Hello everyone, newb here with a rather strange question

#1

Hey thank you guys for answering and replying, I think you all are right about seeing a doctor and getting some bloodwork done, in fact my last visit my lovely doc wanted to do exactly that because I’m getting older (and fatter) and I told her no thanks because i was worried that my liver was screaming for help and it would show up like crazy on the blood work. Yeah I know how stupid that is but i live in a small town and people talk and i’m ashamed. But I think after 2 months sober that hurdle is probably a lot smaller and I should schedule an appointment sometime.

I’ve been working hard in an awkward position and as a result I went to bed early yesterday to escape the pain, this morning it’s a bit better but not a lot, really strange. I never had these problems before this diet or when I was boozing. As longs as it’s just muscle aches I’m ok with it but it’s amazing what a giant difference these changes create.

I think that if I or anyone else does see a doc it is a good idea to give full disclosure, i’m a mechanic and if people don’t tell me what they did to their car it becomes really impossible to diagnose some problems. That said my last doc frowned on me for eating eggs every day and said to watch my cholesterol, I told her that info was horrendously outdated and she agreed. I raise my own chickens and feed them a natural diet that includes meat also and I have no doubt in my mind that the eggs they produce are the healthiest thing a person can eat.

Have a lovely Easter all and let’s not eat the chocolate eggs but the regular ones

(Edith) #2

When one follows a low carb diet, their sodium need goes way up: first, because processed food contains more salt than whole, unprocessed foods so overall intake is lower, and second, because eating low carb lowers insulin levels, our kidneys don’t hold onto sodium when insulin is low.

It is recommended one get about 5 grams of sodium a day on keto, give or take, depending upon your activity level and the time of year. That’s the equivalent of almost 2 teaspoons of salt. Also, sodium helps maintain the levels of other electrolytes including potassium and magnesium, so you may also need to supplement with extra magnesium, in particular. Probably most of us on the forum supplement with magnesium.

I definitely get muscle cramps and stiffness when my sodium is too low.

This is a good article about salt and keto.

(Cathy) #3

You don’t need to tell your doctor about what you eat. If asked, just say it is a nutrient diet that restricts all junk food. I think it would be helpful for you to have a blood panel done. It can reveal some things like being sodium deficient and a vast variety of other issues.

(Denise) #4

I’d go just at least for blood tests, Lipid Panel etc. To heck with what the doctor thinks, this will give you a way to eliminate anything more serious going on.

I’ve recently, last couple of years, struggled tapering off Clonazepam, a benzodiazepine. My muscles were definitely affected by the withdrawal symptoms, and a whole lot of tiredness in them.

I don’t think we know how much recovery-time we’ll need when putting things in our body we know we shouldn’t. I’ve seen lot’s of what I call, full recovery though, from both alcohol abuse, and prescription drugs (including my own alcohol abuse) in my 20s until I was 33, and with taking 1 mg of a C for 35 years.

You will get there, but I do think the doctor/blood tests would be a good thing.

I did my taper without a doctors help, except for the prescription I needed to finish. I did it on my own, then I shared what I did. Some just don’t have any personal experience that I could trust,

Denise PS I had to take responsibility for my own health. Doctors are needed, but I participate in my own health now. and it’s not “ok doctor, ok doctor, ok doctor”.

#5

Just wanted to give an update, my muscle soreness is less than before but the pain i was/am in comes from a slipped disc in my back radiating to my legs, so not related to dietary issues at all …

(B Creighton) #6

maybe a good chiro?

I do believe in full disclosure, but that doesn’t mean your life story… Just whatever may really be relevant to your symptoms. I have never told any doctor what I eat every day. My last doctor was the only one I’ve ever had take any interest into what I was eating, and I think that was because my weight loss and BP change were so dramatic that he wanted to know what I was doing. I did tell him I was doing a high protein version of Keto, upon which he tried to sell me on some diet he was recommending…
I guess I don’t need to tell you bout eggs, but most people are not going to absorb most of their cholesterol anyway. I believe good eggs are perfectly healthy and beneficial - they are just packed with nutrition. However, I do believe how they are cooked matters. Probablly the healthiest way is to boil or poach them. This will keep oxidatio to a minimum. However, I usually lightly fry them in a little coconut oil sunny side up - after breaking the yolks. Welcome to the forum.

(KM) #7

Welcome!

My experience doesn’t seem to be typical, but when I fast, which causes my ketones to go way up, I often get a miserable sciatica-like pain in my lower back. I think it may have to do with 1. An old injury / blown disc plus 2. dehydration or salt loss, both of which can be an issue when in ketosis. I’ve never honestly figured out what the relationship is, but there definitely seems to be one.

