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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Ketones in urine

12 replies

pingu3 · 07/10/2021 13:22

Hi ladies, I'm 17w and every time I check I seem to have a moderate level of ketones in my urine. (I happen to have some testing sticks used previously for something else). They show I have no glucose In my pee. It was the same when I tested a few weeks ago also.

Does this mean I have GD? I've googled and read up on it but it hasn't really helped me understanding much!

OP posts:

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missrose0110 · 07/10/2021 14:39

No idea what it means but every time I have my urine tested they tell me I have ketones too. From my understanding it means you're dehydrated?

hashbrownsandwich · 07/10/2021 14:44

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Amz6219 · 07/10/2021 15:00

Dehydration normally, you'll probably find if you have loads of water they'll reduce

I have GD and always have ketones in my urine but it is because I have reduced carbs and changed my diet, if your diet is as it was and you have ketones (but no glucose) then it isn't likely to be an issue at all and not linked to GD

I have them at every appointment and check at home - consultants/midwives don't even mention anymore because they're not a concern :)

kalidasa · 07/10/2021 15:53

Are you eating normally? Do you still have morning sickness? Extreme sickness can cause ketosis because you're not retaining enough food. It's not really a sign of dehydration though it's often used as a proxy for it. I have hyperemesis and check my ketones because I know if they become high I need to go to hospital. If they get very high it makes you feel pretty ill anyway. If it's a one off and they are not that high I would just try to eat and drink well and mention it to your midwife.

MatildaIThink · 07/10/2021 15:57

@hashbrownsandwich

Not having glucose is fine. Ketones is basically sugars. It could show that you are not being enough energy nutritionally. It could also be a sign of diabetes. However, please do not panic. I would contact your midwife. Unfortunately some times things like this can cause more panic than needed because the person doesn't understand what they are looking for. May I ask why you did urine dip in the first place?

This is entirely wrong, ketones are not "basically sugars". Ketones are the result of the body metabolising fat as a fuel source rather than sugar, whether that is your body burning fat, or fat from a low carb diet etc. Ketones are also not a sign of diabetes, they are a sign of a low amount of carbohydrates in the body, nothing more, nothing less.

Why people might panic is people like you posting entirely wrong information.

Greybeardy · 07/10/2021 16:14

@MatildaIThink while you’re right that ketones aren’t ‘basically sugars’, ketones can very definitely be a feature of diabetes - hence the term diabetic ketoacidosis. This happens in diabetics because a lack of insulin (relative or absolute) means they are unable to utilise glucose and switch to fat metabolism for energy. They often have very high blood sugars and glycosuria as well as ketosis and ketonuria (which is why the OP was interested in the reassuring lack of sugar in the urine dip). Hope that helps.

MatildaIThink · 07/10/2021 17:06

[quote Greybeardy]@MatildaIThink while you’re right that ketones aren’t ‘basically sugars’, ketones can very definitely be a feature of diabetes - hence the term diabetic ketoacidosis. This happens in diabetics because a lack of insulin (relative or absolute) means they are unable to utilise glucose and switch to fat metabolism for energy. They often have very high blood sugars and glycosuria as well as ketosis and ketonuria (which is why the OP was interested in the reassuring lack of sugar in the urine dip). Hope that helps.[/quote]
Diabetic ketoacidosis is very different to ketosis though, ketones are not a sign of ketoacidosis, ketones are a perfectly normal part of human metabolism. Also as the OP has no sugar in their urine it shows it would be unlikely to be diabetes as sugars would be in the urine.

As with any pregnant woman, if the OP has concerns I would always encourage her to speak to their doctor, but there is also a lot of misunderstanding about ketones in the blood/urine.

8dpwoah · 07/10/2021 21:06

You need to ask your midwife about this really, what did she say at your 16 week appointment about your urine dip?

The only time I've had ketones in my urine was when I was hospitalised with norovirus as I'd not eaten or drank anything for about 18 hours, it was explained to me as my body breaking down reserves because I hadn't put anything else into it.

Kindertonguehappierlife · 07/10/2021 21:08

Are you eating enough? I had this when I had HG and wasn’t eating

Greybeardy · 07/10/2021 22:03

@MatildaIThink my argument was more to do with semantics and your statement that ketones ‘are also not a sign of diabetes’. In the OP’s case the lack of sugar on the dipstick suggests it’s not due to diabetes, but as a blanket statement it is wrong - ketonuria can be a sign of diabetes. It does of course have several causes unrelated to diabetes, including the metabolic demands of pregnancy, starvation, etc.

I agree that ketosis also doesn’t always cause acidosis (many people on keto-diets after all have reassuringly normal biochem), but non-diabetic conditions (including prolonged starvation, and vomiting) can cause ketoacidosis.

Anyhow, none of this is much use to the OP, who should probably run the dipsticks past her midwife, so I’m ducking out now!

Original poster

pingu3 · 08/10/2021 09:51

Thank you all for your responses. At my midwife appt I totally forgot to ask her about it. The only thing she said was that I had leukocytes and wanted me to go to the GP and get a test to check for a uti (which I'm sure I don't have as I always know all about it if I have one).

I can't help but wonder if she read the test stick wrong and it was actually the ketones that were positive because my home sticks are negative for leukocytes but I also realise I am not an expert and the midwife is, so I'm going to forget about it and trust her.

Thank you for all your advice, it's much appreciated.

OP posts:

8dpwoah · 08/10/2021 10:30

That's a good way round it then OP, take them up on the offer of taking a sample to the GP for leukocytes (I normally know if I've got one too but I did have an asymptomatic one hiding during my first pregnancy so you never know) and if that brings up ketones there's your chance to start a conversation about it again? If they don't mention it then you're probably ok to wait til your next appointment.

You can always try to get hold of your midwife to talk it through but it'd probably be quicker and easier to nip a pot to the GP and explain what midwife said to you, she'd need another sample anyway.

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