Feeling BLAHHHH and rash- could it be related to lchf??

cenright0

I'm about 4 weeks in to lchf and have been doing fairly well up until this week. I've only lost 4 pounds but that's ok because I feel better without all the carbs and sugar. Two things have me questioning if this is the right path for me, possibly neither are related to diet but just wanted to get feedback.

1. I've been Feeling BLAHHHH. I've read about keto flu so I'm thinking that might be what I'm experiencing but I'm not sure. I decided to add salt to my water today and I think it may have helped. Also noticed an increase in anxiety- weird! I'm not usually an anxious person but I've had a few days of unexplained anxiousness.

2. I've had a bit of an alergic reaction with extreme dry skin and rash on my forearms. Could this be a relayed to the addition of mct oil I am putting in my bullet proof coffee or maybe just a reaction to going low carb high fat?

Any feedback would be great!

Sunny_Bunny_

Sounds like sodium is the issue to me.
You lose water... You lose sodium... Then you start losing magnesium.... You get dehydrated.... You potentially have skin issues flare up with dehydration too. Magnesium is vitally important for over 300 enzymatic processes in the body. Almost EVERYONE is already deficient anyway, but since you didn't increase sodium to over at least 3000mg a day from day 1, you've lost a good deal of magnesium. Potassium too, but it's not as much of an issue and is easier to get in foods.
I know you said you're drinking water, but without sodium, you've been increasing your sodium loss rate. Water alone will not hydrate you enough to prevent electrolyte deficiency.

Get some magnesium glycinate, citrate... Or any form that ends in "ate" and if you take enough and also get your minimum sodium every day, I'll bet you see those symptoms go away quite quickly.

I started my dad on sodium chloride tablets and magnesium, and within 24 hours his blood pressure was more stable, he was able to walk without assistance because of being dizzy and his agent orange syndrome rash stopped itching and was less red and continued to get better day after day. Even his prescription creams didn't help it! He was drinking water all day long but was horribly dehydrated because he had low sodium. His rash gets really, really bad when he's dehydrated. Simply correcting that changed everything.
I had him take 500mg a day.
If you get citrate, you should start by taking 200mg in the morning and same at night. If you get glycinate, carbonate... Some others, you can start a bit higher since they absorb better and less will go out through digestion.
If you're interested, there's a great book, The Magnesium Miracle.

cenright0

Thank you for that information! Interestingly I just looked back at my mfp diary entry's and on Monday when I felt my worst I only logged in 577 mg sodium! Wow, that's low! I've been averaging around 1800 day so I will defiantly increase that!

klkateri

I had a really bad flare up of acne starting out and its just getting better 2 months later. I think its part of such a huge change!!