young) #3

I’ve found that when I started fasting a lot I got really hungry afterwards for a week or so. Recently I’ve been trying to just feed my body when it tells me I’m hungry. Honestly that’s a new one for me. I’m so used to not trusting myself around hunger that it’s kind of weird to “let myself” eat when i’m hungry. Eating to satiety after a fast hasn’t caused my weight to jump up or anything. I still end up with a net loss from the fast. I mean, listen to Dr. Fung and Megan Ramous of course about how often to fast. For me, I started doing IF with an 8 hour eating window which works for me and an EF only once a month. My hunger feels more in-control now and I’m not so ravenous after fasts. You might want to play a bit with timing of fasts to see if it makes a difference? But girl, get some butter and macadamia nuts in your house for Keto emergencies.

Also around my time of the month I get pretty hungry. Not for anything sweet like I used to but just really ravenous kind of like what you’re describing. Usually then I do put on a pound or two but after my period ends I usually end up at the same weight I was before. It seems like a couple pound fluctuation right there is pretty standard for me so I don’t worry about it.

Additionally, can I just say congratulations for taking control of your health. I had different circumstances but was also very sick and just jumped into Keto with both feet never looking back. It’s powerful to make such a dramatic change and turn away from doctors who you’ve trusted before. Be proud of everything you’ve accomplished so far and I hope you see your A1C get right where you want it.

(Consensus is Politics) #4

Salt. Salt. More salt.

It’s amazing how well it works. A short while after being in ketosis I began to have these odd hungry feelings. But it didn’t feel exactly the same as before. I chocked it up to being off carbs, and maybe this was my new hunger signal.

Shortly after that I heard the two Keto dudes talk about The Salt Fix on the podcast. I’m pretty sure that’s the one.

Turns out insulin causes our kidneys to retain salt. Being in a low insulin state with keto allows out kidneys to let salt dump out. So we need to replenish salt at about 300% the normal amount (thereabouts, I’m not sure of the correct amount, but for me that’s pretty close to what I need to do per day or I have cramps at night). I’ll sometimes take about a teaspoon of salt in warm water at bedtime.

I’ve followed the Dudes advice when getting those false hunger pains. “Put a little salt on your tongue and let us dissolve”. It worked great.

I had one day recently where I felt very hungry. I thought maybe something I ate recently was high in sugar when it shouldn’t have any. But my BG was still in the low 80’s. I was about to go ahead and have a second meal for the day, and then remembers the salt trick. It worked. Not 10 minutes later the feeling was gone. Give it a try. You might be surprised.

(Julie Harrington) #5

Hi CJ,
Thanks for your response. I’m glad you pointed out the hormonal aspect. I do get hungry about a week before my period, but this hunger stretched all month. My pattern was off and I didn’t like it. I did finally have a normal period at the end of June since I miscarried for the second time this April :frowning: My hormones were all over the place I’m sure, but they were all over the place while pregnant too, and I still could fast (Gasp). I didn’t do any EF I just sometimes didn’t eat breakfast or didn’t eat lunch during the day bc simply: I wasn’t hungry! :slight_smile: A lot of women involuntarily fast due to morning sickness, fortunately I didn’t suffer too much from that, I just ate when I was hungry and didn’t eat when I wasn’t. My A1C was about 6.7 then, so that was the contributing factor of losing the baby-not fasting. Anyway I digress, June was a hellish month concerning my appetite. I haven’t weighed myself, I don’t weigh myself…only at the doc. Which I had an appointment the 20th of this month, I’m 2 lbs down since March. Not a whole lot lost, but I lose weigh so incredibly slooooow. I’m super deranged you see. I tacked on nearly 60 lbs while on insulin and lost all of that in the first 8 weeks of keto I suspect. And I went back to the basal weight my body fights tooth and nail to keep me at which is around 230. It just proves what Dr. Fung says about losing fat quickly that you’ve had for a short period of time and it taking much longer to lose fat you’ve had hanging around for years. I’m down to 210. So considering, it’s taken me a year and a half to lose 20 lbs! You gotta love derangement…Again thank you for your response. It feels good talking about it. My husband, bless his heart, just kinda tunes me out bc he doesn’t share my passion in this AT ALL. Don’t get me wrong, he’s supportive and thrilled that I’m slowly pulling myself out of this hole. He’s mostly keto too, not that he has a choice really. I do the grocery shopping and all the cooking, so he eats what I make, and he’s good with it all. He just can’t stand my constant chatter about it to him and others. It’s nice to find a whole group of like-minded people who share my passion!

