hello can someone please help me and tell me how to get rid of ketones because i cant get rid of them ive had them all day and i feel really sick from it ive tryed insulin drinking heaps of water and i dont know what else i can do because i really dont want to go to hospital
I don’t know much about ketones as I have never had them before but please be seen as soon as possible. If they are not going away with a lot of water, meds, and proper diet and exercise. it may lead to diabetic coma. I don’t want to scare you but ketones are pretty serious. I hope and pray you will be ok and please keep us updated on your situation. (Hugs)
- JD
Can I ask what the ketone levels are been? If they have been over 0.5 mmol/L or moderate all day then I think its best to call your endo or I think if you live in Queensland, Australia you can call 13 HEALTH
Usually, when I get ketones it’s because I’m either sick or because I didn’t take enough insulin. I have to increase my rates until it comes down. You really should consult with your doctor about it though because you can go into DKA really fast. And, if you’re feeling sick like you say you are, you might already be in DKA. Take care and hope you feel better soon!
I would definitely call endo but if you can’t get rid of the ketones I would go to the ER. IV fluids are sometimes necessary; drinking water alone may not do it. Endo should give you dosing instructions for extra insulin; not sure of amounts, you need a doctor’s advice on the dosing.
I don’t know what your schedule has been while high on ketones, but you’re also supposed to rest, take the day off of whatever you’re doing, and DO NOT EXERCISE. Exercise, a lot of physical activity, stress, and exertion can make your ketones worse, or even harder to get rid of. It is very hard dosing for insulin when there are a lot of ketones present, and it tends to take a lot more insulin than usual to help bring them down. But if these things: lots of fluids, lots of rest (and no exercise or stress), and extra insulin are not helping… It’s time to call your doctor, or visit the ER. I know. It just sucks sometimes. But better to be put out for a while waiting at an ER, and dealing with doctors for one night… than being hospitalized for weeks with DKA. You’re just doing what you gotta do to take care of yourself. 
Eating/drinking something with carbohydrates helps get rid of ketones. You need to give your body something else to burn to break the cycle. Bolus for it, of course, along with a correction for high BG and some extra insulin on top of that for the ketones. It may make your BG go up in the short term but will help bring the ketones down. As others have said, I’d call your endo for advice if you haven’t been able to get rid of them all day. Ketones are nothing to mess around with.
I have had my primary and endo give me IV fluids in their offices so I didn’t have to go to the ER for them. Call your doctor(s) and see if you can get in. Sometimes they are just stubborn and the only way I can get rid of them is to get the IV fluids…
I’ve never heard the advice to eat carbs. I have heard advice (from Gary Scheiner) to take larger than normal corrective boluses every three hours until your blood sugar is below 200 mg/dl. High blood sugars and DKA cause insulin resistance, and you may require one and a half to two times the normal insulin dose. If you are under stress or have an ongoing infection you may require even larger doses.
Second, don’t just drink water, you can drink all the water you want and still be dehyrated. This is particularly true if the DKA condition persists. You need an electrolyte solution. You can drink low carb gatorade like drinks, you can also supplement with salt, potassium, zinc and magnesium. If you just drink water, you can still end up losing 5-10% of your body weight just from dehydration.
You need the carbs to help absorb the salt, etc. That’s the only way your body can absorb them correctly.
When people lose weight, they can have ketones in their urine even if their blood sugar is normal. That is a normal part of your body’s cycles. This is why people who are placed on the Adkins’s diet have to see a doctor to make sure they are not ingesting too few carbs.
Where did you hear that carbs are involved in salt absorption? I believe that salt and water are absorbed directly through the small intestine and then can be absorded throughout the body without intervention. Altered levels of sodium (and other electrolytes) can impair the action of insulin, another reason to worry about electrolytes in DKA.
You are right that when following a low carb diet like Atkins, you can have a modest level of ketones present (ketosis), but your blood sugar should be in “normal” range. If your blood sugar is elevated (> 250 mg/dl) and you have ketones, that is most surely DKA.
Yes, it is.
It has to do with the Kreb’s cycle that is used by all organisms to create ATP (energy). I’ve had it in general bio, genetics, microbiology, anatomy & physiology 1 & 2 (and probably other science classes as well). My pediatric endo also told me this with regards to dehydration with strenuous activity.
You are correct, the Kreb’s cycle is the metabolicy pathway for metabolizing carbs and certainly depends on Na (sodium). I am just saying that sodium can be absorbed directly from the small intestines which does not need to involve carbs.
It can, but it is not absorbed as efficiently is the way it was explained to me. Of course, I am not in the medical profession (yet!), so this may/may not be true.
thanks everyone for the answers in the end i let mum take me to the hospital and they put me on a drip and told me id most likely be able to go home in an hour .but my ketones went up so they put me in childrens ward for 2 nights . but thanks again for the answers
Hope you feel better soon!!! take care