Atkins and all kinds of health problems!! Please read!!
 

I was on atkins diet about 4 or 5 months ago and lost about 15lbs I started having problems while I was on it and decided to quit thats was about 4 or 5 months ago. I have not gained any weight back but i have been having heart problems, anemia, bones are weak from not enough calcium. The doctors are not sure what all is wrong with me yet because I have had so many test and all the results are not back yet. but before this diet I never had any health problems and there is no heart problems that run in my family. I have to take about 12 pills a day. I just thought I would let you guys know what can happen being on a diet like this, it is very very dangerous so, please be careful.

Hi Crystal!

Sorry you're having such trouble with your health. Reading back through your previous posts, I noticed that you never posted what your daily menu looked like. Seeing as you have been off the low carb way of eating for 5 months or so and eating pretty much anything you want, I'd have a hard time saying that your current health problems are a result of what you did last fall, especially the anemia and the weak bones. Weak bones take years of calcium deficiency to develop, not weeks. I also noted that one of your earlier posts said that you were having problems with higher blood pressure and heart rate almost from the beginning...perhaps you already had an underlying condition that low carbing brought more to the forefront? It would be helpful if you could post what your carb levels were and what an average daily menu looked like so that current low carbers could have more information on what you were doing. Hope the doctors discover the cause of what's going on with you and that you feel better soon!

Agreed.

Your problems sound like kidney disease, or hypoparathyroidism. The parathyroid glands are located next to the thyroid in your neck, and they control the uptake and absorption of calcium in your body. A young neighbour of mine, a law student only 26 yrs old, broke her hip .. just walking, and kersnap it broke. The problem was hypoparathyroidism, with osteoporosis resulting.

Kidney disease will result in the symptoms you're having ... high blood pressure, heart congestion, anemia and increased calcium losses in the urine, leading to osteoporosis. Eating too much protein doesn't CAUSE kidney damage, but it can add stress to kidneys that are already diseased. Ketones and ketosis do not harm the kidneys in any way.

Hope the tests show what the problem is, and the drs are able to help you get better :)

Doreen

I don't have high blood pressure since I went off low carbing. I went off low carbing because off the high blood pressure I got about 3 months after I started the diet. My syptoms that I have been having since low carbing are heart palps, fatique, headaches, fast heart rate, dizzness and always sleepy. I did not have one medical problem before I started low carbing. And I was tested for bone density before but nothing.

heres a sample of what I ate if I can remeber now

breakfast- 1 egg,bacon,16 oz water multi vitamin
snack, celery and chesse 16 oz water
lunch- hamburger meat 1 cup of salad 16 oz water
snack chocolate pudding (replace milk with whipping cream)16oz water

dinner- steak, small salad, 16oz water


I am not trying to scare nobody but I just wanted you to know. Maybe everyone's not the same and good luck I wish you all the best!

Crystal...

Sorry this WOE didn't work out for you, but please don't be too quick to blame low carbing or say that it is dangerous for everyone until you know for sure what's going on. It could all be related to something else besides the way you were eating. I've been doing this for a year and my health has improved dramatically along with my blood tests and I know many others can say the same. Having said that, I know that this WOE is not for everyone. Diets are not "one size fits all". Do what's best for you and your health. This WOE is best for MY health and for that of many others, but it seems that it is not for yours. I hope that your doctors can discover the cause of your health problems and get you on your way to recovery!

According to your earliest posts last fall, you were gaining weight and blood pressure up after only 9 days on the diet .. which suggests fluid retention. You also reported feeling sick and unwell at that time. It's possible there really were pre-existing health problems. :(

I do hope you get some answers soon. However, I'm curious why you would have been tested for bone density in the past, unless the dr. had suspicion that you may be prone to osteoporosis. The test is not normally ordered for a young, pre-menopausal woman unless there's a strong suggestion of pathology. Most insurance companies won't pay for it unless you're over age 65, or multiple risk factors, including pre-existing disease.

Doreen

My doctor had the test done a few years ago because I broke two bones in a car accident. The reason for the one this time is because I am a smoker and small framed and it is routine for some one my size. I am not saying that low carb is bad for everyone but for some like me it is. I'm not blaming low carb for all my health problems but it is very strange I never had problems before. When I was on the diet is when my problems started I had fainting spells , high blood pressure, heart palps, and weakness. Never had high bp before as a matter of fact my bp was normally 110/60 before I started than while I was on it my bp was 190/100. Than a week after I stopped lc my bp was 110/60. I just want people to know that lc can be dangerous for some people not all but some.

