im not sure what it messed up but id be sitting watching TV for awhile, and go to stand up- make it about 10 steps or so, and feel like i was going to pass out because i’d get very lightheaded and have to grab onto the doorway to steady myself till it passed- the feeling usually only lasted about 20 seconds or so- but it kept happening frequently while on the semi elemental diet- not sure what the cause was-
My guess (based on experience as an insulin dependent diabetic) is that the higher protein diet sparks a condition called “ketosis,” wherein your body begins to burn fat stores instead of relying on eating high carb foods to produce energy. In effect, it promotes a lower blood sugar (which also reduces blood pressure). There’s a delicate balance that needs to be maintained to avoid the blood sugar falling too low and impairing your brain function. Like a diabetic taking too much insulin, it causes mental confusion, loss of motor control (dizziness, staggering movements), loss of consciousness, and even death. Like a diabetic, you can reverse these symptoms fairly rapidly by ingesting sugar water, orange juice, or milk. This can be a double-edged sword when it causes the blood sugar to quickly spike upward, raising blood pressure in the bargain. If a diabetic uses one of these “rescue” techniques, they must also consume a small balanced meal as soon as they are able to sustain an optimum blood sugar over several hours. If your symptoms of low blood sugar occur often (as you claim) the answer is to adjust your food intake to include a few more grams of complex carbohydrates to your meals to avoid it. You don’t lower your protein intake - only your carb intake. It’s my personal opinion that anyone desiring to undertake a Keto diet should also be using a glucose monitor and testing their blood sugar levels before each meal and prior to bedtime to be aware when these levels are reaching dangerous lows (or highs). Some diabetics have an acute awareness of their body’s symptoms when either condition strikes and can respond quickly to highs and lows without the monitor - but not all. The monitor takes the guesswork out of the equation.
You do not mention anything about being a diabetic, nor anything about symptoms while sitting. It seems you get dizzy when standing up suddenly.
I have never had a blood sugar above 100, although in earlier years I had a hypoglycemic panicky reaction when I suddenly got hungry. I reduced my sugar and refined starch consumption and that symptom disappeared. I had fairly low blood pressure, and sometimes when I stood up quickly, I would feel dizzy. Doctor said it was orthostatic hypotension and did not seem particularly concerned as my heart and weight were not abnormal. I should just stand up slowly and give my heart a chance to pump blood into my head. No recommendaton of eating sugar.
Decades later I needed to loose weight and tried the Atkins low carb method, Phase 1 of eating no more than 20 grams of net carbs a day. I began to steadily lose weight, so continued on that diet long after the relative short suggested period before starting to add small amounts of carbs each week. I never had any bad symptoms doing that. I was in my mid 60s then. In my mid 70s my kidney number dropped from stage 5, 60 number, to stage 3 numbers around 37 to 43 for several years. Several years ago it had dropped to stage 3, 34, and because of Covid concerns I made various efforts to improve my health by adding 5,000 IU of Vitamin D and several items to successfully reverse my cataracts. My most recent kidney number was back up to 44. I was increasing my protein levels because of keeping low carb levels. I was trying to do 50 to 60 g of protein, age 85 and weight 130 to 135. I hope you can find something useful in that.