Hi all. I’ve been lurking here for a while but this is the first time I’ve posted. I started my keto experiment, not for weight loss, but because I’ve spent my entire adult life with no energy.
I’m 40 now and in my twenties I was diagnosed with ME/CFS. I improved eventually and managed to get back to a more normal life but have never been back with full energy.
I’ve been making ketones since the start of January, so a fair while now, I went through mild keto flu in the first few weeks. Then started feeling a little better and the carb cravings pretty much disappeared. BUT for the last two weeks I’ve been going dramatically downhill. I haven’t changed anything but I’m completely exhausted, everything hurts, I can barely walk up the stairs. My headaches, a slight sore throat. Very tearful. Is it normal to have these intense symptoms 6 weeks in? I was hoping by now some of the fabled health benefits would begin kicking in. I feel so low. Any advice/ experience is welcome.
This could easily be intense oxalate dumping. there is a lot of info on the board about it. sore throat? could you be sick with a bug maybe tho? not sure on that one
When I switched to carnivore I had normal fatigue and then rallied and was so energized but around month 7-8 I went down for the count. No idea why at all?? I could barely move but no aches or headaches. But I just kept doing my thing and sleeping a lot LOL but after, about into week 3 of that mess I woke up perfect the next day and it never happened again. So I don’t know, we are all so diff. on that.
be sure to eat well, get plenty of salt, nap a lot and if needed take an aspirin or something, we are allowed to treat symptoms if needed as you see fit and wishing you the best!
I’ll take a look at oxilate dumping. Thank you so much. I REALLY don’t want to quit. Just need to know that I’m doing the right thing for my poor body.
Or oxalate buildup, for that matter. Many people consume a lot more oxalates on keto due to higher amounts of almonds, spinach and the like.
Welcome brother
I took a different route, I went low carb for half a year on LOGI diet (about 100g carbs per day) before transitioning to keto. It has helped me a lot, I’m back to working part time after essentially being confined to my flat (and mostly my bed) about 15 months ago.
However, I have to restrict my protein intake as a carnivore-like diet didn’t work out that well. So I consume about 150-250g protein from meat/eggs/cheese a day, with a decent amount of nuts, vegetables and salad. I also eat basically lectin free (Steven Gundrys protocol). But it may be different for you.
Also progress is very slow for me. I know that I have to detox, whenever I fast for 48h (tapping into the body fat reserves) or do a Cutler detox round I see a flareup of various symptoms. So I figure that my fat tissue has accumulated quite a lot of n-6 PUFAs and environmental toxins, and I have to continue losing my excess weight. (15kg down, 20 to go.)
So, I’d try to tweak the diet composition a bit, and make sure that your symptoms are really related to the diet. (It could be an ordinary bug judging from your symptoms, couldn’t it?) However, nothing is normal with ME/CFS and keto may not be the solution for you. But I know a few other ME/CFS cases personally that are doing significantly better on keto, so I’d recommend to stick to keto for now.
Hmmm; I did not experience this when I started. Could you be fighting a bug? That was my first thought.
Are you eating enough? If not, don’t calorie restrict or skip meals until your body leads you to do this naturally. Don’t exercise in order to create a calorie deficit - if you are. Getting enough fat/salt/water? I have to drink salted water in order to get enough electrolytes. Many people who experience headaches in the beginning aren’t getting enough salt. Not my favorite thing, but small concession for all the other benefits.
I felt good on keto from the beginning, however, I did not experience sustained energy and stamina until after 4.5 months in. I believe this is when I became fat adapted. It is a different time line for everyone.
If you are eating enough and getting enough salt, try to hang in there.
Not normal for keto. That said, my wife is just getting over a flu that had her completely exhausted for about 2 weeks. She was going to bed at 7:30pm every night and was still exhausted every day. She’s just getting over it now. It’s possible that you just have a particularly unpleasant, run of the mill flu.
Presumably you have had the flu in conjunction with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in the past while eating non-keto? How does your current level of fatigue compare to your past experience of the flu in conjunction with CFS? Does CFS tend to increase recovery time from the flu?
My 2 cents would be to stay the course at least until the flu symptoms subside so that you can better judge whether the fatigue is due to the flu, or a worsening of CFS. Your doctor is probably the right person to answer that question though
I can totally relate. I suffer from chronic fatigue and also have very low blood pressure. I actually need an iron infusion. I went Keto on Jan 1st this year and switched to Carnivore very quickly. I do find that I am a little less tired but it is still a struggle. I sort of have to force myself to do everything. I feel that once I get all more health stuff sorted I will get more energy. I have a sore throat too but that’s from a big. I keep forgetting to take my women’s multi vitamin. We will get there xxx
Tolly,
I have MS/CFS - so I understand the fatigue. Questions that come to mind - could this be hormonal related to your cycles? Are you prone to headaches? Have you tried adding magnesium /potassium / pink salt if your electrolytes are off? Also, possible dehydration - can you increase your fluids? Has your sleep been impacted? Are you eating super clean Keto or not so much? Are you taking any supplements? And have you had a flu shot? (do you normally get one)
When you first start a ketogenic diet; at least three days or four days before you even start (dropping carbohydrates), it is good to get your sodium, potassium and magnesium levels higher (with your doctors permission of course) and you might skip that keto flu thing.
Second thing is you want to get your ATP and ADP capable of burning fat for fuel and when iron is eaten with zinc in the same food it severely blocks your body from absorbing it (zinc) and without adequate amounts of zinc ATP, ADP and AMP cannot function properly (oxidative phosphorylation) and you get extremely lethargic and weak (like if you move another step you will fall over?).
In other words no electrical spark or fire to burn fuel and you need oxygen to start a fire? (any forced breathing or locomotion/movement that forces the heart and lungs to work more) You have to generate a strong electrical current or field (oxidative phosphorylation) inside the organelle of the mitochondria for it to burn (generating heat or thermal conductivity) fat and glucose?
Zinc turns pain and inflammation receptors on and off through ATP, ADP and AMP in the mitochondria?
Other zinc co-factors are; arginine, carnosine, carnitine, creatine, glucose, glutathione and selenium; NO/NOS nitric oxide.
[2] “…Moreover, using zinc supplementation and zinc deficiency models, we observed that zinc is conducive to mitochondrial pyruvate transport, oxidative phosphorylation, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism and ultimate energy metabolism in both normal and toxic-induced oxidative stress conditions in vitro , and it plays an important role in restoring impaired energetic metabolism. This zinc-mediated energetic metabolism regulation could also be helpful for DNA maintenance, cytoprotection and hereditary cancer traceability. Therefore, zinc can widely adjust energetic metabolism and is essential in restoring the impaired energetic metabolism of cellular physiology. …” …More
