6 weeks in. Dizziness and light headed
AngInCanada
Posts: 947 Member
I've been low carb (mostly keto) for 6 weeks now. First week sucked, 2nd week not too bad, 3rd week felt great, then 4th till now I have been exhausted along with some dizziness and light headedness. I salt everything. I just started taking magnesium again and I take a multivitamin when I remember. Today at work I leaned over to help a patient with her shoes and almost passed out. I felt fine one I braced myself and stood there for a minute but over just felt a bit "off" the past couple weeks. Think its the electrolytes or should I try to up my carbs?
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how mant calories, how many carbs, other medical problems, are you drinking broth?0
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how mant calories, how many carbs, other medical problems, are you drinking broth?
Between 1100 and 1900 calories a day. If I'm hungry, I eat (up to 1900), if I'm not hungry I don't eat (not under 1100). Been averaging between 20 and 30 net carbs. Haven't been drinking broth. I am on antidepressants and have a bleeeding disorder.0 -
Call your medical insurance provider Nurse Hotline.
Seems like time to talk to a professional.
Too many potential things to go sideways
Take care and best wishes on your speedy return to feeling normal0 -
I agree, you need to speak with a doctor. In the meantime, are you consuming enough sodium? Are you monitoring potassium? In my experience, if I feel that way, I put 1/4t of Lite Salt (50% sodium, 50% potassium) in 16oz water with a splash of lime/lemon juice. Down that sucker and I feel better in about 5 minutes. I never understood the importance of electrolytes until I started keto.
There are good faqs that I found helpful at the reddit keto forum.
I hope you feel better soon.0 -
I'm in Canada so free medical but the problem is it takes 3 weeks to go in to see my doctor. I could go to urgent care but don't feel it is necessary at this point because it isn't urgent.0
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Make the appointment! @AngInCanada - you can't get it figured out without, especially if you have medications and conditions on top. You can always cancel 24 hours before if you aren't having a problem anymore. Your health is too important to put it off. Potassium is a hidden issue with Ketodiets and another possibility, make sure you take your supplements regularly.0
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Potassium! Potassium! Potassium!
Since you didn't specifically mention it, sounds likely.0 -
I went through the the same symptoms and learned that a lot of electrolytes flushed from the body while following a low carb life style. I found that out by other low carbers. I began taking a potassium supplement, magnesium supplement, and I try to drink a cup of broth a day. It worked, when I miss the broth a few days in a row I start to feel that way again. Oh yeah, we're supposed to increase our sodium also, to 5000mg daily, also due to being flushed from the body. Hope that helps.0
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It happens to me pretty often, and a single pickle usually cures it. Yesterday, my pickle cure didn't work, and I took an additional SaltStick (which has about the same sodium as a pickle). That did the trick! It was a two pickle day.
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Hmm I wish I could help. I would definitely talk to a doctor, and perhaps a dietitian that is down with low carb high fat. The medical issues could be the actual problem... who knows :-S0
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Check your blood pressure. The loss of sodium can also cause low blood pressure, and feeling dizzy when you stand is a classic symptom of low blood pressure.0
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Check your blood pressure. The loss of sodium can also cause low blood pressure, and feeling dizzy when you stand is a classic symptom of low blood pressure.
I should've checked at work considering I work in a nursing home but never thought. I have a cuff here so will check if it happens again.
I napped from 2:30-4:30 today. Going to get some lite salt tomorrow because looking at my potassium levels I am between 400 and 800 mg a day. Low! I am bound to feel as amazing as I did week 3. Felt awesome.
Will also call Monday to see my doctor.0 -
Need Potassium?
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
It's Ketogenic or Bariatric! How I Found the Ketogenic Diet0 -
AngInCanada wrote: »Check your blood pressure. The loss of sodium can also cause low blood pressure, and feeling dizzy when you stand is a classic symptom of low blood pressure.
I should've checked at work considering I work in a nursing home but never thought. I have a cuff here so will check if it happens again.
I napped from 2:30-4:30 today. Going to get some lite salt tomorrow because looking at my potassium levels I am between 400 and 800 mg a day. Low! I am bound to feel as amazing as I did week 3. Felt awesome.
Will also call Monday to see my doctor.
Hi Ang,
Im afraid im not going to be much help, but i just wanted to let you know you arent alone. I have all of your symptoms since going keto (dizziness etc) plus weaknesss, tiredness, headaches, deep body aches, brain fog, general heavy feeling in all of my body - just dragging myself up the stairs is hard work most days: it feels like im scaling Mount Everest. I'm only 34yrs old and only 20 pounds off my perfect weight, so i shouldnt be feeling like this. Ive spent more days on the sofa, and nights in bed by 7pm lately! Its just floored me. I have had glimpses of feeling good, but honestly for the most part i feel like cr@p. Ive been ketoing now for about 4 weeks.
