# Ketones????? WHY!!!



## Finnsmummy (Aug 18, 2011)

hay lovleys ,
So i had my 35 week growth scan today which is looking ok (jusT) so next stop doabetic nurse, bloods all PERFECT i stay well with in my ranges !! top bananas ...... Then i see the consultant , dip dip in the wee and she turns to me and says 'OH so now you have a black market on your perfect record ''  errrrrrrrr what????   Ketones +2??? so she said why dint i have lunch today?? I DID !!! i had a large seasame seed ham roll a small bag of chrisps(plain) and a digestive and hour before i did the wee!!!! she looked at me as if i was a fool , told her i had breakfast , mid morning snack and lunch! SOOOOOO how have i got keytones if i AM eating (and i was full after lunch)???????????????? 


Got my induction date too, last growth scan on the 15th of september and induction on the 21st


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## Northerner (Aug 18, 2011)

Sorry to hear about the ketones  Some healthcare professionals really should listen to themselves sometimes and perhaps they'd realise how patronising they can be at times! Were you given any useful advice about dealing with the ketones? It is unusual to get them if you have eaten as they are normally a sign that the body is burning fat in the absence of more readily used energy from carbohydrates. I think they are only dangerous if blood sugar levels are high, since that would indicate a lack of insulin, but your levels are fine. I beleive insulin is also involved in the process of removing ketones from the blood, which is why they can build so high when insufficient insulin is circulating.

Hope they are much reduced or gone the next time you test!  Not long to go now!


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## staceyc (Aug 22, 2011)

hi silly  question is is keytones the smae as sugar in the urine ?
  the last few times i have seen the midwife ive has plus sugar ,midwife was abit concerned but when ive have seen the diabetic nurse after she said the tests are wrong and not reliable in pregnancy yet another said i shouldnt have sugar in urine while on insulin  so im confused lol. 
im 35 weeks to so will be havin baby in less than 3 weeks


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## Northerner (Aug 22, 2011)

staceyc said:


> hi silly  question is is keytones the smae as sugar in the urine ?
> the last few times i have seen the midwife ive has plus sugar ,midwife was abit concerned but when ive have seen the diabetic nurse after she said the tests are wrong and not reliable in pregnancy yet another said i shouldnt have sugar in urine while on insulin  so im confused lol.
> im 35 weeks to so will be havin baby in less than 3 weeks



No Stacey. Ketones are by-products of burning fat for energy and can make the blood more acidic. The body tries to get rid of them through urine and even the breath if the level is high enough. In diabetics they can be a sign that there is insufficient insulin available to use blood glucose for energy.

Sugar in the urine is usually caused by blood sugar levels being higher than normal. There is a 'threshhold level' whereby the sugar will be extracted by the kidneys and be removed in the urine. This is how people used to test their levels prior to the invention of blood glucose meters. It may be that your levels had risen above the threshhold level an hour or so prior to the test, but if your levels are good overall then I wouldn't have thought it was a problem.

Good luck, hope things go well over the next 3 weeks!


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## margie (Aug 22, 2011)

staceyc said:


> hi silly  question is is keytones the smae as sugar in the urine ?
> the last few times i have seen the midwife ive has plus sugar ,midwife was abit concerned but when ive have seen the diabetic nurse after she said the tests are wrong and not reliable in pregnancy yet another said i shouldnt have sugar in urine while on insulin  so im confused lol.
> im 35 weeks to so will be havin baby in less than 3 weeks



Hi Stacey your kidneys start to leak glucose when a certain threshold of glucose in your blood is hit. This varies from person to person - but I think it is generally thought to be around ten.

I read somewhere that in pregnancy the threshold can fall so you start seeing sugar in the urine below 10. 

Take a look at this link.

http://www.pregnancy.org/article/urine-test-during-pregnancy-urinalysis

What has your meter been telling you ? That will give you a better sense of how things are doing.


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