my head hurts, please help. page

[JohannaAnderson]

I am having a horrible time managing my blood sugar. I keep getting headaches where my head feels like it's being squeezed in a vise grip. I eat a big protein breakfast (2 eggs, leftover meat from last night's supper). This morning, I had 2 tablespoons of coconut oil at about 11:30. I was good to go until about 12:40. Then I ate mashed avacado with homemade mayonnaise and bacon.

I felt fine until about 4:00, so I went 3 hours and 20 minutes without food (yay). Then I ate a few nuts and more coconut oil. I felt so satiated with fat that I wasn't hungry for the grilled, marinated chicken at dinner, but I forced myself to eat some of it. What I really wanted was the grilled vegetables and a piece of the cantaloupe. My heads still hurt, even after eating. I am feeling very weak and am lying down.

I have been eating primal/paleo for about 2 weeks. I have always tended to have low blood sugar crashes, so this is nothing new, but I thought this way of eating would stop them. I have been told by someone who analyzed my bloodwork that I am insulin resistant. Yesterday, I read the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, and I have almost all of them. I don't want to go to a doctor and be put on a lot of drugs. I have never had anything resembling high blood sugar, to my knowledge, but maybe I do have it and just don't know it. I am a 50 year old woman who is about 15 pounds overweight. I'm 5' 8" and weigh 160.

I haven't had any grains or sugar for 2 weeks. The only dairy I have had is some heavy whipping cream with berries. I have cut down from 2 cups of coffee to 1. I don't think these are caffeine headaches, though, because the headaches are the kind I usually associate with low blood sugar.

Food is great. I love food. I just don't want to have to think about food all the time. Does anyone have any suggestions, PLEEZE?

[magicmerl]

Eating primally doesn't mean cutting out the vegetables. Veggies are awesome. All the things you are eating sound great (it's typical for newbies to go a little 'nuts' for nuts as they transition to primal).

I would just add in a whole bunch of veggies, from these three groups:
1. Colours
2. Leafy Greens
3. Sulfoids

The links give you the 'official' posts by Mark.

People often report a 'low carb flu' as their body is transitioning away from using glucose as the primary fuel to using fat as the primay fuel. If that's the cause, your symptoms should diminish as your body stabilises in fat burning mode.

[JohannaAnderson]

Thanks, magicmerl.

How does the body transition away from using glucose as the primary fuel to using fat as the primary fuel? And how long does it take?

[Betorq]

Chlorella helped me stabilize my blood sugar. It's the fastest "cure" for low blood sugar crashes I've ever used, VERY healthy algae, highest in chlorophyll & RNA of any food on the planet. Also its portable & is fine in a backpack or left in a car for emergencies. Also try to eat more cooked green leafy veggies like green cabbages of all types, kales, collards, broc, brussell sprouts & consider adding healthy amounts of sat or mufa fats to all your green veggie dishes too as it helps absorption. Go easy on fruits in the beginning, unless you have control of the portions & it doesn't lead to craving more fruits/sugar. Try the chlorella, there's tons of science behind it plus it's been used by native peoples for 1000s of years.

[noodletoy]

it sounds like you've gone very low carb? you are likely in ketosis and suffering a bout of carb flu. your electrolytes are out of whack. have some avocado, that cantaloupe, and drink some miso soup. drink LOTS of water. take it easy too.

[magicmerl]

Thanks, magicmerl.

How does the body transition away from using glucose as the primary fuel to using fat as the primary fuel? And how long does it take?

You're welcome.

One of the great things about MDA is that most of the posts are almost primers on a subject. Here's one for the low carb flu.

Key quote: For many people, it takes about two to three weeks to move beyond the temporary fog and fatigue.

[Crabbcakes]

It took five weeks for me to get to the other side of the fog and fatigue. I ate whenever I wanted to, even if it was to nibble often, as long as it was honestly as Primal as I could source. Then another few weeks to get to the point where I could say I am "stable" - during those extra weeks, I saw some Primal sun but sometimes it would slip behind the foggy clouds again.

Pay attention to the vegetable pile that is supposed to be on your plate. I was so in love with snacking on pastured butter and free-range eggs and meaty stuff that I let the veggies slide too much and went into an unintentional VLC thing - which I don't do well with yet. That bit of fruit (or more likely in this house, half of a sweet potato) keeps things rolling along, all other things being good.

Drink water - my headaches are/were (still have some, but less frequent now) related to too much sugar and/or lack of water. (I have suffered headaches for years, of the tension kind.)

I like the idea from Betorq. I recently started adding a bit of Greens Plus powder to some V8 or tomato juice - good grief, does that feel good in the body!

Give your body the rest it needs. This metamorphosis into a fat-burner from sugar-burning takes some time, and the more messed up you started, the longer it will take. For a non-drug little help, try putting a cold cloth (or one of those proper ice bags that you can get at any good pharmacy store) on the back of your neck. I get the total aaaahhhhhs from that. I sometimes also grab homeopathic migraine tablets from Hyland's. Simply Hyland's Migraine Headache Relief.

And hang in there. It should be noticeably better soon!

[Lewis]

I don't think these are caffeine headaches, though ...

They may be caused by electrolyte imbalances. That's explained here:

The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. » Tips & tricks for starting (or restarting) low-carb Pt II

But I'd suggest you transition more slowly. And you don't necessarily have to go that far just to lose a few pounds. You can have the grilled vegetables. And you also don't need to force yourself to eat food that you don't want or to eat coconut oil you dont want.

[Betorq]

Johanna,

You didn't make any mention of these subjects, so I'll ask: 1) Are you getting enough rest ie quality sleep &/or naps? 2) How are you managing/minimizing stress in your life? 3) What do you do for fun & r&r & how often? 4) Besides adding more veggies & healthy carbs into a regular rotation, what foods are you eating that you really savor & enjoy? 5) How much clean water are you drinking every day? 6) Are you walking, swimming, rebounding or doing other regular, mild forms of daily exercise? Slow & easy is the best way in the beginning. Enjoy yourself , be gentle, have fun. This ought not be punishing.

Cinnamon extracts in capsule form, fenugreek, bitter melon, vanadium, chromium & ALA all are good for blood sugar stabilization. Actually any leafy green juices, made in the blender with some sat fat or mufa added + some ginger, with or w/out a bit of edible algaes like spirulina or chlorella would also be good. You may need to re-alkalize after all that VLC acidifying you've done, & green foods/juices do that in a hurry, while soothing your system.