Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Apr 12, 2011

Duchess 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / To make you smile...

I used to leave needles on cos Diabetes nurses told me to! I now know it's a bad idea. You really shouldn't let a child play with your pen. even if you're supervising, it's easy to get distracted, phone ringing, doorbell, even a hypo could make you less vigilant than usual. Not worth the risk.

Apr 12, 2011

emmahope 17 posts

Topic: General Discussion / POST HYPO HIGHS

hi Duchess, yes i am careful to not over compensate for same reasons and wait 'til after3 meal times at least to do any small corrections if at all.i am still not with best BI so still hoping that'l make things smoother but aware gastro-paresis may mean i cant avoid erratic bms.Thanks for your thoughts. E

Apr 12, 2011

Duchess 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Ideas

novorapidboi26 said:
There is a lot of information to take in there but the first thing I noticed, which really needs to be addressed, is the consistency of your correction doses, sometime you take 3 for a 14, sometime 2, and that pattern continues throughout.

If your not consistent with these then you will never be able to pin point the real causes for highs and lows as it may be your correction that is responsible as opposed to your carb/insulin ratio......

On Monday 21st at 23:50 you corrected a 26.9 with 6 units, assuming the normal correction rules apply at this time, which is 1 unit drops 2.5 mmol/l then you would have dropped to 11.9, so not enough really. The reality is that the higher you are the more you need, or in other words, the less effective 1 unit of insulin is. If I was 26.9 I would of taken 21 units to bring me on target. Everyone will respond differently to 1 unit of insulin the higher the blood
glucose.

Have to disagree, my Dafne educators told me you should NEVER take more than 4 units as a corrective dose. If you take bigger & bigger doses of insulin, your body just "hides" it somewhere & it actually becomes less effective. In fact insulin is LESS effective at higher doses. I unit should reduce bs by about 3 mmol.

You should try and investigate this actually......................you may or may not be similar to me but these are the values I use.............

Blood Glucose: less than 10mmol/l - 1 unit drops 2.5mmol/l

Blood Glucose: between 10-13mmol/l - 1 unit drops 2mmol/l

Blood Glucose: between 13-17 - 1 unit drops 1.5mmol/l

Blood Glucose: above 17 - 1 unit drops 1mmol/l

My resistance may even go higher but thankfully I am seldomly much over 17. This is only what I have discovered and is not the opinion of any medical professional but I strongly believe this is the behavior of insulin as the blood glucose rises...

Sorry if I banged on a bit there........but I felt I couldn't comment confidently on your results knowing that the corrections were different from day to day and also my point regarding resistance.........

Hope this helped...................

Apr 12, 2011

Duchess 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What made you smile today?

2 things made me smile today - finishing decorating my study, looks lovely & I'm really proud of it. Secondly I met a new diabetes Doctor today & OMG, he was absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!! Wish he'd been my Doctor years ago when I was younger - mind you he did tell me I don't look my age!! Wink

Apr 12, 2011

Duchess 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Mentoring

You did your best, as you say the other person has to be willing. I'd love to be a mentor but, erm, I'm probably too bossy

Apr 12, 2011

Duchess 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / POST HYPO HIGHS

One thing I've learnt from Dafne is not to overcompensate for post-hypo highs. I was taking higher QA to bring bs down & it just wasn't working, it just leads to more hypos & you get into a cycle of yo-yoing bs. You just have to ride out those highs & not worry too much about it, just take a corrective dose of no more than 4u QA & things should become less erratic. Smile

Apr 12, 2011

Athena 52 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Information on menstrual cycle

Thanks to tweety endtherapies and JWo for replying.

It was interesting to know that the pill by the sounds of it causes the same problems as not being on the pill and that it is just as much work to try to sort doses throughout the month .
It was also useful to hear that taking the pill back to back with no break is considered dangerous.

I think charting each month is the only thing that will be useful.

Does anyone know of pre-menopausal females who are managing to get control using the one BI throughtou the month and the same ratios like it is supposed to be? MAybe we are the exceptions and most people's insulin requirements are not upset by hormones.Otherewise why would it not be part of the training course or why would women of child-bearing age be allowed on DAFNE courses at all if it is a waste of time.

