Keto and congestive heart failure

(Benito Fernandez Torres) #1

Anybody here with congestive heart failure and doing Keto? What’s your strategy with your medications particularly the diuretics?

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #2

Hi! I’m not qualified to answer your question, but if you use the little magnifying glass search function at the top you will find a few interesting posts.

(Benito Fernandez Torres) #3

Thank you! Well, I had been dealing with CHF since 2011 and we are typically told to restrict salt and to further remove sodium and water from our bodies we are prescribed Furosemide and Spironolactone and those two drains your body of water and electrolytes.

(Retta Stephenson) #4

I was diagnosed with CHF a few years ago (among other things). Put on diuretics. But I also went LCHF around 10 years ago; Keto a couple years ago. One problem I had was that whenever I took the Furosemide, I would get horrible muscle spasms. It got so bad for YEARS, with no help from Drs, that I finally just refused. They finally switched me to Spironolactone, and now take it every other day; and I did my own research and added in a liquid magnesium called ReMag. The painful muscle spasms have become manageable.

Now, here is why I said all that. Doctors didn’t help me much, other than to prescribe drugs. Then when I asked about painful side effects (spasms), I got shrugs, and admonitions about how dangerous it was to let the fluids build up, etc etc.

BUT… I have since done my own research from all the terrific Keto sources online and discovered this: the drug doses are given assuming you are on the typical SAD diet. In other words, calibrated to match the normally high sodium SAD diet, NOT THE TYPICAL KETO DIET, which will, if well formulated, be so much lower in sodium so that you hear all the time in the forums the advice to newbies to make sure to get enough salt!!!

It took me awhile to get this. And to this day, my doctor lectures me to never add salt to my food and to eat low sodium, even when I try to explain to her that the Keto diet is automatically much lower sodium than standard processed-and-full-of-crap-and-chemicals-SAD diet. So… I now just tune her out.

My labs are fine; my electrolytes are monitored, my tests are done every 3 or 4 months.

Not telling you what to do, just what I found, and what works personally for me, and to give another perspective.
My best to you, @Benito

Retta

(Retta Stephenson) #5

And maybe a book like this might help, The Salt Fix, from someone more knowledgeable on the subject:
https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Fix-Experts-Wrong-Eating-ebook/dp/B01GBAJR9C

(Benito Fernandez Torres) #6

Thank you! I agree. These prescriptions, particularly the diuretics, would be needed and the doctors want you on them if you are following the typical American food diet. But once you enter into full Keto, it could make you feel unwell, like a permanent Keto flu, since your body, naturally while on Keto would be getting rid of extra fluids and electrolytes.

The bad part is how incredulous and sometimes upset these physicians would get if you tell them about it.

Also careful weaning and having experience with side effects and knowing how your body reacts to your medication dosage is vital.