Difficulty in breathing..plzzzz help

[princecaspian]

My mother is having difficulty in breathing for past 2 days. The problem was not too serious. But today she started having chest pain. Can any one suggest what type of disease do my mother is suffering from. He is nearly 55 years of age and didn't have any heart attack in lifetime. Plzzzzz help....I am worried.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
Yes, it is very confusing indeed. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose (or sugar) to be used for energy. The pancreas is responsible in producing insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. With diabetes, the body either does not make enough insulin or can not use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugars to build up in the blood. Because of this problem, when the body cannot get enough glucose from the blood to use as energy, it will begin to burn fat. It is therefore important that the diabetes or glucose level is controlled so that the insulin can be used to help glucose get into the cells.

With regards to your mother's recovery,  it is good to hear that diabetes is under control and ketone levels has improved. It is important that she continues her antibiotics and other medications for full recovery. Best regards.

[princecaspian]

Thanks very much. But i have a doubt. You said that Ketones is formed in absence of glucose when fat is broken down for energy. This means if sugar is more, then ketones must not form. Or precisely, A diabetic patient must not have ketones in urine. This fact is confusing me. Please explain me.

Also good news is that diabetes is under control thanks to Insulin injections, Amount of ketone has been also decreasing by half. She is recovering well and fine. But the problem of breathing has not solved completely. Though now the breathing problem has decreased in terms of severity but it still persists. Also pain is now down but is present. So all in all by how much time my mother will be cured?

Once again thank you very much for help.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
Thanks for the updates.I  hope your mother is well on her way to recovery. High blood sugar can be controlled with diabetes medications and pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics. The presence of ketones in the bloodstream is a common complication of diabetes.  A urine test for ketones is more commonly done than the blood test. If there are 2 positive signs (++), this indicates the level of ketones present in her urine, which is normally negative. It is important that this is treated also to prevent ketoacidosis. Ketones are substances that are made when the body breaks down fat for energy. Normally, the body gets the energy it needs from carbohydrate from the diet. If the diet does not contain enough carbohydrate to supply the body with glucose or sugar,  stored fat is broken down instead and ketones are made. Do keep us posted. Best regards.

[princecaspian]

My mother has been diagnosed as Pneumonia. The infection is mainly in left lung. Also amount of Ketones in urine has increased..dats what docs were saying. In the report, beside ketones, something this sort of thing was written------(++)
PLzzz give full details of ketones..use and disadvantage....plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help.

[princecaspian]

She has been admitted to ICU. She has been diagnosed as Lung infection with high diabetes. Though by insulin injection, diabetes is under control probably. But doctors are not telling what type of infection is. Will my mother become fine? She is getting proper treatment. But I am very scared. Please help. Plzzzzz....