I am going to try the altering QA ratios on the part of the month that I cannot get sorted.
I suspect that sorting the dose during menstruation and when requirements peak is the easy bit and it is the inbetween bits that are difficult. I will try to see if I can find any research on DAFNE and this problem via the DAFNE site.If I do I will let you know.

good luck to all with this challenge!

Apr 12, 2011

Athena 52 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Mesntrual Cycle

thanks to JWo, tweety and endtherapies for replying to this. I was really interested in hearing your ecperiences with the pill.
It doesn't sound much better than being off the pill to be honest. I do find that natural hormones cause a drop of bg just prior to menstruation, down to that low dose which then lasts throughout that week. It then starts to edge up and I have to increase BI until about 10 days before menstruation where it reaches a peak and stays there. I have the level for this peak sorted, I have the dropping down to menstruation sorted ( no gradual change just have to go straight to the low dose)i.e. not follow the step wise approach as like tweety, to not turn it straight down causes nightime and daytime hypos , and the remaining on the low does during my period sorted so it is gettting there. It is the rise over the coming weeks leading up to the peak dose that is causing the trouble.
Think the idea of a chart is great. I just realised that something funny was going on as I kept ending up at the same dose and then crashing down to the same dose and I started recognising these as familiar. I luckily keep a record of my periods so when I then notice d that this was a montly pattern I did wonder. Then of course I saw tha t there were 2 distinct BI's a high one and a low one. At the highest does that I use, my BI is double that of the lowest one that I use just prior and during my period, so you can see why it causes so much trouble as it is not a couple of units here and there. Think I will psot to see if any girls of menstruating age are using the on BI throuoghout the month. See what people reply. I did say to other women on my course with whom I have kept in touch to look to see wha t they noticed as none of them had thought of this and had given up on DAFNE as being no use for them.There is no doubt that charting and tracking is the only way to learn about the patterns.
I expect to end up with a ready reccknor thing writeen into the front of the diary with the dose for each day of the month once I get it sorted. It is exasperating how long this is taking especially as meantime we are feeling dreadful.
I am interested in the QA ratios as a method to sort this as I suppose the alternative is to pick a BI and alter the QA to sort it.
I think I may give this a try on the rising bit of the month seeing as I have the BI sorted for 2 times a month.

Great to hear from you all and good luck.

Apr 11, 2011

Edentherapies 8 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Mesntrual Cycle

Hi JWo,

I too seem to go up and down around my cycle. Since I did my DAFNE course I have been trying to log my levels re my cycle. So far nothing major but I have recently also changed my pill to Micronor (a mini pill)
I had alot of trouble with going very low usualy the week before and during my cycle though when I used to be on Microgynon. Just wondering if it may have been because of the type of pill as I don't seem to go AS up and down as I used to? I cant say for sure as this has only been my first cycle since the DAFNE course (having more info) but thinking back I definately haven't Hypo'd as much since changing the pill.

Might be totaly different for you but thought i'd let you know. I will be keeping an eye on the changes through my cycle, see if I can make sense of it too! The hormone changes definately seem to make a difference!
Laughing

Apr 11, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: Site Development / Online Diary.........

Currently the online diary provides you with 7, 14 and 30 day blood glucose averages.

Would it be possible to also include the 90 day average, this will make predicting the HbA1c more accurate, for me anyway......... Razz

Apr 11, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules

I think the majority of folk feel the same as you, me being one of them. Its hard to think back on your diabetes treatment not knowing what we know now, the sad thing is there are still a lot of people out there just not knowing whats really going on.

What surprised me when doing my course was that the majority of people were already on an MDI regime but were just guessing what to take, madness.......

Apr 11, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting better

I am glad your happier and are getting better results, there does seem to be a lot hypos there, and by hypo I mean 4 or below.........do you think your are having a lot........?

Some days your low by lunch or even before it, and others you are higher at lunch, can you pin point reasons for that....?

Apr 11, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Ideas

I think fractional ratios are good too, provides you with more accurate carb counting and therefore better BGs, I personally dont require high levels of accuracy, I usually always round up my carbs anyway........ Wink

Apr 10, 2011

Neil Brown 28 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting better

Perhaps DAFNE makes sense after all !!

