I am pleased to report that I have lost 20 lbs since I began on Atkins May 7th. But here's a question.

Beginning immediately, within a day or two of my start, I wake up 1-2 times a night to urinate, but the flow has slowed to a frustrating SLOW trickle. But only at night. During the daytime, mostly back to normal flow. It's strange, since this phenomenon started almost exactly when I started Atkins.

Does the change in diet have an effect on the prostate?

wellll..I don't have a prostate gland , but I've noticed the same thing with the slowed bladder emptying, and am sure that this is related to low carbing, cuz I did not have it before starting this time, and also noted it a few years back with my first go-round at low-carbing

You know, I'e been LC'ing for about 8 months now, I reached my goal about 3 months ago and haven't really frequented these boards that much since. But I've been having a problem this past few months and thought I'd check it out. I kept feeling tired during the day and this was unusual since I'd had pretty good energy with the low carb WOL. Then I put it down to being kept up at night with the crave to pee but not fully recogising it until it was really urgent (I'm a heavy sleeper and it takes a lot to get me out of bed). SO my sleep pattern would be a couple of hours of good sleep, then a few hours of restlessness while my body tells me that I need to go pee, then a last couple of hours of sleep. I'm not doing too bad now, when I fele the urge, I usually act upon it, but sometimes I'll lay there for hours, trying to ignore it and it doesn't go away.

Any advice from some of the more experienced low carbers out there???

Duncan

Dunkyboy,

I have the same exact symptoms with the tiredness and plus i'm stalled. It is really frustrating sometimes cause I might be having an interesting dream or subconsciously start dreaming when I'm lying there to avoid peeing. I Usually urinate about 3 times a night because I drink about 1.5 gallons of H20 everyday.

I'll watch this thread closely,
David

You're doing great. Congratulations. I have a problem with nighttime urination also. I usually go at least twice a night, but sometimes I go as often as 4-5 times. I take a diarretic [sic] for BP and just started it so I'm thinking I just have to get used to the meds. And my stalls are much much better.

I try to drink up until about an hour before I go to bed and then just take sips to refresh myself. But if I start having my dream where I'm looking for a toilet and there are only armchairs in the bathroom, I wake up and run for the potty.

Keith,
This is a topic I have really been worried about since starting Atkins. High fat diets are associated with a lot of prostate problems, which in turn cause some of the symptoms you and ME are having such as night time urination and "trickle" pee (sorry I could not come up with something proper). The prostate does interfere with and effect how we men urinate. High fat diets are supposedly responsible for prostate swelling. If this continues for you I would recomend taking the herb "SAW PALMETTO". This MIRACLE herb has worked wonders for me as far as urination and prostate pains go. OH ( and a little side note, it will make you more virile as well : ). BUT, I would like to know more information concerning high fat diets and prostate irregularitys????

Thanks for the tip Javy, plus an nice side effect . I'll have to give it a shot and see if it has any effect. I know all too well those dreams that KetoDiva is talking about...scary!!!

Oh well, I'm going to keep my eye on this thead and see if anyone else has any similar symptoms and advice..... I only started noticing these symptoms this past few months, so maybe it's a lonnger term effect of the low carb diet???

I'm in maintenance now and float around 190-193, I set myself a range, rather than a definite limit to my weight loss as I have daily fluctuations. I weight myself daily, same time every morning with the same clothes on (i.e. none) for consistency, if I'm at the upper end of my range, I restrict my carb intake a little and down it comes again. A little rice and potatoes now and again doesn't hurt too much, even the odd piece of pie or ice cream, just in moderation....it's more of a treat that way...if I see myself creeping up the scales....I just hold back and down it comes again, it's amazing! No more cookie binges or gorging on endless carbs for me! This diet rocks!

Duncan

DunkyBoy,
Saw Palmetto will also make your body leaner as well, something I forgot to mention. Do the research though and make your own choices.