Horrible flu like symptoms Days 2,3,4

[Lisabeach]

I started the Whole 30 with my husband March 1st. I had been reading about it for about a year and had shared with friends. Day 1 and most of 2 went fine. Then evening of Day 2 I began to feel achy and tired. I was totally bedridden Day 3 with severe body aches, headaches, cold/sweats, weakness, and inability to sleep. It’s now Day 4, and aches are gone for the most part, but I am still weak with virtually no energy. I normally walk my dogs for at least an hour at a good pace, and today could barely make it less than half. I am considered on the lighter side, but wanted to try this to help kick my overzealous Coke Zero and wine habit. My husband thinks my body is going through withdrawals from the sugar of those, but he nor other friends have experienced this. How much longer should I expect to deal with this, as the constant fatigue is really frustrating for an active person. On an up note, he is truly enjoying making the new recipes, but feeling like this doesn’t create much of an appetite for me. I also got into the bad habit of weighing myself daily prior to this, so that plus the bloated and gassy feeling is also a challenge. Not ready to quit, but my symptoms seem really extreme.

 Thanks,

Lisa

[SugarcubeOD]

It sounds like it could be either your withdrawal from the sugar in the drinks or it could be that you're not eating enough - which I know sounds counter intuitive when you don't have an appetite.  Sorry you're not feeling well!  Can you list out your meals and we can see if anything stands out that we can help you adjust?  Are you salting your food?  Drinking 1/2oz of water per pound of body weight?

[Brandon]

Wow, we started on the same day and my girlfriend is having that sort of day you had yesterday, today. She really doesn’t want to eat anything at all. I’m not sure what to do. I’m glad you’re feeling a little better today. We’re you able to eat much yesterday? How about today? 

[ShannonM816]

5 hours ago, Lisabeach said:

severe body aches, headaches, cold/sweats, weakness,

These things make me wonder if this is something not really food related. It is cold and flu season, could you maybe have caught something? If you did, but it's getting better, take it easy for a few days, it'll take a little time to get back to normal. If your symptoms are continuing or you have a fever, maybe check with a doctor.

[Jihanna]

I dealt with all of that and more during days 2-4... I wasn't feeling "great" on day 5, but I did feel somewhat human again, which was a major improvement. I was basically battling massive detox from the sugar and other junk, with added issues brought on by having my cycle start on day 2 (I planned my start date for after it should have ended, but it came later than expected so I rolled with it). I slept A LOT -- one day in particular I honestly stayed in bed most of the day, getting up long enough to force food in and take medicine for headache and nausea. I'm a migraine sufferer also, and clearing my system of all the nastiness definitely brought on a big one (it lasted several days).

I'll second the peppermint tea suggestion from another topic... ginger steeped in regular black tea is also good (as opposed to an herbal tea of ginger and other spices), and the caffeine from that might help with her headache -- just be wary of too much black tea on upset tummy, as that can sour pretty quickly if there's too much sloshing about in there.

My favorite "I don't really want to eat anything right now" meal is a small baked potato that I mash up with a little bit of salt, pepper, and coconut oil (if my stomach's super-sensitive and I don't think I'll keep it down, I'll skip the pepper). In many cases, I'll end up wanting protein before I've finished the potato, so I'll grab a boiled egg or two (I give myself a lot of grace and wriggle room when it comes to acceptable portions when I'm feeling that yucky).

I will say that nothing short of actual medication helped my headache and nausea for a couple of days there. I did try other methods, but it was a choice I made in order to promote my overall health and allow myself to sleep.

[Brandon]

On 3/5/2019 at 7:40 PM, Jihanna said:

I dealt with all of that and more during days 2-4... I wasn't feeling "great" on day 5, but I did feel somewhat human again, which was a major improvement. I was basically battling massive detox from the sugar and other junk, with added issues brought on by having my cycle start on day 2 (I planned my start date for after it should have ended, but it came later than expected so I rolled with it). I slept A LOT -- one day in particular I honestly stayed in bed most of the day, getting up long enough to force food in and take medicine for headache and nausea. I'm a migraine sufferer also, and clearing my system of all the nastiness definitely brought on a big one (it lasted several days).

I'll second the peppermint tea suggestion from another topic... ginger steeped in regular black tea is also good (as opposed to an herbal tea of ginger and other spices), and the caffeine from that might help with her headache -- just be wary of too much black tea on upset tummy, as that can sour pretty quickly if there's too much sloshing about in there.

My favorite "I don't really want to eat anything right now" meal is a small baked potato that I mash up with a little bit of salt, pepper, and coconut oil (if my stomach's super-sensitive and I don't think I'll keep it down, I'll skip the pepper). In many cases, I'll end up wanting protein before I've finished the potato, so I'll grab a boiled egg or two (I give myself a lot of grace and wriggle room when it comes to acceptable portions when I'm feeling that yucky).

I will say that nothing short of actual medication helped my headache and nausea for a couple of days there. I did try other methods, but it was a choice I made in order to promote my overall health and allow myself to sleep.

Wow, sounds like you had it rough at the start. Surprisingly I’ve been very fortunate that way even though I drank a lot of dense, craft beer before starting this. The same cannot be said for Meigan. She had it rough for a few days but the sweet potato soup with fresh ginger seemed to make her feel a little better and keep her going. She’s getting on track now that the migraine is gone. 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to post such a thoughtful reply. Your suggestions will be put to use! And sorry it took me so long to reply, I have been really busy with all of this but enjoying it immensely. I’m doing a Zen whole30! Lol I’ll be spending more time in here in the future browsing and contributing, as you guys have been so thoughtful and helpful. Thanks again!

day 9 begins! 

[Brandon]

I just now realized that jihanna’s Post wasn’t for me. I got confused. LOL!!! But it still applies.  Oops! 

[Jihanna]

@Brandon It all works. I've definitely gotten some good input from posts originally intended for other people, and I'm always happy to help when possible  I'm glad your sweetheart is feeling a bit better. Migraines are no joke and basic human functioning is difficult when one's got you in its grip... my secret weapons are essential oils (to help me function around the headache instead of through it) and an amazingly awesome chiropractor (my migraines are almost always due to my atlas losing alignment, so an adjustment works wonders for me).