Blood meter and Ketostix do not agree!

(Scott ) #1

Is it possible for Ketostix to consistently read in the moderate to large range, and to have a blood ketone meter only read in the 0.3 (non-ketosis) rage?

We depended on ketostix until our blood ketone meter arrived a few weeks ago. Even though Ketostix read moderate to large, my wife’s blood reading is between 0.3 and 0.4, and she is very concerned that she has not actually been in ketosis for the past 3 months. She has even been doing intermittent fasting and dropped her carbs to under 10 g/day without any improvement.

I don’t think it’s the meter because I am in the same range for urine ketones, but my blood reads in the 1.5-2.5 range. (As high as 5.6 when fasting).

(Chris) #2

Ketostix are not reliable and once you adapt you stop peeing ketones.

(Scott ) #3

Yes, that is how I understood it as well. From what we have been able to find in the forums, Ketostix are likely to give false negatives, but not false positives. That’s what makes this so confusing.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #4

Ketostix are good for seeing if you are dehydrated, not much else, I dumped them early on, use the ketone blood meter for better indication of ketosis. Even the cheapo old school breathalyzers are better indication of ketosis than the sticks. There is a thread on here about the breathalyzers, both Ketonix and the generic ones.

#5

Your wife should track her macros. She may not be eating enough fat. And she may also need to increase her fasting hours.

(Allie) #6

Throw the pee sticks away.

(Scott ) #7

Ketostix aside, I would think that with her macros at 75-80% fat, 15-20% protein and 5% carbs (<10g), she would be well into ketosis. I also looked at her daily caloric intake and it’s between 1500 and 1700 cal/day. It just doesn’t make sense, and she’s feeling so discouraged.

(Allie) #8

Most women don’t need more than about 65g protein, or even less (no less than 50g). Maybe try protein down, fats up - and stop counting calories, she needs to learn to listen to her body and nourish it properly.

(VLC.MD) #9

Interesting. Is that keto common knowledge ? Something I can read ?

Urine Ketones are unreliable. That being said, in my first 5 weeks of keto … I peed ketones like mad and when I fasted I made those Ketone strips more purple than Donny Osmond’s socks !

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I gotta get a blood ketone meter.

(Doug) #10

:smile: Ha!

(Jacob Wagner) #11

I disagree. Ketostix are very good at what they were created for: warning a type 1 diabetic of when their ketone levels are excessive so that they can take action to avoid diabetic ketoacidosis.

Obviously it is possible, because it is happening for your wife. A high reading on the Ketostix indicates that she is spilling ketones into her urine. That is very common in the early weeks of ketosis as your body is adjusting.

It is possible that she is in ketosis with .3 or .4, but that is on the lower side. @richard is almost always in ketosis and his levels regularly drop to .4. So, your wife’s levels aren’t proof that she isn’t in ketosis.

If she has really bene eating <10g of carbs per day for 3 months (and assuming she hadn’t had excessive protean) then she has been in ketosis allot or she is really sick and suffering permanent damage from starvation. Don’t worry, if she is feeling well and has energy at all then that probably isn’t the case.

Ultimately if you are worried then you should seek assistance from a physician, preferably one who is familiar with her medical history and is also familiar with the ketogenic lifestyle.

–Jacob