Keto flu- is no joke
Momma_Raucks
Posts: 69 Member
Holy!!! Been feeling nauseated off and on for two days. Woooof. I hope these first couple weeks go by fast 
1
Replies
-
Keto flu symptoms can be easily and quickly cured by getting more salt, stat. The symptoms you are experiencing are simply due to electrolyte imbalances. There's lots of info on this subject matter in the sticky note / launch pad area at the top of this group. I suggest you dissolve a bouillon cube in the appropriate amount of water and drink 2 cubes daily (that's what I do). When you follow this WOE, your body's salt requirements go WAAAAAY up!! Most people on LCHF require a MINIMUM of 3000mg - 5000mg of salt every single day.3
-
What ladipoet said!
Read the STICKIES!!!!!
SALT WATER!
HURRY UP!!!!!0 -
Ooooh .... on it now! Thanks friends... yikes2
-
Half regular salt and half lite salt (potassium chloride) is the mix I use. When I went through the nausea, I took 1/2 tsp twice a day to get it under control.
Once your past it, you should feel much, much better.1 -
The term "keto flu" is totally responsible for the fact that no one is aware these symptoms are nothing more than sodium deficiency.
There seriously needs to be a change.
I'm aware of a few people that ended up in the hospital because they were waiting for their "keto flu" to pass and severely dehydrated themselves because of low sodium.
It's 1000% avoidable.8 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »The term "keto flu" is totally responsible for the fact that no one is aware these symptoms are nothing more than sodium deficiency.
There seriously needs to be a change.
I'm aware of a few people that ended up in the hospital because they were waiting for their "keto flu" to pass and severely dehydrated themselves because of low sodium.
It's 1000% avoidable.
I hear you! I really dislike the term keto flu now because so many think the symptoms are just from carb withdrawal of fat not agreeing with them, when it's just because they weren't aware of their electrolytes needs...
... I did similar thing though. :blush I was sick for almost 2 weeks before I finally accepted that there was something to that salt thing. LOL3 -
Maybe the top sticky should be,
"EAT MORE SALT ( OR YOU WILL FEEL LIKE CRAP)!"10 -
This was me yesterday, except that I suddenly felt like I was run over by a bus. Drank some salted water and BAM...new again.
5 -
had the chicken broth, yep... way better. and for the record, I will eliminate KETO FLU out of my vocab. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it could be very dangerous to label it as something like a flu and expect it to fix itself. Especially when something very dangerous could be occurring. Our bodies are amazing at letting us know when we need to fix it. **Lesson Learned** Why feel like Crap if you don't have to right? Its not a right of passage or a badge you get to put on a vest saying I survived the first two weeks of KETO. Fix the problem or it could have serious impact.
Thanks guys, Feeling much much better and prepared for today with broth in hand lol9 -
Momma_Raucks wrote: »had the chicken broth, yep... way better. and for the record, I will eliminate KETO FLU out of my vocab. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it could be very dangerous to label it as something like a flu and expect it to fix itself. Especially when something very dangerous could be occurring. Our bodies are amazing at letting us know when we need to fix it. **Lesson Learned** Why feel like Crap if you don't have to right? Its not a right of passage or a badge you get to put on a vest saying I survived the first two weeks of KETO. Fix the problem or it could have serious impact.
Thanks guys, Feeling much much better and prepared for today with broth in hand lol
You got it exactly! And there's really no reason for anyone to ever feel silly that they didn't know what was really happening because the whole problem is that 80% of the info you see just suggests that it is just part of the process.
Honestly, the only reason I knew about the sodium needs was because of my experience with my daughters (T1D) multiple hospitalizations for ketoacidosis. Researching that and understanding how the escalating severe dehydration is really the turning point from being able to get it back under control at home or requiring an ER visit. I would never avoid the ER when needed, but in the very early stages of her having an uncontrolled high blood sugar and showing ketones, we now take drastic steps by getting large amounts of sodium and some potassium along with the rest of the normal efforts to get blood sugar back down, and we have managed to pull her back to health and avoid DKA by understanding sodiums role in hydration.
So I knew about this before I went keto and never had an issue. There's no way to expect someone that hasn't already learned that through some kind of experience or study to know and the sheer volume of crap advice out there to "just get through it" is crazy.
