What to Do If You Have Ketones

I woke up pretty late today, around 11am. I really didn't feel like getting up at all because I was still really tired.

I was woken up by a ringing house phone that I ignored, then a cell phone with my husband on the other end. Then my mom coming downstairs to get the laundry and reminding me that we were going out today. (I live in my parents basement apartment.)

"Ok, Ok... I am getting up" I tell her.

I took in a big yawn and stretch of the arms. Then I actually got up out of my bed. I felt weird but I just thought it was because I got out of the bed too quickly. I tried to lick my lips together, but I had no saliva in my mouth - it was like the Mojave desert in there.

I went to the bathroom to wash up because now my mom was getting antsy and rushing me. Don't you just love getting up like that?

Anyway, I started to feel a bit nauseated after about 20 minutes. I know these symptoms all too well.

Dry mouth, Nausea = High blood sugar or Ketones.

So, I checked my blood sugar.

3

2

1

334. Oh boy.

Ok, umm... how did this happen? I didn't really eat anything high carb last night? I went to bed with a pretty decent number and I just changed my infusion set. I don't feel sick. My pump site isn't hurting. It really boggled my mind.

I felt my heart race a bit and started feeling panicky, and my breathing was getting heavier. Can you say panic attack? I always get a little paranoid though, it's just my thing. Anyway, I told myself "Ok, Gina just calm down, you know what to do." So I did my thing.

I went back into the bathroom and grabbed my Ketostix to check my urine for Ketones.  This is something I do when I have an unexpected high blood sugar with nausea.  My urine test came out with Large, the highest level. Ugh. Ketones on the back of the bottle start out with Negative, Trace, Small, Moderate and Large. I had Large, which becomes a dark purple on the urine stick.

You can see what the back of the bottle looks like below.

Note: You can purchase Ketostix at your local drugstore without a prescription; I think they are about $12. There are some other familiar ketone brands like Clinistix, and Keto-Diastix. Using urine ketone strips are very easy. You can urinate directly onto the test strip or you can collect some urine into a paper cup and dip the test strip in directly. The results are pretty much instant. The color changes and will indicate the amount of ketones in your urine. (Image above) You can also test to see if you have ketones by using the Precision Xtra® meter by Abbott.

What are Ketones you ask?

Ketones are an organic compound when your body burns stored fat for energy.

Some situations when you can develop ketones are:

• If you become sick or ill

• Stress

• During Exercise

• Insulin pump malfunctions or bad pump sites

• High blood sugars for a long period of time