(Julie Harrington) #6

Thanks, Robert, for your advice! I will definitely try the salt on the tongue trick. I had blood work done back in March and I noticed my sodium levels were a bit low-ish. I was taking salt then, but not enough to compensate I guess. I had noticed a strange burning, itching, tingling feeling I got all over my body during my fasting periods that seemed to go away (often but not always) when I re-fed. At first I thought it was my peripheral neuropathy worsening, but nowhere did I read that diabetic neuropathy affected the scalp and stomach and top of the legs. Then I cut dairy out of my diet because I thought it was a histamine response to dairy and that didn’t seem to really affect it much. I then tried upping my salt even more and more, and I feel like I’m having less of those episodes. I can confidently say that I’ve had fewer of those episodes this month than in past recent months. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with eating more or not. I did get my sodium measured again just a week ago. I’m smack dab in the center of the range according to the blood test instead of dancing along the line of too low. If anyone has any experience with such sensations while fasting, please let me know! My body continues to puzzle me in some regards…

(Consensus is Politics) #7

Interesting to hear about the itching. Keto rash? I hadn’t experienced that myself. But maybe something similar. I get these pin prick feelings in random places on my arms, legs, hands and feet. Feels like insect bites, like an ant sting or a flea bite. Once right on the back of my hand, while it was turned toward me and I was able to look right at the spot as I felt it. Nothing visible. Also no marks left behind. Random places and times. Pretty much anytime of day or night, fed or fasted.

I haven’t altered my diet much. So not sure if it has anything to do with foods or not. Possibly a detoxification effect? I have noticed the occasional pimple looking spot show. Just one, here, one way over there. They don’t show up in groups. One on my chest, one on my leg, one between my cheeks. They don’t itch, but they do have a puss filled nucleus. Pop them and they bleed a little bit. They scab over and are completely healed in a week or two. Not certain how long as I have forgotten all about them by then.

(Julie Harrington) #8

Well the timeline doesn’t fit for keto rash. I’ve been nearly fully fat-adapted for close to 18 months, minus a pizza debacle in May of '17 and around Christmas of last year, and this began off and on around last August 2017. I get no appearance of a rash when the itching/burning begins. I feel it coming on like a deep chill in my body that happens all over then uncomfortable tingles which grow into itching and burning sensation. I told my endo about it and she brushed it off, but it’s really uncomfortable. Sometimes wearing pants is uncomfortable bc the material stimulates the sensation, or the sensation is exacerbated by the material. Not sure which way it works…I didn’t know if it was keto-related. I’ve never heard of anyone make mention of any such symptom in all the research I’ve read, and I can’t find any other disease that fits my complaint either. I had my B-vitamins checked, and they appear fine. I thought I’d throw it out there anyway and see if anyone had anything to add about it.

(Julie Harrington) #9

Actually insect bites do seem to fit the sensation of the burning feeling. They just happen all over. My chiropractor said something about detox, but I’ve been at this for a year and a half. Would it take that long?? And it also didn’t manifest until some time after I began keto and was well adapted by then…

(Michelle) #10

Welcome! I also find it comforting to be surrounded by like-minded individuals here. The vast amount of collective knowledge is awesome.

My body fights tooth and nail to remain at the same weight. 230ish. I’ve been on the keto journey for only two months but it has really made me feel more normal. I’m sorry for your miscarriages. That is so hard and you were so strong to keep keto throughout the process even while grieving. We have lost four of our seven babies. The last was the hardest as he was 21 weeks. I know that stress and out of control insulin levels just aren’t compatible with reproduction. Perhaps you can get to a healthy weight and blood sugar and your body will quit letting you down. It sounds like you are determined!

(Alec) #11

Bob, maybe you’ve answered my question in a different topic… evening munchies. This might be it. I have also been lax on getting my salts in recently. I am on a salt drive!!

(Raj Seth) #12

Julie.
First congratulations on bringing yourself back from the brink of the abyss

You have been on this journey for a while. You probably trust your body by now. Keep trusting it. You don’t know why your body wants more right now. Just give it all the fat it wants. You know your signals. Obey the bod!! You can’t outthink millions of years of evolution.
KCKO and don’t worry if KCFO takes a back seat. Feed the body all it wants. It is probably doing something fabulous and needs a ton of exogenous nutrition for it

:+1::+1:

(Julie Harrington) #13

Hi! Thanks so much for the encouragement! I really appreciate you taking your time to root me on. I am trying to trust my body more. I think it’s at a point that I am able to. Meaning a year and a half ago, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to trust it, but after a year and a half of ketofied healing; I’m hoping the cues I’m receiving are genuine and true.
On an interesting note, I had spoken of an itchy/ burning sensation previously. It was hugely uncomfortable and worrisome. It appears to be a thing of the past with my increased eating. The only thing I’ve changed is I’ve increased the amount of food and frequency of consumption. I still only eat three times a day, but that’s up two meals than what I previously had been eating. My body still puzzles me, but like the dudes say, “Keep Calm, and Keto on…” Again, thanks for the support!