Blasted Ketones Make An Appearance

I’m admittedly stubborn when it comes to going to the doctor and am sure it stems from years at Children’s Hospital. When I scraped myself together yesterday and headed to Urgent Care, I was prepared for the worst. I’ve had a hacking cough for 5+ days, but the previous two days included dizziness, nausea and exhaustion. I attempted to get out of bed on Saturday afternoon, yes afternoon, and almost tipped over because my equilibrium was off and then I threw up. BOOOOO.

I was unable to eat much on Saturday and tested my blood sugar often, in fear of a serious low. That was not the case at all, my blood sugar was over 200 for most of the day, which made me think my body was fighting an infection. As a T1D, it is pretty common to self diagnose, but I was willing to relinquish all control to find out what was going on.

I checked in online to Urgent Care and stayed in bed until they text me a 20 minute heads up. Not going to lie, really liked the system because I didn’t have to wait in the lobby with other sick folks. I head back where they take my blood pressure and temperature, inquire about medications and ask about symptoms. The PA comes in to discuss what’s going on and I admit my reluctance to be there. They scrape my throat for strep (twice), listen to my chest and check my ears. I request a urine test because I feared a bladder/kidney infection. I manage to successfully pee in the cup – YAY ME. Nurse 1 pops back in with a tester and I unintentionally refuse, whip out my own machine and test away – she was impressed. Blood sugar was 182.

PA reenters to give me the results. I don’t have strep throat or the flu, but I do have fluid behind my left eardrum, possible cause of dizziness and there are KETONES in my urine. I hadn’t heard the word ketone in ages until Ryan & I mentioned it in our recent PODCAST with John Brandenburg. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, ketones are produced when the body burns fat for energy or fuel. They are also produced when you lose weight or if there is not enough insulin to help your body use sugar for energy. Without enough insulin, glucose builds up in the blood. Since the body is unable to use glucose for energy, it breaks down fat instead. When this occurs, ketones form in the blood and spill into the urine. These ketones can make you very sick. (Joslin Diabetes Center).

I leave Urgent Care with no prescription, just a recommendation for DayQuil to help with the fluid behind my eardrum and plenty of fluids. The PA and I discuss the ketones and I share my diabetes story of 31 years under my belt. I honestly left feeling a bit frustrated because I had forced myself to seek healthcare, dumped some cash into the visit and they found nothing wrong. I guess this is a blessing in disguise and after 24 hours of DayQuil, I’m almost back to normal.

Happy Militant Optimistic Monday – You should check out the “Militant Optimist” tee shirts by Oklahoma artist, Romy Owens.