ketones

[jared]

What are these and why should I worry about them. Also if I have them how do I get rid of them? I don’t even have the stripes to test so I think im in trouble.... my sugars are always high so if I have them now then what do I do........... Please help...IF THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN ASKED THEN PLEASE REFER ME TO THE POST.... SORRY FOR YET ANOTHER ANNOYING QUESTION.... BUT AT THE SAME TIME THANKS EVERYONE...

[PepsiLvr]

From cnn.com and mayoclinic

Diabetic ketoacidosis: Check your ketones
From MayoClinic.com
Special to CNN.com

You can buy test strips at your local pharmacy or Wallgreens. (You may have to ask the pharmicist because sometimes they are behind the counter.) If you have ketones, you need to contact your health care provider right away.

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You have diabetes. Your doctor or health care team mentioned the danger of ketones building up in your blood. Do you remember what the signs and symptoms are and what to do?

Increased blood acids (ketoacidosis) can be an acute complication of diabetes. It occurs when your muscle cells become so starved for energy that your body takes emergency measures and breaks down fat, a process that forms acids known as ketones. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a dangerous condition that can cause you to lose consciousness. If untreated, it can be fatal.

DKA is more common among people with type 1 diabetes (formerly known as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes) and may occur on rare occasions when you don't have enough insulin in your bloodstream. This can happen when you miss or skip some of your insulin shots, are under extreme stress or have an acute illness or emergency that increases your body's need for insulin.


What to watch out for

Ketoacidosis generally develops slowly. Early signs and symptoms that ketones may be building up in your blood are:

Thirst or dry mouth
Frequent urination
Elevated blood sugar
High levels of ketones in your urine
Signs and symptoms of ketoacidosis that may appear later are:

Fatigue
Dry or flushed skin
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Shallow breathing
A sweet, fruity odor on your breath
Confusion
At an advanced stage, you can lose consciousness.


What to do

Check your ketone level if you experience any of these signs and symptoms or your blood sugar is elevated, with blood sugars persistently above 250 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Use a test strip similar to the blood-testing strips available at your pharmacy. Contact your doctor if your levels are moderate to large when you compare your test strip to the corresponding color chart.

DKA requires emergency medical treatment, which involves replenishing lost fluids and insulin through intravenous (IV) lines. As insulin is administered, your body will start using blood sugar for energy, which will decrease the need for ketones as fuel. Gradually your blood ketone levels will decrease, and your blood sugar level will return to normal over a period of hours to days. Your doctor and health care team will closely monitor your blood sugar and fluid levels. With prompt treatment, you can expect a rapid and complete recovery from DKA.

[jared]

wow..... thanks for all the info....i didnt know it was that bad. i need to buy strips soon.... like today i ate cheerios and milk and 2 hours later my sugar was 400. from 334 at breakfast....im sure i have ketones all the time... i need help from a CDE.

[LauRa Lu]

Can you buy ketone test strips in uk pharmacies? anyone know?

lor x :)

[DeusXM]

Ketone test strips (Ketostix) are available free on prescription in the UK. Ask your GP or diabetes care team for a prescription.

Jared - if your bg is 334 at breakfast you REALLY do need to sort yourself out, and fast. You're running high at breakfast if you're over 110.

Ketoacidosis is a really nasty condition which you simply cannot afford to be suffering from. The only way you can deal with it is to have well controlled diabetes. If you're got ketones, I jab in a load of insulin and start drinking pint after pint of water to flush the things out.

Sorry to sound so harsh but it seems to me like you need a real wake-up call. Diabetes is phenomenally serious condition and can kill you quicker than cancer or AIDS. If you're waking up regularly with bg over 150 then I have to personally guarantee you that you WILL be dead in less than a year. Get yourself to a doctor NOW.

[jared]

thanks deus.. and im trying to get it down but right now im terrifeid of lows....yesturday i hit 150 after lunch and i started shaking and felt really wierd....so i pounded sugar in and then i went to 400. today just an hour ago i am at 464...i hate diabetes and im tired of it..... 14 years of not caring and now its all kincin my butt....no complications YET......this sucks.....

[DeusXM]

It's a very rubbish deal, I know. I'm not surprised that you started feeling wierd at 150 if you've been running that high lately - your body is used to much higher sugar levels.

Lows are obviously bad in the short term, but once you start getting better control, your body will readjust and you'll start feeling much better. You haven't got complications yet, but if you've seriously been poorly controlled for the last 14 years they are going to catch up with you very soon.

Diabetes can be very cruel, unfair and horrible condition - but if you control it well, you can live your life just as well as anyone else.

