Low Potassium Symptoms After 3 Months

#1

I’ve been on keto for about 3 months and feel that I am pretty keto adapted. I am generally pretty healthy and am trying to do keto long-term, not necessarily for weight loss. In the last two weeks, I have been through two Christmas parties at steakhouses and have eaten quite a bit of meat at each one. I didn’t cheat with anything – I just had some veggies as well. Anyways, after the second one I didn’t feel extremely well. Since then, I have had a number of low potassium symptoms – fast heartbeat, feeling lightheaded, anxious (not normal for me), as well as “feeling” my heart beating which is very unusual. I have experienced much of this although very briefly in induction.

When I look at RDA recommendations, I should supposedly be having 4700mg of potassium each day, but I have been short by about 1000-1500mg per day. Over the last few days, I have added a lot of potassium in the form of a blended spinach juice (water+spinach+lemon+stevia) and avocados, but this does not seem to be helping.

At this point, I am thinking about breaking out of ketosis at least temporarily. As a last ditch effort, I have tried adding some additional salt just to see if that may help. Previously, I have been doing 1000g of potassium with water and 400mg of magnesium. I haven’t been supplementing sodium, but generally add salt in my morning omelet.

I could use some recommendations as I would not like to quit keto and then go through induction again later as I am pretty fat adapted now.

Thanks,

bb28

#2

This is far more likely to be the problem. Potassium supplementation is rarely required & can in fact cause heart palpitations.

#3

I also worry about potassium. I met with a nutritionist when I first started Keto to ask how to get more potassium in my diet without taking large dose supplement pills. The pharmacy keeps the 600mg tablets behind the counter, as apparently they need to be taken with doctor supervision due to heart and stomach ulcer risks.

The nutritionist said that while the RDA is 4700mg daily, most North Americans don’t get anywhere close to enough in their diet and are fine. I compared some of my pre-Keto MFP logs to my current (Keto) numbers, and found my results matched what she said. I was consistently lower than 4700, more like 2,500-3,500. On Keto though without avocados or supplementation, I range from 800-1500. If I let my potassium slip for a couple days I also get those uncomfortable and scary symptoms you describe. I’d say that the electrolyte management is really the most challenging part of the Keto way of eating.

#4

Interesting, last time I did keto I knew I was low sodium because I would get headaches. I don’t think I was supplementing potassium before except for maybe 300mg in pills which in retrospect is useless. I’m adding in some more salt water today and will see if it makes a difference.

bb28

#5

FYI post from @Brenda re: electrolytes/ketoaide

(Carl Keller) #6

From the way I understand it, eating LCHF keeps our insulin levels low and insulin helps us retain salt. Since our insulin levels are lower than before, we need more dietary salt than we used to need… a lot more.

Shoot for 2+ teaspoons per day and some even say 2.5-3 teaspoons.

And welcome to the forum.

(Edith) #7

I agree with @anon54735292. You need around 2 teaspoons of salt a day. Also, not drinking enough water can cause those symptoms. You need 2-3 liters of water a day while following a ketogenic diet.

#8

I’m not trying to be argumentative… just trying to understand. Low sodium is hyponatremia. Wikipedia says the symptoms are:

Signs and symptoms of hyponatremia include nausea and vomiting, headache, short-term memory loss, confusion, lethargy, fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, and decreased consciousness or coma.[10] The presence and severity of signs and symptoms are related to the level of salt in the blood, with lower levels of plasma sodium associated with more severe symptoms. However, emerging data suggest that mild hyponatremia (plasma sodium levels at 131–135 mmol/L) is associated with numerous complications or subtle, presently unrecognized symptoms[11] (for example, increased falls, altered posture and gait, reduced attention)

I don’t have any of these symptoms. I have done keto without enough sodium before and it always manifests as a headache and usually goes away after 30 minutes of taking salt.

bb28

#9

Broadly speaking if your sodium is in check then your potassium will pretty much take care of itself so long as you aren’t getting none at all. I got dehydrated over a long hot summer & my symptoms were elevated heart rate, palpitations & light headedness. Salt & water worked for my issues but perhaps yours are different. You do need to be very careful with potassium supplementation though so perhaps see a doctor.

(Carl Keller) #10

I suppose it depends on what resource you are reading. From personal experience, light headedness was a symptom I had. I increased my sodium and it went away.

Is It Normal to Feel Lightheaded on Keto Diet?

The best ways to avoid feeling lightheaded, according to Dr. Axe, are to increase your water intake(at least half your body weight in ounces daily), add a little bit of sea salt to fluids and meals, and consume more vegetables and adaptogenic herbs.

For what it’s worth, sodium is a cheap and essential need for ketosis. So what’s the harm in trying this? If you have a fear of sodium because of what’s been taught to you then I encourage you to google salt myth and read some of the science that prooves salt has an unfair, bad reputation.

