Had to stop Keto and am EXTREMELY frustrated!

(Dan) #1

So this post may be a little long.

I started Keto about 5 months ago. I had two reasons that it seemed to fit for me. The first is that I have a history of diabetes in my family and it is known that I am insulin resistant. The second was at that time, my new doctor decided to put me on blood pressure medication. The Keto diet had many claims to help reverse insulin resistance as well as lower blood pressure so it seemed like a perfect match. The weight loss was also appealing as at the time I was about 35 pounds over weight. So anyway, I set a start date, purchased a blood monitor that takes both glucose and ketone strips and was ready for the challenge. I got blood work done to get a baseline for my blood sugar, and my A1C level before I started was at 5.3 mmol.

The first 3 weeks, I would check my blood sugar and ketone levels everyday after work, as well as take my blood pressure and weigh myself, then log it in a journal. I started registering blood ketones by day 6 and ended up not really suffering from the “keto flu”. I was over 1.5 mmol by day 8 and would stay between 1.5-3.5 in the 3 months. my blood glucose never seemed to be over about 5.7, but I started to know by feel, when my glucose would dip below 3.5 and this situation typically happened first thing in the morning when it would happen. I would test, and confirm that it was indeed low. I was able to manage these situations relatively well. The diet seemed to fit with me and I was getting results. losing weight and my blood pressure seemed to go down (could also be based on the medication I was now taking) and was able to stay in ketosis for the 3 months. I was excited because I was never able to stick with a diet this long and ended up losing close to 30 pounds. People noticed and I felt great. Some of my family was concerned about the diet as they just didn’t understand it and thought I was starving myself, but I never really felt hungry and I felt I was doing everything safe, by monitoring my blood on a daily basis. Other benefits I noticed was I wasn’t as gassy as I normally was which, if you have gas problems, was a huge plus.

So month 4 I told my family I would take a break from the diet for a month and see how I feel. I was still hesitant to go back to breads, and carbs really haha, but by the 3rd week of that month I would have the odd sandwich, maybe a piece of pizza, but didn’t go crazy on the carbs. By the end of that month I had gained 3-4 pounds back and decided I wanted to get back on the Keto diet at the end of the month. I randomly tested my blood glucose that month and it would be in the 4-5.8 range, higher than the readings I would get while I was on Keto which would range from 2.9-5.2, which was expected. So I prepared the same way I did the first time I started Keto and off I went.

Month 5 I started again. To my excitement, my ketone level got to over 2 mmol by day 4. Ketosis again! felt the same I did the first 3 months…till the 3rd week. I was getting heart palpitations, something I had never felt before. I did some research and found that could be due to an electrolyte imbalance. So I upped my sodium. it didn’t seem to help and based on the controversial potassium supplement research I found, I would seek potassium through foods I could have. Then one night, I literally could not go to sleep. I was tired, but as soon as I would start to drift off to sleep…ZAP! It would feel like I was getting shocked by electrical paddles on my chest and my eyes would shoot open. This happened the entire night. not one minute of sleep. I was frustrated. I went to a local health food store and explained my situation, again, seems like an electrolyte imbalance. So I got recommended to try supplementing magnesium. I started supplementing, and was able to sleep again for about a week then the same thing happened again. what the heck do I do now? I must be missing sodium so I added a little more to my diet. seemed to be able to sleep again. What happened next scared me to the point where I forced myself out of keto.

