Question:
What are ketones, anyway? And what do their presence/absence imply?
Any one else have to watch for them in gestational diabetes? (I wasn't
told to watch for them.) Thanks for the info! Esther Paris and
that highly mobile bump in my belly known as Little Miss Natalie
Answer:
Ketones are substances that form in your blood when your body can't
get enough energy from glucose and starts breaking down stored fat for
energy. Ketones are toxins, and are excreted in the urine. In type I
diabetics, ketones can build up in the bloodstream to a toxic level that
can require hospitalization. This does not happen to type II diabetics.
If your body has the right balance of insulin and glucose, it shouldn't
need to break down fat cells. Of course, if you are on a weight-loss diet,
you *should* have ketones in your urine.
Before home blood glucose monitors, checking for ketones in the urine
was the only way to home-monitor for possible problems with insulin
balance. I don't know why you were told to check. Is it instead of
blood glucose testing?
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