Apr 10, 2011

HelenP 218 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Ideas

In defence of fractional ratios!

My endocrinologist was most supportive of fractional ratios. It was his idea and I was skeptical but he convinced me to give it a try. As I lived on fairly regular meals I was able to achieve these for breakfast and lunch but often had problems with evening meals (more difficult to count carbs). You need a demipen and the ability to multiply in decimals. Or, you have the same things for breakfast everyday and calculate once.

It does smack of obsession but I found it fine.

Helen

Apr 9, 2011

tweety 13 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Ideas

Hey Neil, your correction should depend on your BG level and your sensitivity to the insulin, I mean for me 1unit brings my BG down by 4. I can see where novorapidboi is coming from though, there is no consistency with amounts of corrections, therefor I wouldn't want to comment on how to fix those high BG results. If in this position i would prob have tried adjustin BI b4 changing any ratios. Hope you've been able to gain a little control now :-)

Apr 9, 2011

tweety 13 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Mesntrual Cycle

Although my nurse has pointed out to me that hormonal changes due to TOTM could be causing some hypo's with me, (I went through a phase that I was hypoing continuously and had to stay with my parents for a few days) I still havent thought about how to get a pattern, I just assumed it would sort itself out, in thinkin about it I guess I do still hypo quite often around my TOTM but now I certainly will try n find out exactly when and how my 3wks on and 1wk of pill will affect my BG and how to control it better.

Apr 9, 2011

tweety 13 posts

Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules

Thanks soooo much for all the info on ketones every1, I'm feeling a whole lot better now and eating normally although I still seem to have a trace of ketones I'm not really worried about them now. I had no idea about most of this stuff, similar to yourself JWo I was diagnosed when I was 7 so didnt really know much about anythin, gosh I didnt even know how to change my insulin b4 dafne. I would always wait till my 6 month app at hosp n the dr there would change things and ratios I thought that was stuff I did back at school till I went on the dafne course. Didnt know how the drs were changing things I just knew when I went to hosp my insulin dosages would always change for some reason. Lookin back now I think how mad it was I could have been on a wrong ratio for 6/7 months at a time n didnt even realise as I had never been taught!!

Apr 9, 2011

JayBee 582 posts

Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules

Thanks. ^_^; ...and I've had my nap too now. Bit of a siesta, with the sunshine blazing from the window!

You're already expressing more deeper knowledge than I do about ketones, I just know what I've discovered each day - perhaps I should look at doing more research, a habit I've not really started considering you can't always trust what you read online. ;) How did you learn what you've come to understand?

I had no idea that ketones bodies were used for energy for example!

It's so easy to misinterpret information, which is a shame. Taking stuff at face value, typical attitude of a child really now that I think about it. I do really wish I was diagnosed later on than 5 years of age sometimes. What I've grown up with is wrong sometimes - ketones are a great example considering not all of them are bad (as you're telling me now as well as my nurse helping me to realise). I do wonder sometimes that it's because since DAFNE I've started testing for ketones a lot more (because I used to be very bad for not testing at all, ill or otherwise), that I never became more aware sooner... but oh well, you live and learn. Sad

Its for stuff like this that I'm so glad DAFNE is in my life. My diabetes was in such a guess cloud before. -_-;;

Apr 9, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules

Dont worry about it, coming across the wrong way is bound to happenm with me quite often, mentioning my "opinion" is just my way of emphasising thats its what I believe with the information I have been given up to this point, but I could be wong or not know the full science of the ketone......

I wouldnt say ketones are the cause of illnes, as they are a natural ocurance and are processed even in a non diabetic, when illness occurs extra glucose is provided to help in fighting the infection or virus or healing of a wound, so for diabetics this can be hard to estimate what we need to compensate, and therefore ketones are more likely....

During the night the brain actually depends on ketone bodies for energy

DKA obviously occurs when the bodies functions cant cope with the acidity and lack of fuel, and will shut down eventually...............

As we alaways have some ketones in our blood, I wouldnt think that it would prevent a hypo after a hypo, unless however there are elevated levels of them then obviously there is not engouh insulin to get even glusoce to the bodies cells, so the likelyhood of the BG dropping is low.......

