8. You may feel short of breath
Shortness of breath is related to very high blood sugar levels. It is a sign that your blood sugar levels have been at a high level for quite some time already. If you do not treat your high blood sugar levels, you can experience ketoacidosis. This is commonly known as a diabetic coma. It is caused by a lack of insulin in the body. This lack of insulin is an indicator that your pancreas is no longer producing insulin. This is the cause of diabetes. The lack of insulin makes it impossible for your body to absorb the glucose and convert it to energy.
The body needs the energy to function. When it cannot absorb glucose to manufacture energy, it starts burning fat to make energy. As the body does this, waste by-products called ketones are produced. Ketones are bad for your body.
When you have a large number of ketones in your bloodstream, your body tries to get rid of them through urine. However, this is not enough. So many ketones are in the blood that not all can be expelled from the body. They remain behind and build up. This leads to ketoacidosis, which is potentially fatal and must be treated immediately.
It is advised that people with ketones don’t exercise. If you experience the symptoms of ketoacidosis of which shortness of breath is one, see your doctor. Testing your blood sugar levels will determine if ketones are present in the blood. The reason is that exercising in these conditions will increase the number of ketones in the blood. Exercise burns energy. If your body has resorted to burning fat because it can’t absorb glucose, you’ll raise your ketone level. This can lead to ketoacidosis.