Glucose meter vs ketone meter

(Brenda) #1

What is the difference between a glucose meter and a ketone meter? These two devices are the same right?

#2

There are only 3 ketone meters (Precision Xtra, Keto Mojo, Nova Max) and they can all read glucose. There are many glucose only meters in the market.

Ketone strips are expensive, costing a minimum of $1 each. Mojo has the cheapest, followed by Max, then Xtra, though the later can be found on sale. The glucose strips are cheaper.

I’ve had the Xtra for a few months and just bought the Mojo. I use an inexpensive Walmart meter for glucose because the strips are cheap.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #3

Just adding to the above. If your concern is primarily your blood sugar numbers, then a glucose meter is what you want.
If you want to concentrate on ketone production and staying with a certain level of ketosis then the ketone meter is what you need. If both, go for the combo meters listed in the above post.

(Damon Chance) #4

All blood ketone meters are also glucometers. So if you think you will want to measure ketones you might as well get one of the ketone meters. The only reason to get one of each would be to cut down on the cost of the strips by buying one that can use very cheap glucose test strips. However, be sure and do some research because the accuracy of the glucometers is all over the place.

(Richard Hanson) #5

I was a T2D and tested my blood glucose a few times a day for well over a decade. This was a medical necessity. Now I test glucose just once a week when I record my weight. After reading this thread I went online and found the Keto Mojo site, created an account and I added a meter to the shopping cart. I decided not to spend the $90. My only reason to test was to satisfy my own personal curiosity, which is, admittedly, a strong motivator, but I also find it personally rewarding to exercise restraint.

If I want to be extravagant I can easily expend vast amounts of money on red wine which has the positive benefit of making Mrs. Hanson rather happy.

Best Regards,
Richard

(Damon Chance) #6

If you go through bestketonetest.com the starter kit is only $50

#7

The price is the same, regardless of website. The $50 kit only includes 10 ketone strips. The $90 kit includes 50 strips.

(Damon Chance) #8

Oh I didn’t see that one. That’s 10 dollars cheaper than what I thought it would be.

(Brenda) #9

Thanks everyone. I’ve been toggling between lazy Keto and strict keto for about 9 months. No testing except the keto strips ( which eventually become useless once you are fat adapted) Lost 20 pounds gained back about 10 and am back on track with about a 15 lb loss overall. I think testing will help keep me motivated because i am strangely very happy when the strips turn dark purple ( but alas it is short lived). Thanks for all of your help.

(VLC.MD) #10

Me too :slight_smile:

I’d get a KetoMojo. Best price on the strips so far.

(Brenda) #11

KetoMojo arrived today. Now to just figure out how to use it (and get the nerve to prick my finger)…

#12

I use ReliOn disposable (single use) lancets. I find them easier to use than changing out the lancet in a lancing device.

Regardless of device, needles come in different gauges. The larger the number, the thinner it is. For normal skin (or folks who are impervious to pain) it’s 25 gauge. For people who have sensitive/thin skin (or are wimps like me) there are 30 and 33 gauge needles. They’re cheap and available at your local Walmart.

(Dawn) #13

Hi Guys, I need help with this also. I am very ignorant on this subject. I want to be able to test my ketones and my blood sugar. I want to be able to see how I react to certain types of artificial sweeteners and certain foods. I know I should know this but I am pre diabetic but not full diabetic so the Dr. isn’t really interested in having this discussion with me. And I am not sure where one can go to get training on this stuff when you are not diabetic. So I am turning to this forum. I want to know more about what is happening inside my body. I look great, I feel great and the weight is coming off, but I want to know the full picture and I think monitoring this stuff could help. I am 3 full months into keto and fully fat adapted so the strips don’t give me good info anymore. Can anyone help me with the questions below?

Are blood sugar and blood glucose the same thing? How does that relate to insulin? What is considered a good Blood glucose reading?
What is considered a good ketone reading? How should that change when fasting?
How/where to prick my finger, how often should I do it? Before and after eating?
How do you use the apparatus once you purchase it? Loading the needles, strips.etc.
What is this needle gauge stuff and how do I know which one I need? I hate pain
Do I also need to track BP as part of this to get the full picture?

Someone please point me in the right direction. I don’t want to bleed to death trying to test my blood sugars. :rofl::rofl::rofl::joy::joy::joy:

Thanks @4dml for the suggestion on which machines to buy.

(VLC.MD) #14

Yes.

only indirectly.

good = more than zero, less than 10. fasting makes it go up.

optional.

Suggestion: purchase a ketomojo.

I am slowly accumulating info about blood monitors here.
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/blood-ketone-testing-machines/20996

Glucose testing wouldn’t provide you with much information.
Focus on being a better keto eater. Fasting better. Dont worry about glucose testing.
IMO.

(Dawn) #15

YES!!! You rock the Casba. Thanks for the info. I’m heading over to put one in my cart.

(Dawn) #16

One more question, as ketones go up, should glucose go down? Or is there no correlation there?

(VLC.MD) #17

Not a solid relationship really. But …

If you are in solid ketosis, your glucose levels are pretty steady as you are running off ketones not glycogen -> glucose burning.

I wouldn’t waste a fingerprick to figure out what my glucose level is, but it is worth it to make sure you are in ketosis. here and there.

It could help you stop your “carb episodes” as you’ll see it kick you out of fat burning ketosis.

#18

Tracking the ratio of glucose to ketone (GKI) tells you what percentage of fuel your body is using of each. For example, a ratio of 1 means 50%. A ratio of 2 means 66% glucose and 33% fatty acids. As such, it may be a better measure of the level of ketosis than ketones alone.

https://www.headsuphealth.com/blog/features/tracking-glucose-ketone-index/

Since insulin levels aren’t readily measurable, blood glucose is the best proxy. The absolute level, the duration of any spikes, and the trend over time are all important. The BHB that ketone meters measure is a waste product and varies so much by individual that it can’t be standardized, unlike blood glucose.

Glucose and ketone levels tend to move inversely but not necessarily similar in magnitude nor in a steady state manner. For example, going from fasted to fed state will generally increase glucose and decrease ketones. But during a multi day fast, glucose levels may fluctuate by +/- 20% while ketones may continue to rise incrementally or remain unchanged.

(Dan) #19

Goal 179, there in indeed a correlation between ketone and glucose, in fact most combo meters use a math to determine the two (less glucose = more ketones)

I would also like to add to that the accuracy of pure glucose meters can vary a lot!. You might be cheaper of with a cheap glucose meters and their strips compared to a keto meter, but in my opinion it isnt worth it.
Keto meters or Combo meters (keto and glucose) are often more accurate and give you more information.
I found a review of two keto meters compared to eachother: http://foodadviceonline.com/keto-mojo-compared-to-precision-xtra/

I wouldn’t say everybody needs a keto meter instead of a glucose meter, if you do go for a glucose meter, do your research and find a good one!

(David S ) #20

have you guys found a good blood ketone tracker app for android?? I have the keto mojo but would like to find a way to store all the numbers that can analyze it for me to help me find possible trends!