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Glucose level of 12.5

H

HelloEveryon0101

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hi All,

My mum has been diagnosed with pre diabetes Hba1c at 47, it has been for a few months.

She was in hospital today and glucose test showed hers was at 12.5. The nurse then checked ketones which was at 1. (I found this out on her patient portable, as I care for her) she was drinking a lucozade at the time which probably showed such a high glucose level. We know she shouldn't have this kind of drink.

I had no idea what any of that meant, until I searched it up now I'm very worried. The nurses didn't check her levels again as she was discharged a couple hours after.

Is there anything she can do to try get the ketones down? I've read that drinking plenty of water and carbs help? Thank you

P.S I'm unsure if someone without a diabetes diagnosed can be affected by ketones or high glucose levels, very sorry if they can't. I have no one else to discuss and get help from.
 
Welcome @HelloEveryon0101 🙂 Was that a blood ketone test? A ketone level of 1 is ok in blood. It’s slightly raised but not dangerous. A blood glucose of 12.5 is a little above normal, but that could be due to your mum’s prediabetes. For comparison, I have Type 1 diabetes and my glucose level was around 30 when I was diagnosed Yes, drinking water helps bring ketones down, but you might well find her level comes down by itself anyway.
 
If she is now at home it would be worth getting some urine ketone test strips from the pharmacy to keep an eye on her level.
Her blood glucose could have been higher than normal for a number of reasons one being the Lucozade but also being unwell can elevate blood glucose as can stress which it is normal if in hospital.
If you are concerned then you could buy a home testing blood glucose finger prick monitor to keep an eye on her levels. Inexpensive ones can be bought on line, GlucoNavii, TEE2 or Contour Blue are ones which have the cheaper test strips. The kit usually come with just a few strips so people usually buy a pot of strips at the same time.
 
Hi @HelloEveryon0101 ! Welcome to the forum, and thank you for being such a caring support for your mum.
It’s completely understandable to feel worried when you see terms like “ketones” and “high glucose” pop up - especially when you're just starting to learn about it all. You’re doing absolutely the right thing by asking questions and seeking support, so please don’t ever feel the need to apologise.
As others have mentioned, a ketone level of 1 in the blood is slightly raised but not considered dangerous, particularly if your mum was unwell, stressed, or had just consumed something sugary like Lucozade - all of which can raise glucose levels temporarily. The fact that she was discharged and the staff didn’t feel the need to follow up right away is reassuring.
It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on things. Getting a home glucose monitor and some urine ketone test strips, as suggested, is a great idea - especially if her glucose levels have been a bit unpredictable lately. Drinking water can help with flushing out mild ketones, and ensuring she’s eating regularly and not skipping meals can also help prevent ketone build-up.
You’re doing a brilliant job looking out for her. And please know you’re not alone - the forum is always here if you need to talk anything through, be that to just check on things or have a rant <3
 
@HelloEveryon0101 welcome to the forum and as someone who has past experience with ketones and high BG when ill, I think that things will quickly settle down. Eating a few carbs and staying hydrated will certainly reduce the ketones, I had issues with levels of 1.4+ after running and before breakfast in the morning. Eating breakfast first and running second resolved that issue. As for illness, I had the flu last week and to say my BG levels have been all over the show is an understatement. I managed a 13 which fell back to 11.5 when I quickly did a second test on another finger. I have also had few 9s as well. I find the key to this is to get back into some gentle exercise routines and watch things start to stabilise. Prior to the flu I was around six during the day and went up to just under 8 after dinner, I am currently working my way back to this through a managed but slow increase in activity.
 
@SimonP when I first moved to a low carb diet I badly overestimated how many carbs I was eating. As a consequence I ended up with ketosis when the body uses ketone to convert fat and muscle to energy. I went from 86kg to 76kg in just over a month. Because I didn't realise what I had done I told the nurse I was not on a keto diet and the next thing was I was being sent for multiple tests all of which revealed some new issue that they wanted to issue me with pills for. The reality is that my 1.4+ ketone measurement was showing that I was actually having to get energy from my energy stores as there was not enough carbs. Fortunately my wife sat down and worked out where the problem was and I have upped my carb intake although I still have the occasional struggle getting enough down me in a day.
My diet has improved I now add extra fruit to my greek yoghurt, nuts and when I can get it rhubarb so that I get more carbs in first thing. A small apple or pear will give me about another 10g of carbs. Lunch I eat around 50g of edamame or black bean noodles or red lentil pasta plus a sauce, bit of melted mozzarella and meat. But in the evening I still need to add carbs to the vegetables I have and now occasionally have rice or a bit of potato which doesn't give me a big BG spike if I am sensible about portions.
 
JimmyBlue said:
@SimonP when I first moved to a low carb diet I badly overestimated how many carbs I was eating. As a consequence I ended up with ketosis when the body uses ketone to convert fat and muscle to energy. I went from 86kg to 76kg in just over a month. Because I didn't realise what I had done I told the nurse I was not on a keto diet and the next thing was I was being sent for multiple tests all of which revealed some new issue that they wanted to issue me with pills for. The reality is that my 1.4+ ketone measurement was showing that I was actually having to get energy from my energy stores as there was not enough carbs. Fortunately my wife sat down and worked out where the problem was and I have upped my carb intake although I still have the occasional struggle getting enough down me in a day.
My diet has improved I now add extra fruit to my greek yoghurt, nuts and when I can get it rhubarb so that I get more carbs in first thing. A small apple or pear will give me about another 10g of carbs. Lunch I eat around 50g of edamame or black bean noodles or red lentil pasta plus a sauce, bit of melted mozzarella and meat. But in the evening I still need to add carbs to the vegetables I have and now occasionally have rice or a bit of potato which doesn't give me a big BG spike if I am sensible about portions.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear of your accidental weight loss, I was curious as to whether you'd experienced some sort of adverse effect related to the ketone levels, and it sounds like you didn't (though obviously the weight loss due to reduced calories is bad news, so I'm glad you've fixed that).
 
