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Suggest Treatment For Elevated Ketone Levels With Severe Vomiting And Nausea
Question: Male, 58, Type 1 diabetes. Suspect food poising last evening. Severe vomiting and nausea, BG is ~185, ketones are off the scale. Just took my AM dose of Lantus, 23U, concerned about keeping anything down as well as ketone level...
Brief Answer:
About positive ketones in type 1 Diabetes:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for your query. I can understand your concern.
For most people, ketones are nothing to worry about. But when you have diabetes, particularly Type 1 diabetes, they may signal that your diabetes is out of control.
Ketones in a person with Type 1 diabetes may be a sign that the diabetes is out of control, he is ill or has an infection, or he is under extreme stress.
In your case nausea and vomiting should be the cause of positive ketones.
Because above-normal levels of ketones in the blood can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition, people with Type 1 diabetes who have measurable ketones in their blood or urine should speak with their diabetes educator or doctor promptly.
If this is impossible for you, i would suggest to keep monitoring the ketones in urine and the blood sugar, if there is a tendency for the blood sugar and ketones to raise, you should go to ER.
You may need to take extra insulin (depending on the blood glucose levels and insulin sensitivity) you should also drink lots of water or other calorie-free beverages to flush out excess ketones, continue to check your blood glucose level every three hours, and continue to test for ketones if your blood glucose level is over 250 mg/dl.
Hope the information will help.
Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta
About positive ketones in type 1 Diabetes:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for your query. I can understand your concern.
For most people, ketones are nothing to worry about. But when you have diabetes, particularly Type 1 diabetes, they may signal that your diabetes is out of control.
Ketones in a person with Type 1 diabetes may be a sign that the diabetes is out of control, he is ill or has an infection, or he is under extreme stress.
In your case nausea and vomiting should be the cause of positive ketones.
Because above-normal levels of ketones in the blood can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition, people with Type 1 diabetes who have measurable ketones in their blood or urine should speak with their diabetes educator or doctor promptly.
If this is impossible for you, i would suggest to keep monitoring the ketones in urine and the blood sugar, if there is a tendency for the blood sugar and ketones to raise, you should go to ER.
You may need to take extra insulin (depending on the blood glucose levels and insulin sensitivity) you should also drink lots of water or other calorie-free beverages to flush out excess ketones, continue to check your blood glucose level every three hours, and continue to test for ketones if your blood glucose level is over 250 mg/dl.
Hope the information will help.
Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta
Note: For further follow-up, discuss your blood glucose reports with our diabetologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Answered by
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