DKA is when you can't produce enough insulin yourself to deal with the massive amounts of sugar in your blood so that sugar can not be converted into energy (food) needed by our cells

So the body starts burning fat instead which works but at a high rate a byproduct of the process called Ketones are present in such high levels they become toxic

It's severe enough, that "untreated" it can kill you within 48 hours

It's prevented by controlling your blood sugar and acting on any negative trends - if you notice your sugar levels are up and staying there, call your Doc and get your meds adjusted "now"

Thanks for the info. This is exactly why we have this group. Stay healthy all.

I had DKA last July following surgery and my symptoms were tachycardia (130-140) for 24 hours and increasing SOB before I went to the ER. Resolved with treatment,

What Graham and Diabetes Team said is spot on.
This is how I learned about being diabetic..in the er with dka.
This is serious stuff...don't mess around with it..
Hospital er's are exceptionally qualified to deal with this.
They saved my life..