What exactly is DKA?

Question

For Diabetics what does this do to you? Do you have to be hosptiliazed every time? When does your body say enough and completely shut down?
I'm asking to better understand my step-sons mother ... trying hard to understand why someone would do this to themselves ... please help with your answers ... thank you!!!

Answer 1

DKA is Diabetic Ketoacidosis. It is a potentially life threatening condition if left untreated. It occurs in people with type 1 diabetes when their diabetes is not well controlled or they are ill. It is caused by a lack of insulin..either because the person does not yet realise they have diabetes (many people are in DKA when first diagnosed with type 1); or becuase they are not giving themselves the correct dose of insulin; or becuase they are ill and their bodys insulin requirements are higher (such as during an infection). Your step sons mother may not have any control over this situation...type 1 diabetes is an extremely frustrating and sometimes debilitaing condition to live with. SHe may have other things going on that make it difficut to get good diabetic control. Things such as depression and can make a person with diabetes feel worthless and lack motivation to take care of themselves. Ignoring their diabetes can also be a cry for help. No-one would deliberatley let themselves go into DKA unless there was a reason. As a diabetes educator (and someone who lives with this damn disease) I see a lot of people who do this as a cry for help.

Answer 2

Diabetic Ketoacidosis is what happens when people that are diabetics go untreated which impairs their glucose cycle and is a deficiency in insulin. This is most commonly due to undiagnosed diabetes mellitus, or in patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes, failure to take prescribed insulin. DKA has a 100% mortality rate if left untreated. Treatment consists of hydration to lower the osmolality of the blood, replacement of lost electrolytes, insulin to force glucose and potassium into the cells, and eventually glucose simultaneously with insulin in order to correct other metabolic abnormalities, such as elevated blood potassium (hyperkalemia) and elevated ketone levels. Many patients require admission to a step-down unit or an intensive care unit (ICU) so that vital signs, urine output, and blood tests can be monitored freuently. Brain edema is not rare, and so this may suggest intensive monitoring as well. In patients with severe alteration of mental status, intubation and mechanical ventilation may be required. Survival is dependent on how badly-deranged the metabolism is at presentation to a hospital, but the process is only occasionally fatal.