Pain in back hips and butt at day 4 of extendedfast

[Ryan_A]

Add one more person who’s experiencing the same symptoms. I found this thread out of desperation in trying to understand if this was normal or not, as I was ready to find a doctor to check me out. The pain came on quite suddenly right at the very beginning of day 4. It was absolutely excruciating and was almost impossible to sit, lay, drive or sleep. Had to prop several pillows all around me to find a pain level that would allow me to fall asleep, and then had to shift my body position constantly. Almost no sleep for 2 days.

For context this was my first fast beyond daily fasting. I consumed only black coffee, green tea, water, and herbal tea during the fast. I had approximately the same amount of coffee as I normally do, 2 cups.

I did add Trace mineral drops to my water as well as Celtic Sea salt, plus some additional magnesium each day. Day one was easy, day two I was very lethargic, day 3 I actually felt okay. Never any hunger pangs. I had a suspicion of potassium deficiency because my trace minerals didn’t have a lot of potassium in them so I added that the day after my pain started. As everyone has described the pain seemed to start in my lower to mid back and radiated downward through the backs of my thighs down to my knees. My primary suspect was the kidneys, perhaps due to the large volume of liquids I was consuming each day. I broke my fast shortly after the pain started as I was afraid it could be a serious problem. The pain level went from a 10 on intensity down to about a 7 after eating and adding potassium. It then slowly dwindled down from there but it would come and go at random. Laying down was the worst, but sitting down was a close second. Going for a walk seemed to help alleviate a little. It mostly subsided after about 3 days of breaking the fast.

I was hoping to find the answer in this long thread but it looks like this is still a mystery to everyone. I thought about the caffeine theory, but I had the same caffeine as usual and I can normally go weeks without any caffeine with no symptoms at all. So I’m reluctant to say that was the cause for me at least. I could see it affecting someone who is more sensitive to caffeine though. The uric acid explanation is interesting and has me thinking. I’ve never had gout so I’m not sure if that was my problem. I would be willing to try the ACV mixture as described though to see if it had any effect. I probably won’t do another fast anytime soon due to the serious impact the pain had on my work schedule, but I will check back here for additional updates hoping that somebody is able to identify the root cause. Thank you to all in this thread for your input and helping me to feel at least somewhat normal.

[ilovemy3cs]

I did a 30 day fast a couple years back - same thing… evening of day 3, severe back pains. I couldn’t get comfortable and so I paced, laid on the floor with my legs up, stretched - nothing. I found a home health remedy that used caster oil, with a cloth on your back sealed in cellophane - and it worked!!! I’m looking for that now to find the exact remedy, because I’m on day 4 of a fast and forgot all about it until my back began screaming at me this morning.

[Gill_B2]

Hi all.
I found this site due to searching for ‘hip, lower back & leg pain’ whilst fasting.
I’m in day 5 now, but the agonising pains started on the evening of the 3rd day. I couldn’t sleep, was pacing the floor, stretched every way possible, but nothing relieved the pains. They were shooting down my legs to my ankles.
I’ve fasted on and off for a couple of years, but only to 48 hours, never a prolonged fast. As always, I get a headache for a few days, could be caffeine withdrawal also. But nothing prepared me for these constant, nagging/searing pains from my hips down.
Last night I started massaging deeply with a heated shiatsu device. It was very painful, but I kept at it most of the evening whilst watching TV… I also took it to bed with me and continued running it over my hips, buttocks, tops ofy legs and lower back. A lot of the searing pain dissipated enough to allow me a good 8 hours sleep.
I woke this morning & could feel it, although a massive reduction in intensity.
I’ve just completed a 40 minute beginner Pilates workout plus a 30 minute specific hip/lower back stretches & targeted exercises. I feel so much better, most of the pain has gone, just slight residual hip flexor pain (which I always suffer from). I believe trigger point massage helped tremendously.
Hope this helps someone as it nearly stopped my fast.

[quote=“Susiew, post:1, topic:22077, full:true”]
Hi all
Complete newbie here.

About 6 to 7 weeks ago I decided I needed to change. Menopause meant I just kept putting weight on, mostly round my middle, rest of me is skinny. Bought a blood glucose monitor and my BS was def higher than the norm
Started with one day fast. Did a 3 day fast a couple of weeks later and have just finished 5 day water only fast. Now looking towards more of a kerogeic lifestyle.

