Tamara Hargett, RD

01/21/2026

Happy Workaversary to Bernice!! Help me celebrate her 9th year anniversary here at the office! Those who know her know she’s precious and goes the extra mile for our patients!

01/18/2026

🌶️ 🍊 Chipotle-Orange Pork Loin with Pomegranate Green Beans. These recipes were perfectly destined to come together! When I saw the green bean recipe, I thought, “Wow! That’s a match made in culinary heaven!” It turned out truly fantastic! See comments for the ingredients and directions. ⬇️

01/05/2026

I couldn’t resist sharing this 😂🤣😂
Happy New Year to you all!

12/23/2025

Christmas lunch party at Angry Cactus with Leroy Palmer and Bernice Thomas.
Angry Vegan 🥑 🥕
Beef Tacos 🌮
Blackened Catfish

11/29/2025

11/13/2025

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

DKA Awareness

Insulin deficiency—often brought on by missed doses, infection, or other stressors—leads to unchecked hepatic (liver) gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, causing significant hyperglycemia. Simultaneously, the lack of insulin and excess of counterregulatory hormones (glucagon, cortisol, growth hormone, catecholamines) stimulate lipolysis (fat breakdown) increasing free fatty acids delivered to the liver, where they are converted to ketone bodies (acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate). The accumulation of these organic acids produces a high anion gap metabolic acidosis.

Also, an osmotic (water) diuresis from hyperglycemia leads to severe dehydration and loss of sodium, potassium, and other important electrolytes. Potassium may be depleted overall, even if serum levels are normal or elevated due to acidosis and insulin deficiency shifting potassium extracellularly from inside cells, where most of our potassium resides. Volume depletion further impairs renal clearance of glucose and ketones, aggravating acidosis and hyperosmolarity (lower water content in the blood).

Acid-base derangements evolve through phases: initial loss is in the form of ketone salts and bicarbonate, development of hyperchloremic (excess chloride) normal-gap acidosis, and progression to high anion gap acidosis as ketone retention (ketones are acidic) increases with worsening dehydration and reduced glomerular filtration rate (water output). During recovery, acidosis may revert to a hyperchloremic (excess chloride in the blood) pattern as ketone excretion resumes and sodium chloride (salt) is retained.