So I’m roughly a week into low carb, don’t know if I can officially call it keto since I’ve not been measuring my macros, but considerably lowered my carbs from what I was previously consuming to around 5-10% of that ( I.e. no bread, no sugar, no starchy veg, only green veg and low sugar berries). Have been feeling great, apart from a weird feeling around my neck and feeling rather hot, yesterday could only manage 2 meals , was feeling full between 10am and 6pm with salt and water in between ( and could have probably managed even longer, but I’m a migraine sufferer and need my potassium.
But this morning I woke up with a odd headache, not like my usual migraines which are radiating around either left or right front side. This one is all around, and mainly at the back of my head “travelling” around my head in waves . Also feel really tired. Luckily I had a day off work and went back to bed and finally managed to get up at 1pm which never happens unless I’m really ill! And only because I had to get to an appointment. My eye sight is down, muscles are aching slightly and feel generally slow and out of sorts. Thirsty all the time, but I take salt with my water each time.
Is this what the keto flu feels like? How long does it last? And any tips to control the symptoms?
Many thanks for reading
Is this what keto flu feels like?
Most cases of Keto Flu are due to insufficient salt and water intake. Make sure you get at least 64 oz (2 liters) of water per day and about 2 teaspoons of salt. My keto flu amounted to light headedness and increasing those 2 things made it go away in 24 hours.
Try to include avocados, salmon, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, beef and pork in your meal plans if you want to get your potassium intake up.
Good luck with the migraines. Nobody should have to endure those.
Thanks for your answers. Migraines is the reason I considered keto, I hope it’s not going to be long before I’ve seen the end of them. I’m still learning, so your support is appreciated
That is exactly how I felt during induction phase of Atkins 15+ years ago… so awful! This time I didn’t really get much keto flu and I think it’s because I was so scared of feeling that awful again and had heard it could be down to dehydration and/or electrolyte balance so I made sure I was drinking loads of water and taking magnesium supplements along with using lo-salt for potassium and sodium.
Hope you feel better soon.
Yes I am back to feeling great again, had to resort to taking a migraine relief medication. And plenty of salt with water of course. I do take magnesium as a supplement but thanks for the tip about lo-salt, I’ll get that next time I go shopping
I find that when I am getting enough salt, I have no migraines. When I forget, and my salt intake slips, I start experiencing auras, although I don’t recall having a full-blown migraine on keto, so far. But an aura is debilitating enough! Fortunately, when an aura starts, all it takes is a bit of salt to head it off almost instantly, certainly within a minute at the most. It’s a good mechanism to remind me to get enough salt. We need about 5 grams of sodium a day, by the way, which translates to 2-1/2 teaspoons of table salt.
Since the kidneys excrete sodium and water at a higher rate when our intake of carbohydrate is low, we need to work a bit to keep our salt intake up. Get enough table salt and drink to thirst, and you should be migraine-free. It works for me, at any rate. The so-called keto “flu” is nothing more than the symptoms of sodium deficiency. Getting enough sodium also permits the body to balance out its levels of potassium, magnesium, and calcium. You are probably getting enough of these minerals in your food not to have to supplement, as long as you eat enough salt.
Thanks for your answer Paul, I’m glad keto is working for your migraines. This is why I started it but I’m only a week or so into it. I take salt with every drink I have and I feel like I’m taking more than the daily amount recommended. Is it possible to overdose on sodium?
Could the migraine be caused by the sugar withdrawal or maybe the fact that I have just stopped taking topiramate I was prescribed for migraines? Or maybe a combination of the two…
I have never had them so often though and I hope they subside as my body adjusts 
Certainly, but unless you have high blood pressure, it’s not as unhealthy as not getting enough. Try for 2-1/2 teaspoons of salt a day, including what’s in your food. You should be fine.
I don’t believe that sugar has anything to do with migraines, but stopping the drug could certainly be a factor. My impression is that no one really knows what a headache actually is, much less a migraine, although apparently a lot of researchers believe that blood pressure has something to do with it.
