• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Has any one else tested positive for ketones ( along with high blood sugar) but blood wasn’t

Grumpy Porridge

Grumpy Porridge

Well-Known Member
Messages
103
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Acidic ?

just thinking about my diagnoses a few
Months ago

they said my blood sugar was high and i had ketones and after testing positive for GAD antibodies pdies with a level of >2000 and Islet cells it’s been presumed I have type 1.

It just seems odd to me that my blood wasn’t acidic and therefore I wasn’t in DKA. ( I also wasn’t having a low carb diet or anything so am sure it wasn’t dietary Ketosis

Thank you !
 
My limited understanding is that the ketones build up in the blood and then make the blood acidic. Presumably you just hadn't got as far as DKA yet? The whole point of testing for ketones if you are T1 is to inject insulin before you go into DKA....

I've been T1 for 50 years and have had ketones in my blood but never gone as far as DKA.
 
I also have a limited understanding to be honest, but having ketones and being in DKA aren't the same thing. DKA is a result of having v̶e̶r̶y̶ high amounts of ketones. I've had small amounts of ketones plenty of times when ill etc, but have only had DKA once and I ended up in hospital in a very serious condition.

Edited as to not add unnecessary confusion.
  • 3mmol/L or above means you have a very high risk of DKA and should get medical help immediately
 
Last edited:
I didn’t have DKA at diagnosis. I consider myself lucky that I realised what the symptoms were just in time to avoid it.
 
Info about ketone levels and DKA:-
Check your blood sugar and ketone levels

Check your blood sugar level if you have symptoms of DKA.

If your blood sugar level is 11mmol/L or above, and you have a blood or urine ketone testing kit, check your ketone level.

If you do a blood ketone test:

  • lower than 0.6mmol/L is a normal reading
  • 0.6 to 1.5mmol/L means you're at a slightly increased risk of DKA and you should test again in 2 hours
  • 1.6 to 2.9mmol/L means you're at an increased risk of DKA and should contact your diabetes team or GP as soon as possible
  • 3mmol/L or above means you have a very high risk of DKA and should get medical help immediately
If you do a urine ketone test, a result of more than 2+ means there's a high chance you have DKA and you should get medical help immediately.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetic-ketoacidosis/​
 
Grumpy Porridge said:
Acidic ?

just thinking about my diagnoses a few
Months ago

they said my blood sugar was high and i had ketones and after testing positive for GAD antibodies pdies with a level of >2000 and Islet cells it’s been presumed I have type 1.

It just seems odd to me that my blood wasn’t acidic and therefore I wasn’t in DKA. ( I also wasn’t having a low carb diet or anything so am sure it wasn’t dietary Ketosis

Thank you !
Click to expand...

Yes, me. On diagnosis I had a glucose level that was sky high and ketones of over 4. I felt perfectly fine at the time. They whizzed me off to the hospital for 24 hours and kept asking me how I felt. The tests they gave me showed that some of the bloods were off kilter but I had not YET gone into full blown DKA. They said that could happen at any time and literally within minutes or an hour. I reckon if I had left my visit to the Drs a day or so later it would have been a different story. It's possible that you too were in the process of GOING into DKA but were saved by an intervention. x
 
sleepster said:
I also have a limited understanding to be honest, but having ketones and being in DKA aren't the same thing. DKA is a result of having very high amounts of ketones. I've had small amounts of ketones plenty of times when ill etc, but have only had DKA once and I ended up in hospital in a very serious condition.
Click to expand...

Hi there, I was told on a course that the ketones (when accompanied by high glucose levels) only need to reach 3 before they can become dangerous, the mantra was 'if they get to 3, A&E'. That amount would probably be classed as fairly low if they were dietary ketones, I read dietary ketones can reach as high as 8 or more!!!! DKA is firstly about having a high glucose level, the body cannot process it because of a lack of insulin so it goes into fat burning mode, hence produces the ketones, then it's high ketones meet high glucose levels and wham. Not very scientific I know.
 
I'm another who had high ketones (6) on diagnosis with BG just reading as Hi and a hba1c of 148 - but wasn't in full blown DKA

Much to the medical team's surprise actually. The junior doctor who came belting out to reception when my blood results came through just kept telling me he'd had people with lower results go into a coma
 
sleepster said:
Thanks @KK123, good to know :) I think of 3 as being high ketones but as you say, that's fairly low in comparison to dietary ketones :nailbiting:
Click to expand...

That makes it difficult for T1s to do a keto diet.... Or do you just assume it's all OK if your bgs are fine? I get occasional high blood sugar levels if I've messed up my dose (miscounted my carbs, insulin gone off, under the weather, wrong coloured socks, whatever...:) ) and normally don't worry because my ketones are low. But I guess the point of a T1 keto diet is your bgs don't go high????
 
Back
Top