It does sound very worrisome Crystal; I hope you get some answers soon. And you're right, there is no one-size-fits-all diet. Some persons cannot tolerate very low to no-carbs, whereas others will thrive. I think it's safe to say though, as a blanket statement, that everybody would do better if they ate no sugar or processed carbs at all; ate less UNprocessed carbs such as fruits and whole grains; and more vegetables, quality protein foods and natural fats.

Take care :)

Doreen

Maybe. I have yet to meet anyone who have read a LC book, followed it to the letter, and had health problems.

Most of the problems occure with people designing their own plans, with no medical expertise, and just "winging" it".

I hate to tell you this Crystal, but I'm hoping it will help you re-evaluate your low-carb experience: Looking back at your posts, I see a lot of back and forth switching, between different plans, including hight carbs, and weekly cheats, BFL, PP, Atkins, etc., sugar-loading, then induction, then loading. I'm not making this up, just a quick glance at your previous posts, even thought you have not maintained a journal.

It may seem to you that low-carb lifestyle is responsible for all the trouble you had, but taking a more objective look, you will see that you haven't even completed a proper 2 week induction.

I hope this does not offend you and you may use it for positive re-evaluation when you try low-carbing again. Practice makes perfect.

Wa'il

"I think it's safe to say though, as a blanket statement, that everybody would do better if they ate no sugar or processed carbs at all; ate less UNprocessed carbs such as fruits and whole grains; and more vegetables, quality protein foods and natural fats."

I'll give you a loud low carb amen to that Doreen! This is precisely what I'm doing with my 2 daughters right now because they are too young to low carb (7 and 8). They still get sugar and processed carbs once in a while (at school, of course), but overall I've cut most of it out. Because they have my genes, I've always been a bit concerned that they may be at higher risk to develop type II diabetes like I did, so I'm doing my best to teach them to eat right now in hopes that we can prevent that in the future. I don't present it to them as a "diet" but rather tell them that they need to learn to feed their body healthy fuel. Kind of like putting junky gas in your car makes your car run bad, putting junky food in your body makes IT run bad. Hey....for their age, the analogy works well. :)

I don't know where your getting your information because I stuck to the low carb plan Dr. Atkins and read the whole book and did everything it said. I never switched back and forth on my lc diet till I started having problems so, i think you need to get your facts straight first of all. LC was the first diet I have ever been on and hopefully the last. If I ever have to go on a diet again it will be a healthy one with fruit, vegtables and low calorie foods. god made fresh fruit and vegtables for us to eat and thats what I am going to do. I don't eat a lot of sugar anyways don't really care for it. I went to bfl because of the problems I was having with lc . I guess some people just believe that things like this can't happen but it can believe it or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crystal...

I don't think anyone is saying you didn't have the experience or health problems that you did (and still do even though you have not been low carbing for several months), but they are questioning the real cause of those problems. Even though your doctors have not figured out what is causing your problems, you seem to have it set in your mind that it was the low carbing that caused it. Isn't it possible that you are jumping to conclusions? Granted, the problems seem to have started when you began low carbing, but isn't it possible that the low carbing did not cause your problems, but rather served to make you aware of them instead? Cause and effect are not always that easily determined. It would be like me saying that because I developed car problems driving down a particular road, driving down that particular road caused the car problems without waiting to hear what the mechanic found first. Not sure why I'm into all these car analogies today, but they seem to fit.

Through the search button. According to you own words earlier, you didn't take vitamins, and had a minumum of a weekly cheat. I'm not criticizing your choice on how you did it, just pointing out these for the record.

I beleive that you are sincere in thinking that you did. Many times we think we're following the plan to the letter, but miss a few crucial details.


And I'll wish you the best of luck on whatever you chose to follow.

You'll be surprised to know that all Low-carb plans (including Atkins) recommend eating lots vegetables, and allow fruits as well. This is another detail you may have missed from your reading.

Wa'il

Believe it or not your going to believe what you want anyway.

Please don't misunderstand...
 

Crystal...

