Blood sugar rising on day 4 of water fast? Insight needed

#1

Hey there!
This is my first post here, and I am very excited to have found this site. I have been doing keto diet on and off along side water fasts of 4-11 days for alittle every now and then for over a year. I lost a total of about 25 lbs and kept off about 15-20 lbs consistently.

I normally get into pretty good ketotonic state around day 3. I also always check my blood sugar while I’m fasting.
I am currently on day 5 of a 14-15 day water fast and for the past two days my blood sugar rose from low 60s on day 3 to mid 70s and low 80s these past two days… also it seems the ketosis might have slowed down a bit. I don’t “feel” it as much.

I am wondering what could cause this? any and all help is appreciated. I am worried because my blood sugar has always slowly decreased not increased while fasting.

Now idk if this is important information.
This water fast has been the hardest on my sleep. I haven’t really gotten more than 3-4 hours at once since starting.

on day three I got in a huge raging argument with a friend for over an hour which left me with a racing heart. To the point of getting a headache. ( it is still kinda going on )

That night on top of that my 4 year old jumped on top of me really hard and bruised or cracked my rib. Which now hurts when I move and breathe.
Oh an I definitely don’t know if this is relevant but I also had sex 1 time and had some “alone time” 1 time on day 3-4

On day 4 I drank some pink salt and cream of tarter ( it was that night that I noticed my blood sugar went up to 80)

Any idea what would cause my blood sugar to go from 60s to a pretty steady 79-80 for past two days?

There are Diabetics in my family ,that said my normal fasting blood sugar is 79-89

Could it be cortisol levels?? I’m really maybe more worried than I should be.

Thank y’all from the bottom of my heart!

I’m just looking for some insight… I still feel good enough to keep going so I don’t want to stop… this just has me nervous.

Wishing y’all the best!
Craigman

(matt ) #2

Yeah I am going with Cortisol from the stress and the pain and the bad sleep and worry about the readings. Can you do something relaxing and see if you can get it back down?

All in all 80 is a GREAT number and I would not worry at all. Just keep doing what you are doing and try to reduce stress.

I got super stressed (also an argument) and had a glucose dump. I was shaking and my BG was 224. I have never seen a number like that before or after. Stress is no joke!

#3

Hey Matt!

Thanks or getting back to me… I just got home… I’ve been painting all day.

Checked my blood sugar and it’s still 77.

It was kinda physical… my rib hurts like hell… can cortisol keep blood sugar up like that?

I haven’t really been able to find any other examples from other fasters…

Thank you for your reply!

#4

Just checked it again an it was 89…
I’m thinking I might should break my fast and try again after I’m not in pain? Maybe less inflammation?

(Trish) #5

Cortisol can definitely make your sugars rise. Dr Fung talks about cortisol as one of the counter regulatory hormones that cause dawn phenomenon. I know that’s a different situation than yours but relevant I think in that cortisol is cortisol.

(matt ) #6

Eat and see. But again I would love 89.

My guess is it’s the rib. Did you get an X-ray?

#7

Thanks guys! its really great to have people to bounce ideas off of.

I’m having a hard time deciding what to do…because the reason i started fasting about a year and half ago…i did it because my morning blood sugars were creeping up…though i wasnt super overweight…im 30 5’8…
170 at the time…having blood sugars in the 90-low 100s some mornings…after my fast my blood sugar was regularly in the 75-89 range… (lost 20 lbs)
then i started fasting to clean myself out now and again because of bowel issues…

im just finding it odd and (stressful) that this is the first time…my numbers were going down and then for two days now my blood sugar has been hovering around 80 but has gone up to 91…

im worried i guess because i read about long cortisol leading to insulin resistance…and i fast to help with insulin resistance …

i guess ill wait it out and check first thing in the AM.

i doubt most people would fast with a broken rib…but its so hard to quit when the first 3-4 are the roughest for me…and its like getting half way there then turning back.

Thank you again Matt and Shallimar

(Trish) #8

I understand what you mean about not wanting to stop especially at a point when you’re over a hurdle but be sure to listen to your body. That’s really one of the key things I’ve learned in the time I’ve been doing keto. I know now the difference between hunger and bordom and lots of different cues the body gives such as need for salt or a dehydration headache. Also, full disclosure, I don’t have diabetes though i suspect I have IR especially since having been 70 or 80 pounds overweight etc. But I now monitor my BG and do a ton of reading on a vast aray of health stuff in an effort to be more educated and knowledge whereas, if I’m not mistaken, @matt does indeed have diabetes so is definitely far more knowledgeable than me. Dr Fung’s IDM site has a lot of info on it too if you’re interested in checking it out especially since the majority if his patients seem to be diabetic.

