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Ketones
- Thread starter KAREN1
- Start date
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Hello Karen, so sorry to hear your sad news. As far as not eating goes, I would imagine you should try to follow the "Sick day rules" which are that you still keep taking insulin and try some high sugar drinks e.g. lucozade, milkshake, hot chocolate to get some carbohydrates in. I managed to do this last week when I had a stomach bug - different I know, but I didn't feel like eating but managed to keep down some soup, toast and lucozade. It's really not good to have ketones, have you taken any correction doses of fast acting insulin? Maybe you need to up your basal a bit too for a few days if you're less active than normal.
I would ring your DSN or GP tomorrow for advice if you still have ketones as it can be dangerous. Drink lots of water to flush them out. Hope things start to improve soon. xxx
I would ring your DSN or GP tomorrow for advice if you still have ketones as it can be dangerous. Drink lots of water to flush them out. Hope things start to improve soon. xxx
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
What are your blood sugar levels like Karen? If they are reasonable then the ketones shouldn't be a problem, as long as you are taking your insulin. If your levels are high then you may need to correct them with insulin to bring them down. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water too as this should help flush out the ketones. I think you should talk to your doctor or DSN if you're not sure what to do and things aren't any better tomorrow.
KAREN1
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
blood sugar levels initially very high but have dropped to 4.2/4.3 presumably through lack of food. only taking background because i thought if you dont eat you dont have any insulin only been diagnosed nearly 2 years hate every minute of it. thank you for your time in reading this much appreciated x
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hope that the doctor can give you some reassurance Karen, and that you feel stronger soon.
I thought any ketones were bad - surely it doesnt matter what your BG level is. Especially as Karen said she has +++ ketones - this is higher than they should be. I think a visit to the GP is what is needed. Hope you get it sorted out Karen - you must be feeling even worse with ketones as they take their toll on your body. Perhaps like has been said you could just sip on sugary drinks and take tiny doses of fast acting to cover it.🙂Bev
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Anyone can get ketones bev, but it is a lack of circulating insulin that makes them dangerous. Diets like the Atkins and Scarsdale diet produce lots of ketones, but in a non-diabetic person they can be processed by the body - they are simply a by product of using fat for energy. This is also why they are less dangerous to non-insulin using Type 2s as there is far less chance of DKA. If levels are in range, therefore, then it means that you have suffcient insulin not only to keep your levels OK, but also to process the ketones as insulin is also needed for that.
Yes I know there are starvation ketones - but how do you determine if they are starvation or not, I know a few children on the list have had high ketones and levels 4 or 5 and they are told that if they go too high its time to seek medical advice to get them down. Perhaps protocol for children is different because things can escalate a lot quicker in a child than in an adult.🙂Bev
rachelha
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
When I had dka, my blood sugars did not go higher than 14, which is not that high for me. I had food poisoning and had called nhs24 as I felt so awful, but they told me not to worry as my bg was ok. If only I had had a keytone test back then.
I would get in touch with your DSN tomorrow to be on the safe side
Hi Northey,
This got me thinking so I asked on the list and amongst other links, someone sent me this one which highlights the need to check any ketones - even if there is an 'answer' for having them.🙂Bev
Small abstract from article about it.
True euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis [blood glucose
<200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/l)] is relatively uncommon and
in type 1 diabetes can be caused by starvation of any
cause in conjunction with an intercurrent illness. We
report a case of euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis precipitated
by starvation resulting from severe depression in a
patient with type 1 diabetes. He was acidotic with
ketonuria, but his blood glucose was only 105 mg/dl
(5.8 mmol/l). He was rehydrated, the acidosis was
corrected, and his depression was later treated. This case
involves the complex interplay among type 1 diabetes,
depression, ketoacidosis, and starvation physiology
resulting in glucose concentrations in keeping with
euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis. The case also highlights
that even in the absence of hyperglycemia, acid/base
status should be assessed in an ill patient with diabetes,
and in cases of euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis
Hi Karen
Ive had keytones myself and I was so terribly ill. The advice I was given was to keep testing every two hours drink lots of water and keep taking insulin until your sugar comes down.
Your keytones being that high is very dangerous and they told me to go to hospital, but I couldn't because of my daughter.
SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE QUICK !!!
Flutterby
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
In relation to what Bev is saying, I had a chest infection some years back and felt really rough, my blood sugars were fine though. In the end, on the advice of a nurse at out of hours clinic I went in to see the doc. He said he thought I had a bug and got me some anti sickness tablets, just as I was about to leave I said to him "I was worried about ketones" He replied "here if you are worried, here's the ketostix, go and check." There were massive amounts in urine and when I showed him the stick he said, "I've changed my mind about you, it's not safe to send you home" and I ended up being admitted.
Therefore in any type one, with ketones, no matter what the blood sugar readings I would always seek advice.
Therefore in any type one, with ketones, no matter what the blood sugar readings I would always seek advice.
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Thanks for the extra information about ketones with normal levels. What confuses me is that you can't take extra insulin if your levels are normal as you'd surely just go hypo? Absolutely agree about seeing the doctor though from what you have said.
The best thing to do in this situation, if you dont feel like eating, is to drink sugary drinks like orange juice and full fat coke, or eat ice lollys or ice cream or jelly, and just take tiny amounts of insulin as this helps to keep ketones at bay.🙂Bev
Flutterby
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I asked GP afterwards what I should have done and he said I should have had lots of fast acting insulin and a big meal! Never tried it so don't quote me/him!
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