Okay, I'm the ONE person who said 2+ years some health problems. NOT serious health problems...it's just that it took me a whole year for my uh, digestion lets say to get used to the higher fat of low carbing. NOW I'm fine.

sorry i have been so long in getting back to you, but i have had some medical problems, nothing due to my adkins diet though. i had some complications from my hernia surgery thats all.
i still stay on my diet plan and still am doing real good, still losing, slowly now but loseing. had to go out and buy some new clothes for all my others were just falling off me.
haven't been doing to much these days, just mending my health some so i can get back to my old routine. in october we were planing a trip to the mountians in tennesse and still are if i get better. thats always been my favorite time of the year in the mountians.
stay to your diet and write if you need me, i'm here.
a fla friend,
mary

Only recently did I start the Atkins lc (August 28)....and I've never felt better, and more clear headed. I was drooping through life,
but having cut out all those nasty carbs has perked me right up....and I've lost 20 lbs! What a bargin! So thanks to my friend Michelle...who got me started, but didn't push. She's lost 40 lbs and looks fantastic!

We should all be proud of ourselves for taking steps in the right direction for a fullfilling, happy life! Not being a carb person is almost as addictive as carbs!

Enjoy yourself!

Started doing Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution in May of last year and haven't felt this good in YEARS. I've also never been healthier. Considering that my one daughter has had pneumonia twice and my other has had strep throat twice this winter along with the normal colds and I haven't caught any of it, I'd say this speaks highly of the immune system boost this WOL can give you. The only thing I've had in the past 10 months is one cold which I fought off in 2 or 3 days. The benefits I've gotten from this WOL are too many to count, but I'll list the important ones: my blood pressure went from dangerously high (190/103) to normal (124/82). My blood sugar went from out of control (average blood sugar 250) to normal (average blood sugar 100) My weight has dropped 65 pounds and as I've already mentioned, I haven't felt this good in years! I have noticed some hair loss, but it seems to grow back faster than it is falling out and I also suspect that I have a low functioning thyroid. Going to talk to the doctor about that next week. Speaking to the person who said that low carbing caused her brother to develop kidney failure, I'd like to point out that the doctors did not say that low carbing caused the virus that was responsible for the kidney failure, merely that it allowed the symptoms to surface far sooner than they would have on a high carb diet and this actually allowed him to be treated in time to save his life...a good thing in my opinion.

I've been on Atkins for about 6 weeks now. My cholesterol went from 240 to 225 and my triglycerides went from the mid 500 range to.......61!

My boyfriend has also been on it for 6 weeks and now he has reduced his diabetic meds in half and his blood pressure is the best it's been in a long time- maybe no more bp meds soon for him!

No health problems here!!
Been LCing almost 5 months now..... and I feel better than I have in years!! More energy, hair and nails in best shape ever, skin in much better condition.
And now I'm at goal..... it's definitely been a major plus for me!!
Ellie

Hi everyone,
I've been doing the LC diet for 4 years except when I was pregnant 3 years ago. I stray occasionally but come back to it. It's what works for me. I have had some muscle and bone problems.. Tore a calve muscle doing nothing and also recently diagnosed with a herneated disc ouch.... but I don't know if it's from the diet or just being 40. Anyone else noticed this? Thanks. Lisa

Hi,

I've only been LCing (without cheating) for the last three weeks. I've lost conservatively 10 pounds and can't remember when I've felt better. Even three weeks is enough for me to get some idea of what life is like with a low level of carbohydrates and if this keeps up, I think I can carry on as long as it takes. Which of course is a way for me.

They say there's nothing like a convert, and right now, I'm pretty high on this way of eating. There appears to be an increase in energy and I'm never hungry. That's because I eat when I'm hungry. I have a high general sense of wellbeing and can sleep well at night.

To put things in perspective, my excess weight was hurting my life in lots of ways, so if I should experience a few mild effects, that would certainly not deter me from this way of eating.

I wish I knew years ago that I could eat well and still lose weight.

I think that the experience of people who are closer to their goal weight might be different, and, perhaps it would be best to seek medical attention for persistent problems, just in the interest of safety.

cheers

Have been on lc since March 4, 02. Have lost 13 lbs but have been experiencing back pain for the last week. Lower right hand side. Had a blood workup yesterday and all was normal. Take supplements, drink 2 to 4 liters a day of water. I did drink a couple of liters of cranberry juice(lite)over the weekend and the pain subsided. Of course, I sent my carb intake through the roof.
(at least more than 20 per day)
Am a bit puzzeled by all this. I really, really like this approach, but am very concerned.

