Lower Stomach Burns

Okay I have a question, this started lastnight, it is burning in my lower stomach, and i dont know what is going on, it isnt constant, tit stops burning if I eat or drink something. What is going on? Am I just burning fat? Or is that what hunger is going to feel like now? I hope I dont sound like an idiot, but I need to understand this, also I think I am in ketosis cause i have that sweet fruity taste in my mouth again. Any ideas? Please help! Hugs peggy

I don't think I've ever heard that particular complaint before, but I bet if you ask it on the main board, someone's bound to have gone thru it. Maybe it's acid reflux or stomach acid [thus why it would go away when you eat]? I dunno, since it's not an emergency, I'd call my surgeon during business hours tomorrow and ask if I were you, hey, that's what we pay them for! Bodies go into ketosis with less than 100 g of carbs a day, when you have a lot of intake, it's really hard on your kidneys, but I think with the amount of food we can now take in, it's kinda expected. I saw my nut yesterday and I am getting about 85 g of carbs in and she thought that was perfect. If you are hardly getting any carbs in, and are having the ketosis side effects, I would try upping it a bit with some veggies or fruit or even some crackers and see if that helps you have less symptoms. HTH! xosm

Hi Greta, I am a little confused please dont take this wrong I just dont understand. Why would you want to go out of ketosis? I thought being in ketosis meet you where burning fat. or am I confused. love marie

No, you are right, but from what I have read prolonged ketosis can be harmful to the body. Personally, I believe there has to be a balance to everything, and don't want to harm my body any more than it has been by being morbidly obese. Here's my take; Ketosis is a process where your body burns fat for energy [instead of glucose when sufficient dietary carbohydrates are not available], when we go without food for even a few days our bodies begin living off our stored fats, and these release ketones. The ketones themselves are produced by the metabolism of fat. Excess ketones are then eliminated during urination but I think they can also spill over into the blood. From what I understand, if you produce too many ketones [which are the by product of fat metabolism] or have prolonged ketosis it can lead to damage to your liver and kidneys [due to the acid produced]. There is no question that ketogenic diets work. But prolonged ketosis can lead to a high blood pH level. Other side effects associated with ketogenic diets include temporary dizziness, headache, lethargy, weakness and, in extremis, diarrhea and nausea. In addition, a person on a diet extremely low in carbohydrates, fiber, and many vitamins and minerals is liable to feel cranky, sluggish, and deprived]. I heard a good measure of whether your carbs are too low is how well you can keep your sense of humor. Since we're overweight to begin with, the chances are we'll be able to smile through a short time on less than 30 grams of carbohydrates [like the inductin phase of Atkins] - but again, the other side effects will come into play. I've read that above this level is a transition point, somewhere around 60 grams of carbohydrates -- my nutritionist said under 100 grams of carbs is good. At this level, the feelings of well being are optimal and the side effects are minimized. [I have the fruity breath, and some fatigue {which I think may be more related to my iron}, but I'm not nauseated or sluggish and I don't feel deprived. To keep a healthy balance for me, I allow some complex carbohydrate intake to prevent the dangers of prolonged ketosis. My body is still in ketosis, for the most part, burning fat instead of glucose for fuel, but I'm not suffering or harming myself [I HOPE]. This, of course, is just my opinion based on what I've learned over the years of dieting and recently, from seeing the nutritionist. HTH xosm

Peggy, How long are you going between meals? make sure you are getting in protein with every meal, and that you are eating often enough. this is what hunger feels like to me, and then when i eat the first bite, my stomache spasms,a nd I have to wait a few minutes,a nd then continue eating....this is only when I wait too long between meals, or if I had eaten something that didn't have enough protein to sustain me....or if i drank too soon after, and washed my food through, and it didn't stay in my stomache long enough. Good luck! sAndra