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Pre-op low carb cramps



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OK, this sucks :thumbup1: Wanted to get the best weight loss possible pre-op, so going on strict Adkins. Guess what showed up day 3, right side abdominal and left foot cramps. I'm sure other pre-opers have had this..... what worker? ( a banana a day just won't keep me less then 10 carbs a day!!! )

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I didn't experience cramping post-op, probably because of the multivitamins/minerals, but I've experienced both before while doing Atkins. The abdominal discomfort might be due to Constipation.< /span>

The cramps, I definitely had a TON of doing Atkins... I found that taking a potassium pill once a day helped a lot with that.

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I've done Atkins many times and remember those foot cramps. At bedtime, I took 1 Potassium pill as well as 1 calcium/magnesium and that seemed to do the trick for me.

Yesterday was my first day on pureed food and I ate low-carb. Guess what showed up last night? Yup, the beginning of that cramping feeling.

I feel for ya!

My program calls for using Benefiber at two weeks post-op as needed. I tried it out pre-op. 2 teaspoons in a bottle of crystal light, tea, Water etc and golly it does a good internal cleaning job. As Stacy pointed out, you may be abdominal cramping from Constipation.< /strong>

Please let us know how you're doing.

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I did it for years at a time. It was not detrimental to my health. If anything it was very good for my blood sugars etc. My blood sugar has always been within normal to low range and I attribute part of that to years of low carb. I don't think there's anything wrong with eating lean Protein and vegetables, limiting fruits and excluding white carbs.

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I always heard about Adkins but really never tried it. . .that is why i was asking. . .I wonder if it would work well with the sleeve too? Whatcha think?

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Is Adkins dangerous to do over a long period of time?

It's not dangerous, unless you follow your own version of it :001_tt2:. Many people fail to research it and try to simply eat high fat / high Protein with a 10 carb ice-cream bar. The diet calls for adding greens for Fiber and nutrition, also supplimental Vitamins, and restricting the amout of fat you eat (lean meats). Research it on the Adkins sight (google / bing Adkins), their is more to it then most people think.

It does put you into acidosis as you have no carbs for quick energy and the body is breaking down fat and Protein to burn. If you don't drink enough Water this stays in your system. No Vitamins, you miss out on vital nutrients you normally get from grains.

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I always heard about Adkins but really never tried it. . .that is why i was asking. . .I wonder if it would work well with the sleeve too? Whatcha think?

It is amaving how great you can feel on Adkins. Though I noticed that I am MUCH more successful in avoiding cravings the with my first attemp, I believe due to my metformin and treatment for my PCOS.

I plan to continue the low carb / adkins diet post-op, it seems to work within the guidelines that my MD gave me.

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If you're following the post-op diet correctly, and staying away from unnecessary carbs, then you're pretty much already doing Atkins.< /span> :001_tt2:

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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