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First time using ketostix

KayeStevenson

Well-Known Member
Messages
92
Location
UK
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Diet only
Morning everyone. Ketostix arrived this morning and my first test strip reading is 8 mmol/L. Am I right in thinking that this is a good reading?

Full of energy today despite it being a cold, wet morning and the start of my cycle. Having a little mid-morning snack of fresh raspberries... yummy
 
Meant to add that my FBG was 4.8 mmol/L at 6.30am.
 
Sounds like you're doing great. If you have a look at my thread asking if conjunctivitis can mess with sugar levels, Brun attached a chart which shows the optimal level of ketones. I can't copy and paste it to here for some reason.

Have you avoided the low carb flu? Your fasting bg is very good. Do you feel ok at that level? I often feel shaky if I'm below 5 even as a fasting level.

I've had a look at the diet doctor site and watched the video. Couldn't find the shopping list and weekly menu part (probably just me not looking in the right place) but there are lots of recipes on there, which is great
 
Here you go
(I have it holstered in Photobucket nowadays, for a quick draw, when necessary! )



One of the reasons that I find ketostix a bit iffy, is that the more experience our bodies have of ketosis, the less ketones are eliminated through the urine. So, over time, your urine ketone score will drop as you become more and more ketone adapted.

Your 8 is high(ish), but since you have plenty of insulin (we RHers do!) and you are feeling great, you are not in any danger from ketoacidosis.

The only thing I would suggest is drinking lots of water, which you are probably doing anyway.
 
KayeStevenson said:
Morning everyone. Ketostix arrived this morning and my first test strip reading is 8 mmol/L. Am I right in thinking that this is a good reading?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily - it definitely isn't a case of the higher the better, and there's no advantage at all in doing so. You should aim to stay below the 4mmol/L dark pink ++ colour on the Ketostix container guide, which equals the green optimal ketosis range on @Brunneria's chart.

Sometimes concentrated wee can give erroneously high readings, so keep on drinking plenty of water and aim for the above range.

Robbity
 
Thanks for the advice. Will up my water consumption today and see how it goes. I do struggle to eat enough on LCHF. Daily calorie intake used to be made up of pasta and pizza - result of living in southern Italy for many years and sheer laziness
 
From what I have read (and experienced), keto stix just tell you that there are excess ketones being excreted. The colour, or mmol/L is more indicative of your hydration levels. I notice that the colour is much darker in the afternoon after exercise and if I drink a lot of water, the colour is much lighter.

As long as there are trace ketones, your in ketosis.
 
You could try your local pharmacy, but you can certainily get them on line from Amazon or eBay.

Robbity
 
I got them from Amazon. Arrived next day. Can't remember exact price but it was less than a tenner
 
If cost is an issue, I've read somewhere that you can cut the in half up the middle!

Robbity
 
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