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Ketoacidosis symptoms

AlexMBrennan said:
Well, it's not uncommon for previously undiagnosed T1s to be diagnosed when they develop DKA (according to wikipedia, 30% of children with diabetes are diagnosed this way).
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Sounds about right.. The extreme unquenchable thirst.. The rapid weight loss. The urination..
Then getting taken round the old family GP at the age of 8 & my mother being told there is not thing wrong with the lad..
REALY!!??
Then taken round the kiddie ward for a second opinion where my mum knew a nurse. Diagnosed as T1, given a bed & put on a "drip" straight away..!
We changed our GP after that...
 
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noblehead said:
It's odd as some people have an awful time with ketones and DKA, we should count our blessings Jaylee.
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I've heard too many horror stories from the word go.. "DONT GO INTO THE ORANGE..!" Granted a lot of it was "bad science". But grounded in certain fact..! ;)
 
Apart from at diagnosis, I have had hospitalising DKA 2 or 3 times early on, in the first couple of years, and then once this year when starting the pump. That's over 20 years. In addition to that I think I have had a few bouts of illness that were made worse, and longer, by DKA that didn't reach the acute level but was really aggravating the illness and making it awful and protracted. One of the best things about DAFNE was teaching me the sickness protocols to avoid that happening again.

However for acute DKA I have never been hospitalised more than overnight, so I think I am lucky on that score.
 
Emmy-Lou said:
Hi I was just wondering what people's personal symptoms were when you have had ketoacidosis.

I know what I'm supposed to watch out for but I know not everyone gets all the symptoms.

Sorry if I've spelt ketoacidosis wrong.

Thank you in advance.
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When I start to vomit regularly, I'm not able to down even a few sips of water .
Other symptom is that I feel like wreckage, It takes a lot of effort to even get up.
The next symptom I get are what I assume are my muscles cramping up which is hurting so very bad, i usually are getting admitted by then. I've been In a coma twice and I don't recall anything more happening after cramping of my muscles.
I've been admitted with a ketoacidosis at 20 times, but not anymore in the last 3 years. I've neglected my health and taking care of diabetes. I know now that when I make sure I use the long working insulin every day I don't get a ketoacidosis, even with blood sugar being very high .
 
same symptoms as all that have been stated, total overall feeling of absolute **** , I was told when I was diagnosed that you could go into unconsciousness with both high and low bs . low takes about 1/2 an hour high about 10 days not sure if that’s right but you know what I mean , I know I couldn’t last a day with high bs as I feel awful for me it’s the worst feeling with regard diabetes
 
I've been in hospital for a server DKA a couple of weeks ago and had to stay in hospital for a week but that also included two CT scans and a x-ray and taking of blood and they also did my blood pressure and temperature and other observations and after I had the DKA I felt like I had been in a couple of rounds with a boxer or something like that but it takes it out of you just like having a hypo just worse as you can treat a hypo with glucose and it may take a few minutes to take effect but with a DKA it takes longer to get over it by a couple of weeks
 
54 years T1 and I've never had a DKA, though I think my T1 mum had one at diagnosis (one reason why I was diagnosed very early). I've been warned that they can happen much more easily now I'm on a pump, as short acting insulin is out of your system in 5 hours, but am hoping not to ever experence the symptoms. Luckily I feel slightly queasy when my ketones go to 0.7 so as long as I always have an emergency back up supply of insulin with me, I don't think I'm in much danger.
 
I've had loads of DKA's and the only thing about them is they creep up on you and even if you don't have any ketones in your system just having high blood sugars are a worry because this is one of the symptoms and that causes you to drink more and that can be anything that has sugar in it as well as full fat milk straight out of the bottle and juice and I mean juice pure orange juice out of the carton and which way you can get it and whatever else you can get and you still can't kill the thirst and then you don't eat as much as it doesn't sit right inside of you and can make you feel worse again with vomiting and diarrhea and then you just feel tired and dizzy and slightly balance disruption and you don't feel like yourself and that's when you know that you need a ambulance but sometimes you do get ketones mixed in with it so you will know when you go to the toilet more but my last one a couple of weeks ago I had the thirst and the vomiting but I didn't have the ketones or needing to go to the toilet anymore than usual and I did not have the dizzy turn but I did feel as if I was somewhere else other than myself so it can come in different ways to you and I have been told if your ketones are below 0.5 they are fine above that you will have to keep checking and if you get above 3 you will definitely need a ambulance to hospital no ifs or buts it's a couple of days in hospital and my last time was a week and that was for my sugars being high and low and a CT scan or 2 but that's life and now I'm fine just got to watch my sugars as they are still playing the up and down game so I'm just happy that I don't need to see the dsn about it as I saw them when I was in hospital
 
I've had a few DKA episodes, although none now for at least 5 or so years but all of my episodes were when I was late teens/early twenties. My symptoms have always been the same -

- Dying of thirst/Needing to pee A LOT
- Can't keep anything down even small sips of water
- Felt like my heart was beating out my chest
- Kussmaul Breathing
- General Tiredness/Lethargy
- I could never walk more than a few (less than 5) steps before being severely out of breath and needing to sit down for a break
 
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