Apr 12, 2011 Duchess 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / To make you smile... I used to leave needles on cos Diabetes nurses told me to! I now know it's a bad idea. You really shouldn't let a child play with your pen. even if you're supervising, it's easy to get distracted, phone ringing, doorbell, even a hypo could make you less vigilant than usual. Not worth the risk.

Apr 12, 2011 emmahope 17 posts	Topic: General Discussion / POST HYPO HIGHS hi Duchess, yes i am careful to not over compensate for same reasons and wait 'til after3 meal times at least to do any small corrections if at all.i am still not with best BI so still hoping that'l make things smoother but aware gastro-paresis may mean i cant avoid erratic bms.Thanks for your thoughts. E

Apr 12, 2011 Duchess 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Ideas novorapidboi26 said: There is a lot of information to take in there but the first thing I noticed, which really needs to be addressed, is the consistency of your correction doses, sometime you take 3 for a 14, sometime 2, and that pattern continues throughout. If your not consistent with these then you will never be able to pin point the real causes for highs and lows as it may be your correction that is responsible as opposed to your carb/insulin ratio...... On Monday 21st at 23:50 you corrected a 26.9 with 6 units, assuming the normal correction rules apply at this time, which is 1 unit drops 2.5 mmol/l then you would have dropped to 11.9, so not enough really. The reality is that the higher you are the more you need, or in other words, the less effective 1 unit of insulin is. If I was 26.9 I would of taken 21 units to bring me on target. Everyone will respond differently to 1 unit of insulin the higher the blood glucose. Have to disagree, my Dafne educators told me you should NEVER take more than 4 units as a corrective dose. If you take bigger & bigger doses of insulin, your body just "hides" it somewhere & it actually becomes less effective. In fact insulin is LESS effective at higher doses. I unit should reduce bs by about 3 mmol. You should try and investigate this actually......................you may or may not be similar to me but these are the values I use............. Blood Glucose: less than 10mmol/l - 1 unit drops 2.5mmol/l Blood Glucose: between 10-13mmol/l - 1 unit drops 2mmol/l Blood Glucose: between 13-17 - 1 unit drops 1.5mmol/l Blood Glucose: above 17 - 1 unit drops 1mmol/l My resistance may even go higher but thankfully I am seldomly much over 17. This is only what I have discovered and is not the opinion of any medical professional but I strongly believe this is the behavior of insulin as the blood glucose rises... Sorry if I banged on a bit there........but I felt I couldn't comment confidently on your results knowing that the corrections were different from day to day and also my point regarding resistance......... Hope this helped...................

Apr 12, 2011 Duchess 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What made you smile today? 2 things made me smile today - finishing decorating my study, looks lovely & I'm really proud of it. Secondly I met a new diabetes Doctor today & OMG, he was absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!! Wish he'd been my Doctor years ago when I was younger - mind you he did tell me I don't look my age!!

Apr 12, 2011 Duchess 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Mentoring You did your best, as you say the other person has to be willing. I'd love to be a mentor but, erm, I'm probably too bossy

Apr 12, 2011 Duchess 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / POST HYPO HIGHS One thing I've learnt from Dafne is not to overcompensate for post-hypo highs. I was taking higher QA to bring bs down & it just wasn't working, it just leads to more hypos & you get into a cycle of yo-yoing bs. You just have to ride out those highs & not worry too much about it, just take a corrective dose of no more than 4u QA & things should become less erratic.

Apr 12, 2011 Athena 52 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Information on menstrual cycle Thanks to tweety endtherapies and JWo for replying. It was interesting to know that the pill by the sounds of it causes the same problems as not being on the pill and that it is just as much work to try to sort doses throughout the month . It was also useful to hear that taking the pill back to back with no break is considered dangerous. I think charting each month is the only thing that will be useful. Does anyone know of pre-menopausal females who are managing to get control using the one BI throughtou the month and the same ratios like it is supposed to be? MAybe we are the exceptions and most people's insulin requirements are not upset by hormones.Otherewise why would it not be part of the training course or why would women of child-bearing age be allowed on DAFNE courses at all if it is a waste of time. I am going to try the altering QA ratios on the part of the month that I cannot get sorted. I suspect that sorting the dose during menstruation and when requirements peak is the easy bit and it is the inbetween bits that are difficult. I will try to see if I can find any research on DAFNE and this problem via the DAFNE site.If I do I will let you know. good luck to all with this challenge!

