Hello
I have been on Keto for over four weeks, and u feel extremely bad. I have a horrendous headache and stomach pain, and I cannot stop passing water. I am now struggling to sleep, and I am extremely tired, does this go away as I am on the verge of stopping
The feeling I have is if I am withdrawing from Pain Meds,I hope it goes away as I have lost weight which I am happy with but I cannot continue with how bad I feel
David
Hi David,
Iām new to Keto too and Iāve had similar trials with frequent bathroom stops, worse through the night. I still have to get up once a night most nights but thatās far better than five times a night for the first 6 weeks.
Iāve always had insomnia but it was far worse due to being frequently woken for a pee but it has improved very recently. Iāve cut down the fluid intake from 14:00 now too.
I really, really hope things get easier for you soon. 
Magnesium is a good idea for me too, thanks @ctviggen. Do you supplement potassium too please? I use potassium iodate but not sure if thatās the same as dietary potassium.
Sounds like electrolyte imbalance all day long, which is common at first. How are you eating daily? How overweight are you? The more water youāre holding, the more youāll flush it out at first. You need to supplement your electrolytes at first either way, that should take care of your headaches and most likely your lethargy. That aside, you sure youāre eating enough and of the right stuff?
Are you tracking your intake? If so what does a day of eating look like for you, if not, a general overview will do.
Hello everybody
Thank you for the responses. Much appreciated and, in particular, to ifod14. My physical therapist told me I need more electrolytes because I have been getting horrendous cramps in my left leg since I had my knee replaced, which was over five years ago. And I am not eating very much because Iām not a big eater. Still, I know Iām extremely insulin resistant as I just had another appointment with my diabetic nurse, who confirmed this.
She wants to put me on a stronger type of insulin. Still, I said no insulin is causing me massive weight gain, and yes, I am overweight by quite a large amount. I am probably 6 to 7 stones. So I bought some electrolyte powder that tastes beautiful. Still, I was told not to drink too much as it could cause even more problems.
I like the way of eating keto. The simple types of food please me the most. I do not drink alcohol, I do not drink milk, although occasionally I may have a splash in a cup of tea; I donāt eat breakfast, I do not eat dinner. I have my evening meal around 6 oāclock, which probably consists of around 800 to 1000 cal, I go to bed around 2.30 to 3 AM, and around midnight I will have some Greek yoghurt. Then, I will have coffee with butter and coconut oil during the day, and that is it.
David
Please do a search on the forum for info on electrolytes and salt. There is A LOT of discussion about just those troubles.
You need to have about 10 g of sodium which is approximately 2 to 2.5 teaspoons of salt a day. You can get this via your food and supplementing extra. Getting your sodium levels up will help you hold on to water and stop the headaches.
It sounds like your nurse knows nothing about keto. Keto causes our kidneys to stop holding on to sodium, so you need to up your salt. It wonāt hurt you to take in too much. If you get a little puffy and bloated from too much salt, you can ease off a bit, but I would start with the 2 teaspoons a day.
Maybe measure it out in the morning and use it throughout the day. Put it on your food, put 1/4 teaspoon in your water when you drinkā¦. See how you feel and then adjust up or down.
Yes. So much yes. Salt and probably some magnesium for good measure. But salt for sure!
Davidā¦ I had terrible leg cramps in the beginning and started taking magnesium citrate powder, in a large glass of water before bed. Cured the leg cramps, helped with insomnia and even regularity. Oh and I added salt to it also.
When in doubt, more salt, magnesium, maybe potassium and it may sound crazy counter-productive but make sure you are still drinking enough water.
K, hereās the problem with that. When weāre bigger, we have a very high metabolic rate, it literally takes a lot of fuel to move big people around, and to just sit there as well. So at say 1400 cals? thatās under eating for a ānormalā weight person in most cases. A really heavy person doing that is starvation. Even if you want to lose a lot of fat, thatās not a good way to go about it. What that will do is slow your metabolic rate which makes losing fat even harder. When a bigger person can do that, and not be hungry all the time with that little, is a sign youāve already slowed it down.
Do what you do, but keep that in mind, the last thing you need is a slow metabolism when you have a lot of fat to lose. I did just that to myself, self-inflicted from stupidity, not fun to fix.
Iām over it all now, but definitely added about a year to my loss vs what it shouldāve been.
Best not to mess with potassium beyond maybe adding lite salt to food. Thereās lots of discussions about it.
Thank you all
I am truly grateful for all the fantastic advice given. I will do my best to increase my salt level and ensure I get more electrolytes. I already take Magnesium, but it is Magnesium Glycarate and not Citrate. Would that make a difference?
