Newbie here but not to Keto. Hoping I’m putting this question in the right place. If I’m making a mistake posting a question here I apologize.
I’m a 60 year old female, started Keto in January 2019. I was labeled morbidly obese. I started out with Keto due to my failing health. I received bad news in October 2018, I was told I was borderline diabetic and my doctor doubled my BP meds. I knew it probably was going to be a death sentence as my weight was out of control. I was ready to start yet again another failed attempt at dieting. So i had a friend who kept posting Keto recipes on Facebook. I thought so you can eat cookies on Keto. I clicked the link to those cookies. Rest is history, headed towards being Keto for two years. I’ve lost 50lbs, have about 150lbs to go, my husband who joined me has lost 70lbs, he’s at goal weight. My weight loss has been very slow, in fact snail slow. I do not mind one bit that it’s slow. It took me about 30 years to get this fat. It’s going to take a while for me to heal my body through Keto. That’s what I’m more focused on is the healing. I’m in outstanding condition now! In January 2019 I could not lift a gallon of milk. Today I can lift it over my head and hold it there. The healing benefits of Keto have been outstanding in so many ways! It’s too much to post here. Still not of my BP meds, but it’s down to 5mg now. I was taking 20mg
I don’t count macros or calories, mostly carnivore. I drink ketoaid to keep up my electrolytes, I also take magnesium at night and I take vitamin D and a complex B vitamin. I also suffer from nondiabetic neuropathy in my feet.
I’m very physically active, I’m currently building a greenhouse.
I’ve run into a problem in the last 3 months. Severe leg pain. I follow Dr. Berry, Dr. Cywes and I just can’t find a solution to this leg pain. It’s a severe aching pain at times, wakes me up at night. My legs can be painful while I’m walking, can be difficult to walk at times.
I’ve tried upping my magnesium and it gave me diarrhea. I can’t up my pinch of NoSalt (potassium) in my ketoaid due to taking the 5mg of Lisinopril I take daily. I put 1/2 tsp of pink salt in with the big pinch of NoSalt.
I’m at a lose here as to what this pain is? I’ve been told since I’ve been Keto 20 months the pain could be from increased bone mass. Or it could be from muscle regeneration? If anyone had had this and could shed some light on the subject I would appreciate it.
Leg pain question
Maybe your legs are just plumb worn out from lifting all that weight for all those years. The damage is cumulative and not keto related and I doubt you can do anything about it with keto other than continue to reduce the load. Physio may help. Congrats on your progress so far.
Thank you
I don’t think it’s because of my weight or were you referring to me lifting weight?
My legs are fine other than this unusual pain that started. It comes and goes, I’ve tried adjusting my electrolytes to no avail. I think it’s something Keto related as I was told it could be bone mass forming or new muscle regeneration.
I was hoping someone hear had, had the same experience?
Good for you!
At least we know they aren’t the culprits for the leg pain.
Thank you
My doctor has been after me for about 10 years to do statins. He changed his tune when I told him I was doing Keto. Then when I returned a couple months later with dizziness, he dropped my 20mg BP med to 5mg. He told me my numbers looked better than he had seen in 10 years. He even congratulated me on my weight loss. He never mentions statins to me anymore.
Excellent! If you were only borderline diabetic, then I’d think your blood sugar would probably really be good by now, but have you had it checked? “Severe aching pain” - this reminds me of what I think of as regular “diabetic nerve pain.” I had it in my lower legs, really a “shooting pain,” a sharp thing that seemed to go up or down the lower legs. The elimination of this alone has made all my keto diet changes worthwhile.
If your blood sugar control is now good, then it may not be the cause, but it’s one thing to rule out.
Thank You 
My blood sugar is fine now, I’ve never been characterized as a diabetic thankfully. I was just on the verge of it before I started Keto
My current aching pain goes from my hips to my feet. Its more of the ache variety and Varys in intensity constantly. It’s worse some days and then it barely bothers me at all on other days. It does interrupt my sleep sometimes.
I was thinking Keto was changing something about my body. Since it comes and goes and is intense, then not? As I told my husband it reminds me of the growing pains I had as a child.
I do have a friend who reported that his neuropathy got worse as it healed. It might be that you are experiencing something similar?
I am sure you have had the obvious ruled out, but I just want to make sure. As a friend of mine had a similar issue with her leg that fits your description. She had sciatica. Have you ruled that out?
