Thanks bulkbiker for the additional clarification.
And thanks LittleGreyCat for posting the graph and taking the time to describe what the graph is showing. The Volek and Phinney graph can also be viewed in this article...
https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/Ketosis-Measuring-Ketones
Here's Phinney's take on ketone levels...
https://blog.virtahealth.com/ketosis-vs-ketoacidosis/
After doing a brief survey around the internet, I'm shocked by the amount of misinformation out there.
I think ketones are a none issue for most people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who are
not taking a sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors - canagliflozin (Invokana, Sulisent, Prominad, others), dapagliflozin (Forxiga, Farxiga, and others), and empagliflozin (Jardiance) - are not alcoholic, and do not have LADA, type 1 diabetes, or pancreatic cancer.
However, for those who are having
symptoms of ketoacidosis,
whether diagnosed with type 1 or not, medical care should be sought immediately, particularly in younger people, but this can happen to older people too for a variety of reasons: misdiagnosis of type of diabetes or pancreatic cancer.
All that said, because I haven't had all available lab tests available to rule out an autoimmune cause of my diabetes, and would have no way of knowing if I had pancreatic cancer, if I had a ketone level of 7 or above
and was experiencing significantly high glucose levels and symptoms of ketoacidosis, I'd seek medical attention immediately.
This is a tricky conversation because I've had influenza twice in the last two years and my glucose levels ran ridiculously high. It didn't occur to me to monitor my ketone levels. Next time, I'll monitor ketones too.
Good conversation. Learned lots. It's exciting to see how the carnivore diet is helping people, particularly with weight loss and autoimmune conditions.
That diet is not for me though. I have one to three autoimmune conditions - (ulcerative colitis, subclinical
hyperthyroid, and diabetes). All are stable or in remission. I recently learned that the third most common autoimmune condition associated with ulcerative colitis is type 1 diabetes. Ugh.
Additionally, with ulcerative colitis, some microbes are desirable while others are undersirable. So until more is known on how the carnivore diet effects the gut's microbiome, I'm going to stick with the low carb/keto diet that is very similar to the specific carbohydrate diet that has been used in treating children (and adults) with ulcerative colitis for more than 100 years.
Without eating soil, I don't know how to continue to increasing my microbiome's diversity without eating fresh, locally grown, organic vegetables. That said, I understand that for those who have worsening autoimmune conditions, the carnivore diet is the ultimate elimination diet and can be life saving. My health improved when I eliminated some grains, and limiting other grains beginning in 2011. I'm mostly grain free today.