It's not about "believing what we want". I believe that your experiences are real and valid, but I also believe that the conclusions that you have come to regarding the experience that you are having may not be totally accurate. I agree that low carbing CAN be dangerous for SOME people. Dr. Atkins does say in his book that there are some people who should definitely not follow a low carb WOE (those with advanced kidney disease, for example). As for following a healthy diet with veggies, fruits and low calorie foods; by all means do so! But I have to point out as Tamarian did that Dr. Atkins does encourage the eating of lots of healthy veggies and some fruits. The only things I don't eat on this WOE are bread, rice, wheat, pasta, potatoes, starchy veggies, flour and sugar. Please let us know what your doctors find; it could answer a lot of questions for other people who may read this thread.

I don't think that people are choosing not to believe you, the information everyone is getting is written right in your own posts... sometimes we can forget how things actually went. Just do a search on your own username and reread your own posts. I think the info about switching back and forth came from your post on page 5 of the "How often do you cheat" post.

I am sorry to hear that you are having health problems, but I do agree that you *may* have had some underlying heath problems that LCing just brought to the fore front.. you mentioned high BP very early into the diet. I think that indicated a possible problem from the begining that I would have been concerned about and certainly bone density testing is not routine for a young person (even a smoker) unless the doctor already suspects a bone problem. If you don't believe that LCing is best for you and your health, that is fine.. but for many others, it has saved their lives! Though I do find it odd that you are soo quick to blame all your health problems on low carb WOL. BTW, I totally agree with you that veggies and fruits are great. I am on LCarb and I eat lots of wonderful veggies and fruits in moderation every day! I am glad that you don't eat lots of raw sugar, but remember that carbs are sugar too.

Good Luck with your health and your new way of eating. I hope that the doctor finds the answers for you and that you can live a healthy and full life.

I'm no doctor...
 

But I doubt that your test results will show that LCing for a short period of time many months ago is behind your condition...

...I hope you'll share with us (as much as you are comfortable) what you learn. I fear that your subject line and generalizations will bring on needless worry among the people who read here...

I hope you'll be feeling better soon.

Donald :)

LC isn't right for everyone and maybe not for you...for many of us it's just right...we just all hope that those for whom it is not right don't villify LCing and don't discourage others from trying just because it didn't work for them.

That being said, I've had many of the same problems you mention starting about 5 weeks into LCing. I had heart palps, headaches, etc. Although my BP is usually at the bottom of the "high" spectrum, it's now normal. I got checked out by the Doc and EKG was normal, blood minerals, liver func, and lipids were normal...but Kidneys func was slightly abnorm...nothing in the scary range...just abnorm.

DE-HY-DRA-TION. I was drinking well over 100oz of fluids a day, at least half was always H20, and my mouth was no more dry than usual. Could I possibly be dehydrated anyway? YOU-BETCHA! I started drinking water until it hurt...2 pints when I wake up in the morning (it takes one just to take my vitamins) 2 pints at lunch, 3 pints during and right after dinner and 3 pints about 45 minutes before bedtime. I drink other fluids (including water) throughout the day. Sometimes it's hard, but always worth th effort.

What I've figured out: (1) The "64 Oz rule" is a guide and some people just need more (2) Water underlies so many functions in the human body that dehydration (and not minerals deficiency, low blood sugar or fatty diet) is quite frequently the root cause (3) you don't have to have a dry mouth to be dehydrated.

As I said at the beginning, everyone is different so maybe you are/were getting enough water...but if you are having palps and headaches you might want to try this: drink at least 100oz of water per day. Unless your Doc has explicitly forbidden this, there is virtually no danger. I'm NOT suggesting you start LCing again...but I know how all-consuming and scary heart palps and headaches can be...if dehydration is the source of the palps (and it definitely CAN cause palps and arythmias) they could go away as quickly as within 1-2 hours of serious rehydration (by serious I mean 3 pint in about an hour)....but they will come back if you don't keep it up and work at it.

I can't guarantee it will improve your problems...but the risk is minimal as is the cost...not many things you can say that about...and definitely follow your Docs advice.

I also think the title of this thread could be very misleading. You say you followed Atkin's to a T yet in other posts you went from Atkin's to BFL to Protein Power and admitted you cheated every saturday and went back to induction levels every sunday.

Where is this type of behavior of the diet plan written in Dr Atkin's book? Maybe I missed a chapter or a few pages.

There are specific rules for doing low carb diets for very specific reasons. High fat diets in the present of high carbs as well are putting yourself at a high risk of heart disease for the wrong reason.

