Is it your mental health, or just your sodium levels?

(Niko Neko) #1

Sure, there is Keto Flu, and if you’re here you probably have a go-to strategy. But what about that sudden, unexplained sense of dread & impending doom? The heart palpitations while you’re just sitting at your desk listening to Lofi? The racing thoughts, jitters, or that afternoon dip that feels less like tiredness and more like a wave of black depression?

When you drop carbs or transition into deep ketosis/fasting, your body flushes water and essential electrolytes—especially sodium—at a rapid rate. And here’s the kicker: low sodium directly triggers a stress response. Your body perceives the drop in blood volume as an emergency, pumping out adrenaline and cortisol to keep things stable. The result? You feel physically and mentally panicky. <-- This seems to deeply effect some people, but others not at all (…some seem to use adrenaline like Miracle Grow to thrive… looking sideways at Bear Grylls…)

  • Have you ever experienced “phantom anxiety” or sudden mood drops that you later tracked back to low electrolytes? What did it feel like for you?

  • What is your go-to “rescue cocktail” when you start feeling that physical jitteriness or brain fog? (Share your recipes/ratios below!)

  • For the veterans here: how did your electrolyte needs change after the initial adaptation phase? Do you still have to actively supplement to keep your mood stable?

(Niko Neko) #2

Yesterday I needed my touted ‘Carnivore Calm’ and all I had was a field of panic and anxiety to harvest from.

Today I’m having an internal debate -

Side A (We’ll call her Anxiety): That situation was justifiably panic inducing.

Side B (We’ll call her BASED): Life is difficult, situations happen. Calm and steady is the only way to steer or you’re going to capsize… dumb dumb!

Side A: Yeah, but you’re better today right? We’ll regroup, you’re allowed your feelings.

Side B: You’re still freaking out aren’t you? I’m not inviting you to the party anymore Anxiety.

Yesterday was tough - it kicked my butt. I had panic, I had the dark depression move in like an ocean current for awhile. I curled up and watched my favorite old movie (Rocky) and chilled with some pork rinds and cheese (I’ll probably be constipated today).

They think my husband has cancer and that totally f’d my world yesterday. But sometimes there is a point where you have to be collected. I’m an artist. I didn’t major in responsible management of personal disasters. (Although…reading artists biographies that should be included coursework - my cousin is a Paramedic, we don’t share those genes)

I’ve been doing some fasting and my electrolyte levels have been really washed out. Dr. Anthony Chaffee would say, “well, are you drinking coffee? A diuretic and expecting to hold on to sodium?” (I love coffee)

In the Carnivore groups they are really down on Stevia in electrolyte mixes but I do sometimes tend to drink more when it’s watermelon flavored then plain. I also grab a pinch of salt if I start feeling ‘washed out’ or weak and shaky and that usually fixes it. This last week has been my first experience with the crazy anxiety / depression wave effect.

Last night I took a lot of magnesium and that seemed to smooth out the rough edges and help, but it was a fairly large dose.

I’m going to get in exercise earlier in my day to try and help too. Yesterday was doctors and errands so I didn’t get in my routine.

(Bob M) #3

That’s a stressful situation, and there’s not a lot to do for that.

My wife has been buying LMNT, which are mainly salt. I’ve been taking them pretty much every day now. I think they do help.

I also take some magnesium at night before bed.

I don’t mind Stevia, though I don’t use a lot of it. If it helps with drinking more and getting more electrolytes, I think it’s worthwhile.

I wish you less stress and luck with your husband.

(Niko Neko) #4

Thanks @ctviggen, I like LMNT because it has a really high sodium content compared to others, but today I tried a sample from the health food store that is sea salt, trace elements and mag / potassium. It was really good. I lost the packet, don’t remember the name, but hopefully I can find more of it at the store :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I drank a lot more water today and halved my coffee and I felt a lot better. I drank 2 liters of electrolyte water while I worked out which felt excessive but eh’ I guess I needed hydration.

#5

I didn’t even know it was a thing… Knew about keto flu, obviously, never had that either. Electrolyte problems are very individual. Sure, everyone needs them but while some people can’t even do IF without eating salt, others fast for many days without a need (I just heard about it and obviously there are conditions, if we lose a lot of sodium through sweating, no way there won’t be a problem… I personally am fine for 3 days at least if I act like normal in summer).

I never cared about potassium (didn’t feel the need) and I eat enough salt from my food, no need to care about that but my diet is somewhat low in magnesium and I can’t help that. So I supplement it now and then (only if I have some negative symptom, I am bad with supplements). I am even ready for a strange dizziness due to lack of sodium and act if I ever get that but as I wrote, I am not prone to that, I suspect I had it 2 times in my life (5 day fast with zero sodium and the first time I went keto. but maybe it wasn’t that).

I hate stevia along with each and ever super sweet sweetener with a passion as the aftertaste is HORRID to me. I have no problem with stevia from my health-conscious viewpoint.

On a normal coffee-y day (when I am not highly unusually successful regarding my vague plan of quitting or more realistically, minimizing coffee), I drink 10+ coffees. It doesn’t seem to have an effect. I eat and need about 5g salt a day, I feel totally awful with the keto recommended amounts (there was a time when I overdid salted pork, that’s why I know) and develop a severe salt aversion there… Not again. Not eating sodium for 5 days felt loads better than that and it was a short time! (I can handle a lot of salt at once, just not day after day. My body is sensitive when it comes to average consumption of certain things.) My coffees are weak though.

@NikoNeko, I am sorry to hear your troubles, hopefully you get better news later and until then, ger strength to live through what comes… But I love your style. And making inner things into a separate entity sometimes… We have some many of them and they are like original characters: they tend to do their own things, separate from us (well the core we feel “us”).

By the way, any idea how on earth could I quit/minimize coffee? It goes even worse than one would think considering I am very bad with temptation and willpower when it comes to food and drink. But I don’t even really like coffee at this point… Except I just bought a nice one yesterday. Sigh. It’s one of my minor problems though.

People, if it’s sodium… Why don’t you just eat it? I probably can’t understand as I HATE salted water, no way I ever drink that (soups are different, they are tasty food). But eating salt is fine. Not particularly enjoyable unless I am in a serious need but it’s like taking a painkiller (just less bitter. that’s Epsom salt but I can eat even that if I must. but eating lean meat when starving but really lacking the desire? I can’t do that).
Or those electrolyte drinks/packets are so tasty?

(Edith) #6

Anxiety is a symptom of magnesium deficiency. Make sure you are getting magnesium along with your salt and potassium. I seem to have a high Mg need. I take about 400 Mg of Magnesium Glycinate during the day and frequently a dose of Natural Calm which contains Mg Citrate before bed. I definitely notice anxiety kicking in if I get lazy with my Mg intake.