DON'T FEAR THE KETONE

In an ongoing effort to demystify and rebuild the tarnished reputation of the misunderstood ketone, I submit this post. This morning my BG was 108 mg/dl (divide by 18 to get to mmol) and 0.3 mmol ketones were measured. The overnight trend line plot shows a steady level of control over the past 12 hours. All of this was achieved with a SINGLE basal rate of insulin! Not even a 'rate' per se, since I don't wear an insulin pump anymore. This 'basal rate' comes from a single dose of insulin DEGLUDEC, aka Tresiba: 12 units at 8PM. You see, a good basal rate is intended to maintain balance or stability. It is not really supposed to be a 'BG lever' unless you choose to turn it into one (e.g., sleep bolus concept, engine brake, etc...). Running "basal neutral" allows my body to produce the ketones necessary to fuel my brain and body, plus minimize risk of low blood sugar from an excessive amount of basal insulin ("basal heavy").

I suppose there is more than one message here:

#1 - Strive for basal neutrality. It doesn't matter whether or not you use a pump or not. #2 - Ketones are an essential part of who we are. I love ketones for without them I would suffer. #3 - SUGAR SURFING rocks!