Apr 12, 2011 Athena 52 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Mesntrual Cycle thanks to JWo, tweety and endtherapies for replying to this. I was really interested in hearing your ecperiences with the pill. It doesn't sound much better than being off the pill to be honest. I do find that natural hormones cause a drop of bg just prior to menstruation, down to that low dose which then lasts throughout that week. It then starts to edge up and I have to increase BI until about 10 days before menstruation where it reaches a peak and stays there. I have the level for this peak sorted, I have the dropping down to menstruation sorted ( no gradual change just have to go straight to the low dose)i.e. not follow the step wise approach as like tweety, to not turn it straight down causes nightime and daytime hypos , and the remaining on the low does during my period sorted so it is gettting there. It is the rise over the coming weeks leading up to the peak dose that is causing the trouble. Think the idea of a chart is great. I just realised that something funny was going on as I kept ending up at the same dose and then crashing down to the same dose and I started recognising these as familiar. I luckily keep a record of my periods so when I then notice d that this was a montly pattern I did wonder. Then of course I saw tha t there were 2 distinct BI's a high one and a low one. At the highest does that I use, my BI is double that of the lowest one that I use just prior and during my period, so you can see why it causes so much trouble as it is not a couple of units here and there. Think I will psot to see if any girls of menstruating age are using the on BI throuoghout the month. See what people reply. I did say to other women on my course with whom I have kept in touch to look to see wha t they noticed as none of them had thought of this and had given up on DAFNE as being no use for them.There is no doubt that charting and tracking is the only way to learn about the patterns. I expect to end up with a ready reccknor thing writeen into the front of the diary with the dose for each day of the month once I get it sorted. It is exasperating how long this is taking especially as meantime we are feeling dreadful. I am interested in the QA ratios as a method to sort this as I suppose the alternative is to pick a BI and alter the QA to sort it. I think I may give this a try on the rising bit of the month seeing as I have the BI sorted for 2 times a month. Great to hear from you all and good luck.

Apr 11, 2011 Edentherapies 8 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Mesntrual Cycle Hi JWo, I too seem to go up and down around my cycle. Since I did my DAFNE course I have been trying to log my levels re my cycle. So far nothing major but I have recently also changed my pill to Micronor (a mini pill) I had alot of trouble with going very low usualy the week before and during my cycle though when I used to be on Microgynon. Just wondering if it may have been because of the type of pill as I don't seem to go AS up and down as I used to? I cant say for sure as this has only been my first cycle since the DAFNE course (having more info) but thinking back I definately haven't Hypo'd as much since changing the pill. Might be totaly different for you but thought i'd let you know. I will be keeping an eye on the changes through my cycle, see if I can make sense of it too! The hormone changes definately seem to make a difference!

Apr 11, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: Site Development / Online Diary......... Currently the online diary provides you with 7, 14 and 30 day blood glucose averages. Would it be possible to also include the 90 day average, this will make predicting the HbA1c more accurate, for me anyway.........

Apr 11, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules I think the majority of folk feel the same as you, me being one of them. Its hard to think back on your diabetes treatment not knowing what we know now, the sad thing is there are still a lot of people out there just not knowing whats really going on. What surprised me when doing my course was that the majority of people were already on an MDI regime but were just guessing what to take, madness.......

Apr 11, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting better I am glad your happier and are getting better results, there does seem to be a lot hypos there, and by hypo I mean 4 or below.........do you think your are having a lot........? Some days your low by lunch or even before it, and others you are higher at lunch, can you pin point reasons for that....?

Apr 11, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Ideas I think fractional ratios are good too, provides you with more accurate carb counting and therefore better BGs, I personally dont require high levels of accuracy, I usually always round up my carbs anyway........

Apr 10, 2011 Neil Brown 28 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting better Perhaps DAFNE makes sense after all !!

