Tachycardia and low blood pressure

(Suze Trotman) #1

I have been following a keto diet for 5 weeks and have been in ketosis for the last week. My appetite has disappeared and generally I am eating OMAD. I have been taking extra salt and electrolytes and drink 2-3 liters a day. Today I suddenly felt really lightheaded and dizzy and my heart started beating really fast - up to 140 bpm without doing anything. Is this a possible side effect of keto eating? Or is it just me?

(Suze Trotman) #3

No meds. And no new foods

(Carl Keller) #4

Supplementing too much can be worse than not supplementing at all. I would be cautious in supplementing anything other than salt. What exactly are you supplementing and in what amounts?

I know you say you are taking extra salt but how much salt is that per day? We need 2+ teaspoons per day because lower insulin levels mean we excrete sodium way faster than we are used to. Getting enough sodium helps balance our other electrolytes so if this one is off, there’s a good chance the others are too.

From personal experience and research, I’ve found that magnesium helps heart function and when I slacked on my leafy greens, my heartrate was higher than I liked. Dizziness occured only when I first started LCHF and increasing my salt intake made it go away.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

Be surer to get enough salt, since the kidneys excrete sodium more readily in conditions of low carbohydrate intake and resulting low insulin. Several recent studies have shown that the healthiest range of sodium intake is 4-6 grams a day, or 10-15 grams/day of table salt (sodium chloride). This amount includes the salt already present in food.

(Suze Trotman) #6

I am taking about 2 teaspoons of salt extra a day. And once or twice a week I also take a magnesium and potassium supplement. When I started to feel lightheaded I took some more salt but this hasn’t eased the problem. My heart rate still skyrockets when I get up and I feel very dizzy. I will go to the drs tomorrow.

#7

Can you check your blood pressure? I get similar symptoms when mine gets on the low side of normal, which is usually a sign of too much potassium compared to sodium. I also have POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) which gets worse if I’m slightly dehydrated. I don’t drink plain water to avoid washing out more electrolytes.

(Suze Trotman) #8

I will tomorrow. I’m thinking it’s probably an electrolyte imbalance but I will go and check things tomorrow.