Super Nauseous 2 weeks in - quick fixes?

(Alison) #1

Hey all - hope this finds everyone having a great weekend!

Any ideas on this from those who have been there: I had keto flu on my Day 2 and have been fine ever since, even on a 3 day fast. Today, however, I have extreme nausea, am a bit dizzy, and my arms are tingling a bit. Really extreme nausea. I have been quite strict and yesterday was only 6g carb total, today is 5 so far… Should I up the carbs a bit? More salt? More protein?

Thank you, Cheers! Alison

*I’ve seen other nausea posts, but I didn’t see a fix, my apologies if this is redundant

(Cece Blackstock) #2

Sounds to me like electrolyte imbalance… maybe try some sodium? Maybe some magnesium as well? (Assuming macros are on point) :laughing:

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #3

Personally I would try salt first
Eat a pinch and wait a half hour. Keto is diuretic too. Check your fluids.

(Alison) #4

thank you, okay, downing 2 more cups of bouillon (for total of 3) and magnesium capsule… will update

(Alison) #5

thank you! on it…

(Alison) #6

fluids are good… possibly a little too much water, even (?)

(Alison) #7

UPDATE: Looks like that’s what it was, it took 4 cups of bouillon and a magnesium, I didn’t want to over do it so I had one cup every half hour until I felt like it was enough. Still little woozy, but SO. MUCH. BETTER. Thank you both!!!

I’ve been drinking bouillon everyday and adding sea salt to everything I can think of… I can’t believe how much salt it took on top of that - kind of blew my mind… I was even hesitant to take the additional bouillon and magnesium b/c I thought it might make the nausea worse, I didn’t think I could keep it down. It felt very counter-intuitive, but it worked! I’m floored. Is there a generally recommended amount of daily salt, or does it seem to vary by individual? I took in a LOT of salt today!

(Linda) #8

Brian Williamson on the Ketovangelist podcast suggests 2 teaspoons per day, but I’m no expert and tend to simply stick with what makes me feel good which is Celtic Sea Salt on my tongue and let it dissolve slowly, especially when I go on my long walks.

Are you having plain water in addition to the bullion?

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #9

3000-5000 mg sodium

I know, crazy huh?

(Alison) #10

Thank you Brenda! This just happens to be exactly how much it took to take care of the nausea. Interestingly, I started supplementing this much per day and found it makes me nauseous to over do the supplementing too, so I’m doing 1 c bouillon and liberal sea salt on food daily, and then adding the extra (every 30 mins) when I start to feel nausea coming on. Thank you for your help, and for sharing your story/inspiration, info & recipes on the podcasts! A little bummed I’m 19 days in and only down initial 7 lbs water weight and stalled, but the Femail episode helped :slight_smile: KCKO

(Alison) #11

Thank you, Linda! Right on, that’s exactly the amount it took… I realized the bouillon only has 800mg sodium and the salt has 2,300mg per teaspoon… so that’s why I felt like I was getting so much, and really wasn’t… details! :wink: I tried it under the tongue, you are a stronger woman than I am! I am adding the salt into my cup of bouillon and trying to disguise it that way. Yes, I’m having plain water with it… more plain water each day than I could ever have imagined myself drinking, but I’m really craving it! Thank you!!

(Sarah Herlihy) #12

I just picked up this thread as i am about 3-4 weeks in and feeling so tired and nauseous and just not good. I feel like the fix would be salt and am worried as to why i am craving this. I feel like just eating a shake of salt which is so weird for me. Im going to have some vegie broth which is quite salty and see if that helps. I am generally a coffee fiend but cant even stand the thought of that at the moment.

(Ellie Baum) #14

In “The salt fix” episode, I believe they said you lose a significant amount of salt (anybody remember? Quarter teaspoon? Half teaspoon?) with just four cups of coffee. So when I end up drinking more coffee I supplement with more salt.

(Alison) #15

Hi Sarah,

This is totally normal, no need to worry! We need about 1 1/3 to 2 1/4 teaspoons of salt, or 3,000-5,000 mg of sodium daily on Keto, or 4-6 cups of a standard 800 mg sodium broth. (I know, it seems like quite a lot) Many dissolve sea salt directly on or under their tongue - this is fast acting. I can’t handle the taste of straight salt, so I add sea salt to my broth to increase it’s sodium content along with some olive oil to help soften the taste… I wait about 20 minutes between mugs to see if I feel better… it doesn’t take long to take effect, but I also don’t want to overdo it… are you taking a high quality magnesium and a multivitamin? I think potassium is on that list too, you might double check that. Also important to drink lots of water and stay hydrated. Hope you’re feeling better very soon! This phase only lasted a short time for me, and I don’t have to salt supplement quite so much these days.

#16

This is interesting, I use zero sodium salt and feel great! Isn’t there sodium in the food we eat?
3 ounces cream cheese has 273 mg etc

(Sarah Herlihy) #17

Thankyou so much for this. Good to hear its normal as i am loving my new way of eating and in all other respects its so amazing. This all makes perfect sense now.

#18

Of course there is salt in the food you eat but when you realize that some people need upwards of 5 grams of sodium per day that’s very hard to get from just food. It seems like over time you can get away with less salt in some cases as your body adapts, maybe that’s what going on with you? The salt fix is an awesome book, give it a read or listen. I loved it.

(Alison) #19

Hi there! Yes, it sure is interesting… all of it has been very interesting and eye opening, what a journey right! Good for you not needing to worry about supplementing, it’s definitely not my favorite treat :wink: Of course there’s sodium in our food, I personally can’t choke down 11-18 oz of cream cheese per day or enough sodium in food generally to meet my daily needs, so I supplement with salt. I believe it depends on many variables as well, how long you’ve been keto, how strictly keto, daily food intake, exercise, hydration, other minerals/vitamins, temperatures, etc. I don’t need as much salt these days, but initially I became very ill and wouldn’t have been able to continue this WOE had I not supplemented heavily with salt in the early days. Cheers!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #20

Dr. Stephen Phinney explains in one of his standard lectures (available on the Low Carb Down Under YouTube channel) that carbohydrate promotes water retention and the retention of salt by the kidneys. So ketosis allows all that fluid to be excreted, along with the salt. This is why a ketogenic diet requires really increased salt consumption. Since the science that claims salt is bad for us has been shown to be no more reliable than the science claiming that fat is bad, researchers are now starting to discover that we need far more salt then people had been thinking.

(Bacon, Not Stirred) #21

Yes! My other half jokes that he’s going to buy me a salt lick for Christmas this year. I actually considered that it may not be a bad idea.