Hello all... I need some advice / answers

[Danno34]

Hello to everyone. Type 2 since December of '03 here.

Some weird things are going on. First, I must admit I have never taken my diabetes seriously since I was diagnosed. I've been an idiot believing that as long as I've taken my meds my numbers didnt matter. I've seen the light, and I'm scared.

It is not unusual for my BS to be 300-400, sometimes even higher, because as I said, I'm an idiot. Over the last month or so, I've lost about 15 lbs, by no effort of my own. Severe dry mouth, frequent urinating, all over again.

Well, someone suggested checking my ketone levels, so last Friday night I finally did. The test showed moderate to semi-high levels of ketones in my urine. In the last few days, its went up and down from moderate to semi-high, although I've done better than ever before with my diest, and most notably NO SUGAR DRINKS.

This is a huge deal for me, literally the first time since diagnosed that I've went even 1 day without sugared drinks, much less almost 4 now.

Why wont the ketones go down? I'm eating well, drinking well, and my BS levels are "down" into the high 100s. I take 2 Metformin per day and am drinking lots of fluids.

I guess my real questions are.... is my life in danger from the high ketone levels? and.... how do I get those ketone levels down???

I know the obvious answer will be to call my physician. I cant. Hes out of town and we have no health insurance at the time, so I'm unable to go to the hospital, another debt would send me into bankruptcy.

I know I've rambled, but quite frankly I'm scared to death and I have finally seen the light, I want to do the right thing.

Any info/advice is greatly appreciated.

**** Edited to add that I am not on insulin, only the 2 Metformin tablets per day.

[BlueSky]

Sounds to me like you really need insulin. As soon as your body can satisfy it's energy needs, it will stop chewing up your muscles. And, you probably need to give it insulin to do this. You can try reducing carbs further by eliminating stuff like bread, potatoes, sweet fruit etc and increasing fats in your diet. But it can take up to 6 weeks for your body to adapt to this new energy source. And it doesn't sound like you have that much time. :hmpf:

[Cyborg]

Sounds like you need to go to the hospital. You seem to be in DKA.

[JediSkipdogg]

There are two possible reasons for having ketones. Whenever someone loses weight, they will ALWAYS have ketones to some extent. It all depends on how fast they are losing. I have been on a constant weight loss for the last 8 months and numerous times I have had moderate ketones. Ketones are a byproduct of your body breaking down fat for energy.

Now, ketones also appear when your cells break down because your body doesn't have enough insulin to get the glucose into the cells properly. So your body sees a lack of glucose and in turn, starts breaking down ketones.

What do I recommend? I recommend going to a doctor and maybe increasing your metformin dose. You may also need another drug along with metformin. Many type 2s are on 2 or more drugs, not just metformin. Finally, the answer could be just go on insulin. But, that's for a doctor to decide, not us.

Good luck and hopefully you can get the help you need somehow.

[lilituc]

Can you give some more information about your diagnosis? What were your symptoms and how were you diagnosed? How old are you? Are you active or inactive?

That said, it does sound like you're suffering insulin deficiency, which is dangerous. Please seek treatment.

[Danno34]

Thanks for the replies.

In Nov-Dec of 2003, I began feeling horrible..... lost 30 pounds without trying, had terrible, un-quenchable thirst, and was urinating 7-10 times during the night. Went ot the ol' doctor, and was diagnosed with a BS ofover 600. I was 32 at the time. I would say I'm semi-active. I play softball once a week and flag-football once a week, but nothing in between.

On a side note, I just went out and ran/walked 2 miles and during that time my BS dropped from 287 to 213.

I actually feel really good. As I stated above, I have been on a strict diet and no sugared drinks since Friday, and I feel better than I have in months.... I've even gained back 3 of the 20 pounds I lost.

However, the ketone levels are still measuring as moderate, and thats my big concern.

[lilituc]

Ok, weight loss, ketones, very high bg at diagnosis, relatively young and active...I have to say that it does not sound like Type 2. It sounds like Type 1 or LADA which is a kind of adult onset Type 1. This can be confirmed with a c-peptide and a GAD antibody test. I would strongly urge you to see a doctor (if at all possible an endocrinologist) to get the bottom of this. Here is some more information about LADA:

Diabetes Monitor - LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults) (http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/lada.htm)
IOH latent autoimmune diabetes (lada) diagnosis chart (http://www.isletsofhope.com/diabetes/symptoms/lada_chart_1.html)

In answer to your question, is your life in danger. Probably not immediately but if you are truly a Type 1 (as it sounds) it will eventually be an immediate danger. The longer a Type 1 goes without starting insulin, the faster the beta cells (insulin-producting cells) are destroyed. Once that happens, ketones are a more immediate danger. That is not to say that they are not dangerous now - they could be. That is for a doctor to find out. I wish you luck and hope you feel better soon.

[Danno34]

I should add that I was 300 pounds at the original diagnosis, and am currently 283. Every physician I saw said it was Type 2, caused by my weight and my poor diet. I was a football player that basically quit working out after my playing days, but kept on eating all the good training-table food and it took me from 225 to 343 in about 7 years.

As I said, I really feel good, better than I have in a long time. My BS is dropping, slowly, but dropping. Those darned ketones are really my only obsatcle right now.

I truly appreciate the responses.

[SueM]

Danno,
Without sounding nasty as that is not what is intended.
You asked for some advice you were given it by all the good folk above me.

Go to the Dr it will be a lot cheaper for you in the long run.
The only reason you feel well now is because you have got your numbers down a bit but they are way to high still and you are doing your body a lot of harm.
Stop the denial and help yourself before it's too late.

[Cyborg]

Being overweight does not ensure you are type 2. It can certainly lead to misdiagnosis as a type 2. The GAD Antibody and C-Peptide tests can help determine if you are actually type 1 or type 2. If you are type 1 and you have the symptoms you noted, this is an unsafe condition to be in...