#9

Thanks for the great info. I am going to check out Dr. Fungs site.

i guess my question (and i realize this might be hard to answer) is this…

should i be worried about my body in a nutrient depleted state?.. Is more vulnerable to being damaged by the high cortisol levels? I dont want to CAUSE high blood sugar…

realistically if i needed to start my fast over in a couple weeks i could …and would…

is 90 when haven’t eaten for 5 days now something i should be alarmed of…or should i ride it out? im worried about a inflammation cycle starting… the rib hurts to move and cough…i cracked a rib before doing outdoor stuff and it feels pretty much the same…i just haven’t ever been hurt WHILE fasting…

thank you for your replies…it is easing my mind some

(Trish) #10

Well matt says 90 is good. If you feel really well then you could continue but if you feel off then you should eat. You can always have one meal and then jump back in. Lots of people do shorter back to back to back fasts with one meal or one eating day in between. As for your ribs it might be worthwhile to see a doc . I know they don’t do anything treatment wise for cracks but you’d hate to have a significant fracture and risk a punctured lung if you move the wrong way. You’re really the only one who knows how bad it is so I guess I’ll just reiterate to listen to your body. Sorry. I know that’s not really much help.

#11

Man just having someone to chat about this with has helped 1000X…i think i might have a cup of soup and see if i sleep better. It has to be the sleep and pain…

Thank You Shallimar (and Matt) for being quick with the responses! with someone already kinda in a “fight or flight” mode …it was sincerely appreciated… :grin:

Do you know if a blood sugar in the 80-90s effect ketosis? i feel like i didnt loose as much today or yesterday…but that could be all in my head…

(Trish) #12

I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive but not sure the effect. I know people with high BG can be in ketosis. It’s not a one or the other sort of thing. My understanding is that high insulin not high BG is what prevents the body from accessing the fat stores to use as energy. That’s why fasting is so useful as it keeps insulin that much lower.
If you have your soup and you find you feel better and sleep better then I guess you may have your answer. If so then maybe nourish your body while you heal. Keep us all posted on how things go. I’m sure matt will have something more to add also when he’s back on later. Like I said, he knows a lot more about all this stuff. :smile:

#13

Thank you!! and Yea i think you and Matt are right…ill have the rib checked out just in case.

This forum is really great! I really want to stick to the keto diet full time this time…it feels like whenever I want to get healthier…All the junk restaurants around me start offering great deals on not great for you food…

I am definitely taking what y’all said to heart!

(Trish) #14

It is indeed a great forum. Lots of really helpful and sincere people. :slight_smile: as for the restaurants, don’t even look at the flyers. Not worth it. And hey, if I can work in a donut shop and not eat any of the stuff I’m selling people all day you can avoid the fast food restaurants since you’re not actually already in them. :slight_smile:

#15

Mmmmm. donuts! talk about conquering temptation!

(Rob) #16

You are a stronger person than I. For me that would be like Superman (I wish) working in a Kryptonite factory!! :scream:

#17

Ok so I thought I’d an update of sort. I ended up breaking my fast… I had a bowl of chicken soup ( can of broth, half and onion, a jalepeno, a carrot, ginger, and 2 cloves of garlic- with half of a ripe avocado diced ontop before eating) and alittle bit of chicken breast.

I slept the best I have about 6 hours +/-…

And my blood sugar was 84 this morning, which is lower than my reading before bed.

PLUS I had a morning BM… which is nice haha cuz my system had been sluggish before this past fast.

Is it safe to say it was cortisol?

I think I am going to keep the momentum with IF until I get my rib and chest muscles healed then I will fast again.

Thank you for your support!

#18

On a not so good note… wife just told me the verynedges of the whites of my eyes are alil yellow… I haven’t noticed because I’m kinda squinty… sure enough they do have a slightly yellow tint…

Don’t think it was like that before… could this be from detoxing liver or should I see a doctor ASAP?

Feel fine… my bm this morning was pretty oily…skin looks fine…

I have increased my water and I will be eating in a couple of hours…

On a level of 1-10 (panic) … how worried should I be? And also could that have been related at all to the odd blood sugar?

#19

Yellow eyes are potentially a sign of liver damage. So are light colored stools. I would check it out.

#20

You might try

  1. Drinking Cayenne Tea. I make a pot of green tea in the morning and pour it into a cup with around 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of Cayenne. Look up Cayenne health benefits and you’ll find that it’s great for inflamation. In the afternoon I just add to Warm Water and Drink Cayenne Tea. Be careful not to use too much at the beginning because it’s spicy.

  2. Your symptoms possibly could have been caused by Potassium or Sodium or Magnesium Deficiency.

Hey Fatty LOL Start Drinking Snake Juice. look up Snake Juice Diet on you tube.
Most important is to supplement with Potassium and Sodium and though it’s not a part of the Snake Juice Magnesium.
I bought a LB of Magnesium Chloride and Potassium Chloride on Amazon very reasonably. About a year supply costs $15.00 for Magnesium and $10.00 for the Potassium. I chose the Chloride form because that’s how it’s found in the Ocean. And research showed very absorbable in Chloride Form.

Also bought a LB of Organic Cayenne Pepper too.
In short term No Salt has Potassium in it and you can buy Cayenne at any grocery store.Don’t forget to supplement with Salt too.

I was reading that the recommended daily allowance for Potassium is 4gm and that even without fasting most Americans are deficient in Potassium.

  1. I wouldn’t worry about the Blood Sugar for now. You may be using up the excess sugar that your muscles and liver have stored. Blood sugar levels that you’ve been reporting are quite safe. My understanding it that around the 160 level is when the body begins to attack itself.

Good Luck