I went to work. I had not eaten supper the night before which wasn’t uncommon as on both stints doing Keto, I could skip meals and fast, not feeling bad at all. I had a small breakfast a sausage patty and an egg. My boss was in town and wanted to meet me for lunch 6 blocks down the road. I should add that I have not really been working out a lot, but my job has me going up and down flights of stairs multiple times a day but that was more or less it. So I walked the 6 blocks to the lunch location, went inside and got a glass of water and waited for my boss. When he arrived we chatted, and I decided I was going to get the burger on the menu with no bun and a garden salad. When the waitress came to take our order… BAM. it felt like my heart stopped for a second, I couldn’t speak, I was disoriented and felt like I was going to pass out. My heart started racing and I started sweating. “I think I’m having an extreme sugar low” I thought. My boss noticed and said he thought I was having one as well as he is a marathon runner and said he had experienced the same thing before. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack or something and said “F THIS” ripped open a sugar packet and put it in my water and had to use two hands to drink it down because I was shaking so bad. The symptoms weren’t going away and I was getting scared. What I did next I KNOW was wrong but I was in a huge panic. I got a coke. that didn’t help. I got another one. that didn’t help. I had not had any pop for probably 6 months. I ended up trying to eat the burger with the bun as well. it was really hard to put down my mouth was dry and i was still feeling horrible and sweaty. completely embarrassing, I had to get out of there. I still felt terrible and grabbed some sugar packets for the walk back to work. moving seemed to help a little bit. I took in the sugar during the walk and got back to site. I was still feeling really bad and was actually debating calling an ambulance. More sugar I (stupidly) thought. I went across the street and bought a large bag of skittles. I started popping those and decided to call my doctor to see if he would take an emergency appointment. he said he would so I (STUPIDLY) drove to his office, while eating more skittles. I got in right away. My heart was going crazy, my pulse was high and blood pressure was high. They tested my glucose level and got me to do a urine sample. my glucose level was at 18. They tested my urine and my ketone levels were low but i was also peeing sugar. I got an ECG to test my heart and that tested fine but I wasn’t feeling good. My doctor said it was stupid of me to do what I did (which i know it was) because I didn’t know I was actually having a sugar low because I did not test at the point of the attack. He also said based on my blood sugar level shooting to 18 I am now DIABETIC! He stated non diabetic blood sugar levels will never go above 11 at any time no matter what. He knew I was doing the Keto diet and decided to do blood tests for everything diabetic and electrolytes etc. My heart was still pounding and he said it was probably due to the huge rush of caffeine and sugar that i haven’t had in my diet for roughly 6 months and will have to wait for it to wear off. about 2 hours after all of this I went to test my glucose. It was already down to 5.8. This diagnosis of diabetes didn’t make sense to me. I had to wait until after the weekend to go back to him to discuss the results. I ate normal foods over the weekend and would test my glucose level 2 hours after almost every meal. I didn’t get any reading over 5.8. I would test when I woke up in the morning. 4.6. This is diabetic?

I met my doctor on the Monday after the weekend. Explained the tests I did. we reviewed my blood results. all looked in the normal range and my A1C was 5.0. He said he couldn’t look too far into the A1C test because he knew I was doing the Keto diet and it will screw that number up. So every pre screen test for diabetes are normal. but because I got to 18 he said I’m still diabetic. How does that make sense? If I didn’t go to him the day I had the episode, all my tests would show that I am not diabetic. I am currently seeking a second opinion because I contacted the Diabetes Association of Canada and they explained based on what I was saying they agree I shouldn’t be diagnosed diabetic.

I’m very hesitant to try to go back on the Keto diet based on the episode I had that day. It was the scariest day of my life. I don’t know what happened my second time on Keto and it is confusing and frustrating as the first time I really enjoyed it. If you’ve read this far thanks for listening to my story and I appreciate any feedback you may have.

Thanks!

(Edith) #2

When you have been following a ketogenic diet for a while, your body gets used to having very little sugar and it gets used to not having to secrete a lot of insulin.

The day that you pigged out on sugar, your insulin could not respond fast enough because your body was no longer needing it in such large quantities. It takes a few days for the body to ramp up its insulin production after eating low carb for a while.

It’s been a while since I read this, but I’m pretty sure if someone needs to have a glucose tolerance test, for example, it is suggested they up the carbs for a few days beforehand to rev up the insulin production to prepare for the influx of glucose.

So, I believe your numbers would be what one would expect for someone who ate a ton of sugar suddenly on a ketogenic diet. It think the fact that your blood glucose numbers were fine after the weekend proves that.

How much sodium have you added to your diet? People on a ketogenic diet need about 5 grams per day. That’s a little over two teaspoons of salt per day. Low sodium can cause the heart to race because blood volume drops to compensate for the lack of sodium.

Finally, are you maximizing your nutrition? Fat does not really contain vitamins and minerals. If you are eating a lot of fat, but not making sure your protein and vegetable sources are as nutritious as possible, you could be developing vitamin and mineral deficiencies which can also result in heart palpitations and the like.

#3

Keto isn’t a diet, it’s a physiological state. Maybe your body doesn’t want to be in ketosis. You can still eat a HFLC diet. That will help modulate insulin and over time, improve your insulin resistance. You don’t have to eat junk like bread and pizza, there are plenty of nutritious foods are higher in carbs like sweet potato, butternut squash, lima beans, peas.

This is not all or nothing, it’s a continuum. You have the tools, with a little experimenting you can figure out your personal sweet spot.

#4

Potassium levels checked?

My money would be on another underlying health problem that simply manifested now. PVCs or something.
Please keep us informed.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #5

Do you supplement every day? Or do you just feel a certain way and then supplement because of it?
I drink Ketoaide every day and I have never experienced anything like this. I am pretty sure it’s because I make sure they are constantly balanced. I’ve never experienced Keto Flu.