And no, it isnt electorolytes in my case, because i take plenty of supplements, including potassium & magnesium in highish doses, and i salt my food/drink broth. Its good advice to give to newbies as it seems that low electrolytes is very common and many people find complete relief when they get their levels right. BUT, low electrolytes is not everyones problem. I dont know what my problem is, but maybe this WOE just doesnt suit everyone, period? Or maybe it just takes some of us a hellah long time to adapt. I dont know, but i do know keto is making me ill atm.
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Check your blood pressure. The loss of sodium can also cause low blood pressure, and feeling dizzy when you stand is a classic symptom of low blood pressure.
Yes this too. I have naturally low blood pressure already, also oddly enough when I'm stressed or upset my bp drops instead of going up like many people experience. I've noticed when I stand it takes much longer than it used to for everything to not be black and fuzzy.0 -
@AngInCanada I'm definitely in a similar spot, I don't drink broth as the thigh of it turns my stomach, I did in the beginning and it helped, the pickles do seem to perk me up, so try that, if you like pickles, and see how you feel.
Whatever you do, don't take a tablespoon of salt and swallow down with water, apparently that will make you vomit lol. I tried that when I realized I didn't like broth, I thought it would be an easy way to get sodium quickly, bad idea.0 -
Like everybody else said already, try potassium, sodium... See if you feel any better. If you don't, stop and see your doctor. You have to be quite healthy to eat ketogenic. I first had my annual lab tests done before I embarked. If you had it done also and everything was okay, than you have To try things that everybody here said and see how it works.0
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Adding to the electrolytes crowd.
Magnesium and Dizziness
Potassium Deficiency
I'm at just about the same time frame with LCHF as you, and I find that if I'm not very careful my electrolytes will tank every few days. My worst symptom is a racing heart, but I will get lightheaded/sore/tired as well. It takes three or four days of aggressive supplementation and magnesium baths for me to get back to feeling totally normal again if this happens. From everything I've read, while salt will help right away, if it's a magnesium/potassium issue it can take a few days to even out.
Don't assume that if you're taking a supplement you are necessarily getting enough. The figures I've seen are that you need more than the usual minimum amount of potassium, and at least the minimum of magnesium, and if the balance is off it's easy for your body to waste a bunch of it in your urine. None of these things store well in your body, so there isn't a fallback if this happens.
Good luck sorting it out!0 -
Just wanted to let you know that if you don't stay on top of the sodium issue, things will continue to surface. Saturday, due to errands and such, I ended up doing some unintentional morning fasting. No big deal, as I kept fairly okay on hydration. Had a heavily salted lunch to keep up with things, but through the course of the early evening, I was still thirsty and had three water bottles of water within maybe 2 hours (I don't remember exactly). My guy and I were watching a movie, and I started having problems focusing. Everything was blurry. It was making me mental. I could read up close, but everything else was fuzzy, like I needed glasses. So, I dumped some salt in my hand (maybe 1/8-1/4 tsp) and drank it down. Within less than 30 minutes, I was back to normal. I have not had this happen to me ever on this WOL so far, even when I was working outdoors in the heat, but that kind of situation makes us more mindful. Being at home, behaving normally, does not remind us to be mindful. Believe me, this is a lesson I will not soon forget.
(EDITED TO SAY: I forgot to mention that I've been Keto since 2/18, so this should not be induction or anything for me, though Friday night was more carb heavy than usual, but still in range...)
(and the light-headed when standing bit, we have a number of folks here with chronically low blood pressure, and I think I've heard every single one of them mention that at some point...)0 -
I felt good yesterday and feel better today. Today is day 3 of taking my multi, b12, vitamin d, magnesium and day 2 of adding lo salt for the potassium. No sleepiness yesterday until 9 when I was almost ready for bed. *fingers crossed*0
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Hey Ang...Im in the interior of BC too I find with keto that drinking bouillon in the morning with my breakfast makes a positive difference.I buy it organic in a jar in paste/concentrate form and add boiling water to it.Also a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day.If you are in keto and feel like you are blah and flagging, try something really high fat, like a couple tablespoons of whipping cream or something with butter.The fat I find really helps me keto adapt. 0
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Simple test. Next time you feel weak and dizzy, put a small teaspoon of salt in a glass of water. Dissolve and drink it. If you feel better in 10 minutes your low on sodium. I've had to reduce BP meds. So for me this doesn't impact my blood pressure.0
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3 years ago I did 0--25 carbs for about a month, and I felt awful. I got light-headed, dizzy and nauseous -- finally I decided to raise my carbs to 50-100, and I immediately felt better. I had done 0-25 when I was younger, but I just can't do it anymore (at age 59). I average 75-80 a day (counting everything, not doing net carbs) and I seem to be able to lose on that while still feeling good and with energy to exercise. I do know that when I get up higher over several days (closer to 100) I start craving carbs more and more, which then pulls me off my WOE, so I guess I have a very narrow range of what will work for me.
I also try to keep my added sugar grams to zero, so the carbs I get in veggies, rice, sweet potatoes and a little bit of fruit come with fiber that helps mitigate their effect.0
