I Have Keto Flu and Keto Rash - Pray for Healing and Provisions

SUMMARY
This message is rather long so here is a summary.

During the first few days transitioning onto the keto diet, there were some strange symptoms that came and went quickly.

Then during the second week, I noticed odd symptoms that did not go away fast. Those details follow including what I learned about the probable causes and solutions that I discovered by watching many videos on Dr. Berg's Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/drericberg123

The bottom line is that previously my body had been gaining energy by converting the sugars and carbs when I was eating whatever I wanted all day and all night. But by both shifting to the keto diet and with intermittent fasting, my body is turning to the fat stores in my body. Those fat stores have been holding toxins. Those released toxins are causing the symptoms of keto flu and keto rash.

There are nutritional supplements to help my body both deal with the fat more effectively and to remove the free-floating toxins from my system.

I have been learning about all this and making applications the best I could.

There is an end to when the fat around my belly and liver will be removed. That will take a while. Then my body will operate more effectively. The inflammation will decrease, the mental clarity will increase and I will have more energy.

I gave away groceries or threw out those that are not on the keto diet. Then a neighbor gave me some banana pudding. I just 3 bites have caused my body to freak out. So it went down the garbage disposal.

It is a long time until the end of this 90-day trial. Then I will evaluate the results and make changes from the recommendations of Dr. Berg https://www.drberg.com/. I trust him because he teaches so well online about every facet of the keto diet. He has 2500 videos so I can drill into any detail. He has helped thousands of patients for many years and refined his recommendations based on their results. His Youtube channel has nearly 3 million subscribers so others trust him too. I cannot objectively evaluate the guidance he has given millions of people that experience amazing transformation unless I am faithful to abide by his core guidelines.

I am requesting your best prayers for God to grant me wisdom and guidance in the coming weeks as I deal with the keto flu and the keto rash.

I am requesting your best prayers for me to do all the needed fundraising to afford the nutritional supplements and other aids to get through this challenging passage.

I remember that my grandfather had crippling arthritis in his hands. He kept a huge bottle of aspirin by his chair to cope with the pains. Many of my senior citizen neighbors have painful arthritis and are taking all kinds of pain killers. The keto diet has greatly decreased arthritis in his patients.

I do not want to be leaning on artificial aids for the rest of my life.

I seek to remove the causes of the pains instead of masking the symptoms.

Thanks for all your prayers. God is answering prayers in His way and in His timing.


CONTEXTS
My weight remained the same from high school until a few years ago.

I lived in a homeless shelter for 3 years from 2014 to 2017.

I paid 10 dollars a day for 3 meals a day, access to a hot shower and slept in a huge room of a converted warehouse with more than 100 other men.

The meals were filling but not made with the best ingredients.

The shelter was near the convention center. I walked to the library or community college each day. During those walks, I was exposed to all the exhaust of cars, buses, and trucks.

Before I entered the homeless shelter I would go 5 to 7 years between visiting the doctor for minor complaints. While in the shelter I went to the charity hospital about every 3 to 4 months to get a prescription for respiratory or skin troubles.

While I was there I gained about 25 pounds that were mostly in my belly. I move into this apartment 2 years ago and the weigh has remained. I needed to buy pants with a larger waist.

Also during that time, I began to have chronic pains in my right shoulder and neck.

I did not go on the keto diet to lose weight. I was satisfied with a little pouch that only I noticed.

BUT as I researched the keto flu and the keto rash this all became important, that I will explain later.




KETO FLU SYMPTOMS
Recently I woke up with a dry mouth. That has rarely happened in my lifetime.

I recognized that I had stopped breathing through my nose and by only using my month so it became dry.

During many recent days, I woke to go to the bathroom and found that I was very congested. Previously I could use some saline mist and vitamin C to knock that out. But that has not been working lately.

I have suddenly had a mild cough and then with just a little cough syrup, it went away. Every other time I had a cough it continued all day and all night.

Previously I needed to wash the sleep out of my eyes a few times a week when I woke. But lately, I have needed to wash some gunk off of my eyelashes several times all day and night. Plus I have needed to use eye drops.

Also, I have had hours when I felt strangely sluggish or my body felt weak all over. Then it just went away.

For decades I had caught the flu every 2 or 3 years and it lasted 2 or 3 days. This is not like any of those times. This has been ongoing for more than a week.


KETO RASH SYMPTOMS
Small red patches have suddenly appeared in different places on my arms and legs.

I used various lotions, as well as tea tree oil or apple cider vinegar to gain relief.

That kind of rash has never happened before for me.



CAUSES ACCORDING TO DR BERG
I have viewed many videos by Dr. Berg  https://www.youtube.com/user/drericberg123 related to the keto flu, the keto rash, and fatty liver.

He teaches that when I have been removing sugars and the abundance of carbs from my diet as well as using the intermediate fasting this has shifted how my body operates.

Previously my body got energy from processed sugars and carbs. These days it processes fat including my fat.

That fat has had toxins stored that are released. The keto flu and the keto rash are just how my body is coping with the toxins.

My lungs, sinuses, eyes, skin, and other parts of my body are dealing with unfriendly chemicals on their way out of my body.

During my research, he mentioned the fatty liver. I saw his videos on that. He said that pains in the right shoulder and neck can indicate a fatty liver because the liver is on the right side of the body. That makes sense to me.

As I reflected on when and how I gained this weight that led to the homeless shelter days. I was both gaining pounds while exposed to all that exhaust at close quarters for years.

Also, that was a very stressful season of my life. And stress can produce toxins in the body.


MY NEXT STEPS
I took notes on the many videos of Dr. Berg that I watched. I have purchased some of the nutritional supplements he recommended and I have others in online carts to buy soon.

A device that could help me sleep better at night is a bed wedge. It is a triangular foam unit to put on my bed. As I put my pillow at the top then the gentle slope will cause the mucus to flow down instead of stuffing up my sinuses.

My focused attention has been on making this transition and dealing with the symptoms.

There are many groceries that were removed from my kitchen and many new ones that were added.

I have felt afraid to take an honest look at my finances.

I think that my savings are exhausted.

I am not certain what items in the shopping carts can wait until next month.

It has been a long time since I did fundraising to meet my needs. I dislike that process. I must admit that I need help. I must be humble and vulnerable.

But that is the only way forward.

So please pray for me.

May I come to objectively understand my real needs.

May I be led by the Holy Spirit in who to ask and how to ask.

May God bless me with more than enough money to get through this transition.


CONCLUSION
This is just my story. It is just my reporting on what has been happening to me. It is my way to connect with others and to enroll in prayer support.

Every person is unique. The history of what happened in their body before starting the keto diet is unique to them. They may have fewer or more toxins in their fat than me. They may deal with the keto flu and the keto rash symptoms differently. Some have a higher and others have a lower tolerance for pain.

It is not my purpose to persuade you or any person to go on the keto diet.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has led me down this path for the sake of my long term health.

There is a short term price to pay to remove the toxins from my body. Then my liver will be able to function far better.

I empathize with those who start and stop the keto diet. This is not easy or fun.

However, I am committed to staying on it until September 25, 2019. Then I might make changes.


THANKS again for all your prayers.

Shalom
John