ketones

emzie

Newbie
Messages
3
hi im new to this dunno if its in the right place-my blood sugars have been a nightmare to control the lasr few months-and know worried that i may have ketones but dont have any strips on me-ive looked up the syptoms and only got a few-really tired but realy clammy and feeling sick

is it just something im coming down with or is it ketones

please help very confused :shock: :shock:
 

LittleSue

Well-Known Member
Messages
647
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
emzie said:
is it just something im coming down with or is it ketones

It could be either of those, or both, or something else. Tired, clammy and feeling sick could be many things. How high is your blood sugar? It could be high sugar without ketones or even a hypo.

If you're confident adjusting your insulin dose, try to get your sugars down asap and any ketones should go. Meanwhile drink plenty of water. If not confident to adjust insulin you should seek medical advice.
 

shedges

Well-Known Member
Messages
432
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
You can buy ketone strips from a pharmacy if you're really worried. I'd try to get your bg levels down first using corrective insulin doses. Do you inject with every meal? Try and eat the same size portions of the same size food, i.e. two pieces of toast with butter, every day and work out what insulin dose works with that. Then do the same for the other meals. Once you know how much insulin you need at different times of day, with different foods, you'll be able to get right on top of the contol.
 

emzie

Newbie
Messages
3
thank you-my blood sugars are ranging between 12 and 18-i think its only been the odd day that they have been normal-it feels like im going backwards as the first 2 years i was doing fine and able to keep them down most of the time-the dietician told me to do carb counting which i have tried and it just doesnt seem to be bringing them down-

also tried limiting my carbs and that doesnt help either as this brings me to hypo

very very confused :(
 

micksmixxx

Well-Known Member
Messages
88
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi emzie.

Welcome to the boards ... not that I'm a very outspoken character myself. (I've hardly posted, but I do read.)

My endocrinologist (a specialist in treating diabetes) states that if your blood sugar level is over 14 mmol/l (that's 252 mg/dL if we have any American cousins reading) you should check for ketones.

Ketones, as you may already be aware, come about due to the improper breakdown of fat and muscle tissues as a result of continuing high blood sugar levels. (It's your body's natural defence mechanism in an attempt to survive. When your blood sugar levels are consistently high it's indicating that either you don't have enough insulin present (type 1) or your body is resistant to the effects of the insulin (type 2). It therefore can't use the glucose (the simple sugar that you test for when you do a blood test) that's present for making energy and keeping you alive. It does the next best thing that it can, and that is break down fat and muscle.)

I'm not sure which type of blood glucose meter you use, but some of them can use test strips to check your ketone levels. (I use the Abbott Optium Xceed meter, which can do this. This gives a precise reading, rather than that that you get with urine testing strips.)

One thing you could do is ask someone close to you if they can smell anything on your breath. When you produce ketones it tends to make your breath smell like acetone (one of the ketone bodies that are present) ... you might know it as nail polish remover. ;-)

Having ketones present is, as I'm sure you're already aware, not good for you. Ketones become present when your body reaches a state of ketosis which, if not brought back under control, can turn to ketoacidosis ... where you blood becomes acidic and so, more damaging to your body's organs. This can often result in you needing to be hospitalised ... until such time as your blood sugar levels are back under control. Obviously, you want to avoid this situation.

I agree with LittleSue that the symptoms that you mention could quite easily be other things happening, so you mustn't use those as an indication that you have ketones present.

As LittleSue states, if you don't know how, or are not confident in adjusting your insulin doses, do please seek a medical opinion. (If you can't get in to see your GP, telephone your local hospital and ask to speak to someone that deals with diabetes. If it's 'out of hours', speak to someone in A&E, mentioning that you wish to speak to one of the diabetes team.)

Best of luck for now and for the future, emzie.

Lots of Love and Light.

Mick
x x x x
x x x

P.S. Please don't be offended, or alarmed, at the "x's". It's merely a logo, of sorts, that I've used for some 30-odd years now.

P.P.S. If you're in the UK and you are prescribed medication to treat your diabetes ... either pills or insulin ... you don't have to pay for your prescriptions. Speak to your doctor's surgery to start the process of getting an exemption certificate.
 

Dennis

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,506
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Dislikes
People who join web forums to be agressive and cause trouble
Hi Mick and welcome to the forum. Always nice to see another poster on here, but can I just correct you on one of your points . . .

micksmixxx said:
Ketones, as you may already be aware, come about due to the improper breakdown of fat and muscle tissues as a result of continuing high blood sugar levels. . . . . .
. . . . . . . Having ketones present is, as I'm sure you're already aware, not good for you. Ketones become present when your body reaches a state of ketosis which, if not brought back under control, can turn to ketoacidosis ... where you blood becomes acidic and so, more damaging to your body's organs.
There is a huge difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis. As you rightly said, ketones are the by-product of your body burning fat as its fuel instead of glucose. It is where ketones are present AND there is a high blood glucose level that things have gone pear-shaped and there is a danger of the ketones becoming acidic, leading to the dangerous problem of ketoacidosis. Where blood sugar levels are low and the body needs more energy then, in the absence of glucose, it will burn fat and use the ketones as an energy source. This is a perfectly natural and normal bodily function and the burning of fat in this way is how the body loses weight when you diet.

This post from our own Dr Katherine makes the point well
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8119&start=15