- Messages
- 6,686
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I'm something of a gadget freak... 
and after reading @borofergie's threads a while back about using the Ketonix Ketone Analyzer for testing ketone levels, although I thought it was quite expensive and I didn't really need one, green-eyed envy set in and I finally decided I just had to own one too! It was invented by an epileptic, Michel Lundell, who uses a ketogenic diet to control his seizures (which is an old tried and tested method used in the early 1900s!); it's made in Sweden and you can buy it directly from the Ketonix website. My main feelings about it initially were firstly the highish price, though this has now been reduced, and secondly and more importantly the fact that it apparently relied on a USB connection to a computer for power, more of which later. (They've also now introduced a more expensive Sports model which is more expensive and measures a greater ketone range - mainly at higher levels.)
There are three different ways of measuring your ketones levels, and these also measure slightly different chemicals so they're apparently not directly comparable. (More details on the different types of measurements, plus other information, can be found on the Ketonix website. There are now also some reviews on the web where users comparison tests have been made using these three different measurements.) The first method tests beta-hydroxybutyrate in your blood which is the most accurate and also the most expensive method and this can be done with certain glucose monitors, and special - very expensive - ketone test strips, and will give you up-to-the-minute results. Some type 1 diabetics test this way, as it can also be used to check for ketoacidosis? The least reliable and cheapest test checks for acetoacetate in urine with ketone test strips such as Ketostix; this method can only give you delayed results from the surplus (if any!) ketones flushed out with your wee, but it's cheap and cheerful, if slightly messy, and is probably quite adequate if you are on a low carb diet. The Ketonix falls in the middle, both for accuracy and price, and checks the acetone levels in your breath; but its main advantage is that it's a one-off investment - there's nothing else to buy as it stands, but it relies on either a computer or something like and Amazon Kindle USB.mains plug to power it, though again see below for a solution to this issue.
I finally decided that I'd get one after I'd read, and discovered for myself, that the waste ketones in your urine can often disappear when you are nicely in ketosis - I was sometimes having this happen, but at the same time could often "taste" them in my mouth, so I wanted some other definite and visible proof too, and it seemed a perfect justification (errm excuse) to treat my self to this nifty little gadget. I also did a bit of research on Amazon, and found that I could buy small lightweight USB power packs complete with on/off switches, which meant that I could use the Ketonix as a free standing, completely portable unit. It arrived from Sweden within a week.
The Ketonix itself is a small translucent tube about 6" long with a USB cable and connector permanently attached, and comes in a little drawstring bag. You blow into its mouthpiece to measure the levels of ketones in your breathe; it has a set of led "traffic lights" which light up to indicate the different ketone levels that it measures: blue for base/neutral, green for a low level, yellow for moderate, and red for a high reading. It needs to be powered up before use and this normally takes several minutes, entertaining you with flashing sequences of its led lights until it decides it's ready to go and then it sits at a steady blue. You need to blow into it gently with a normal exhaled breath for a minimum of 15 seconds for it to register. If you can keep on breathing out until your lungs are more or less empty (which can be quite hard!) you get a better indication of your ketone level, but one thing it's best not to do is to take a (deep) breath just before you blow as this means you're blowing out "fresh" air instead of nice ketone laden breath! At first I found the colours a bit misleading, as the green is rather yellowish and I mistook it for yellow, which actually is quite orange!
I'm finding in general that if I test in the morning, I get a slightly lower result than later in the day, which tends to be somewhat higher than I'd anticipated.
The small power pack I bought is the PowerAdd Ultra Slim from Amazon, it's not very expensive, is both very small and very lightweight, comes with a number of different colour trims, and additionally includes a selection of interchangeable connectors - only required for recharging it, and as a bonus, a plugin led light to convert it into a torch.
