Keto diet is SCARY

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #21

“But I started keto an hour ago, and suddenly I have this symptom, so it must be the fault of keto!”

NOT!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #22

I’ve told you about my very first Keto food ever, a BPC made with 1 tablespoon MCT oil?

As I was rushing to the bathroom a half hour later, my exact thought was “man, this Keto flu kick in fast.”

#23

Those articles are like the teacher talking from the Charlie Brown and Snoopy show

(Casey Crisler) #24

Someone mentioned about headaches going away. Mine seemed to have subsided a lot since keto. I still get them occasionally but not every other day. I didn’t experience any keto flu and I was waiting for it. But nada. Unless constipation is one. However, that seems to have passed…bad choice of words. :blush:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #25

Constipation has never bothered me since I went keto, because I was forewarned about keeping my sodium level up and have worked at it.

Speaking of headaches, I found out recently that migraine is another symptom of low sodium. I haven’t had an actual migraine since starting keto, but I have had plenty of auras, so apparently I haven’t been quite as successful at keeping my sodium up as I had thought.

Interestingly, the auras have been clearing up in about twenty minutes, as opposed to the usual hour or more—and longer, if it developed into an actual migraine. The last couple of times, however, I was able to banish the aura immediately by eating a pinch of salt and flushing it down with some water. I know it’s not a miracle, just science, but I thank God anyway.

#26

Interesting @PaulL . I get hormonal migraine auras sometimes along with nausea & dizziness (no serious headache) - will try the salt trick next time :smile:

(Casey Crisler) #27

My headaches weren’t migraines, thankfully. I’ve had those in the past and can’t say I miss them. I’ve been taking about a teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt when I’m fasting, which is everyday, so maybe that is helping.

(Maha) #28

I’ve never heard this before, but it kind of makes sense after learning more about salt and it’s importance. I’ve recently increased my salt intake, so I’ll see if the migraines and symptoms go down even more. Thanks for the info!

#29

Hey @PaulL - just thought I’d let you know I got to try your salt trick today (yay migraine aura :roll_eyes:) & I do believe it helped :smile: Didn’t stop the aura altogether but it did shorten the duration & I’ve not yet developed the typical migraine ‘hangover’ of nausea & dizziness. Thanks so much for the tip.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #30

Glad it helped! Since I noticed the connection and have been paying attention to keeping my salt up, I had two auras, both cut short by additional salt, and nothing since. It would be fascinating to know if it worked that way for anyone else.

This is great for me, because even though the auras didn’t last more than half an hour on keto (and they never became full-on migraines, thank God!) I was getting them a lot more frequently than I had before going keto. This is great for me, because I can’t function when I can’t see. Who’d have thought that more salt would be all it took?

#31

Can confirm I didn’t get the usual migraine ‘hangover’ which is the bit I hate most - can wipe me out for hours :smiley:

#32

Really sorry to bump an old thread for my first post, but I have been scouring these forums over the past month and I was wondering @PaulL whether the salt factor has continued to keep migraines at bay for you since you made this post a couple of years ago?

(There’s a decade long story behind my question, but I suspect this thread is not the place for it!) I’d really appreciate any insight you can offer. :grinning:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #33

Yeah, migraine auras one of the signs that I have been slacking on getting enough salt. If I keep my salt in the right range, I get no migraine auras and, fortunately, if I do get an aura, a small amount of salt in the palm of my hand is usually enough to dispatch the aura. Thank heaven for that; the auras are debilitating enough. A full-blown migraine can stop me in my tracks for days.

(Nicolas) #34

So weird, I didnt have any of those problems in my month and 3 weeks doing Keto, the only thing I have is very low BG, maybe because of all the Carbs I stopped eating.

(Jane Srygley) #35

I ended up in the ER with ischemic colitis the first time I tried keto in 2014. Took me years before I would try it again. I was taking a supplement that dehydrated me (B-100’s) and I didn’t know about the dangers of dehydration or the need to supplement electrolytes at first. Now I’m fully adapted and don’t have to think about any of that stuff. I recovered nicely back in 2014 but I wish I had done more research to figure out what happened and gotten back at it with more information. I just got scared off.

#36

@PaulL - I genuinely think you may have solved something that has plagued me for years; I can’t tell you how excited I was when I saw your post.

I have been weighing out salt each morning and dipping into the tub throughout the day - it’s a bit too soon to say that it’s definitely done the trick just yet, but I will keep everything crossed (and keep consuming the salt!).

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #37

I certainly hope so, for your sake. Good luck, and keep us posted.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #38

Starving can trigger bipolar for some people.

It was weirdly easy for me

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #39

Good for you! And I mean that.

It’s individual variability at work, I guess. I read some statistics once, to the effect that most addictive substances seem to cause addiction in about 20% of the population. It also appears that it’s a different 20% for each substance or type of behaviour. There is some overlap, of course.

Sugar is one of my addictive substances, so I envy your ability to stop eating it with no problem. I still get cravings.

#40

Sugar (carbs) is only a problem if I eat it (in bigger quantities)… Cutting out the carbiest items was instant win, easiest thing ever and I felt significantly better, no wonder I knew right away my high-carb times are over.

But it was still 80g net carbs as I kept vegetables and oily seeds and some carbier items in tiny amounts. Keto and especially extreme low-carb took more time and effort but they had their own benefits. I realized carbs mess with me and lowering my intake immediately solves hard problems.
First I thought making strong new habits during a long time is needed but nope, on extreme low-carb even stubborn, super strong and very old bad habits disappeared right away.
I don’t have long term experience, though as I have no problems with my old, low-carb woe if it’s only for a short visit. The extreme low-carb benefits don’t go away quickly when I touch some more carbs. It seems too magical sometimes…

I never felt addiction to added sugar, cutting it out was a relief. And I know about food addiction. I had my hardships but added sugar wasn’t one of my problem (after I cut it out), thankfully.
Natural sugar packed together with some way more tempting things, being around me all the time, that’s another matter entirely…

The mentioned big problems in the beginning of the thread? I had none but I didn’t do a high-carb -> keto jump (I tried, got zombie on the first day so I quit and tried later when it was easy).
Keto surely isn’t even for everyone and circumstances matter.
Of course it’s horrible for some persons. And the best idea every for others.
And keto styles are so very different…
But the OP is a bit intolerant from my hedonistic viewpoint. Many of us quit if we SUFFER on a woe, I imagine and it’s probably a healthy attitude, well, we should think it over, sometimes it’s still worth it but maybe our body tells me with the problems that we do something wrong. Forcefully eating in some way, even if it hurts, it sounds bad to me, actually.
And some of us are healthy curious hedonists or something, we don’t sacrifice anything important. I quit if my woe gets hard (unless I am stubborn and know it’s worth it), sometimes even if it’s not but I fancy a carby thing and don’t see a reason not to eat it and I have the prerogative to do so, it’s my woe… Of course I won’t say “keto is hard” or it doesn’t worth it, it’s just my personal little thing.
And how anyone can blame keto in general? One can do bad, unhealthy keto… It’s basically just a carb limit (and not even a fixed one according to my definition).