How long does dehydration last

(Carolyn) #1

I’m new to Keto, Just a little over week and a half. I started feeling Keto Flu at day 4 and it lasted a few days but got better fast as soon as I started drinking plenty of fluid and taking electrolyte supplement. I’m not experiencing any of the early symptoms but I still feel the need to drink a lot of fluid and I get fatigued really easily. I’m hoping this will finally pass soon. How long can I expect to experience this?
I probably should say that my fatigue is complicated by the fact that I have post polio syndrome which causes muscle weakness and fatigue anyway, it’s just been compounded by this.

#2

You need to do some basic research, dehydration is not related to Keto - it is directly related to a lack of consumption of fluids.

(Carolyn) #3

Thanks, I did a lot of research before I started Keto

(Empress of the Unexpected) #4

https://perfectketo.com/keto-electrolytes/

For me, it took a couple of weeks. A lot of water, and salt is needed. I was peeing every five minutes.

#5

Adding salt makes a significant difference. Keep drinking water until your urine is almost clear.

Really simple, pee and then drink more water. This will help to speed up your metabolism as well as your body’s expelation of toxics.

#6

You will experience significant mood swings as your body digests itself through the layers of hormones stored in the layers - always drink more water to help expel the excess toxins and hormones.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #7

I’ve had mood swings my entire life. :rofl::rofl::rofl: Just Keep Calm and Keto On. (KCKO). Do not be afraid of the process. It depends on how many carbs you were eating before the transition as to how hard it is. I, unfortunately, had bronchitis when I started - so I had no idea what was bronchitis and what was keto flu. All I felt was tired, and I peed a lot. But even now, when I periodically drastically lower carbs, I pee like a race horse and need more water and salt. And I am seven months in.

(Carolyn) #8

I’ve been drinking constantly all day and taking electrolyte supplement (actually the one you recommended Regina). I take two a day, do you think I need to take more? and yea, I pee a lot and my urine looks like water. Also I’ve used Ketone sticks and I am producing ketones. So all is good there. As long as I know it will end at some point I can put up with the fatigue.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #9

You say drinking all day? I would drink no more than 12 glasses of water. You want to hang on to some of the electrolytes.

(Carolyn) #10

I’m not drinking more than 12. I just always have a glass next to me and take a swallow frequently. Probably about 10 glasses or so. Still more than usual.

(mole person) #11

You’re fatigued because your body doesn’t know how to efficiently use ketones yet. This proccess can take about six weeks but you should see some improvement before then.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

True, but don’t forget that the kidneys excrete water and sodium at a higher rate (which is actually their normal rate) when we cut our consumption of carbohydrate. So this question is actually more profound than it seems at first glance.

@Cfinn As you discovered, keto “flu” is really a lack of sodium. So the answer to your question is to get 2-1/2 tablespoons of table salt a day (including the salt already present in your food) and to drink to thirst.

A number of recent studies, particularly the PURE study out of McMaster University, have shown that people are their healthiest when consuming 5 grams of sodium a day, hence the 2-1/2 teaspoons of table salt. This means that most dietary recommendations for salt intake are inadequate, the U.S. guideline woefully so. Consume less than this amount, and your risk of morbidity and mortality climbs steeply, more, and the risk also rises, but not as steeply. Unless you have high blood pressure, in which case, your risk curve rises equally steeply on either side of the 5-gram sweet spot.

Keeping salt intake up has the additional advantage of ensuring that the body will properly regulate its levels of magnesium, potassium, and calcium, usually with no need for additional supplementation.

As for water, I follow Dr. Noakes’s advice to drink to thirst, not to some arbitrary target.

(Danielle) #13

I was once told that the body can only absorb one cup of water per hour during normal activity levels. Anything above that, the body simply excretes as urine and therefore does nothing to improve hydration.

Don’t ask me to quote the science - this is an anecdote, nothing more! But I have found that I feel more hydrated when I drink my 8-12 cups of water over 8-12 hours, rather than downing a big glass of water in ten minutes and then having to pee three times in the next hour!

#14

I need more salt. A lot more salt.

#15

Wondering if this is my leg pain problem. Not enough salt?

(Susan) #16

If I ever have leg cramps, eating a small handful of Pink Himalyan salt totally takes it away, so salt is very important, at least to me!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #17

Salt is the easiest electrolyte to influence, so it is the first thing to try. If your salt intake is in the right range, it enables the body to regulate calcium, magnesium, and potassium more easily. Supplementing with these three minerals may still be necessary, but salt intake in the correct range usually makes supplementing unnecessary.