Hi @SimonP while the diabetes nurse was worried when it started to go over 0.7, my understanding is that you start to feel real problems when it gets above 1.5 as this is considered high risk for Diabetic Ketoacidosis which can result in acidic blood. As I don't need insulin and have insulin resistance, I don't believe that I necessarily have to worry about this as much. Impacts of DKA are things like peeing more often, fruity breath, gastric issues and vomiting. I have never suffered from any of these.
I always make sure I eat before I exercise to reduce the risks of not having enough BG energy to burn.
 
My feeling is that the guidance is now very conservative, but ymmv, people are different - the thread I linked above shows some of my ketone readings which appear to require me to be in A&E whenever I exercise (or perhaps I just have a high tolerance for feeling rubbish post-exercise 😉 🙂), but there was also someone who posted to say they felt awful with higher ketones, it must just be another individual thing.
 
I've only ever had noticeable ketones when my BG has been silly high (late teens and twenties) for more than a short while - feel dog tired and mega thirsty then of course when I've started drinking lots of plain tapwater to try and flush em out it's dog tired mega thirsty and desperate for a wee. Has only ever happened when really peculiar circumstances have occurred - last time actually in hospital after an accident, insisted on putting me on a sliding scale and no access to insulin to sort myself out.
 
JimmyBlue said:
Hi @SimonP while the diabetes nurse was worried when it started to go over 0.7, my understanding is that you start to feel real problems when it gets above 1.5 as this is considered high risk for Diabetic Ketoacidosis which can result in acidic blood. As I don't need insulin and have insulin resistance, I don't believe that I necessarily have to worry about this as much. Impacts of DKA are things like peeing more often, fruity breath, gastric issues and vomiting. I have never suffered from any of these.
I always make sure I eat before I exercise to reduce the risks of not having enough BG energy to burn.
Click to expand...

Being in nutritional ketosis, due to diet, is very different to diabetic ketoacidosis. Nutritional ketosis is a normal physiological function and it's generally safe to be producing higher levels ketones if you are on a low carb diet to control blood sugar with type 2 diabetes. (We all produce ketones and the amount goes up during periods of fasting like overnight.)

There are other issues that may need monitoring (Electrolyte imbalances, medication, kidneys, etc.) based on circumstances, but I'm shocked your nurse doesn't understand the difference.
 
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@harbottle her main concern was my sudden and considerable weigh loss along with ketone levels above 0.7 at an appointment on a Friday PM. The key concern was that I said I wasn't on a keto diet (which I didn't believe I was) but in truth I was not eating more than 60g carbs/day but was doing a considerable amount of exercise. She was therefore concerned that my ketosis may have been something more serious.

The issue is no longer a concern as she and I both know what caused it and what continues to impact on my ketones. I still struggle to eat more 80g carbs/day which alongside my exercise levels creates weight loss issues.
 
harbottle said:
Being in nutritional ketosis, due to diet, is very different to diabetic ketoacidosis. Nutritional ketosis is a normal physiological function and it's generally safe to be producing higher levels ketones if you are on a low carb diet to control blood sugar with type 2 diabetes. (We all produce ketones and the amount goes up during periods of fasting like overnight.)
Click to expand...
I'd also add to that doing endurance exercise irrespective of diabetes type/eating pattern. I ate 125g of uncovered carbs yesterday while riding and ended my ride with a BG of 8 mmol/l (having just forced myself to treat a hypo) and ketones of 2.7 mmol/l. I don't think this is unusual or anything to worry about, certainly not based on my n=1 sample size.

I was certainly under-fuelled (out for ~7h), so must have been burning fat, so ketones are to be expected.

I guess that it's a case, as with all guidance, of "it depends" whether you match the assumptions (which are presumably "normal" carb intake and not having just got off a bike 🙂).
 
@SimonP I was out with the morris yesterday as it was St George's day - for several hours in full sun at noon, and as I was in a bit of a rush I did not eat or drink before I left plus I forgot to take any water with me, and what with the crowd and being busy I neglected to buy anything to drink. When I got home in mid afternoon I drank a pint of water, and another one a little later.
My basic black morris kit smells quite strongly 'ketone' and I suspect it is down to the dehydration and the heat plus a bit of exercise, and a perfectly normal and natural response rather than anything sinister.
 
SimonP said:
I'd also add to that doing endurance exercise irrespective of diabetes type/eating pattern. I ate 125g of uncovered carbs yesterday while riding and ended my ride with a BG of 8 mmol/l (having just forced myself to treat a hypo) and ketones of 2.7 mmol/l. I don't think this is unusual or anything to worry about, certainly not based on my n=1 sample size.

I was certainly under-fuelled (out for ~7h), so must have been burning fat, so ketones are to be expected.

I guess that it's a case, as with all guidance, of "it depends" whether you match the assumptions (which are presumably "normal" carb intake and not having just got off a bike 🙂).
Click to expand...

Yep, once those glycogen stores have run out I guess the only option is to start burning more fat for both ketones and extra glucose.
 
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