Tim, if you were not on an eating plan, you would be unlikely to think back pain was related to your food, so there may be no reason to suspect it now. Diet can usually worsen problems like that, or make them better, but the root cause of them is usually not diet related.

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As for the person who's brother had the kidney problems, there are basically three things I've read about, that indirectly relate to a lowcarb eating plan, that can cause this:

1. The person has an actual viral infection which is undiagnosed. It can hide for decades and then kill you (and I believe such things *do* have symptoms, but they are masked in the general sluggish conglomerate of 'issues' half our population suffers thanks to diet), or it can be found pretty quickly when one is eating well. Some would "blame" low-carb for causing the virus to suddenly seem like such a big deal, but it did not CREATE the virus--we're only talking about food here, not acts of God or contagion!--and in the end I think that saves people more than harms them.

2. The person has a kidney problem which prevents proper functioning, and as PART of their lowcarb eating plan, begins drinking a ton of water very suddenly. For most people, this is just a lot of water. For people with an existing kidney problem, it can be dangerous. Again this may be "blamed" on someone beginning a lowcarb eating plan, but it really (a) has nothing to do with carbs, and (b) is a pre-existing health condition. Every lowcarb doc/author emphasizes having a complete physical prior to beginning the eating plan. If a person doesn't do this, it is not really their responsibility if some few have a serious physical disease that is unknown and may be affected by something like "drinking a lot of water". Sheesh.

3. An "excess" of protein can result in the kidney not excreting all the urea that the protein is creating and this means kidney stones. However, what is "excess" is the real question. Lowcarb eating plans are not "high protein". Sometimes bodybuilders do "super high protein" diets. But lowcarb diets are ADEQUATE protein. Again, unless there is some actual pre-existing problem with the kidneys, there is no reason the body should have a problem with even the maximum protein that any lowcarb doc recommends as part of the eating plan.

Lowcarb eating is, for the most part, basically eating like humans have been eating for several million years. Every instance (and there are very few) of medical issues I've heard of with a person on lowcarb was stuff either completely unrelated (like thyroid) or that was a pre-existing medical condition (although, one they might not have known about, this is an example).

So, the doctors who said that "lowcarb caused" the kidney problems of your brother are simply being "general", not specific. They're not lying or wrong they are just inexact, perhaps because they were talking to your brother and not another doctor, and I assume your brother is a layman.

Because the kidneys either had a pre-existing problem where they couldn't handle much water or protein or the sudden higher functioning of the body brought a pre-existing virus to light, then it would certainly seem that his switch to lowcarb IS what 'caused' these problems to surface. That's understandable.

That is not about lowcarb though, that is about your brother's undiagnosed medical problem, which finally getting enough water and protein into his diet suddenly made apparent.

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I first did Atkins for only three weeks, as a 'trial' (I wasn't sure it was worth bothering with, as none of about 1001 other 'diets' have worked for anybody in my family).

By day 10, my severe constant acid reflux had totally vanished.

My chronic flatulence (good grief!) had totally vanished.

My severe asthma had mostly vanished--actually it was gone except when I was under stress, or spent a long time lying down, or the weather changed suddenly.

My severe allergies vanished.

My respiratory doctor was upset that I quit taking a ton of medication. I explained that since I no longer had the symptoms being medicated, I saw no need to take the medicine, which since I'm self employed was costing me a fortune anyway.

I was upset that he had never once, neverEverEverEver suggested that FOOD could be in any way related to my health issues. I mean he oughtta know. I was really offended. And then that HE was offended because I quit taking numerous inhalers every day, when I clearly didn't need them! I really liked the guy until that point. I haven't seen him since.

My energy level went from being almost nonexistent, and me being nearly unconscious in the early afternoon, to being vastly more energetic. My family was teasing me about how it was my "special diet" responsible for me out happily shoveling snow, which they couldn't have imagined me doing otherwise.

My sleeping schedule, which was terrible as I was chronically insomnic, actually (humorously) got worse for awhile because my energy amped up so much, but then started evening out.

My overall daily 'mood' was vastly more calm.

