I am recuperating from cervical spinal surgery done about 10 days ago. Had a really rough 1st week of pain and by Sunday I was eating carbs. Got back on LC Monday and still not in any type of ketosis. I am wondering if the pain meds/muscle relaxers are causing me problems. I dont own a scale but I seemed to have gained 1/2 inch in my waist. I know they loaded me up with Dextrose IV (even tho I am a diabetic) so I figured that would not help. I am getting discouraged that I seem to be stuck. Plus, I am stuck in the house all day and I am beginning to be tempted to eat all day out of boredom. Anyone have any experience with surgery issues and Atkins/ketosis?

Hi verniebird--

It's going to take you a while to get over the dextrose dose, especially since you're a diabetic (I am too...Type II), but you can hasten the process a little by forcing the fluids.

I've taken pain meds while on Atkins, but never noticed any problem with ketosis...that's me...your system (and your meds) may vary. If you are up to doing some cooking, some of the soups in the recipe section might go down well. If not, try a little boullioun to get you through. Remember that you're feeling crappy now, but you're gonna feel a lot worse if you fill your empty hours munching on "forbidden foods!" You've done very well getting through Induction and losing 22(!) pounds in such a short time...that 200 mark is awfully close, and I'm betting you're gonna enjoy getting there a lot more than any snack you might indulge in...am I right?

i'd stick with it, but let yourself heal first. By this i don't mean eating the "no good" foods, just try to stay as low carb as possible while you are healing. surgery is a big thing, and it's not something to feel bad about if you fall of the wagon for a few days.

Hey verniebird--

I'm sure your doc mentioned this to you, but you should expect your BG levels to be elevated for a while...it's a typical stress-response that everybody (even non-diabetics) has after someone takes a knife to their body! I've heard of "normal" folks running BG's of 150+ for a week post surgical. This actually isn't a bad thing...in some ways it can be a help in the healing process.

Right after I posted this Thurs nite, I went into ketosis! Yesterday was a tuff day....just wanted to eat all day from boredom. I am so bored, I want to go back to work 4 wks early, lol. Now that is bored. Seriously, I am looking forward to breaking the 200 barrier and am hoping to get out for a walk today. Thanks for the inspiration.

I broke my back n 1990. Thats how I went from 250 to 380 plus. I used my surgurys as a excuse to eat eat eat. Just keep plugging away. Dont get discouraged. All the dextrose can really mess you up. Soon you will be up and moving around much more and as you increase your activity levels and start physical thearpy you will start dropping again. The key (Which I did not follow) was that after the therapy is over ask the therapist to set you on a workout regime. She is better than hiring 15 personal trainers and will know your exact conditons and can tailer you a program to fit your need and injurys.