Salt myth…
About 40,800,000 results

(Mike W.) #11

Start salting your salt. No, really. Sodium helps to keep the other electros in balance.

#12

Ok, I just had some water with 2 tsp of Himalayan salt … yummy. If I guesstimate what I was consuming before, I was probably getting about 1000mg a day. It’s interesting because up until about a week ago, I was sailing along with keto … eating exactly what was on my plan and never hungry or tired. Then I did get started tired in the middle of the day and bridged it by drinking coffee. Apparently, the caffeine depletes the sodium, so that 1000mg may have become more like 800mg or so…

bb28

#13

I am not a doctor, but most of the fear of potassium is overblown. The danger in potassium supplementation is more in taking large boluses than the total amount you get. Increase your potassium intake slowly and you should be fine. I know I have to supplement with extra potassium or I get muscle cramps. Increasing sodium just makes them worse.

#14

I agree. I think some of the traditional research isn’t necessarily right for keto because there is a lot of variables going on that aren’t the same as for people that have medical problems, which is usually where the research is geared.

My take on water is generally that the more of it you drink, the more electrolytes you deplete. So, I generally drink when I’m thirsty.

I’m definitely going to make sure I am getting 2000mg of sea salt per day to see if that helps.

bb28

#15

It may or it may not be potassium. When one of your electrolytes is off, I’ve read it can cause the body to dump others as well. Not sure if this is right.

However, I was having similar symptoms, but more intense with my blood pressure shooting up and heart racing. This went away when I increased my magnesium slowly to 500 mg daily. I try to get as much from food as possible, and then take a GOOD, well absorb-able supplement. I had been using magnesium oxide, which doesn’t absorb well, but works well to relieve constipation. My own symptoms came on after about 3 months of keto. I feel great now.

It may be something else, but check all your electrolytes and make sure you are getting enough of each. Don’t take too much potassium though, I’ve read it can harm some people. I keep my intake around 4000 or 4500, even though I’ve read we need a little more.

#16

“Second, it may not be potassium, but may be magnesium.”

Thanks, I’m pretty sure it isn’t magnesium. I had magnesium issues last time in keto and I read Dr. Carolyn Dean’s protocol from The Magnesium Miracle book. She basically says to increase magnesium until you have loose stools and then back off on the dosage to determine the max amount you can tolerate. I am using magnesium gluconate.

bb28

(Carl Keller) #17

2000 mg is not even 1 teaspoon. The RDA is 2300 and we should be getting more. Some keto experts suggest up to 4000 per day.

I salt my food to taste and add a pinch to my coffees so i don’t have to deal with the unpleasantness of drinking brine. Ocassionally I will drink a warm mug of bone broth with added salt. Frank’s Red Hot also helps me easily get more sodium into my diet.

And that is your choice, but when you post in the forum and tell us you have are having such and such symptoms and people make suggestions to which you tells us you do such and such because this is what you think, what’s the point in asking for suggestions?

Burning fat costs one water molecule per two carbon atoms in a fatty acid molecule. The repeated process of pulling two carbons at a time from fatty acids is called “beta oxidation” or the “fatty acid spiral.” You can see here that H2O is invested in the second step.

Carbohydrates are the opposite. “Hydrate” is in the name so they bring a little of their own water to the party, about one water molecule per glucose molecule as they’re burned. Burning carbs, fats, or proteins eventually gives back water at the very end of the process, but burning fat costs more water during the process compared to carbs, and more overall.

#18

I guess the issue is determining who you want to believe. Dr. Berg says not to drink too much water. Obviously, something with me is wrong and I’m pretty sure it is electrolytes. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be posting. And I am open to ideas, I’m just trying to make sure as best as possible I’m doing the right thing.

I’m getting an electrolyte IV tomorrow because it’s easy and I can :slight_smile:

I know I haven’t been drinking very much water, so I can change that.

As for salt, it’s just amazing that we would need that much, but I’ll increase it as well.

I really appreciate all of the responses. This is the information I need to make sure I am able to stay on keto.

bb28

#19

I’d be wary of Berg’s advice - there are far better resources out there such as Drs Phinney & Volek.

Will you be getting your levels tested beforehand?

#20

No, I wish I could. There is a Hollywood-type spa near where I live that does these IVs and I was able to get an appointment for first thing tomorrow morning. I would prefer to do this through diet, although I don’t feel like I can remain in this state for too long. I would rather fix it through the IV and then figure out the diet details afterwards.

If I can’t fix this soon, the only alternative would be to drop keto which I really, really don’t want to do, especially if it is due to my own ignorance of something simple like how much water and salt to consume.

bb28