[jared]

Well I just took 4 additional units of humulog to see if I can get it down.... im at 459 now.... I liked it when I was on humulin and regular and never had to check my sugars...now im on humulog and lantis and im seeing these ups and downs. I don’t under stand this new insulin stuff / counting carbs...anyways thanks again Deus...

[PepsiLvr]

If you are feeling lows at 150 then you need help NOW!!

Are you sure your test strips are good? Did you try new strips or use the contorl soulution? It just seems odd to me for someone to feel low at 150. When I was dxd my A1C was 13.5 and my bg was 571. I went down to 130 from there and felt great, but everyone is different.

Good luck and please get yourself some direction from you doc or CDE.

[Lorna]

Long and short ketones are horrible! You want to avoid them at all costs!!! You can now get machines to test blood for ketones as well. (Not sure how expensive they will be in America.) the specialist told me that is a much better way of measuring how serious the problem is.

[jared]

To be honest with ya I feel low and weird at anything less than 250. Im trying to keep it under 300 for a while so I can feel normal around these numbers but its hard to get them down and focus on anything except how to get the number to rise so I can focus on stuff... When it’s under 250i can’t do anything (watch TV, talk, play games, sleep, nothing) the only thing I can do is try to get it up....

[KLD]

Those kinds of numbers are very bad for you jared, and will most certainly cause complications if you allow them continue. I have read that people whose bodies are accustomed to very high blood sugar levels have to bring them down gradually to avoid feeling too low when they really aren't. Certainly nobody should be taking sugar to raise their blood sugar when it's at 150. Deus is right - it's time to get serious about this. Do you see an endocronologist? If not, maybe you should.

Karen

[HeatherP]

Jared, you HAVE to get your sugars down. Your body is used to running really high, so you're going to feel like **** even in the 200's for a while. I have had severe hypos before and I understand your fear, but believe me, no matter how lousy you feel, nothing's going to happen to you when you're in the 200's.

If trying to get your sugars down into the 100's is just too much all at once, then start aiming for the 200's for a while until you quit feeling like you're hypo, then work on getting it down from there. This is not the best way to handle this situation, but maybe if it's something that you feel you can do you'll have more success.

Hang in there, and don't stop trying!
HeatherP

[jared]

Thanks all. Something that I have noticed is that if I gradually come down to around 200's I feel alright but if I take too much insulin and come sown like real quick I feel like im gonna pass out. Im going up on my lantis until I see numbers in the low 200's in the morning and im going to up my humulog a little bit. I know I can do this and with all your help I WILL SEE LOWER #'s

[Deager]

Jared,

You've been a diabetic for 14 years and you don't know about ketones, watching your diet, what to eat and what not to eat? I kinda find this hard to believe. Most of the questions you have asked have been pretty basic diabetes knowledge. You spoke the other night of going on a low carb diet . Have you started it yet?

You are going to feel bad as your blood sugars get down to normal. The oftener they are normal, however, the quicker the bad feelings will go away.

Diane

[jared]

Diane,

Yes I have started low carb diet. Thanks and these may be basic diabetes knowledge for U but not for me so thanks... and these questions may help other people that are afraid to ask b/c they may get a response like " Most of the questions you have asked have been pretty basic diabetes knowledge"

Thanks Diane

[HeatherP]

Don't ever feel embarrased to ask any question you have, Jared. Regardless of how long anyone has had diabetes, things change and so do attitudes of docs and CDE's. You don't necessarily have to go low carb, but it may help you in getting your numbers down to where they should be. No matter which way you go, whatever works for you is what you should do.

Please keep us up on how you're doing,
HeatherP

[lgvincent]

I have a friend who has had diabetes longer than I have and she claims she feels bad whenever her blood sugar is below 200. Of course, she has had a heart attack, two kidney transplants, and eye surgery and she's younger than I am.

On the other hand, I have felt like I was in insulin shock when my blood sugar was in the high "normal" range. This morning, I was sure I was in an insulin reaction so I checked my blood sugar and it was 137.

[Lorna]

Jared, I know how you feel having been through the same thing myself a few years ago. However, when I managed to get my sugard back to normal (and I eventuall did it by crashing them down- so felt really ill for a few days) I realised that I had been feeling ill with the highs for so long I had forgotten what it felt like to feel good- so thats something to aim for.

Good Luck!

Lorna

[Deager]

Jared,

I'm not trying to discourage anyone from asking questions here and hundreds do. I thought you were recently diagnosed by your posts and your comment about being a diabetic for 14 years stunned me and made me wonder. When a person is diagnosed, they are usually told many things about it by their doctors. As resources there are books at the library, and the internet has been around a long time, as well as asking your physician questions. If you have been deprived of good medical advice by your doctors, that is very unfortunate.

Diane