I am a Covid ventilator survivor and started the carnivore diet a few months after release from the hospital in January 2022. Prior to my illness, I was at least 50 pounds over weight.
In early November 2021, I unfortunately contracted Covid and was not getting better after 10 days. Under a doctors supervision, I took Ivermectin and Z-pac, but I could not get Hydroxyclorequin in pill form at that time. It must have been too late to take those protocols as Covid had already done it’s damage and I only got worse. My oxygen started dropping daily, I became very incoherent and on Nov. 24, I had a friend take me to the ER when my oxygen dropped to 67. I had no idea how sick I really was, why it hit me so hard and what terrible things were about to transpire.
At the ER, I was hypoxic and had a pulmonary embolism in my right lung. I was admitted into the hospital and from that day forward my nightmare began. After 10 days of quarantine, on Dec. 4, I was awakened in the early am and was told that I needed to be put on a ventilator. I felt ok and thought I was getting better and was going to be released after my quarantine period so I was shocked to hear that. I was very much against that and was petrified of being put on a vent but was told that I would die if I did not go on one. It all happened so fast and was chaotic that you really do not have a chance to even think about it. Faced with death, you just say ok. By some miracle, I was taken off the vent after 15 days and survived. I had no recollection of any of it and only realized I had been through all of that when told a few days after I got off the vent. Even then I had a difficult time understanding it all and my brain could not comprehend what had taken place.
I had to learn to breathe on my own again, learn to stand, learn to walk and had a difficult time doing simple, normal tasks, like going to the bathroom. By the grace of God I improved and after 37 days in the hospital, I was released on Jan 1, 2022. I had lost approximately 50 pounds while in the hospital and came home at 164 pounds. I also lost most of my hair and had trouble talking and swallowing due to vocal chord damage that thankfully healed. I recuperated a few months with family and at the beginning of March, I started to eat Carnivore to help with my recuperation and healing and to not gain any of the prior weight back.
Prior to my illness, I was at least 50 pounds overweight, at 214 pounds give or take. I am 5’6 ½ inches tall so I carried that much weight pretty well, or so I thought. All blood tests always came back great, except my Cholesterol was a little high from 250-280 and Triglycerides from 256-270. I am 60 years old and I have never been on prescription drugs most of my life except for currently on Eliquis due to my blood clot from Covid. As of my last scan in September my lungs were clear and no more blood clot thank God. I will be getting off of the meds soon. I have never smoked and I never took statin drugs as I wanted to cure myself naturally by losing weight. I exercised and for the most part ate very clean, organic food but ate a lot of fruits, veggies and huge salads, thinking those were so healthy for me. I sometimes ate pasta, pizza and I loved bread but never felt good afterwards. I took good supplements and drank a little wine or a margarita here and there.
I did not feel good after drinking alcohol, had bad brain fog and could not lose any weight no matter what I tried. I started having stomach issues, bloating and felt sick after eating even the smallest of meals. I had days of depression and mood swings. After eating I always felt a vibrating feeling between my belly button and my breast bone and that scared me. I had some joint pain in my shoulder, right wrist, and foot pain. I just felt off and not good and wanted to get to the bottom of why I felt so bad so I went to see a rheumatologist. I thought I must have an auto-immune disease. All tests came back fine and I was told there was nothing wrong with me other than needing to lose some weight.
My friend Al told me about your videos and Dr. Berry and I had been watching them all for a while and was very excited to start the diet. The only apprehension I had was if the diet was safe while being on blood thinners and after all I had been through. I found no evidence that it would not be safe. I have been taking Eliquis since I left the hospital. I could not ask my GP if it was ok to start the diet while on blood thinners because she was always trying to get me to take a Statin drug for my cholesterol. She would tell me I was crazy to do such a diet as she had always recommended the SAD diet. I would like to know your thoughts on taking blood thinners while on the diet as I have not seen any Carnivore podcasts on that subject yet.
I have been on the diet now for 11 months and have kept off any weight gain since I came home from the hospital. All of my brain fog is gone and I have never felt so clear and alert. Definitely improved mood and mental clarity. I have more energy and no more issues with my stomach or bloating. My skin looks great and my hair is growing back nicely. My A1C test in August 2022 was 5.2. My last A1C test before that one was in 2017 and was 5.8 so I was very happy with that result.
I have not had any alcohol and surprisingly that was the easiest thing to give up. Prior to my illness, I loved my wine and margaritas but I do not miss drinking at all. The hardest thing for me when starting the diet was not having any sweets or breads. I never had a real bad sweet tooth but I did enjoy some sweet snacks here and there. I had some really bad cravings for pizza, bread and chocolate cake for whatever reason. I even had dreams about chocolate cake, lol!! Those were tough and lasted for weeks but I fought through it. I soon lost all cravings for the junk food and started craving a steak, my ground beef, bacon and eggs. My appetite shrank so much and most days I only do OMAD, one meal a day. My hunger is manageable and I only eat when I start to feel hungry. I primarily drink water and sparkling waters and occasional home brewed unsweetened iced tea. The only thing I could not give up was my morning coffee. Hey, we have to at least have one vice!! I drink 2 cups a day with a little coconut oil or a low carb 4g non GMO coconut creamer.
The only negative thing so far that I experienced with this diet early on and still occasionally has been some constipation. Not sure why that is, could it be the coffee or creamer? I mostly have very regular bowel movements once a day.
Unfortunately, losing the weight I did so traumatically, I also lost most of my muscle mass which has been really hard to see. I had great leg, calf and arm muscles which is now all gone. I am going to be starting a workout routine with weights to slowly gain back that muscle that was lost. I know that being on the carnivore diet will help my body/muscles to get back to where they were before. I am feeling stronger every day and look forward to my healthier, better life going forward. I would love to hear your advice on the best ways to regain lost muscle mass. I know that muscle has memory as my leg function came back pretty quickly thank God. What a rollercoaster this all has been.
Thank you, Dr. Baker, for all you do and for your never ending inspiration.
