Emotional Support Sisters

Today is day 108 of keto, and I’m feeling a lot better.  I’m not cured, but  functioning at significantly higher levels.

After I got over the keto flu (which, for me, only lasted a few days and felt like a minor PMDD day (I told the Dr.that and he said you must have really bad PMDD)) I rapidly started getting my brain back.  In the first week I was (still am) able to remember the 6-8 digit verification codes for 2 step authentication. I was able to come off birth control and only have minor irritability the week leading up to my period. I’ve been adventuring with my kids, and wearing them out before I wear out. My husband about 80 days in said “I like the new you. It’s like I got the women I married back.” About the same time Bear said “Mom, you’re really happy now and like it.”

I have been bleeding heavily with my period since coming off birth control.  The hope is after an undisclosed few months the bleeding will decrease.  Until then I’ve started supplementing with iron so I don’t feel crappy.

The doctor has also asked that I hold off doing allergy shots to see if calming my hypothalamus down will calm down the severity of my allergies. This is the one spot where I disagree with treatment.  I have really bad allergies and don’t think they will calm down enough for me to now want to do shots.  I am currently taking double the maxim recommended dose of  4 allergy meds to keep me mostly comfortable.

I still have to eat every 2 hours or I still start to get hangry. About 2 months in I stopped eating every 2 hours and after a week I was feeling irritable and anxious. Hoarding, or saving, calories in case I need them later for a bad blood sugar drop is a hard habit to break. Pre keto I didn’t realize that is what I was doing, but that is what I was doing.  It also probably fed the blood sugar drops, but I didn’t know. 

Trying to find easy snacks for on the go has been hard. I’ve started taking a small cooler of food with me because most shelf stable stuff is too high in carbs for the initial 15g of carb per day. Although, 3 weeks ago I did start increasing  carbs so I can start weaning off of keto, so soon there might be shelf stable snacks.  I am now up to 30 net grams per day. I am increasing carbs slower than what the clinic usually does because I am still having blood sugar drops.

An added bonus of keto is that I have lost 25 lbs without feeling angry, irritable, and starving. Things I have always felt when trying to lose weight, which is why I have never been successful. Just eat less doesn’t work when your body isn’t functioning correctly. As a side note how much you weigh is not necessarily indicative of health. For me, losing the 25 lbs has made moving easier and my joints less achy. I have stopped eating in a calorie deficit because I am at the weight I was before I started having health problems. It is still technically “over weight” by BMI standards, but screw BMI.

Next time I post I’ll update on the stuff I’ve been doing to fix structural issues. Those have been slower to see results and deserve their own post.

Missy