Keto and Fainting?
tmeadows_08
Posts: 1,231 Member
Hello! I'm Tabby and I've been reading around here for a couple of weeks. You guys are amazing! There is so much information on this Forum and it's been extremely helpful! I do want to get some opinions/advice if possible too. For background, I've been doing Keto for about 2 weeks and have been loving it. I feel good and have been losing weight and would love to keep it up long term. (Sorry for the long post in advance.)
So Friday, I went out for my best friends 30th birthday with some friends to have a drink . I know keto is supposed to lower your tolerance so I made sure I had plenty of water and didn't drink as much as I normally would. (I can put away a 12 pack if I'm really partying without being sick at all.) So anyway, I had 2 miller lites at home before we left, about 4 hours before we left and felt perfectly fine. I had 2 miller lites at Applebee's and we were getting ready to leave, I wasn't tipsy or even feeling the alcohol at this point. I felt extremely dizzy all of a sudden and sat down outside, broke out in a sweat and thought I was going to throw up. I got up and went inside to the bathroom and came to on the floor in front of the bathroom with people asking if I was okay. I got up to head to the car and came to on the pavement outside, and again, and again as I was throwing up all over myself. So basically, I fainted 4 times back to back, on my face. My MIL thinks it was low blood sugar, (she has issues with that and said it's how she feels when hers gets too low.) Do you think this is Keto related or maybe a combo of my dietary change and staying up late? I'm going to the Dr. this afternoon to get checked out but thought I'd see if anyone has experienced this. I've never fainted before in my life and my health numbers have always been good so this really scared me.
Also, I had a Zaxby's cobb salad (no fried onions or bread) for lunch with half of the fried chicken (they gave me fried instead of grilled like I ordered.
) and 3 scrambled eggs with cheese, HWC, and butter for dinner. Coffee with half and half and water. I also exercised A LOT the day before, not sure if that matters or not.
Thanks for your help!
So Friday, I went out for my best friends 30th birthday with some friends to have a drink . I know keto is supposed to lower your tolerance so I made sure I had plenty of water and didn't drink as much as I normally would. (I can put away a 12 pack if I'm really partying without being sick at all.) So anyway, I had 2 miller lites at home before we left, about 4 hours before we left and felt perfectly fine. I had 2 miller lites at Applebee's and we were getting ready to leave, I wasn't tipsy or even feeling the alcohol at this point. I felt extremely dizzy all of a sudden and sat down outside, broke out in a sweat and thought I was going to throw up. I got up and went inside to the bathroom and came to on the floor in front of the bathroom with people asking if I was okay. I got up to head to the car and came to on the pavement outside, and again, and again as I was throwing up all over myself. So basically, I fainted 4 times back to back, on my face. My MIL thinks it was low blood sugar, (she has issues with that and said it's how she feels when hers gets too low.) Do you think this is Keto related or maybe a combo of my dietary change and staying up late? I'm going to the Dr. this afternoon to get checked out but thought I'd see if anyone has experienced this. I've never fainted before in my life and my health numbers have always been good so this really scared me.
Also, I had a Zaxby's cobb salad (no fried onions or bread) for lunch with half of the fried chicken (they gave me fried instead of grilled like I ordered.
) and 3 scrambled eggs with cheese, HWC, and butter for dinner. Coffee with half and half and water. I also exercised A LOT the day before, not sure if that matters or not.Thanks for your help!
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Replies
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How are you doing with your sodium intake? If you were drinking plenty of water, maybe your electrolytes got out of whack? That had to be very scary.0
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It was around 2000 mgs Friday so lower than usual. I've been trying to drink some pickle juice every day but I might have forgotten that day. I've also been taking magnesium and calcium.0
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Definitely try to up that. But if it happens again I'd hit up the doc. I wouldn't mess around with that. Hope it was a terrible one time only occurrence!0
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Thanks, me too!0
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You need a minimum of 3000-5000mg every. Single. Day. On keto.
Every day.
It's dangerous not to take the sodium needs seriously.
If you're sweating and/or drinking alcohol you need even more. Some need as much as 7000-10000mg.
You lose sodium very easily on keto and even low carbs.4 -
Could have been low blood pressure. That can cause dizziness and fainting as well as nausea.0
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Sounds awful. So sorry.
I am having a hard time getting more than about 2500 of sodium per day. I am salting liberally and drinking on cup of boullion every day which gives me a bit over 1000- any ideas?0 -
@tmeadows_08, thanks for your kind words!
Do you have issues with your blood glucose (that you know of) ?
As you know, low sodium is a problem in the early stages of keto. It's not just that you don't taste as salty if someone bites you; as @Sunny_Bunny_ suggested, low sodium can disrupt your body's ability to maintain constant blood pressure. It can also mess with your ability to retain water.
