Keatones 3rdTrimester - HELP pls

[Ladyemmalou83]

Hello

Had my 31 week check yesterday and again showed ++ for keatones. Midwife has brought my next appointment forward as result, and has advised that she will send me to the antenatal ward if Im still ++ at the next appointment.

Ive been suffering with HG during this pregnancy so have at times had real problems keeping food down, yet even though I had no vomiting yesterday or for the last few days my keatones were still high. And I had also eaten enough in the morning and at lunch to make me feel full. I do eat a balanced diet and drink mostly water or fruit juice.

Has anybody experienced anything similar to this? Or could offer some reason why even though Im eating and drinking plenty im still getting ++ / +++ on the keatones?

Also...Can anybody advise what there likely to do at the hospital if I do have to go: would I just be put on a drip (even though I really am drinking and eating).

Thanks in advance for anything you might be able to offer

It is really imprtant not to be in a state of ketosis during pregnancy (primarily because one of the body's reactions to ktosis to to stop/reduce the production of various female hormones, which is why those in prolonged ketosis such as an anorexic will not have periods), so I suspect that the hospital will do everything they can to stop it.

Don't worry too much though - if you are eating and drinking plenty, that's the first hurdle (a friend was still very much suffering from an eating disorder during a pregnancy - a real uphill battle). Even though you are eatng, are you eating lots of complex carbs? Eating lots but of a high protein/low carb diet can easily make the body go into ketosis.

I assume that the hospital would put you on a drip, specifically giving you some kind of sugars (e.g. glucose etc).

I am no expert, just didn't want this to go unanswered!

What kind of things are you eating? Agree with legally that you'll need lots of complex carbs.

Or you could do what i did and attempt a diet solely consisting of pizza, magnums and milkshakes

Hi, poor you, I really sympathise. I'm in my second trimester and have had high ketones all the way through. With HG I've been hospitalised four times with ++++ of ketones- they make you feel rotten as well as worry. In hospital they put you on a drip to re- hydrate you but also won't let you out until you are eating regularly.
On advice from the hospital, I have ketostix testing strips which you can buy at a chemist, to monitor my ketones daily. To really keep them down you need to be eating and drinking every single hour. I had to set an alarm and every hour had to force down biscuits or dried toast or something. The hospital recommended this and it was the only approach that genuinely seems to reduce them fast. I would steer clear of too sugary things, but try to include some sugars and complex carbs too. Keep drinking too- they gave me a target of fluids that I had to sip my way through by the end of each day.
Hope this helps a bit, unfortunately it feels like it takes a lot of time and attention and can disrupt daily life a bit to be constantly eating and drinking, but in my experience it does work. Good luck!

For me it seemed that the doctors/midwives only associated Keatones to being dehydrated! At 37 weeks with my last I was in hospital for two days on a drip I kept telling them that couldnt it have something to do with the fact that I was being sick thus no food in my system in the end they agreed and took me off the drip!

Thanks for your thoughts girls...

My diet is good, my DH wouldnt have it any other way. I eat mostly carbs, lots of potatoe and pasta (I always thought possibly too much??), eggs, try to eat wholemeal foods where possible as slightly aneamic too. Certainly lots of veg in my diet, cant get enough of mixed veg at times. Not a big meat eater, but always make sure I intake some chicken everyday as really aware of the need for protein in my diet. Loving bananas at the moment too. Im not a saint, I do love the weekly pizza or indian, and like most of us a bar of chocolate tends to find its way into my handbag sometimes (if there is a big bag of malteasers around - there gone). You have only got to look at me to see that Im not starving, im a healthy size 14, with a bump thats following her top lines on the chart.

As far as drinking goes, having been bad for remembering to drink pre-pregnancy its the opposite now, seems to be drinking all the time, mostly water or squash, gave up the caffine when the HG kicked in.

The HG has put me into hospital a couple of times so far, but not recently. So looking at it; it will be the same as when Im in for that Oh dear