Lately I’ve been home sick. For most people, staying home sick just means bedrest, drinking a lot, and taking medication. But with T1D, it’s a little bit different.

Ketones!

(I will do another post on ketones to go into greater detail)

When a Type One diabetic is sick, they may produce ketones. You may have heard of ketones from the popular “Keto-diet”. Ketones are molecules that the liver makes by breaking down fat. Glucose is the body’s cells’ main energy/food source, but they are substituted during starvation or low carbohydrate intake. Too many ketones is

dangerous for diabetics, which can lead to a deadly condition called “Diabetic Ketoacidosis” (DKA). When I was diagnosed, I was about a day away from entering DKA! Because of this, I need to monitor my ketones throughout the day and make sure they don’t go too high. I need to test my ketones using a urine test. If my ketones get high, I need to drink lots of water and hope for the best.

Sugar on the rise

Also, when a Type One gets sick, their blood sugar tends to trend higher than normal. This means that along with the feeling of being sick, I may feel the symptoms of high blood sugar as well. The bad thing about this is that high blood sugar over prolonged

periods of time can cause permanent organ damage. Because I am not on corrections yet (extra injections of insulin to bring down high blood sugar), I just need to drink lots of water again and hope for it to come down naturally.