Diabetes query

peoffrey

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Sad news from the Welsh village I spent my summers at as a child came in a few weeks back. My dad’s mate’s son passed away unexpectedly at 35. No cause of death was initially revealed until the coroner confirmed “diabetic ketoacidosis” (I’ve typed that from memory.)

I did Google it to try and find out more but it didn’t make any sense to me. Can anyone explain what it is and what may have happened to claim him? We’d played as kids and it’d settle my mind to know a bit more.

Thanks.
 
Sorry to hear that mate. Was he aware that he was already diabetic? Apparently some people aren’t aware and ketoacidosis can kick in quite rapidly. Symptoms sound pretty nasty.
 
Sad news from the Welsh village I spent my summers at as a child came in a few weeks back. My dad’s mate’s son passed away unexpectedly at 35. No cause of death was initially revealed until the coroner confirmed “diabetic ketoacidosis” (I’ve typed that from memory.)

I did Google it to try and find out more but it didn’t make any sense to me. Can anyone explain what it is and what may have happened to claim him? We’d played as kids and it’d settle my mind to know a bit more.

Thanks.

Sorry to hear that, 35 is no age at all.

In response to your question -

Diabetic Ketoacidosis is caused by low insulin, so it's usually to do with type 1 diabetes.


Insulin gets glucose into the cells, when the body doesn't have enough insulin, glucose can't get into the cells to provide energy for normal cell functions.

The body knowing it needs energy switches to using fat as an energy supply, breaking down fat into fatty acids and breaking them down for energy. A byproduct of this process produces ketones which are acidic. If this happens a lot then the pH of blood is lowered and your blood becomes acidic which causes a lot of problems as most chemical reactions which happen in the body rely on a specific pH to work properly.

The body tries to correct this blood acidity, but some of the corrections are themselves dangerous and potentially life threatening, the most dangerous being release of hormones which can cause brain swelling.
 
Diabetes is a very dangerous disease if not controlled but even then you have a higher risk of heart disease and heart attacks and limb amputations,it's best avoided by having a healthy diet and excercise and keep your weight down,i am the only one in my family to not have it,the other 3 are older but look healthy so it's genetic,i'm the youngest so probably me next
Very sorry to hear about your friend
 
Sorry to hear that mate. Was he aware that he was already diabetic? Apparently some people aren’t aware and ketoacidosis can kick in quite rapidly. Symptoms sound pretty nasty.

He was. My aunt was a nurse for years and said that well managed diabetes should still see a good life lead.

He simply didn’t turn up for work and they broke in to his house because he wasn’t answering calls. He was discovered dead in bed.

Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts. I’ve had four friends of my generation go now.
 
He was. My aunt was a nurse for years and said that well managed diabetes should still see a good life lead.

He simply didn’t turn up for work and they broke in to his house because he wasn’t answering calls. He was discovered dead in bed.

Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts. I’ve had four friends of my generation go now.
Your aunt isn't wrong, well controlled diabetes can certainly see someone still lead a good life, this is more challenging for type 1 given it's nature & length someone will live with the condition. The issue with diabetic ketoacidosis is that is more an acute problem than a long term affect of the diabetes - as has already been pointed out earlier diabetes leads to long-term issues, especially when poorly controlled; I gather your friend must have been type 1 from the information given and so poor control of their diabetes most often would lead to issues with vision, kidneys & nerves (usually starting in the feet) & this is what having good control will help prevent.

Diabetic ketoacidosis like I say is one of the acute dangers with type 1 diabetes, it's when there is insufficient insulin in the body, which can be caused by a number of reasons. Insulin is a hormone that controls glucose levels, and also prevents the production of ketones (acids which are produced from fat as an alternative source of energy when you're starving). Therefore this lack of insulin produces high levels of glucose in the blood, and production of ketones for energy - leading to an increased acidity in your blood, and significant fluid shifts within the body. The high levels of glucose/ketones pulls fluid out of cells & leads to significant fluid loss through urination, on top of this you lose potassium through this excessive urination. Rarely you can get swelling on the brain.
So in short: a lack of insulin leads to one become extremely dehydrated, acidotic (blood pH low) & hypokalaemic (low potassium levels); a life threatening series of events unfortunately.

This condition is treatable in hospital, the mainstay being rehydration, followed by insulin & potassium replacement. However one has to recognise the signs that they're suffering from this and of course get to hospital in time; this would usually be excessive urination, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pains & rapid deep breathing.

People who develop diabetes later in life (type 2 diabetes) are extremely unlikely to suffer diabetic ketoacidosis; however do have a similar condition to be careful of.

It's unfortunately a tough condition to live with, I'm always impressed at how well some people cope.

35 is no age at all though, sorry to hear of your loss.
 
I got diagnosed with diabetes last year and was put on statins to control my cholesterol. The quack recond that I ' could ' have a 20% chance of a stroke or heart attack within the next 10 years. The first course of statins made me feel weird so the quack put me on a reduced level but they had the same affect but over a longer period. I stopped and went on a diet, cut out butter and crisps, cut down on bread, gave up the fags, ate a lot more greens, cut right down on the fried stuff, down 2 notches on my belt in the last 2 months and feeling a lot better than before on the statins.
One of the girls at work has type 1 and to be fair to her she has her problems.......
I bought an SLK and a fishing boat just in case the Dr's right.
 
DIabetic keto acidosis tends to come for one of three reasons
Firstly the diabetes is undiagnosed and it is quite common as the presenting feature in type 1 Diabetes
Secondly the diabetes is not very well managed
Thirdly the person develops an illness which makes the body less sensitive to insulin which increases the insulin requirements.
Many infections can do this , as well as treating the diabetes the second condition needs to be treated as well.
 
I always knew he was diabetic but was unsure what type he had as nobody close had it. When we were in our late teens or early twenties then he’d need to eat on nights out. He’d also visit the toilet to do what he needed to do. Aside from that, he seemed fine.

I’m lucky to get down there yearly these days so I hadn’t seen him in maybe two years. It still knocked me. Full of life and fun. Loved his rugby and football. Used to eye up the rum Welsh girls too.

Thanks again to everyone. Google results told me little but explanations have been very helpful. It’s always shocking when it was so unexpected.
 

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