My Ketonix and its matching (!!) power pack both fit very nicely into the drawstring bag, and because of the on/off power switch I can leave the Ketonix plugged into to the power pack: all I have to do is take them out of the bag, switch on and then wait until it's stopped flashing and is ready to go.
and after reading @borofergie's threads a while back about using the Ketonix Ketone Analyzer for testing ketone levels, although I thought it was quite expensive and I didn't really need one, green-eyed envy set in and I finally decided I just had to own one too! It was invented by an epileptic, Michel Lundell, who uses a ketogenic diet to control his seizures (which is an old tried and tested method used in the early 1900s!); it's made in Sweden and you can buy it directly from the Ketonix website. My main feelings about it initially were firstly the highish price, though this has now been reduced, and secondly and more importantly the fact that it apparently relied on a USB connection to a computer for power, more of which later. (They've also now introduced a more expensive Sports model which is more expensive and measures a greater ketone range - mainly at higher levels.)There are three different ways of measuring your ketones levels, and these also measure slightly different chemicals so they're apparently not directly comparable. (More details on the different types of measurements, plus other information, can be found on the Ketonix website. There are now also some reviews on the web where users comparison tests have been made using these three different measurements.) The first method tests beta-hydroxybutyrate in your blood which is the most accurate and also the most expensive method and this can be done with certain glucose monitors, and special - very expensive - ketone test strips, and will give you up-to-the-minute results. Some type 1 diabetics test this way, as it can also be used to check for ketoacidosis? The least reliable and cheapest test checks for acetoacetate in urine with ketone test strips such as Ketostix; this method can only give you delayed results from the surplus (if any!) ketones flushed out with your wee, but it's cheap and cheerful, if slightly messy, and is probably quite adequate if you are on a low carb diet. The Ketonix falls in the middle, both for accuracy and price, and checks the acetone levels in your breath; but its main advantage is that it's a one-off investment - there's nothing else to buy as it stands, but it relies on either a computer or something like and Amazon Kindle USB.mains plug to power it, though again see below for a solution to this issue.
I finally decided that I'd get one after I'd read, and discovered for myself, that the waste ketones in your urine can often disappear when you are nicely in ketosis - I was sometimes having this happen, but at the same time could often "taste" them in my mouth, so I wanted some other definite and visible proof too, and it seemed a perfect justification (errm excuse
) to treat my self to this nifty little gadget. I also did a bit of research on Amazon, and found that I could buy small lightweight USB power packs complete with on/off switches, which meant that I could use the Ketonix as a free standing, completely portable unit. It arrived from Sweden within a week.The Ketonix itself is a small translucent tube about 6" long with a USB cable and connector permanently attached, and comes in a little drawstring bag. You blow into its mouthpiece to measure the levels of ketones in your breathe; it has a set of led "traffic lights" which light up to indicate the different ketone levels that it measures: blue for base/neutral, green for a low level, yellow for moderate, and red for a high reading. It needs to be powered up before use and this normally takes several minutes, entertaining you with flashing sequences of its led lights until it decides it's ready to go and then it sits at a steady blue. You need to blow into it gently with a normal exhaled breath for a minimum of 15 seconds for it to register. If you can keep on breathing out until your lungs are more or less empty (which can be quite hard!) you get a better indication of your ketone level, but one thing it's best not to do is to take a (deep) breath just before you blow as this means you're blowing out "fresh" air instead of nice ketone laden breath! At first I found the colours a bit misleading, as the green is rather yellowish and I mistook it for yellow, which actually is quite orange!
I'm finding in general that if I test in the morning, I get a slightly lower result than later in the day, which tends to be somewhat higher than I'd anticipated.
The small power pack I bought is the PowerAdd Ultra Slim from Amazon, it's not very expensive, is both very small and very lightweight, comes with a number of different colour trims, and additionally includes a selection of interchangeable connectors - only required for recharging it, and as a bonus, a plugin led light to convert it into a torch.
My Ketonix and its matching (!!
) power pack both fit very nicely into the drawstring bag, and because of the on/off power switch I can leave the Ketonix plugged into to the power pack: all I have to do is take them out of the bag, switch on and then wait until it's stopped flashing and is ready to go.My completely colour co-ordinated Ketonix kit! (Alliterative too...)
Robbity (Alliterative too...)
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