Can Type 2 Get Dka?

[LauraR88]

Sorry if it’s a silly question. But can type 2s get DKA?
I am type 1 and have been for 10yrs. I was DKA when I was diagnosed and ended up in hosp. My brother who is 28 has now been diagnosed with type 2 after months of us telling the drs that he had all the symptoms of diabetes. He was also having hypos to which I would test his blood with a spare meter to confirm. He had been put on metformin twice a day.

However I took a blood meter up to him as he was describing symptoms of high blood sugars. And was drinking pints of water and juice one after the other but was Still thirsty ect. I tested his bloods and was 17.2 I then tested for key tones and he was at 2.1!! But drs are due to see him for another month. Do you think I should get him to drs/hosp sooner.

 

[Energize]

I'm Type 2 so maybe not the best person to be answering but I would wonder if your brother was actually type 1, especially considering you are Type 1, his extreme thirst and ketone level.

My glucose level was 19.6 when I was diagnosed but I'd possibly just eaten something with plenty sugar in. I've never been tested for ketones and I'm overweight. I've no reason to consider that I may be type 1.

I think I would be inclined to take your brother to see a GP today, to be honest. You will know more about ketones than I do, for certain. I believe there is a particular test for determining Type 1, C-Peptide springs to mind for some reason.

Well spotted @LauraR88

 

[satindoll]

The simple answer is YES.......contrary to popular opinion and there will be many that say NO t2's can't....... defo take him and get things checked..........

He's lucky to have a sister like you.......

 

[DCUKMod]

Sorry if it’s a silly question. But can type 2s get DKA?
I am type 1 and have been for 10yrs. I was DKA when I was diagnosed and ended up in hosp. My brother who is 28 has now been diagnosed with type 2 after months of us telling the drs that he had all the symptoms of diabetes. He was also having hypos to which I would test his blood with a spare meter to confirm. He had been put on metformin twice a day.

However I took a blood meter up to him as he was describing symptoms of high blood sugars. And was drinking pints of water and juice one after the other but was Still thirsty ect. I tested his bloods and was 17.2 I then tested for key tones and he was at 2.1!! But drs are due to see him for another month. Do you think I should get him to drs/hosp sooner.

My knee jerk reaction is better safe than sorry.

 

[porl69]

Sorry if it’s a silly question. But can type 2s get DKA?
I am type 1 and have been for 10yrs. I was DKA when I was diagnosed and ended up in hosp. My brother who is 28 has now been diagnosed with type 2 after months of us telling the drs that he had all the symptoms of diabetes. He was also having hypos to which I would test his blood with a spare meter to confirm. He had been put on metformin twice a day.

However I took a blood meter up to him as he was describing symptoms of high blood sugars. And was drinking pints of water and juice one after the other but was Still thirsty ect. I tested his bloods and was 17.2 I then tested for key tones and he was at 2.1!! But drs are due to see him for another month. Do you think I should get him to drs/hosp sooner.

WOW get him to the Drs ASAP. May be a mis-diagnosis?? He is lucky to have a sister like you. Keep us up to dat with what happens

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @LauraR88 Agree with others regarding a possible mis-diagnosis, I would get him into his GP/hospital asap, best to be safe.

 

[Boo1979]

T2’s with low insulin production, rather than the more typical over production combined with insulin resistance, can certainly experience DKA with high sugars

 

[LauraR88]

Thank you everyone. As you can imagine I am climbing the walls and to make it worse we have been on the phone to NHS24 who wanted him to go in and get checked ASAP but he is refusing to go. So not sure what else I can do. I am nightshift tonight so it’s going to be a long night

 

[DCUKMod]

Thank you everyone. As you can imagine I am climbing the walls and to make it worse we have been on the phone to NHS24 who wanted him to go in and get checked ASAP but he is refusing to go. So not sure what else I can do. I am nightshift tonight so it’s going to be a long night

As your brother is an adult "with capacity", there's not a lot you can do.

Fingers crossed for you both overnight.

 

[vespa]

Yes, that's how I got diagnosed, I had a blood sugar reading of 27.5 and showing all the classic symptoms of DKA, I was initially considered to be Type 1 because of the speed it developed, later reclassed as Type 2 as I was not insulin dependent.

Definitely get your brother in hospital, at the very least he needs to be on insulin to bring it down and then assess him for glucose tolerance.

 

[LauraR88]

Just an update guys.
So on Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday whilst working I got a message from my mum to say my brother had overdosed (it’s worth mentioning that my brother has had mental health issues for the last 8yrs and we have fought hard as a family with the nhs to get him the right help but until very recently we got no where). He was taken to hospital and ventilated straight away. Whilst in A&E one of the drs came to speak with us about how he was doing, I mentioned he had recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but was testing high, with keystones and signs of DKA. To say I was rather taken back by his reply is an understatement. The dr told me they had tested his blood in the amb and he was 25, but they weren’t worried as it’s not unusual for type 2s to be high

I tried reiterating that he had keystones and has for days, but again they shrugged it off! It wasn’t until he got moved to ICU later on that I spoke with another dr who agreed to give him some insulin mean time to lower his bloods. He came down quite a bit, down to 13 which I can cope with! But I really was annoyed at the first dr for dismissing me when I also explained I was type 1 so knew all the signs.

He has since been brought off ventilator and is breathing for himself however he now has pneumonia and his blood is clotting too fast (they took 6 bottles of blood and 5/6 had clotted by the time they got to lab!) so he is now on injections to thin his blood as well as statins.

Why is it a constant battle with drs these days