Ozzie,
>>>>I actually experienced some very severe
>>>versions of what some of you have reported about
ketosis....initial irritability and sleep difficulties, progressing to
severe hair-trigger temper, nightmares and then even
severe daytime anxiety), created havoc in my life.....

My reply:
Since you said you were eating "fatty fish, nuts &
avocado, organic Australian lamb & chicken, avocado, salmon & other fish, as
well as adding olive oil to breakfast & flax oil to dinner, eating
nuts in between & often avos with meals" you would have been getting a
generous amount of dietary fat.

I know other people, my husband included, who cannot tolerate high fat-,
low-carb diets, regardless of how strictly they are adhered to.  For some
individuals, no amount of time creates adjustment.

The rosacea that appeared around your nose and mouth, gradually becoming
redder and spreading, then eventually progressing to acne on your chest, the
irritability, and hair trigger temper, sound like what in Chinese Medicine
might be classified as stagnation and  excess Heat in the Liver. Too much
meat and fat can cause congestion in the liver and give rise to the symptoms
you mention.

I suggest that you try a paleo diet more characteristic of primitives living
in Southern latitudes, in which fresh vegetables predominate with smaller
amounts of meat and fat. There are anthropologists who have noted from
observation, healthy primitives in lower latitudes eating diets rich in
tubers, roots, fruits, and nuts, with smaller amounts of meat than are
characteristic of paleo diets of people in Northern latitudes, such as the
Eskimos.  Potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, cassava, yucca, carrots, beets,
onions, and fruits are more nutritious than grains.  Leafy green vegetables
are also very nutritious, though they won't provide the calories of roots,
tubers, and fruits. You might also want to emphasise more fish and fowl and
less red meat (the latter create more heat than the former).

Some people experience allergic type reactions, including acne and rosacea,
from eating large amounts of nuts (the does makes the poison). You might
want to experiement with avoiding nuts or using them in very small amounts.
Perhaps eating four meals a day and more starchy vegetable source carbs and
more fresh and dried fruits will allow you to avoid relying so much on nuts,
while also avoiding the unpleasant experiences you previously suffered.

Best of success,

Rachel Albert-Matesz,
co author of THE PRACTICALLY PRIMTIVE DIET & COOKBOOK, (Jan 2003)