Diagnosis and Monitoring Diabetes

• Detecting high Glucose and ketones

When adequately distributed throughout your body, glucose gives you energy. If the glucose level in your blood or urine is high, it means that the glucose is not being channeled properly. This happens when too little of the hormone insulin is produced or when the insulin that is produced is not used appropriately by the body.
Insulin is responsible for clearing sugar out of your blood-stream and getting it into cells, where it is used or stored. In a diabetic, because enough insulin isn't there or isn't working properly, glucose just accumulates in the blood. After a certain point the blood glucose becomes so high that the kidneys, which filter waste products from the blood, begin to overflow some of the glucose into the urine. Your physician can measure your glucose level through several tests using urine and blood specimens.
In addition to measuring the glucose level, urine and blood tests can indicate the presence of ketones. Without insulin, fat stores in the body break down and substances called ketones, ketones bodies, or acetone are produced. Because of their acidic nature, ketones can lead to complications when they accumulate in the blood. At high enough levels ketones overflow into the urine.
Glucose and ketones levels in the urine and blood may be high because of stress as well as a low insulin level. A finding of high levels of glucose or ketones indicates to your physician that further investigation is necessary.