Although I really don't have that much weight to lose (I am 5'3" and 120 pounds - I'd like to be 112), I decided to give this diet a shot after several both my mother and brother have had tremendous success on it.

The first couple days, I felt terrible - couldn't digest, sort of nauseous, etc. On the third day, I had a strange reaction while I was out running errands - I felt extremely dizzy, and though I might faint. It passed, and I continued on the diet. On about the 5th day, I had another strange episode which started by seeing dark spots in my peripheral vision, then began to have a racing heart beat, extreme anxiety, cold sweats, tingling in my fingers and feet, extreme thirst and all around general malaise. I drank a ton of water, and felt better in about an hour and a half. I had a similar, but milder, episode the following evening.

After doing some research on the net, I thought that I might have been dehydrated and had a drastic drop in potassium, so I’ve been drinking at least a gallon of water a day and added a (actually 3 99 mg tabs) potassium supplement to my diet. I continued on thinking that the worst was over.

Last night, (my third week on the diet, and I have only lost 2 pounds) I had another episode – it feels like a panic attack or something similar, accompanied by a severe headache, extreme thirst, stiffness in the neck, a sensitivity to light, and tingling fingers and feet.

I'm a little freaked out that I am doing damage to my system... but now that I've started, I'm not sure how to bow out with out putting my body into further shock.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

I'll be watching for replies. Scary.

are you supplimenting only potassium or others too? multivitamins, calcium, and magnesium should be added as well

yes, I've been taking a one-a-day vitamin suppliment, calicum suppliments, the potassium suppliments, and fiber pills every morning.

You should definitely see a doctor with those symptoms - it may be completely unrelated to your diet - some underlying medical concern - or something that has been worsened by the diet - may low blood pressure??

Atkins diet and low carbohydrate diet discussion provided free for information purposes, NOT as medical advice.

I'm with Elixia on this. I read the post earlier and went to the grocery store and tried to think about what could be going on and realized that, Gee, I'm not a doctor!! And while I can see that there might be some reluctance to tell a doctor you're following this diet, there's way more risk in stranger-diagnosis over the internet.

It is possible that your body has stored some toxin in your fat cells that is kicking out as you start to burn fat. Women who have taken lots of Valium have notorious problems some time after they quit if they get active and start exercising; many other drugs (THC) have a similar effect. (I'm not saying this was in your post at all--I just know it happens.)

But unexplained dizziness means at some level, not enough blood is getting to your brain, and that is a problem you don't want to wait to figure out.

What are you eating? I have felt like this in the past, it is how my body deals with hunger (dizziness, seeing spots, etc.). I have found that for me eating 3-5 times a day is necessary, skipping meals mess me up.

Sounds like ytou may be restricting your calories too much.

Just my 2 cents

musikgal...I was thinking the same thing. If you're already taking supplements and still feeling weak, not eating enough or frequently enough could cause those symptoms.
A gallon of water a day is a little over the top unless you live in a particularly hot or dry climate. Generally, 8-10 eight oz. glasses per day would be enough (a little over 2 liters).
I agree with everyone else, though. If you're eating enough (at least 1,250 calories per day) and taking supplements and still feeling that bad, get thee to a doctor.

On a typical day I had been eating 2 or 3 scrambled eggs w cheese for breakfast, tuna fish w/mayo for lunch cheese for a snack (sometimes a carbo-lite cookie) and steak or chicken and a salad for dinner. I used the fit day thingy and it always added up to over 1200 calories.

I decided to stop this diet last night, and ate 2 pieces of wheat bread, and a nectarine with my dinner. This morning my keto-strips say that I am out of ketosis.

If I continue to have any weird symptoms, I'll go to a doctor right away.

Thank you all for your feedback.

another possibility would be low blood sugar. Are you, by chance, hypoglycemic? If you are, then it's especially important to eat regularly and not go more than 4 hours without eating at least something. It's also important to keep your choices low glycemic to avoid spiking and crashing your blood sugar.
With so little to lose, I don't honestly believe that you need to be going as low as 20 grams of carb per day. Perhaps starting somewhere in the range of 45-60 would fit you better and you can go lower gradually if the weight isn't coming off.

I am just a newbie at this and of course I don't think that this is acvice of any kind cause I am not a health professional and what you are experiencing is something that should be checked out.

But I did notice that I became extremely cranky when I first started lc. And tired too, Also I had bout of migraines that I could not relate to anything. Did a bit of reading and thinking and here is what I came upt with. My seratonin level was probably lots lower than when I was eating lots of carbs. (cause they raise it) Lowered seratonin level accounts for my headaches, tiredness and irritability to a large degree I think.

Also I was eating lots more eggs than i am used to (before I ate an egg like 1x a month and then only one) I think I have a food sensitivity to them and so i cut them out and feel just fine. I read in Eldon Haas's book "False Fat" that food sensitivities can cause kind of extreme reactions in some people.

As for the irritability etc, I started drinking Optimum Whey in the morning...has tyrosine, tryptophan and other amino acids and helps raise seratonin levels. It has 2g of carbs so I just count it.

My symptoms are almost gone.

But again, this is just my experience. It sounds like you probably need some sound medical advice to make sure you are just fine.

feel better!

just checked that label and Optimum whey has potassium in it
As well as lots of other stuff...

Actually, that's not necessarily so. It's sometimes recommended that when trying to lose weight, one drinks eight 8 oz. (total of 64 oz.) glasses of water a day plus eight additional ounces for every 20 lbs. s/he is overweight. For some people, a gallon of water would be just fine. The 64 oz. of water a day is the recommended minimum.

I talked a doctor friend and he says that it sounds as if I have become hypoglycemic, the symptoms of which can manifest into something that feels like an anxiety attack. He said that he has seen this before in people on Atkins, and while it works well for people with a lot of weight to loose he doesn't recommend it to lose "the last 5 pounds."

I have taken myself completely off the diet and I am going to go in and have bloodwork done this weekend, or sooner if I continue to feel bad.

Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes and concern

also, where do you find Optimum Whey?