Have you tried supplementing regularly with a drink every day?

(Dan) #6

Thank you all for replying.

VirginiaEdie - That is very interesting information. and thinking about it, it makes sense that due to the lack of sugar I was taking in, that specific time. I would think I was getting close to 5 grams a day. If I felt i might have been lacking sodium I would drink some beef bouillon and sometimes that would help. Ill also be honest while I was on the diet both times, I did not supplement vitamins and minerals and had limited vegetable intake. I could also see that being one of the reasons as to what happened.

4dml - Thanks for the reply! I do understand that it is a physiological state, I was referring more to the foods required to consume to get into that state. That is an interesting idea you are saying. Maybe my body does not like being in ketosis. My first 3 month stint didn’t seem to have any negative effects which maybe was simply a coincidence. I am going to do some more research on maintaining a HFLC diet and not staying in ketosis the entire time. Really appreciate your input here.

KillaKlone - I had blood work done the day I had my episode and when we reviewed the results, my doctor said that all my electrolyte levels looked normal. I have stopped eating a HFLC diet for about 2 weeks now and I haven’t suffered any of the symptoms I had but you could be right in that an underlying issue does not agree with that diet.

ava_ad0re - I was not supplementing every day but I think it would have been smarter to. I would just supplement magnesium or sodium if I was getting the heart palps etc. I think if I would have I may have never experienced those symptoms. If I decide to give it another go again I will definitely be purchasing Ketoaide.

#7

:pray:

(Dan) #8

So a little update. Since I have been off Keto, I have had 2 similar episodes occur. The first one I did not have access to my blood glucose monitor but it happened in a coffee shop. I had a power bar but the gas station close by it took away some of the symptoms but not all. The day after that episode occurred I was going to meet at a different coffee shop. before I went I made sure I had a snack…and I had my blood monitor. after about 10 minutes being at the coffee shop I felt a episode kick in. I went to the washroom and checked my blood sugar and it was not low. So now I am back to square 1. I have a appointment with my doctor tomorrow but the more this goes on I’m not so sure this is totally related to being in Ketosis. I will update you as i get more information.

(Bunny) #9

Might be because your physiologically insulin resistant and not hepatically insulin resistant?

The other reason is your fasting too much and outpacing your bodies ability to cope with lack of carbohydrates (your not ready for that yet?), always eat ketogenic foods when your hungry. If you had of simply went and got some meat and ate it you would have felt better immediately? Remember that next time you start freaking out!

Bottom line don’t try to purposely starve your self if you are really hungry?

You may be fasting extensively fasting EF or fasting intermittently IF and assuming your doing a ketogenic diet and not realizing it, because your body is not ready for that yet?

Ketogenic diet mimicks fasting but is not really fasting and I think that is why people get confused?

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(Sheri Knauer) #10

I had bookmarked this post and was going through my bookmarks and was wondering if this issue you were having has been resolved and how you are doing now.

(Dan) #11

Hi Sheri,

I have not been doing Keto since all of this happened unfortunately. I’ve been keeping on my blood monitoring and have been prescribed Adivan. I haven’t really been using it and haven’t really experienced similar attacks. I am hoping to try going back Keto in the near future but am a little scared of what might happen.

(Jill F.) #12

I have had similar things happen with what seemed like heart palpitations and it was all anxiety related. Consider talking to your dr about anxiety meds or seeing a therapist if they rule out medical causes.

(Jennibc) #13

Years ago my blood pressure would just drop. I’d get shaky and my heart would race. Is there a chance the blood pressure medication could be having your blood pressure drop too low and these symptoms are actually from a transitory low blood pressure?

(Dan) #14

It’s been so strange because I have never had anxiety before. Then after those episodes I’ve had it. My doctor gave me adivan to try and it seemed to help when I “thought” I was going to have a similar episode

(Dan) #15

Hi Jenni,

It could be I have only been on the blood pressure meds for about 6 months!

(Sheri Knauer) #16

Glad to hear your doing ok and haven’t had such a severe attack again as described in your original post. Anxiety/panic attacks (if that is a possible cause of your episodes) can seemingly pop up out of nowhere. They can have a genetic component to them or be triggered by stressful situations (new job/spouse/child, for example).

You gotta do what works for you. As others had suggested, instead of eating keto, just eliminate the processed foods, grains, bad oils, and sugar, stick to eating whole foods, keep your carbs up a bit through eating sweet potatoes, carrots, those things that people eating keto typically avoid, and you will still be doing your body a great service that way.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #17

I have a mitral valve prolapse, which can cause panic attacks.