I didn't have a scale, so I couldn't measure that, but I'd never been able to reach my old truck radio with my seatbelt on (not enough room), and suddenly it was easy. I'd never been able to wear my coat and get the seatbelt on, and suddenly I could. That was in less than three weeks.

After three weeks, I considered staying on it, I felt so damn good. But throughout that time I'd told myself, "It's only three weeks. You can have something later. Just do three weeks seriously." So, my kid had been begging for McDonalds, and when 3 weeks was up, we went to McDonalds.

By the next morning, I was bloated again. I had asthma again. It was hard to wake up again. I was so weary again. My knees ached again. Several things I hadn't even noticed had improved with eating lowcarb, I now noticed when they came back!

I quit eating that crap and stayed on basic LC, and then tried again, this time Taco Bell. Same result but quite a bit less. I did this, eating some 'fast' food or restaurant food maybe once every three days, for a couple of weeks, to see the result that stuff had on me. (To my surprise, Subway sandwiches nearly wiped me out--they were as bad as McDonalds for my body. Go figure.) Eventually I decided that in addition to the lousy effect of carbs, I am apparently allergic to wheat gluten, corn meal, and milk, and since one of those three is in nearly everything, well....!

I didn't go back on LC. I didn't feel like my life was organized enough to do it successfully and I'd read about the dangers of 'yo-yo'ing. I figured 'someday'.

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It was my cardiologist who later wrote a 'prescription' for the Protein Power Life Plan book by the Eades, though last time I saw him he told me he is about 98% vegetarian and lives on soy meat-fakes. Yeah, HE can afford to. But anyway, so a year and a half after being OFF LC, I found myself selling its endless virtues to a friend of mine who I thought would really benefit from it.

The more I talked the more I longed for feeling that decent again. The more I came back to the forum (I'd been lurking off and on) to get refs for him, the more I realized what I'd given up.

So 11 days ago I went back on lowcarb. My body responses were actually not as extreme this time as last time, and I suspect my weight/size loss is likely a bit less as well, but that's ok.

In 11 days, my energy has come up enough to allow me to do more cooking and housework in the last week than I have done in many months combined.

My complexion is clearing up again.

My mood is much more stable.

My knees quit aching.

My bloating went down considerably.

My brain is CLEARER. I can think more clearly, pay attention for longer periods of time, as if a fog is lifting.

And already there are at least small signs that I am losing size.

And I LOVE this eating plan. OK, I'd really like it if I could live on carby donuts and feel this great, but I can't. So instead I live on a whole lot of awesome foods, meals and snacks that seem so good it seems impossible this could be healthy AND sponsor weight loss too. The deep dish pizza quiche with pepperoni crust alone is so good I just laugh at people who think this is a 'diet' and it must be really hard or something.

I was in the store today, walking through the aisles, looking for the natural peanut butter which they hide with the natural jams several aisles over from the main bulk of that stuff (like, so as not to tempt anybody with it I guess!). All I saw was sugar, sugar, sugar. I picked up a spice bottle of a pepper blend. The second ingredient was sugar. I looked at the baskets of people passing me and felt pity.

I'm sorry it took me nearly 300lbs to find this eating plan and to realize it resolved the apparently severe IR most of my family has. But I am sorrier for the people I see with baskets loaded with carb crap. They will be listing their 101 symptoms and diseases and health issues from now until they die. And they will never suspect the slow, insidious poison that is killing them. How tragic.

PJ

That for me has been the most remarkable and miraculous change. I've experienced most if not all of your other reflief of symptoms with low-carbing. But when I could suddenly think again, it was amazing.

Good for you, PJ, for getting back into low-carb. You won't regret it. I've been doing it for almost 2 1/2 years and have never been healthier.

My 1 year LC anniversary is up at the end of the month.
I have a physucal today, but I'm certain that all will be well.
Doc already took me off of my BP meds last fall.
Haven't felt this good since I was 30.

Hi

I have been locarbing since May 5 last year, and I have had no problems yet. I will be going again to my docs sometime soon to get my blood checked again, just in case.


M

3 years strong and healtier than I was when I started!

My miagrains have IMPROVED as my kidney disease. How that happened is beyond me. I have chronic kidney stones. Normal calcium excreated in your kidneys is like 150-225.. mine is like 1600+. Believe it or not, my kidney function has IMPROVED. I am not sure if it because of this diet ot just the fact that I have lost weight and am less stressed then what I was a year ago. BUT I definatly have not gotten worse.