I think Wa'il and others are making sure that if anyone sees the title of this thread they want to make sure that the reader knows all the facts to base a decision on if this diet is actually harmful or if someone could have followed it incorrectly and hence caused the majority of difficulties.

I don't think anyone is attacking you on a personal level, I just feel they want no misunderstandings to other readers. Afterall they do have a responsibility to make sure people get all the facts. There is enough misinformation out in the media currently that we don't need more.

You say you are having tests run, but do not have the results yet, so how do you know it was low carb? It very well could have been a prior existing condition that low carbin brought to the front.

I do hope you feel better soon. I would also like to know exactly what your doctor has to say is the cause of some of the problems you are experiencing.

Take care ;)

lc -dizziness and hear palps
 

Hi all,

Just a couple things I have also noticed on lc.

Dizziness- Heart Palps

According to a trusted pharmacist/practioner......the combination of lc which has a diuretic effect, combined with intake of coffee and tea(also a diuretic effect) and the increase in water, which also serves to eliminate excess water retention.......can contribute to dizziness and hear palps.

Classic signs of dehydration.

Personally, I have found that if I drink tooooo much water, and coffee, and tea,,,, I pee ALOT and tend to feel weak and dizzy.

Also, I raised my carb level a little bit...more veggies, cutback on too much caffeine, and have felt alot better since,

I eat a fruit at breakfast now, usually a banana-for the potassium
and for the rest of the day, I stick to lean meats, lots of veggies, salad, and the occasional 1 small scoop of rice.


It works for me!!

reply
 

I read this thread very carefully because I was also skeptical about the program, yes, it seems foreign to everything I've read. I have high cholestertol (349 at this date 5/5/02 and of course I was worried about eating meat, eggs, etc.

I recommend and offer anyone with concerns ask their doctor, be seen regularly and if you have kidney disease don't do the program.

But what harms kidneys are things many do in excess, too many soft drinks with caffeine, too much salt, diurectics such as coffee and the like and yet this diet does allow everything only low carb.

I thought low carb meant I'd have no energy and yet before I started induction I was sleeping all day now I cannot stop cleaning my house.

Many before the program are eating just as much protein only they have bread around it daily called a sandwich.

Excess weight can kill us through a h ost of problems. Too much of anything is bad. If this diet said no carbs at all I would not be sitting here typing.

I am open minded just feel there is more to your history of medical programs than you knew at the begining. I hope you do not continue to have problems and wish you success in whatever program you choose!

Re: lc -dizziness and hear palps
 

hi smiley :)

You're right .. dehydration, and low levels of certain minerals, in particular potassium and magnesium, can lead to the weak dizzy feelings you describe. First thing is to correct the dehydration .. by drinking more water, and cutting back on the caffeine and other known diuretics, as you have done. The diuretic nature of a ketogenic diet will balance itself over time, as the fat cells releases their stored water along with the fat.

You're smart also to increase the carbs by eating more veggies ... Dr ATkins recommends this .. it's called OWL ;) However, rice has a high glycemic value, causing blood sugar and insulin to rise quickly. In fact, white or brown rice has a higher glycemic value than white sugar!! (124 vs. 92)

As a source of potassiium, bananas aren't that great, especially considering the high carb content ... 24g digestible carbs for a small one, and approx. 350mg potassium. On the other hand,

• 2 cups of broccoli has only 5g digestible carbs, and 572mg potassium.
• 1 cup of cooked spinach has 2.5g net carbs, and 839mg potassium
• 1 medium California avocado has 3.5 net carbs, and 1,097mg potassium
• 4 oz beef sirloin has 0 carbs and 409mg potassium
• 4 oz sliced mushrooms has 3g digestible carbs and 397g potassium
• etc, etc ;)

A spinach or mushroom omelet for breakfast might be a better bargain for carbs and potassium, and less likely to cause blood sugar and insulin surges and dips ... which are also known to cause dizziness and palpitations.

Doreen

thanks for an informative thread
 

hopefully, everyone, including the young lady who is struggling with these maladies have learned much from this as I have.

Hi Smiley!

I think one of the reasons that Dr. Atkins says no caffeine during induction is because of the diuretic effect that it has. Since low carbing is diuretic by itself, adding more diuretics on top of it could cause some problems as it seems you've discovered.

breakfast broccoli and spinach
 

Doreen

It would take every ounce of strength to eat broccoli or spinach in the morning,,,,,,,,,as it took every ounce of strength just to eat breakfast period before the start of this WOE
LOL LOL

Thanks for the info on the potassium levels though,I will make sure to eat more broccoli at dinner, I love it then!