Here's a quick bite:
https://youtu.be/WNV0GJcrqp4 0 -
Thanks for the video! The thing is, I love salt. Some of my favorite foods are super salty. Sunflower seeds with the shell, boiled peanuts, etc. I got the stuff to make bone broth today. I had a cup of that every day the first few days but I haven't had any in a while and haven't really upped my salt intake too much. I've never had an issue with blood glucose that I know of. My numbers are good at my check up every year. I went to the doctor today and he drew blood work to check iron and my thyroid and everything but he won't know the results until Wednesday. It could have nothing to do with keto. He didn't seem concerned about my diet at all. Said he'd try a heart monitor if everything was clear in the blood work...0
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@tmeadows_08 - Not to speak ill of your doctor, but very, very few of them have any clue about the ins and outs of ketogenic diets, including the sodium deficiency and what causes it.
It might serve you well to get a copy of Phinney and Volek's excellent intros to keto, New Atkins for a New You (for the general public) or Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Living (more detailed) to have around for reference.
Keep us posted on your labs!
PS. An isolated fasting blood glucose test (if that's your annual test.... ??) will miss prediabetes 90% of the time.
Much better would be to spot check your blood glucose 1 hour after the start of a meal and/or get an HbA1c test to get a rough average blood glucose over the past several weeks.1 -
Oh no! I'm so glad you're okay . Thank you for bringing this up, in the past I have had fainting spells and they have no idea what they are related to, one time my potassium was low. He's are very important things to know on keto, I've been on the diet for a very short period of time. I've been taking BCAAs comment not sure if they're even keto approved, but I've been feeling okay. I don't know if you want to look into that, but I just might help you. I hope you get the answers from your blood work. Best of luck to you!0
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tmeadows_08 wrote: »Thanks for the video! The thing is, I love salt. Some of my favorite foods are super salty. Sunflower seeds with the shell, boiled peanuts, etc. I got the stuff to make bone broth today. I had a cup of that every day the first few days but I haven't had any in a while and haven't really upped my salt intake too much. I've never had an issue with blood glucose that I know of. My numbers are good at my check up every year. I went to the doctor today and he drew blood work to check iron and my thyroid and everything but he won't know the results until Wednesday. It could have nothing to do with keto. He didn't seem concerned about my diet at all. Said he'd try a heart monitor if everything was clear in the blood work...
You CANNOT get enough sodium even you life salty foods.
You say you haven't increased salt really... low sodium is almost certainly the issue.Oh no! I'm so glad you're okay . Thank you for bringing this up, in the past I have had fainting spells and they have no idea what they are related to, one time my potassium was low. He's are very important things to know on keto, I've been on the diet for a very short period of time. I've been taking BCAAs comment not sure if they're even keto approved, but I've been feeling okay. I don't know if you want to look into that, but I just might help you. I hope you get the answers from your blood work. Best of luck to you!
Potassium follows sodium. It will not get low unless sodium gets low first.
Keep sodium up and there's no reason to really supplement potassium. Beyond any specific issue that may put you at greater need.1 -
@tmeadows_08, check out the salt lick photos in this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10568011/salt-and-other-minerals
Helps put the sodium thing in perspective!0 -
I'm sucking on Himalayan salt crystals like popping candy!2
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Salt tablets!! (I still use them) I had fainting spells two years ago after beginning keto before I took this seriously! If your doing Keto this has to be supplemented! Otherwise it will continue. Please heed the advice given!
I'm so glad you didn't get hurt!2 -
Where do you find salt tablets? I've checked a couple drug stores around here and there's nothing. I've asked the pharmasist and they act like I'm insane. There's all the magnesium and potassium you want, but no sodium.
I also looked on Amazon but only found a couple overly-expensive options that were all international shipments. (I'm in Canada.)0 -
Steph_Maks wrote: »Where do you find salt tablets? I've checked a couple drug stores around here and there's nothing. I've asked the pharmasist and they act like I'm insane. There's all the magnesium and potassium you want, but no sodium.
I also looked on Amazon but only found a couple overly-expensive options that were all international shipments. (I'm in Canada.)
I always have to ask the pharmacist for sodium chloride tablets. They always have them behind the counter at any Walgreens I've ever checked.2 -
I agree with the others. Sounds like low blood pressure, probably from low electrolytes.
I struggled with low blood pressure for years. It's actually better now because with keto I make a point of getting more salt. I eat a teaspoon of salt with water first thing in the morning. It helps.
I used to get light headed a LOT. When I got very close to fainting, it could take a few hours to get back to normal.