#8

Thanks for the welcome, i believe that we homo sapiens evolved on certain foods and i don’t think that when eaten in moderation could ever be inherently bad for us, like steak, eggs and (shell)fish, those would be the best food our ancestors could wish for and we pretty much get to choose those every day. So we just have to choose those and leave out all the other options that are less natural. Anyway that’s just a long way of saying that I agree with you on the egg thing (just got 5 more chickens too lol)

#9

Well that’s just great! I have former back issues too had surgery about 15 years ago but it was never really great and it never really had been just genetics i suppose and me working hard physically and being too heavy isn’t helping.

Out of boredom i’ve been drinking a lot of water/tea and diet soda (yeah i know) so dehydration doesn’t seem likely, and salt i dunno i think we are pretty much hard wired to desire that when we need it, i know animals are so why wouldn’t we be. I eat a lot of it because I like it, i doubt it’s possible for me to have such a deficit that i would cause issues that are so profound but I should get it checked.

My nerve pain in my leg is gone, from one day to another it just went away, so relieved and worrying at the same time, stupid back always a damn problem just around the corner.

Still, been fasting a few times for a day at a time, lost about 6kgs in 2 months and for sure gained muscle in my upper body it’s crazy how fast the body can recover even at 43yo. My 19yo stepson is a gymrat and he’s much bigger than me but i beat him at arm wrestling easily every time, it’s like he’s not even trying but he swears he’s giving his all. I feel like I’m Spiderman that just got bitten by that spider and finds out he has superpowers in the morning, ketosis really is a life hack. No cravings for alcohol or carbs or anything it’s weird, i do crave nuts a lot, I eat some but have to pace myself so I do, strange.

Anyway thank you all for replying I’m just typing down my thoughts and experiences to you nice folks. I’m feeling positive about getting better every morning instead of getting worse, if muscles aches are the price to pay for that than so be it. And yeah I still have to make a doc appointment to check bloodwork.

Oh another thing I’ve been measuring my blood pressure and it was 179/106 two months ago and its at 132/86 now. I’ve been measuring it every few days and documenting it, and it’s been a steady decline, no meds or anything just healthy living no drinking and eat meat and eggs and some nuts. Pretty amazing.

#10

I know you have written that you are not on any blood pressure medications. But with muscle soreness, that can be a common side effect of a cholesterol lowering medication (statins). Did the doc convince you to start on a cholesterol lowering drug? My reading is that it is unlikely. But it’s a thing to rule out.

Another thing that comes to mind about back pain and sciatica is a link through the immune system and the aggravation of an inflammation in the spinal joints (lower back). There is a gut bacteria called Klebsiella. It grows in the gut flora by eating dietary carbohydrates. When people go low carb it does create a change in the bacteria in their bowels. The ones that are used to a regular supply of carbohydrates suddenly find their food sources are scarce, and that results in population decline. When the Klebsiella bacteria die some of their cell parts, in particular the cell wall, can absorb through the gut lining and into the blood stream. Those bacterial wall bits are called lipopolysaccharides, which means a mix of fat and sugars. That stuff activates the body defences to get rid of it from the blood where it is toxic to the human. That immune system reaction then gets programmed into the body defences to allow a fast inflammation reaction every time that bacterial wall toxin is detected. All sounds good… until… we find out that the immune response to broken down Klebsiella bacteria bits mimics the same reaction to some of the normal body tissues in the spine (I think it is the cartilage -also partly made up of a polysaccharide and protein matrix). So, then the inflammatory response is then directed at the wrong thing, at normal body tissues in the lower back. This can be called an autoimmune response - the immune system activates an often painful attack on the body it is supposed to defend. Poor immune system gets confused. The good news is that the Klebsiella bacteria go away in a diet change away from constant high carbohydrate levels, and because they are the inflammatory initiator, the painful inflammation can subside if the person stays low carb. But with rapid, painful, flare ups on dietary indiscretions or mistakes.

I hope that makes sense.

(Denise) #11

Wow, that was an interesting read, and surprised myself by reading it twice, as the first time I didn’t get as much, but the second time, it was totally worth the read. I’m interested in it, not because of sciatica pain, but I think it can relate to some of my CNS being compromised, and working very hard to get it back on track.

I’ve been what I call pretty strict Keto, for a few years now. I had mentioned 8 years previously, but I did lose count, and haven’t looked back to see the exact amount of time.

#12

Dang FrankoBear that’s a mouthful right there thank you very much for taking the time, it makes a lot of sense what you say and you might be right. I didn’t realize at first that the major pain in my leg came from my back problems, I thought it was my muscle aches that just got a lot worse but that wasn’t it.

I do think that it’s all related, perhaps inflammation causing muscles in my back to screw up and pushing against a nerve. Or maybe it’s unrelated either way I don’t have joint issues anywhere just sore muscles after a period of rest.

Oh and I’m not on any medication, nothing at all.

Either way I’m continuing on this track and seeing what will happen, weight loss is a good thing no matter what.

#13

Hey Denise, why do you think your CNS is compromised and why do you think it’s related to my case?

(Denise) #14

I don’t want to go into CNS issue, and my comment had to do with what @FrankoBear said. I see I should have quoted him, so sorry!