You're so right to make that statement about it not being a right of passage or a badge because I could go into a few Facebook groups and come back in 10 minutes with 30 screenshots of talk that seems to fit that description.
One of the best Facebook groups out there for avoiding that kind of "crowd thinking" is the Ketogains group. Even if you don't lift or exercise at all, they still give the best consistent advice about the diet. They can make some pretty snarky comments on the constant misinformation type issues and there are some people that think there are some jerks in the bunch, and there are... but they will cut right to the meat and call out the stuff that is junk crowd thought.
Anyway, of all the groups I've personally participated in, this one is the best mix of calling out BS, accepting differences in individual needs and limitations, providing reliable evidence and resources and not only allowing productive discussion or debate, but even encouraging it, without all the snarky, rudeness and virtual eye rolling you see so often in other places.
Admittedly, I eye roll hard at the term "keto flu", but it's not at the person because I fully understand they haven't yet been provided a real explanation. That's the part that gets me fired up. This stupid term is preventing the true explanation from becoming the common knowledge. I hate to see people think keto or low carb even, makes them feel bad when I know that a good portion of those bad experiences could've been avoided.
I tend to take screenshots of really good examples of this kind of thing leading to someone ending up in a worse than usual situation due to dehydration from low sodium. I have one I saw recently where a woman, with other serious health issues, ended up hospitalized for a few months and in the comments she's blasting her dangerous keto diet. Also in the comments, you discover she was fasting for 3 days and the initial reason she went to the hospital was severe dehydration that then complicated a very serious lung disease.
All because of low sodium...
Sorry to be so "ranty". lol
I just know how bad it can get and how simple it is to prevent and I just want everyone to have the best possible transition and success. I'm glad to have you on the anti "keto flu" team!
4 -
I use Himalayan Pink Salt. It's loaded with good stuff!5
-
@RalfLott - actually the thyroid summit going on right now said specifically that we should banish iodized salt in any form and focus on getting it through food. Seafood, seaweed/sea greens, etc. The body knows what to do with that. It doesn't know what to do with the stuff we add to salt. There are some kelp/salt mixes on Amazon that looked drool worthy, kind of like the nutritional lottery version of Mrs. Dash...3
-
Hardly surprising. I have to confess to a seaweed habit -I certainly prefer pink salt to white. (Same with sauerkraut...)2
-
3
-
-
Momma_Raucks wrote: »Holy!!! Been feeling nauseated off and on for two days. Woooof. I hope these first couple weeks go by fast
Just stick with it. Drink plenty of water. It will pass and you will feel better than you ever have. I promise!1 -
Wow great info about salt intake.2
-
retirehappy wrote: »
I must have the other half.
I have a couple ways to get them down. I like the taste, but they do get a little old by themselves.
1. take about 5 sheets, roll them up, and dunk the tip quickly in hot tea.
2. Wrap them individually around something moist and tender, like smoked fish.
Let me know if you stumble across a better way!2 -
You can mix the seaweed in with your cauliflower rice.0
-
This is my second time starting LCHF and both times I just get extremely tired at the beginning. The last time I think I was starting to pull out of it but I quit. Going to stick it through this time and see what the other side is like. Hopefully more energy.3
-
I slept 2 extra hours today and I've still been worthless. I'm pretty certain that I get plenty of salt. I went and grabbed some of that potassium salt today as I'm about 98% certain that I'm deficient. Just started with the magnesium supplementation a couple of days ago. Here's hoping I wake up in a day or two.0
-
I slept 2 extra hours today and I've still been worthless. I'm pretty certain that I get plenty of salt. I went and grabbed some of that potassium salt today as I'm about 98% certain that I'm deficient. Just started with the magnesium supplementation a couple of days ago. Here's hoping I wake up in a day or two.
A quick observation - Potassium often doesn't get picked up in nutrient counts. It's a bother, but try to make sure you tally roughly how much of each elecyrolyte you're consuming. Cronometer.com gives you much more detailed info, from a variety of sources, than MFP.
While sodium is the usual culprit, also be sure to drink plenty of fluids, and don't let your calories slip so low that you feel depleted of energy, especially in the early stages.1
This discussion has been closed.