Sleepless


(Katie) #1

I am having a lot of trouble sleeping because of leg cramps, heart palpitations, foot cramps, back pain. With all that going on, you can see why I might not sleep.

This happens beginning the second night on a fast.

I take all sorts of electrolytes including salt. So much salt that I had diarrhea (a obvious symptom too much salt)

Help. I can only think I am not getting enough of something… like I said, I take multiple supplements for electrolytes.


(Polly) #2

I am sorry to hear you have had such a bad night.

Had you perhaps considered stopping all supplementation whilst fasting? I sometimes find that I get leg and foot cramps at night when I am taking Vit D, magnesium & Vit K supplements regularly.


(Katie) #3

Well, I read somewhere that heart palpitations are the result of too little Magnesium? Potassium, and salt which regulates the electric pulses in the heart. But…if so, how can I figure out what and how much? I know it is t salt because I got too much. What are the symptoms of too much of the others?

I read somewhere that vit D is the key to good sleep. I take about 20,000 daily…which is the basic requirement. Cutting back from the daily minimum? I thought to replace that by sitting in the sun…but the sun is so hot here, it is just unbearable to do it for more than 5 minutes. How can I tell if I have too much vit D? Symptoms of over does?


#4

What supplements are you taking, and how much? Those symptoms aren’t normal, as you know. Dumb question perhaps, but how much water are you drinking?

If your kidneys are healthy then your body should simply get rid of excess electrolytes. At least, that’s what I’ve read. Your electrolytes may not be balanced. You may be getting too much of one thing and that may throw off all the others.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

My first reaction is that this might not be diet-related, but that something else is going on that you need to check out. Just for the sake of your peace of mind, it might be a good idea to consult your physician.

As for the mineral supplements, have you had your blood tested lately (i.e., since going keto)? Do you have numbers to show that you really do need to supplement? A lot people find that if their salt intake is at the right level, the interlocking of the body’s regulatory mechanisms also keeps potassium, magnesium, and calcium properly regulated, too.

My personal bias is that our diet should provide what we need without supplementation, and there are data showing that a ketogenic diet can help the body either absorb nutrients better, or do more with what we get (depending on the micronutrient). Of course, there are always going to be people with special problems that require them to supplement, but my impression is that most of us should be fine with those minerals, if we get enough salt, which you clearly are. So, in addition to talking about the cramps, it might also be a good idea to check with your physician about whether or not you really need to be supplementing those minerals.

Vitamin D is a different matter, one I don’t really understand all that clearly. It is made from cholesterol, so if you are getting enough saturated and monounsaturated fat in your diet, you should have plenty of cholesterol for your body to use (cholesterol is the precursor of many hormones, plus being used in the brain and in the walls of every cell in our body). I understand that if we get enough sun, and we have enough cholesterol in our systems, we are probably making enough Vitamin D. But I would hesitate to tell anyone to stop taking Vitamin D who has a reason to take it. It is essential for bone growth and (along with Vitamin K) for getting calcium out of arterial plaque and into the bones where it belongs.


(Katie) #6

On a fasting day I take
Multivitamin
Turmeric Curcumin. 500mg
Potassium Gluconate 1100mg
Magnesium. 400mg
Chromium. 1000mcg
D3. 22,000 iu
K2. 100mcg
Alpha Lipoic Acid. 200 mg
Cod liver oil
1 tsp of Himalayan salt (1/3 3 time during the day)

On a feasting day I drop the multivitamin and only do 1/3 tsp salt twice a day.

All these issues during the night only begin to show after 36 hours fasting.

The Vit D is really based on the studies I read from a sleep doctor. She is very careful to avoid recommending anything above 20,000 iu, even though she has treated people with sleep apnea with up to 40,000 iu. Like I said…sitting in the sun here is just too intense and hot,…cannot do it for more than 5 minutes…just roasting.