Your leg pain could have so many causes. Do they feel like cramps?
I’ve experienced a lot of very severe cramps since starting Keto. Cramps like I’ve never had before. They affect my feet, hands, arms and stomach area. I’m not overweight and I’ve always exercised. The cramps are more severe during and right after exercising.
In my case, I think it could be dehydration and lack of magnesium. But I’m not sure. Perhaps you’re also dehydrated and low on magnesium. But I’m not a MD. I’m just guessing based on things I’ve been reading. But it could all be a wrong guess.
Now that I read this, indeed it sounds like sciatica. Does it feel like a bad toothache, just that’s on the leg and not in your teeth?
Dehydration and lack of magnesium is one possibility. I hate sounding like a broken record, but the body manages potassium and magnesium much more easily if we are getting enough salt (sodium chloride). Two or three U.S. teaspoons (10-15 g) is the range to strive for, inclusive of salt already present in food.
As for sciatica, if that’s what it turns out to be, I found that a good acupuncturist was able to alleviate the pain for a couple of weeks at a time, during the years before I had to have a spinal fusion. (They say that RCT’s show no benefit to acupuncture, but even if the benefit was psychosomatic, it worked for me.) My standard advice is that f you can live with the sciatica, avoid the back surgery, but when permanent paralysis and incontinence become a real possibility, then definitely have the operation.
But sciatica is a shooting pain down the thigh, caused by pinching of the nerve where it leaves the spinal cord. Cramping is a spasm of the muscle. They should be fairly easy to differentiate.
Obviously, slightly different symptoms for different people.
My friend had her pain from just above the hip at the back, all the way down to her ankle. The severity differentiated. Some days she was in agony, other days it was so mild she barely noticed it. She did suffer some nights too. Some times it was shooting pain, other times just a radiating ache.
She had it for 5 years, then it slowly begun to clear up on it’s own. She is convinced that her buying new furniture was the reason it cleared up. Though she admits her doctor doesn’t agree.
That makes sense. The new furniture probably let her sit in a way that alleviated the pressure on the nerve.
My siatica wasn’t as bad as your friend’s. I had only infrequent days of agony, and usually it was only bad enough to make me limp. On a really bad day, of course, there was nothing to do but lie down till it passed, but most of the time I was functional. Interestingly, it would get worse when the weather was about to change. Apparently that’s not an old wives’ tale. The back operation was so traumatic, and the recovery period lasted so many months, that I can’t recommend it, except as a last resort before having to permanently use a wheelchair.
@Lotus_Lane Welcome to the forum… I don’t really have much to add to the excellent responses you’ve already received, but I am so inspired by your original post I just had to say CONGRATULATIONS to you (and your husband). You have taken your lives in a whole new direction - one that, you know firsthand, is such a better, healthier place.
As for your leg pain, given that you’ve ruled out magnesium deficiency as the culprit, my thoughts also ran to sciatica. It’s worth considering how folks who suffer from that kind of pain deal with it and see if any of those solutions ease it for you. The significant weight loss can be changing your posture (although, one might suspect, for the better) in ways that are bringing on differences in spinal/pressure points. Hard to tell from here.
Finally, I’m wondering if you’re checking your blood pressure regularly? Do you really need ANY bp meds at this point? When my wife went (mostly) keto, her bp fell sharply (yes, lots of salt and magnesium!) and her internist took her off of her bp medications entirely (and stopped her statins, too).
Anyhow, while I don’t have any miracle solutions for you, I’m so thrilled to hear of your progress. Stay the course and enjoy all the additional years of life you’re accumulating along the way. 
Congrats with your success. From what you state above I have had similar problems with pain like symptoms in my quad muscles. Every summer for the past 3 years, always away from home. I have issues like the ones you describe. 10 complete blood tests, 4 visits to medical specialists and I am no further a head. I am on no medications and eat very clean. My CRP level can be 20x the norm. Dr’s attribute this to over exercising. Even after 2 weeks of inactivity. Essentially this is muscle cramping. There is know known cause why the nerve is dysfunctional. It will eventually go away. Best of luck.
Thank you
That could possibly be what’s going on. I do have more feeling in my feet than I did before.
Thank you
I actually have sciatica in my right hip area and it’s a whole different ball game. It had improved greatly since I started Keto. Rarely bothers me anymore.