Alternate ways of blood testing for Ketosis

(Venkat Dabri) #1

Hello,
This is a weird question but I am a bit squeamish about pricking my finger for blood test. I do usually get some cuts while shaving. Can I use the blood from shaving cuts to test for Ketosis? Anyone tried this or the volume of blood is too low?

(Charlotte) #2

I would guess its too low depending on what meter you are using since some need larger samples than others.

(Venkat Dabri) #3

What meter would need the least?

(Charlotte) #4

You’d have to research. i don’t think any meter would be able to read that small of a sample. my keto mojo takes less blood than a precision, but it would still need more than a nick from shaving would provide.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #5

Save yourself the perpetual agony and buy a Ketonix. Yes, the initial cost is higher, but you won’t have to keep buying paper for it at $1 or more per pop. And you won’t have to bleed for it - ever. Since it’s both easy, clean, painless and gets cheaper each time you use it, you can test yourself every hour every day if you want to see some interesting data. Fat metabolism and ketosis is a very dynamic system which remains mostly hidden to those who bleed only once or twice a day. No, I have no interests in Ketonix AB other than I have one and am a satisfied user.



(Tami Proctor) #6

It really doesn’t hurt. I don’t test every day. Only when I eat something different and I’m not sure what was in it. Since the test strips can be expensive you want to make sure you have enough blood. One other thing to keep in mind is they expire 6 months after opening them.

If you are counting everything you really don’t need to test. You will be able to feel you are in ketosis if you’re not hungry.

(Venkat Dabri) #7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XR4M9m6eaY <- this video seems to be using very lttle blood I guess I will try a keto mojo.

(Bob M) #8

Even though I tend not to like Optimizing Nutrition (I think he relies too much on data – and I’m an engineer), what he says in that article is true. I’ve been on low carb/keto for 5.5 years, and I’m basically out of ketosis every morning, if ketosis is defined as 0.5 mmol/L of BHB. But my ketones go up over the day.

I have a ketonix, and both are helpful. They very widely though. That is, they do not correlate well at all, unless you’re fasting multiple days.

(Neil) #9

If it helps: I’ve always hated sharp pointy things. I am the sort of person who will faint in a doctor’s office if they tell me I need an injection, and who will avoid traveling to countries just because they would require additional immunizations! I was thus extremely wary of testing my blood ketones… but then I started doing it anyway.

I told myself that I was in complete control of the finger prick and that I didn’t have to go through with it if I didn’t want to. That helped. I did the first few lying down in bed in case I started feeling woozy. (I felt a bit off, but I was fine.) I insisted on being alone when I did it. And I had to give myself a little pep talk each time.

But now I’m fine! It really doesn’t hurt. You hardly feel anything at all. It only takes a drop of blood. I now test myself on a regular basis without it stressing me out at all. And as a nerdy engineer, I like being able to track this data about my own body’s reaction to the foods I eat and to test how different foods affect me.

If I can do it, so can you! :slight_smile: