Lightheaded, nauseous with achy bones this morning. :-/

mlinton_mesapark

Is this some form of low carb flu? I don't feel sick, exactly. Just weak.

I ate chicken livers with my salad for lunch yesterday to get more iron in my diet, but I don't really think I'm deficient. I've never in my life been anemic.

It's virtually impossible that I would be pregnant, either.

I have an open diary.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

wabmester

Sodium! Got any soups or pickles around? Try it, and you may get instant relief. Aches could be potassium or magnesium deficiencies, too.

Edit: if it just happens in the morning, it could also be mild hypoglycemia. You get a sugar spike in the morning due to cortisol, and then you may get an over-reaction from insulin to bring the glucose level down. If that's the case, eating just about anything might help.

professionalHobbyist

You may just be getting sick

If it persists go see the Dr

I have never had a sensible diet make me sick

GSD_Mama

Are you just starting low carb? How long have you been doing it and what is your macros? I can't see your diaries but you can friend me

mlinton_mesapark

Thanks @GSD_Mama!

Started back on MFP 5/18, and I've gradually tapered down carbs to roughly 80-100g/day.

mlinton_mesapark

Oops! Macros ~ 50% fat, 25% carbs, 25% protein.

wabmester

Did you try sodium yet? You'll be amazed. A lot of people resist it because of the low-sodium hype, but even at our carb levels, we make a moderate amount of ketones, and that leads to natriuresis. You need to replenish lost sodium or you'll feel like crap.

mlinton_mesapark

I did have salt on my eggs this morning, but not an unusually large amount. I'm feeling better than I was, and even did some light yoga and swimming with the family this morning. Still feeling the same symptoms, except the machines, but to a much lesser extent.

Maybe I'll try a little broth to see if it perks me up. Oddly, I'm not lacking in energy. Just lightheaded and a little nauseous.

wabmester

Unless you put a LOT of salt on your eggs, I don't think it'll help much. I just did a little experiment -- gave the salt shaker 4 good shakes. It gave me about 400mg of salt. That's less than 200mg of sodium.

You need an extra 1g or so of sodium each day.

KnitOrMiss

Also, I find that when I have achy bones, as you put it, that in addition to being short on electrolytes (sodium, magnesium, and potassium), I am generally dehydrated AND I haven't slept enough. I will get a general pain creep when I haven't slept enough, and nothing except sleep will make it go away.

mlinton_mesapark

@wabmester, thanks! I usually give the salt grinder about two turns. Since that moment, I've been trying to include some salt with everything I eat or drink. Still nauseous and lightheaded, but I had a fever yesterday afternoon/evening.

It's still bad enough that I can't really help with the kids, so I've had to call in my mom and get my husband to come home from work early today. Going to see a doc tomorrow if there's no improvement by then.

I can barely eat anything at all. I wonder if I'm stuck in a vicious cycle in which I can't eat, so I stay weak, can't prepare myself anything significant. I had my mom pick up steak from the grocery store and my husband is going to cook it. Hanging my hopes on that right now. Doing my best to stay hydrated.

@KnitOrMiss, that's so true! As a mom of three young kids, I'm all to familiar with the physical symptoms of too-little sleep. Fortunately I did sleep well last night, but I could still be in an overall deficit.

Thanks for the support and putting up with my whining! Seriously, you folks rock my world.

glossbones

Definitely try a nice cup of broth. Homemade if you got it (assuming not since you feel like crap), or packaged just to give you a boost.

deksgrl

I keep a jar of polish dill pickle spears in the fridge. One of those usually fixes me up if low sodium is the problem, along with a glass of water.