My question is around the intense pain I had in my lower back hips and butt. Started at about the 4.5 day mark. So bad that I quit the fast 3hrs short of the 5th 24 hr period. Feel fine now]

[d7b0030b3cb51ba49865]

Just curious. Why are people opting to do extended fasts when they seem to cause such discomfort? Are the benefits really any more than simple keto diet or keto with OMAD? What are the benefits that people have experienced with their own eyes?

[Wendy198]

Oops, somehow I got logged out and replaced with the strange user name above! My question still holds!

[atomicspacebunny]

My opinion:

If you could do a real fast like they do in Russian Retreats for two whole weeks; they have demonstrated and documented the reversal of many countless diseases. That’s what you call full blown autophagy and should only be done once a year.

Unlike partial autophagy from time restricted eating and eating what you want and how much you want.

Caloric restriction which is like prolonged fasting can do damage (too much autophagy) if you do it continually and your not diabetic.

If your brave enough to do the cold thermal adaption method and your goal is to burn body fat without restricting any kind of food, you could skip all of the above.

Footnotes:

[1] ”…Autophagy includes five phases: initiation, elongation and autophagosome formation, fusion, and autolysosome formation. Macromolecules are targeted to double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes and then autolysosomes form by fusion with lysosomes. …” …More

[2] The three different types of autophagy: (a) macroautophagy, (b) microautophagy, and (c ) chaperone-mediated autophagy. Mitophagy (d) is a specialized form of macroautophagy, which selectively degrades mitochondria. …” …More

[Annja]

I have this theory that those getting the pain are relatively lean people. It would be interesting to assemble the statistics here. If you encounter this pain (hips/but/legs around day 4 of a fast), please mention in this thread if you are overweight or lean or something in between.

For me: on day 4 of a water fast I had this pain. It was like my leg bones hurt. It stopped soon after I broke my fast. I am not overweight and not too lean: BMI 22.5 (with a bit more muscle than average).

[J-Fix]

Try a muscle hook massage tool. It’s been helping me out A LOT.

[Orpheus]

The recommended daily allowance of potassium if 4,700 mg a day, so I wouldn’t worry about getting too much unless you have a kidney problem (which could be life threatening.) The reason there is a buzz warning people about too much potassium is bc some ppl don’t realize they have a kidney problem and too much potassium could kill them. That’s why the FDA restricted the maximum dosage to 99mg per supplement, and why, to get a bigger supplement dosage, you have to get it by prescription, to make sure you don’t have a kidney problem.

In reality, too much potassium is very rare. The far bigger problem with potassium is it’s almost impossible to get the RDA through diet, it would take about 10 cups of high potassium veggies daily to reach it, so almost everybody is potassium deficient.

[Orpheus]

Thanks for letting me know about the Modius. I looked it up and they have one to aid in sleeping. I might give it a try, they have a good return policy if it doesn’t work.

[Orpheus]

How much baking soda did you take?

[Abi34]

@Orpheus I’m not T but when I get the hot achy joints and severe pains in my lower back, hips and legs, I take 1/2 Tsp of baking soda in a coffee mug , pour 1/4 cup boiling water over it, stir til the fizzing stops then fill the mug with cool water and drink it. If pain is really bad, I might do that again before bed. It always amazes me how quickly the hot pains go away.

I have a half baked theory that the pains are related to bromide detox. After a couple of doses of baking soda water, I sometimes get really really cloudy sediment in my urine which I’ve read could be the bromide being pushed out of the body.
Increasing salt could be a type of salt loading which could be pushing the bromide and other halides out of the system.

[ketoloss]

I’m having the same issues with lower back, buttocks and back of thighs. I requested my Dr for a PT consultation so I’m waiting to hear back from the pt to be evaluated. I need go to the chiropractor more often . I’m guessing it’s my body trying to adjust to the rapid weight loss.

[JohnDrekstar]

5 Day Water Fast started Nov 10, to today Nov 13. The 2nd night on Nov 11th had harsh pains in back , legs, shoulders like sciatic pain. Only have taken water.

These pains went away night of Nov 12th. I am 52 with bmi of 21. Lean muscle. Sleep was okay, not great.