You could check for postural hypotension too. If you have that it means you BP falls when you get up. It can lead to fainting, especially when electrolytes are low.
Some around here have made "keto-ade" with Miso mixes and lots of salt. That might be an option for you.2 -
Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I think I'll go to Walgreens and get some of those tablets. At least this is an easy fix, hopefully I'll be more aware going forward and won't have any more issues.
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I received this email from Dr. Sears. It has an interesting sodium drink recipe that some here may be able to use to help keep their sodium level up:
Al Sears, MD
11905 Southern Blvd.
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411
May 17, 2017
Renee,
The American Heart Association says sodium in salt raises blood pressure. They say it increases the risk for heart disease and stroke.
But the latest science says otherwise…
A British review of 34 clinical trials showed that cutting down on salt reduced blood pressure only slightly for people with hypertension.1
And a new study in The Lancet found that some low-salt diets could put you at GREATER risk of heart disease and death.2
Researchers analyzed data from 133,118 people. They wanted to see if there was a link between high sodium and heart attack, stroke and death.
The results were startling. People on "healthy" low-salt diets were MORE likely to experience heart attacks, strokes and death than those who had moderate amounts of sodium in their diets.
It makes sense to me. You see, salt contains vital minerals your body needs. That's why it's in all your body fluids from blood to lymph to sweat and tears. It's so vital that one area of your tongue is designed just to taste it.
Salt is full of electrolytes that help maintain fluid balance and nerve impulses. They help your system send messages to and from the brain.
The diet gurus in the government say you should get less than 2,300 mg of sodium a day. That's about one teaspoon of table salt. That's not enough for most people.
I tell my patients that the safest range is from 2,500 to 5,000 mg of sodium per day. But I also tell them they don't have to worry about counting milligrams.
The easiest way to make sure you don't go over safe limits is to stop eating processed foods. The foods with the highest sodium levels are breads, cereals, frozen meals, cured meats, pizza and canned soups.
And instead of cutting out salt in cooking and at the table, I advise all my patients to switch to a good quality unrefined sea salt.
You see, the salt you find in most foods today isn't even close to what nature created. I call it "frankensalt." It's bleached and refined. It also contains MSG, sugar, aluminum and residual chemicals from the processing.
But unprocessed whole sea salt has 40% to 57% less sodium than processed table salt. In addition, it contains up to 80 trace minerals including calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, copper, iron and zinc. Your body uses those minerals to form vitamins, enzymes and proteins.
I like Celtic sea salt, Himalayan pink sea salt or Redmond Real Salt. You can find them at good quality supermarkets or on the Internet.
To make sure you're getting all the trace minerals you need in the right proportions, I recommend a daily dose of salt water. It's called sole (so-LAY).
Sole is water saturated with sea salt. It's like a natural electrolyte drink. Here's how to make it:
• Fill a quart-size glass jar or pitcher one-third full with Himalayan sea salt. Fill the jar with filtered water, leaving two inches at the top.
• Shake or stir well. Cover with a plastic (not metal) cap. Let sit for 24 hours at room temperature.
• After 24 hours check to see if all the salt has dissolved. If so, add a little more salt. When the salt no longer dissolves and falls to the bottom, the water is saturated.
• Store the sole covered on a counter or in a cupboard. It will not spoil or go bad.
Each morning place a teaspoon of the sole mixture in a glass and fill with eight ounces of filtered or spring water. Drink it before breakfast.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. He FJ, Li J, Macgregor GA. "Effect of longer term modest salt reduction on blood pressure: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials." BMJ. 2013;346:f1325.
2. Yusuf S, Teo K, and Mente A, et al. "Associations of urinary sodium excretion with cardiovascular events in individuals with and without hypertension: a pooled analysis of data from four studies." The Lancet. 2016. Volume 388, Issue 10043, 465 – 475.
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Whew. I thought he was going to tell us to chug the entire quart of briny brew on the way to work....3
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One thing I didn't see mentioned here in terms of low blood sugar is that when you become fully keto adapted, having very low blood sugar is not an issue. There are multiple studies showing fully keto adapted people with blood sugars in the 30's and 40's without experiencing any hypoglycemic effects.
That said, if you have only been eating this way for about 2 weeks, you may not be fully keto adapted and the alcohol could have dropped your BG too low since alcohol will stop gluconeogenesis and you were not taking in any carbs. If you were like some of us who have high BG to start, it might just have brought it to normal levels. However, if you had a very healthy BG to start, that drop might have put you too low.2 -
You belong in med school, @cstehansen!0
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I've purchased mine from Amazon but I'm in the US.
Check the Launch Pad for recipes to make electrolyte drinks at home. I don't like the taste of salt and find the tablets easiest for me.0
