Is anybody here afraid of ketoacidosis?
 

I've been doing some research, just out of curiosity, about ketones in the urine. Every article that I have read says it is a life threatening problem and that you shouldn't stay in ketoacidosis long because it can cause damage to body cells, kidneys, etc.

Can anybody here alleviate my fears? Am I just not understanding things correctly in Atkins book and should I be afraid of ketones?

Any help would be appreciated.

"T" :)

hi there,

Click on Low Carb Tips, from the orange menu bar near the top of the page. Have a read through the article Ketosis and Ketone Testing Strips. That will explain the difference between Diabetic Ketoacidosis and Benign Dietary Ketosis. Ketoacidosis is a result of high blood sugars and lack of insulin, as occurs in diabetics. Benign ketosis such as from a ketogenic diet like Atkins or Protein Power .. is, as the name suggests, totally benign and harmless.


hth,

Doreen

Thanks Doreen
 

I just read through that---and I knew there was a difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis....but for some reason I wrote ketoacidosis when asking my question.

So let me ask you this...

Since I am a diabetic (Type II) on medication for the past 8 years--borderline diabetic I might add...as long as I keep checking my blood sugars (which are very normal)--then I don't have anything to worry about with ketosis?

I guess that's my concern--being that I'm already a diabetic, I'm scared that I'll go into some sort of crash or something. (even though I never have).

It's funny---during the past week of my first week of induction, I wanted nothing more than to see purple sticks---now that I see them, it freaks me out.

I am leaving on vacation this weekend, but I do plan on calling my nephrologist to make sure this plan is ok for me. (I take Prinivil for Stage 1 kidney nephropathy due to this borderline diabetes--supposedly).

Have any other insight for me? Thanks a lot.

"T" :)

Hi T!

I'm also a diabetic and have absolutely no problems with being in ketosis as long as my blood sugars are well controlled. I've been following a low carb WOL for 2+ years now without a problem. Another book that you might want to get since you're a diabetic is Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution by Richard Bernstein, MD. He's a type 1 diabetic who has been low carbing for 40+ years at no more than 30 grams of carb per day and has actually seen his diabetic complications reverse themselves. It's a good book for diabetic low carbers to read even if they don't choose to follow the plan.
HTH!

Hi
 

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for the information. I did read that book, I believe it was last year, but don't have it any longer for reference.

I have a question for you. I don't know what kind of sugar numbers you had before this----but I can't seem to get my numbers over 100 after I eat.

For example just a few minutes ago I had turkey breast (real, not lunchmeat) cucumbers&onions (with sour cream, mayo). I came in here and my sugar is 96. I just kinda have that "low" feeling when I eat, like I need a sugar fix or something. Do you have this problem?

Pre low carbing, if I would eat spaghetti, my numbers might shoot to 200+ and then, of course, crash an hour or two later. But I'm not really sure I like this low feeling very well.

Have any experience with this? Or when you first started out?

Thanks again,
"T" :)

When I first started, my blood sugars were running 200+ during the day and rarely below 150 fasting. 100 is a perfectly normal blood sugar and you really don't want to try to raise it above that if you can help it but it may be a bit lower than what you are accustomed to. Dr. Bernstein recommends that you try to not raise your blood sugar more than 30 points after any meal. My daytime blood sugars now run right around 100 (sometimes a bit lower) and my fastings are between 80 and 90.
How soon after eating are you testing? Normal testing would be 2 hours after you begin eating (or 1 hour and 2 hours or beyond if you are testing how a particular food affects your blood sugar). The foods that you just ate are very low glycemic and also high in fat which would slow down the glycemic response of your body as well (this is a good thing...really!).
If I read correctly, you've only been low carbing for about a week and may still be going through carb withdrawals. Stick with it and eat whenever you feel hungry (just make it a low carb choice) and your blood sugars should become or stay quite stable.

You definately want to discuss this WOE with your nephrologist and get his/her blessing and/or modifications required. Atkins cautions people with an already existing kidney disorder to be very careful.

Yes, persons with existing kidney problems may need to keep a limit on their protein intake, as damaged kidneys can have a hard time excreting the by-products of protein metabolism. There is no problem with higher fat intake and ketones though.


Doreen