How often do you check for Ketones? I very rarely do. Mostly I just get checked when I go to my doctor. Do the rest of you do it regularly? Should I be doing it more often?
I can only reply as to what we have been taught for our son - who is currently on MDI - check for ketones if he has 2 BG readings over 300.
We were just at pump prep class and were told when we start the pump that we should check for ketones if even 1 reading is over 300.
I test for ketones anytime my sugar is over 220 or if I am sick/not feeling well.
i haven't checked for ketones since i was like....10. so 12years ago. haha.
[quote user="JDVsMom"]
I can only reply as to what we have been taught for our son - who is currently on MDI - check for ketones if he has 2 BG readings over 300.
We were just at pump prep class and were told when we start the pump that we should check for ketones if even 1 reading is over 300.
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There's a good reason for being MORE CAREFUL about ketones when using a pump, because with a pump there is NO LONG-ACTING INSULIN. So if there is an interruption of the short-acting insulin from the pump, the effects of NO INSULIN will show up much sooner, and need to be detected ASAP.
i check for ketones if my sugar is over 250 and i have a stomach ache. im soposed to if im 240 or higher, but i dont.
i havent lately cause i dont have any ketostix... i do... just they are lost in limbo at the present moment and i havent looked for them.
If I have a stomach ache and my level is high its a pretty clear indication that I have ketones . . . . otherwise I don't even check. Nausia/ stomach ache+ over 300= ketones 99.9% of the time . . . otherwise I never have them.
I rarely check. Usually if I've been over 240 for like a day, then I might. I almost never get ketones, though, even trace amounts. There has only been one time in my eight years of being diabetic (besides diagnosis) that I've actually had ketones, and that was this summer when my pump failed. Even if I have a HI reading and I check, I rarely have even trace ketones. I usually just need to do a correction bolus for any highs, and I'm good.
Ok... So if you check your Ketones and you have them... Then what do you you do? What is the benefit of knowing that you have Ketones?
I take an injection instead of relying on my pump for insulin. Then I figure out why my pump isn't delivering insulin.
I check when my sugar is over 240. And when u have them u drink 1 oz. of water for every year of life every hours. EXAMPLE: 23 yrs old = 23 oz per hour.
I really dont know what they r but i do know they are bad and u need to flush them out of ur system.
[quote user="Kate"]
Ok... So if you check your Ketones and you have them... Then what do you you do? What is the benefit of knowing that you have Ketones?
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Ketones are the indication that something is seriously wrong with your diabetes. They indicate a serious deficiency in the amount of insulin in your body. With the shortage of insulin, your body is unable to metabolize carbs and has resorted to breaking down fat, and ketones are a by-product of this.
So, what are you supposed to do? YOU NEED TO TAKE FAST-ACTING INSULIN. I'm not going to tell you how much, because I'm not a medical professional. Your doctor will tell you how much insulin to take, and perhaps some other things you need to do. If you ignore the presence of ketones you will probably end up in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and the next thing after that is death.
1. I know what Ketones mean... I just wondered how you would treat yourself differently for ketones as opposed to having high bloodsugar. Would not the treatment be the same? And isn't it high bloodsugars that beget ketones in the first place. Meaning that if you treat the high bloodsugar, you won't have to worry about ketones???
2. I test my blood sugar to see if I need to take fast acting insulin already. If I am over 180, I drink water and take my fast acting insulin.
3. Being an athlete and not eating many carbs used to put protein in my urine often (even with excellent blood sugar), but it didn't seem to worry my endo because she knew I was a pro athlete... Since I have added some carbs into my life and don't work out as intensely as I used to, I have Ketones less often.
4. I am not on a pump and do manual injections... How fast does one go into DKA? It seems like I would correct my BG before that would happen.
5.My endo told me that if I think I am in DKA, not to go to the hospital, just keep drinking water and taking insulin, because that is all they are going to do for me anyway.
i haven't checked for ketones in quite a few years. i have stix... i just never do it.
if you can't get rid of the ketones on your own, then i would recommend going to the hospital. however, DKA is dangerous because it changes the pH of your blood and your body can't function outside of it's normal pH.
For myself, never. I think I would if I had continual highs all day but that never happens. For my daughter who is 5 I only do it if she has highs for most of the day. I don't follow the rule of any time she is over 240 because there I times quite often that I know she is that high simply because of something she ate that is still hanging out in her system. i guess for me I have been dealing with this thing long enough that I just know when to check because I feel it. I'm sure there are many diabetics out there that can relate.
Well I am new to the whole diabetes thing (my son, 7 just diagnosed) but we have been told to check for Ketones of BG is over 300
I'm supposed to check for ketones if I'm over 250 because I'm on a pump, but I never do, unless I have a stomach ache/nausea or if I'm sick.
But if you are in DKA, (I never have been but my endo and other people have said), you should definitely go to the hospital. Even if you have really high ketones you should call the hospital/your endo/another endo to see what to do.
I am not very good about it but I check when: I am at a normal range and then check myself later and a have "shot out of the water". I do not check when I know that I am high and am doing things to bring it back down
I don't even own ketosticks. Or glucagon. Perhaps I like to live on the edge?
I have some ketosticks that are ancient at this point and I never have had a glucagon kit either.