Apr 10, 2011 HelenP 218 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Ideas In defence of fractional ratios! My endocrinologist was most supportive of fractional ratios. It was his idea and I was skeptical but he convinced me to give it a try. As I lived on fairly regular meals I was able to achieve these for breakfast and lunch but often had problems with evening meals (more difficult to count carbs). You need a demipen and the ability to multiply in decimals. Or, you have the same things for breakfast everyday and calculate once. It does smack of obsession but I found it fine. Helen

Apr 9, 2011 tweety 13 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Ideas Hey Neil, your correction should depend on your BG level and your sensitivity to the insulin, I mean for me 1unit brings my BG down by 4. I can see where novorapidboi is coming from though, there is no consistency with amounts of corrections, therefor I wouldn't want to comment on how to fix those high BG results. If in this position i would prob have tried adjustin BI b4 changing any ratios. Hope you've been able to gain a little control now :-)

Apr 9, 2011 tweety 13 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Mesntrual Cycle Although my nurse has pointed out to me that hormonal changes due to TOTM could be causing some hypo's with me, (I went through a phase that I was hypoing continuously and had to stay with my parents for a few days) I still havent thought about how to get a pattern, I just assumed it would sort itself out, in thinkin about it I guess I do still hypo quite often around my TOTM but now I certainly will try n find out exactly when and how my 3wks on and 1wk of pill will affect my BG and how to control it better.

Apr 9, 2011 tweety 13 posts	Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules Thanks soooo much for all the info on ketones every1, I'm feeling a whole lot better now and eating normally although I still seem to have a trace of ketones I'm not really worried about them now. I had no idea about most of this stuff, similar to yourself JWo I was diagnosed when I was 7 so didnt really know much about anythin, gosh I didnt even know how to change my insulin b4 dafne. I would always wait till my 6 month app at hosp n the dr there would change things and ratios I thought that was stuff I did back at school till I went on the dafne course. Didnt know how the drs were changing things I just knew when I went to hosp my insulin dosages would always change for some reason. Lookin back now I think how mad it was I could have been on a wrong ratio for 6/7 months at a time n didnt even realise as I had never been taught!!

Apr 9, 2011 JayBee 582 posts	Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules Thanks. ^_^; ...and I've had my nap too now. Bit of a siesta, with the sunshine blazing from the window! You're already expressing more deeper knowledge than I do about ketones, I just know what I've discovered each day - perhaps I should look at doing more research, a habit I've not really started considering you can't always trust what you read online. ;) How did you learn what you've come to understand? I had no idea that ketones bodies were used for energy for example! It's so easy to misinterpret information, which is a shame. Taking stuff at face value, typical attitude of a child really now that I think about it. I do really wish I was diagnosed later on than 5 years of age sometimes. What I've grown up with is wrong sometimes - ketones are a great example considering not all of them are bad (as you're telling me now as well as my nurse helping me to realise). I do wonder sometimes that it's because since DAFNE I've started testing for ketones a lot more (because I used to be very bad for not testing at all, ill or otherwise), that I never became more aware sooner... but oh well, you live and learn. Its for stuff like this that I'm so glad DAFNE is in my life. My diabetes was in such a guess cloud before. -_-;;

Apr 9, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / sick day rules Dont worry about it, coming across the wrong way is bound to happenm with me quite often, mentioning my "opinion" is just my way of emphasising thats its what I believe with the information I have been given up to this point, but I could be wong or not know the full science of the ketone...... I wouldnt say ketones are the cause of illnes, as they are a natural ocurance and are processed even in a non diabetic, when illness occurs extra glucose is provided to help in fighting the infection or virus or healing of a wound, so for diabetics this can be hard to estimate what we need to compensate, and therefore ketones are more likely.... During the night the brain actually depends on ketone bodies for energy DKA obviously occurs when the bodies functions cant cope with the acidity and lack of fuel, and will shut down eventually............... As we alaways have some ketones in our blood, I wouldnt think that it would prevent a hypo after a hypo, unless however there are elevated levels of them then obviously there is not engouh insulin to get even glusoce to the bodies cells, so the likelyhood of the BG dropping is low.......