I seem to do okay with chicken bacon and one egg,
It holds me till lunch, in fact, by lunch time I am usually not very hungry after this breakfast but force myself to eat something low carb.

Take care, Smiley :wave:

I eat spinach at breakfast quite often...
 

But it's in quiche...
...along with cheese, green onion, sausage (or bacon or ham) and chopped spinach!

It's very, very good, and it freezes well so you can make it in advance and feeze individual servings. Just microwave and you're set. :thup:

It's an easy way to get some veggies in at breakfast.

Just a thought...

Donald :wave:

do you have a recipe?
 

Hi Donald

Do you have a recipe for the spinach quiche?




Smiley

Spinach Quiche...
 

Here's the Spinach Quiche recipe I make:

1 doz extra large eggs
2 cups shredded cheese (I use monterey jack and cheddar mix)
2 packages frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
1 pound pork sausage (I use fresh from butcher case)
1 cup(ish) green onion (chopped. mostly greens)
8oz package cream cheese (softened)


Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the sausage, drain, crumble to the size chunks you like.

Drain thawed spinach by squeezing all excess water by hand.

Beat together (I use a hand mixer) eggs and softened cream cheese until smooth.

Add chopped green onions and drained spinach to egg mixture and blend all.

Add shredded cheese and mix.

Add cooked sausage and stir all together.

Pour into 13x9 inch glass backing dish (spray with Pam or grease first).

Cook for 50 minutes at 350 or until knife in center comes out clean.

Let stand for 10 minutes.

This quiche is great served warm with a salad. I also like it cold. I cut mine into 8 portions and freeze the pieces. I thaw them in the refrigerator and microwave them as I want them.

I'm farily certain that you could substitute items to this recipe. I tried it once with chopped broccoli but I didn't like it as well. This is the best way to get spinach into me!

Enjoy!

Donald :wave:

Crystal....
I had the same problems as you did/do. I was sooooo tired that I never got anything done. My heart would race, I felt weak and alot of the time I also felt faint. It got so bad that I was blacking out...got myself one hell of a bad concussion just last month as a matter of fact.

I had already started the Atkins plan when I decided I had better get to the Dr. before I really hurt myself. After a number of tests it came back that I was severely hypoglycemic.
Off I went to a dietition...he explained to me (alot of it I already knew) the effect starchy carbs had on my body. He told me that with a single slice of bread...my insuline spiked and my sugar level dropped to dangerous levels. I walked out of his office with my dietition knowing I was eating 20 carbs a day.
They are doing further tests on me, not quite sure what my pancreas is up to.
The bottom line is...I don't dare touch bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or any other high carb food.
He also gave me a HUGE chart detailing what foods cause a higher glucose level for when I want to increase my carbs to 25.

Yesterday I increased my carb count to 25 because with me not cheating...my levels haven't dropped below 4 for over a week. Instead of going through my "list"...I added a extra 2 tablespoons of salsa to go with my pork rinds...today I will add more flax to my flax breakfast to cover my new 5 carb increase.

In the end..whether i am at the pre-diabetes stage...or any other surprise my body is throwing at me...the best thing I can do to keep my insuline at an even level is to stay with this way of eating.

When the Dr. first had an idea of what was wrong with me his first words were...lay off the bread and potatoes and don't even think of touching another candy bar (sugar).


Have a nice day...Cin

I want everyone to understand that I am not blaming it all on low carbing but, I am saying that I did not have any problems before than. I did not cheat in the begin of the lc plan untill I started having problems with the high blood pressure never had high bp before and it does not run in my family. When I switched plans is when I my bp went down. I will have some of my test results back on friday. When I told my doctor that I had been on lc about 6 mnths ago he told me to never go on a diet like that again that it was very dangerous. Maybe it did help some people but it could also have bad effects on some people also. How does eveyone know that it is safe a couple of years down the road you may start to have problems also. I only wrote about my problem because I was concerned about everyone else that is lc I just thought someone would like to hear about it , maybe someone was having the same problems as me.. SORRY IF I OFFEND ANYONE ITS YOUR BUISNESS NOT MINE............. When I get my results I will let everyone know !!!!!!! GOOD LUCK