5 ER doctors were baffled and confused after my tests came back. Accidental Ketosis?

A week ago I went to the ER. While I've been experiencing abdominal pain for awhile, I woke up feeling like someone sucker punched me in the gut, followed by a morning of this jabbing/stabbing feeling right around my naval area and my lower right "hip dip" area. This was a different pain, and for someone who's had bones shattered and dislocated, and survived being hit by a car going 45 through a crosswalk - this was up there on my pain scale.

The doctors and myself included believed these were the tale-tell signs of appendicitis. When I arrived at the ER, they took my vitals and stuck an IV tube in my arm for later use, after 3 more hours I got my CT Scan, and after another 3 hours I got a room.

I had test after test done, at one point I was asked to provide 3 urine samples in the span of 2 hours for additional tests. Each time they came in to do another test, another doctor came in, with more experience and tenure than the previous doctor - then the final doctor came in, they had brought him downstairs because they couldn't make heads or tails of what was wrong with me.

"We're confused by the results." were the first words I heard from the most senior of the medical staff. "Which is why they brought me down here."

He talked about how they tested for appendicitis, pancreatitis, gallstones, kidney stones, viral infections, cancers, autoimmune diseases, STIs, urinary tract infection, bacterial infections, and so much more - but everything came back negative or unremarkable.

The doctor said he noticed two things;

• I had a thick bladder wall, but no infection or any other signs for issues with my bladder.
• I had above average (but not high) ketone levels in my labs (though I am not diabetic or on a diet)

So we talked more - for over 45 minutes; he asked me a hundred questions and I asked him a hundred more, and he came up with a theory - not a diagnosis, but something he wanted me to try out and see if it improved things before returning for further treatment.

So here's the breakdown of what we talked about;

Each morning, for the past year, I drink about 200-300 mg of caffeine, I don't eat right away and often wait until about an hour before noon before partaking in a late-breakfast/lunch. Then I might snack on something small between then and dinner, and for dinner I have been making meals from a meal prep service (ie: Hello Fresh, Every Plate, Home Chef, etc) - those comprise of a protein and maybe one or two veggies as sides. Then I might have a small snack around bed. I was also consuming about 60 oz of water per day. I had pointed out that in the past 9 months I had lost 25 pounds and most of it seemed to be fat. It also felt like I was hyper-aware of things which increased my anxiety.

That's where I messed up apparently.

My diet lacked sufficient carbs, I was unintentionally fasting in the mornings, and causing my digestive system to go into overtime with the caffeine. So my body was burning fat for energy like it would carbs.

So the theory was; I achieved ketosis. If you've heard of "Keto" products or the "Keto Diet"- this is what people on that diet are striving to achieve. Forcing their body to burn fat like it burns carbs for energy so they can slim down, except I did it accidentally and it's also surprisingly dangerous if not done correctly, because doing so pulls water from your body toward other areas or it flushes it out and can cause a slew of problems such as dehydration, constipation, abdominal pain, and if you have GERD/Acid Reflux - it can really mess that up too.

Right now I've been prescribed 30 days of Omeprazole (since I finished a 14 day course) and have been recommended to increase my carb intake and eat more throughout the day, additionally I was also told by the doctor to increase my water consumption to at least a gallon of water per day, if not one-and-a-half gallons.

I've taken their advice, and slowly but surely the symptoms are going away.

So I'm sharing this because before this I saw 3-4 other doctors and they were at a loss. I've been having this pain for 9 months with few days of no pain. This doctor went on a theory purely based on the ketones in my urine and asking open-ended questions on my lifestyle and dieting habits - **and I'm seeing results. **

The joke he made was that the side effects/symptoms I was experiencing were aligned with how "People know they've achieved ketosis, and what they actually try and look for":

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Irritability
• Constipation
• Trouble sleeping
• Nausea
• Stomachache
• Abdominal pain
• Dizziness
• Sugar cravings
• Cramps
• Sore muscles
• Mental clarity/Heightened awareness
• Anxiety
• Bad breath

I'm not speaking out against the Keto diet, but just sharing my experience since I accidentally achieved what the diet strives to accomplish, and that if done improperly - it can have some pretty intense side effects which land you in the ER, and if done long-term, can cause those to become amplified and eventually cause more serious problems.

0 likes, 0 replies