Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Feeling bad
because of severely high blood glucose
Diabetic Ketoacidosis is often referred to DKA. High blood sugars come about when there is not enough insulin in your body to allow your cells to get glucose, which it uses for energy. So what your body does is it burns fat and muscle for energy and this causes ketones. These ketones are fatty acids that get into the blood and cause havoc with your bodies chemical balances. This primarily happens with people with type 1 diabetes. However, type 2 diabetics can also experience this when there blood sugars get too high. Some other causes of severely high blood glucose can be sickness with infection, severe dehydration or again not having enough insulin.
Do You have Symptoms :
If you have not tested your blood sugar in some time, your blood glucose numbers can be quite high before you even know it. I know that I have had high blood sugar readings, ranging from anything from 200 to 600. Now I'm not proud of it to be sure, but there are some things you might be on the look out for: Excessive thirst Rapid breathing Confusion Blurry vision Dry flushed skin Stomach pain
Better Safe than SORRY :
If any of these symptoms occur for a period of time, or you do not have access to your testing supplies, you might need to get to the hospital, where the doctors can do a blood or urine test to check for ketones. You can also purchase ketone testers at your local pharmacy to test yourself at home just in case. When the Diabetic ketoacidosis is severe enough, insulin and fluids are given intravenously to lower the blood sugar and keep the body hydrated. Your body will loose lots of sodium and electrolytes which is the cause of the dehydration. Getting your system back to normal ranges can take several days. Trust me, this trip to the hospital does not rank in my top 10 favorite of things to have done! Thankfully, this has not happened in many years.
Other Complication pages of Interest
Microalbumnuria
Diabetes and Depression
Diabetes and Hypertension
Diabetic eye problems
Diabetic Impotence
Diabetic Nephropathy
Diabetic Shock
Diabetic Gastroparesis
Return from Diabetic Ketoacidosis
to Your Healthy Diabetic Life
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