Losing steadily again but ohhhh so tired...

[n0matter]

Well, my stall ended Thursday of last week and I've since lost 3 more pounds. Now the problem seems to be a constant feeling of exhaustion and I'm not sure what to attribute it to. My exercise still just consists of mostly walking and I'm eating plenty of veggies and a good carb to protein to fat balance, I'm not losing muscle and I'm getting about 7-8 hours of sleep/night. I'll tell you one thing--when I wasn't on the diet, I would occassionally wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and I'd feel pretty aware and awake during these trips. NOW when I wake up in the middle of the night, I feel like I've just come out of a coma. Perception, proper thought, sense of direction, etc. is all completely skewed. And waking up seems to take twice the effort. I do take a blood pressure medication but the time I started taking this does not coincide with the drowsiness where the diet does. What could be wrong with me?

[not2late]

If you're on blood pressure medication, you should see your doctor to see if you need them adjusted.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hig...essure/HI00024

Weight loss can have a powerful effect on blood pressure, reducing it by as much as 20 points.

http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/for_life.htm

A weight loss of 5 to 15 percent of body weight may improve your health and quality of life, and prevent these health problems. For a person who weighs 200 pounds, that means losing 10 to 30 pounds

[Desertthorn]

How long has this been going on?

[ErinRachel1021]

Such a stud, sweetie. I'm going to have you post my stuff from now on.

[n0matter]

Originally Posted by Desertthorn

How long has this been going on?

Well, I was tired for the first few days(as it seems most people are), fine for the second two weeks and then since my stall ended, tired all over again. It could be that I'm not getting enough sleep but, honestly, the only time I really feel like sleeping in is on weekdays. And even then it rarely seems that I sleep in when I have the chance.

[GitRdone]

That's very curious...a few years ago before my last child, I was on Atkins for about 4 months and I did lose weight but I too was sooo tired. I finally quit Atkins and ended up pregnant (not a documented side effect of Atkins...lol I started back on Atkins January of this year and made sure I take my vitamins, calcium, vit B complex and acidopholus and I have had so much more energy...I am actually running circles around my kids who usually make me tired just watching them Anyways, I can empathize with you...I am not sure what I am doing differently this time, but I was really worried when I started Atkins this last time that I was going to be tired, but I'm not...hopefully you will find something that will help with your fatigue.

[Kent]

Could it be that you are finally getting some real sleep? I know BA (Before Atkins) I was a lighter sleeper and could bounce out of bed. I now sleep much deeper than before, but the sleep is actually much more refreshing. How do you feel in the morning when you get out of bed?

[2big4mysize]

check with your doc about your blood pressure meds. if you are tsaking a diuretic and you've got the natural diuretic effect ofthe Atkins plan yo could be flushing too much of your watersoluble vits and minerals down the toilet making you feel tired all the time. you are taking your vits and supplements right? Dr Atkins said if you were tired and not a medical reason you needed to eat more food.

[ErinRachel1021]

2big, he's not on hydrochlorothiazide (the diuretic bp med). They tried that one first and he had a bad reaction. Last we checked his BP was still borderline hypertension, I wouldn't advocate stepping down the meds just yet. I would say he's tired because of not exercising

[n0matter]

When I wake up I feel like I want to go back to sleep. Things began to seem very surreal after I started this diet and I'm not sure whether it's gotten better or that I've just gotten used to it. Hydrochlorothiazide was the med that I was originally prescribed but I stopped taking it after some dry skin/rash type problems. I've since been put on Lisinopril which doesn't have nearly as much of a diuretic effect as the hydro. Perhaps I AM getting more sleep but I would think that would be reflected on my mood and energy levels the next day, no? I'm taking all of the proper supplements and eating lots of vitamin-fortified foods. I'm an enigma.