Headache, dizzy, diet

[Ianflashdavies]

Hi, all

I have just begun a keto diet, and although I have had occasional carbs, I have been pretty strict.

However, I have had the headache from hell, for the last 4 days. Today, I have been very lightheaded and had dizzy spells. Suffering with lupus as I do, I am used to getting these, but they have not been as severe for a while.

Comments and advice please.

[PMRpro]

Diving straight from normal eating into keto frequently results in that sort of effect as you body has to switch to a different sort of metabolism to produce glucose for the brain. In the meantime, it complains!

It is far better to first reduce carbs a lot by removing processed carbs and added sugar - and then reduce in steps to get to keto if that is what you really think you should do.

WHY do you want to do keto? It is very extreme done properly - and it isn't something you can be "pretty strict" about. You are either in keto or you are not - and as soon as you eat more than a minimal amount of carbohydrate, you are out of ketosis and have to start over again. That means going through this adjustment period every time you have eaten more than that very very small amount of carbohydrate and exited ketosis.

[Hamptons]

I genuinely can’t cut carbs, always get dizziness, flushes and nausea. Tried various forms of carb free eating and same thing happens. Keto can be a bit rough on kidneys too so be careful.

[Ingrid1234]

Nothing wrong with a well balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit, seeds, pulses, nuts and vegetables plus of course plenty of exercise with occasional oily fish like sardines, mackerel and tuna👏👍. Love freshly baked wholemeal bread, pastries, cakes and croissants😁

[Allydee]

I did the fast 800 diet (has parts of Keto in it). I’ve lost 2 and a half stone since January but it’s more a way of healthy eating for me now. Bad flairs, steroids and antibiotics have slowed weight loss form but managed to at least maintain during those periods till I felt better.

[nigelsmum]

I have gained a lot of weight. I have recently switched Rhuematologist , so asked my new one what I could do to help me loose some of this extra weight. He replied that I could cut my carbohydrate intake - cut out bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. I have done this and avoid sugar also. Its amazing . Not only am I slowly begining to loose weight but it seems to be having an anti imflamatory effect on me as well - I feel better than I have in the past 5 years !

[MusicalFurbaby]

Hi Ianflashdavies, I can only surmise why you are feeling sick when you are off carbs. Could it be you are going into withdrawals?

For me, going off carbs was a godsend, I used to feel sick almost 24/7 but when I dropped the carbs I realised ‘This is how normal people feel!’ It was a minor miracle: the constant bloating was gone, I no longer felt like throwing up after meals, the stomach cramps stopped and so did the diarrhoea.

Having said that, I still have carbs, but once a week. And I still eat sugar, but only once a day, and usually of the dark chocolate variety. (In lockdown, this is proving harder than usual to do.) So the diet that works for me is a low-carb diet, where I still eat carbs, but in very limited forms. I used to eat carbs 3 times a day, now it’s once or twice a week. I feel way better.

I can only suggest you do what works for you, so if you are feeling worse on keto, maybe experiment with different amounts of carbs. You need to tailor it to you, not the other way around. I’m no dietician, but there’s no point making yourself worse!