The reason for starting this 5 day fast was medical health related. After seeing cardiologist and ER for chest pain and palpitations that would not stop, they gave no solutions except to say the heart looked fine but schedule lipid panel 1 month ftom now, and to just live with the heart irregular heart beat.

After 1st Day of fasting, my heart returned to normal. Now I feel amazing, heart beat is strong and consistent 65 bpm. And no longer have pounding in my throat and chest pains. I believe to have entered ketosis or autophagy.

[Lucija]

Hey guys, I just joined to tell you I’m experiencing this exact pain and it’s been such a struggle! I’m not even on a full fast, but am finishing day 5 of my 21 day Daniel fast (basically plant based diet but much more restrained, no processed foods, white grains, sugar, caffeine, etc). The pain started at the end of day 3, it literally woke me up and for the rest of the night I could barely sleep, switched positions constantly to ease the pain for a brief moment. In the last 2 days I took 2 pain killers per day because I just couldn’t stand the pain at work, not being able to sleep, etc. I feel best when I am walking so I try to walk as much as I can but unforunately I cannot do it 24/7. This is by far the hardest part of my fast and until now I thought I was going crazy since I couldn’t find any explanation or similar experiences. I thought it was one of caffeine or sugar withdrawal symptoms but didn’t find a proper explanation. Reading your experiences makes me feel better because I think this is a sign of my body going through some positive and beneficial changes (although it doesn’t feel like it ). Also, I tried supplementing magnesium, zinc and calcium but didn’t experience improvements. I hope it will get better soon, for all of us going through it.

[MohairMeadows]

Add me to the club. I did a water fast years ago and had to stop the fast because of the severe pain. I did have sacroiliac issues prior to though.
I drink coffee during my fast, in the beginning as a crutch, I am also insulin resistant and I wonder if I am already dehydrated going into the fast and when my insulin levels drop, my kidneys flush out any remaining water. So if I am already dehydrated, I need more electrolytes than the average person. I haven’t tested this out but am preparing to do another fast. I am going to drink Snake juice daily before hand. I haven’t done a fast in 10 years due to the pain, because it is excruciating. The other thing though is simply eating makes the pain go away. So insulin goes back up and it removes the pain. I really need to do a fast.

Edited to add: I talked with a fasting coach at TrueNorth and he said I had so many toxins in my fat that it was causing the pain as they were released from the tissues. (I am 20 lbs overweight btw.)
He said to slow down the fast by drinking juices and once the pain was gone to continue the fast. Sounds like a plan, I hope it works.

Edited to add 4/18/21: That did not work. But upon waking when my BS was 50, the pain came again. See other post below for those details.

[Rachl]

I am reading this thread …and so relieved to find it…because I am having all of the pains described here and could not sleep at all last night. But, I am not doing long term fasting. I am actually on day 6 of IF (20:4) with Keto. I was relieved to find that there are others dealing with this because I really thought something was very wrong with me, but also curious as to why I don’t see anyone else having these issues with IF/Keto.

[MohairMeadows]

I am thinking my pain is the hip rotator muscles which also affects the hamstring muscles in the back of the legs and the butt… Thanks to Keto_Jim for leading me down this path. So I read this yoga blog post about tight hamstrings that could only be fixed by stretching the hip rotator muscles. Why does the fast affects the hip rotator muscles? Although it’s a big guess, but during hypoglycemia, when the muscles are starved for glucose, they can cramp. This is my theory at the moment. I found a video that talks about stretching the piriformis but according to my blog it’s the hip rotators. Someone try this and let me know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip0xXylORVM

[MohairMeadows]

I am having this pain with Intermittent Fasting. Originally it was during an extended fast…But now, I eat twice a day which is what started the pain.

[MohairMeadows]

So I got to test out my theory: I fasted for 5 days and my blood sugar was at 50 when I got out of bed. Sure enough I got that awful, excruciating pain, except this time it was also in my arms and upper back. I thought I was gonna die, it was really, really bad. So, I raised my blood sugar back up with some juice but the pain remained. With no lessening of the pain, I took a potassium and calcium pill, and also drank a green smoothie, and out of desperation took two motrin. Finally the pain left and I don’t know what actually helped.
I read Hypoglycemia affects potassium levels. So my next theory to test is, before going to bed each night when doing a fast, is to take a potassium and calcium pill. But for sure the LOW blood sugar is the catalyst.
Stretching did not help at all.