A cardiologist told me to take this particular type of Magnesium as I also struggle with had to control blood pressure.
once again, thank you to everybody was offered me help and advice. I am truly truly grateful
David
As a point of interest, thereās an established link between low sodium and high blood pressure that most doctors / cardiologists arenāt aware of, or just donāt like to mention.
Get yourself a copy of this, or check out one of the many podcasts heās been on.
Thank you for the link to the book I have ordered from amazon. I look very much forward to reading it
David
Please donāt throw in the towel after you already have a month under your belt - and please donāt attribute your keto way of eating for how lousy you are feeling (right now). Iād love to see you really give this a proper shot before deciding this isnāt for you. IMO, for you to have success, you need to eat more. I know you said you donāt eat a lot, but you still need to fuel your body regularly and consistently. Get enough fat and keep the total carbs as low under 20g/day as you can. Once you become fat adapted, your body will naturally tell you itās got this and it doesnāt need to eat as often anymore. Until then, Iād suggest eating three meals a day with no snacks. They donāt have to be huge meals, but whatever they are, they need to be able to carry you to your next meal without hunger or craving. Iād incorporate the butter coffee into either breakfast or lunch. If you truly donāt want to eat hardly anything at breakfast or lunch, then have a butter coffee with your food at each.
Please believe many of us here who have found that keto is our answer and have enjoyed weight loss and health benefits because of it. The benefit to having more weight to lose is that your body usually responds faster, especially being a man. Believe that you can resolve your T2D. Trust the process and āstart overā with a new way of doing keto from how you have been doing it so far. You need to have a way of eating that is sustainable and that makes you feel better. That is through sufficient eating. Keto, if followed correctly, can be your answer. If you have a chance, read the success stories on dietdoctor.com. They are very relatable. Many people lost weight and resolved their T2D. Best!
did you have to do that before? just wondering cause I have no idea what withdrawl from pain meds would be so if you āfeel thisā thenā¦just sayinā
but key being there are tons of Keto people to help you. It truly is time but key also being, TAKE CARE OF YOU thru the detox of toxins from the body, the hormones changinā radically, the body healing and while horrible for so many, we have to think always forward, cause forward is the way out ya know. Our adaption time line will never be the same for all so KEEP on going but work thru every problem ya have. Not sleeping well, nap when ya can at all times! Donāt wanna do this or that, donāt 
Feel off but wanna eat xyz keto food then eat that. We gotta get thru the big time as it comes for us to find the other side.
wishing you the best way forward. Rock it out and continue full speed ahead cause adaption/detox and more is a phase so many of us have to get thru, you will!!! 
4 wks is a very very young change Keto person 
you got a long way to go baby! 
and if this great change is what you desire and need for health you will get thru it all, again, just take care of you doing it as you need.
Hello again
Genuinely motivational, and yes, I will not give up just at the moment. I am a pretty determined character, I smoked cigarettes 60 per day for over 20 years, and I stopped cold turkey. It was Rough but was okay in the end. I know these feelings will probably disappear, but the pain in my head is sometimes unbearable.
It just occurred to me that my problem may be from antibiotics. I had an injury on 28 July with a large haematoma and infection in my forearm. I have had 260 antibiotics and 1 L antibiotic drip in the seven weeks since the injury. I just finished a course of antibiotics three days ago, and I know I feel rough on antibiotics. Maybe that is making me feel ill.
I have withdrawn from pain medication on multiple occasions. This is because I suffer from widespread osteoarthritis. I have had both knees replaced already, and I also suffer from fibromyalgia and have significant muscle pain, hence the painkillers. My doctor wanted me to come off painkillers for a while to give my body a chance to recover before going back on them again, and coming off them can be pretty horrendous as they are narcotic painkillers.
I will persist and take on all the advice given, and I appreciate your time, take care, and have a lovely weekend.
David
Ooooh, for sure. Antibiotics make me feel awful for ages after I have to take a course, which thankfully doesnāt happen very often at all. And now I think about it, the last really strong ones I had to take after developing a massive abscess in my lower jaw did actually give me a stinker of a persistent headache amongst other āfunā things.
I certainly wouldnāt rule that out!
More calories! And salt. Donāt fall into the trap of restricting calories. The only thing to restrict is total carbs. 20g or less if possible. But eat!
Hello
The only reason calories are being restricted is because Iām simply not hungry, I donāt feel like eating, and I am not going out of my way to purposely miss meals. I have always been this way; I donāt have a big appetite. The reason I believe the large amount of weight gain is due to the amount of insulin I was taking.
David