Test Breath Ketones without a Ketonix (using a cheap breathalyzer)

ketonix
acetone
breath
(Paolo Di Donato) #223

Haha that’s a real bummer

(Paolo Di Donato) #224

I will check into those! Sorry for the redundancy

(roxanna) #225

Hrm, I went out of ketosis this weekend and blew 0 with 6 seconds and then this morning back in and blew .23 after eating on point yesterday.

(Kristin Rogers) #226

I’m just wading through this thread, so not sure if anyone else has said this - but I think I might just not have the acetone thing in my breath. I have a ketonix, and a blood ketone meter and just got a BAC device.
I am usually in ketosis by blood (1.1 today), but rarely showed anything much on the ketonix (so I stopped using it - it’s just a hassle).
Blew zero on the BAC, and then tested my blood. I was hoping for an easy on the fly test for ketosis, but looks like that’s not for me.
Long story short, I wouldn’t assume you aren’t in ketosis from this test alone.
Cheers -K

(What The Fast?!) #227

I don’t feel or smell it, if it makes you feel any better. :slight_smile: i test constantly.

(Paolo Di Donato) #228

Sounds like you’re really on top of testing. What do the BAC and Ketonix tell you vs blood testing out of curiosity? This is something I am very interested in - learning what happens after the BHB is detected in blood… ‘They’ say acetocetate forms then acetone is the by-product from the breath, understanding that relationship is difficult. I think tracking BHB to a reliable breath analysis would be a step in the right direction but the breath analysis technology does not appear to be reliable in my opinion

(Christopher Avery) #229

Hi, Here’s a data point for you.

I got the generic $7 breathalyzer from ebay that matches the GreenWon photo above. I’ve had it about three weeks and have never registered a reading EXCEPT after drinking alcohol.

I assume I’m in ketosis as I haven’t ingested more than 10-15 carbs a day for 9 weeks.

So, maybe I have a bad unit. Maybe I’ll buy another and see. Maybe I won’t.

(roxanna) #230

Did you try the only blowing for 6 seconds?

(Paolo Di Donato) #231

Yes, I’ve had the same experience with the GreenWon device. I have registered 0.1 a few times but something doesn’t seem right based on my eating habits, though I will continue to play with it.

(Christopher Avery) #232

If you are asking me @roxanna, yes, I’ve tried blowing for differing lengths of time.

#233

Not at all. I’m saying we need to avoid generalising.

When I blow 0 with a 10 second read I wait 5 mins and try again. It works fine. Given the breathalyzer is 22X cheaper than a ketonix I think we can cut it some slack on the occasional retest.

#234

I’m very excited about these comparisons. Thanks for having the patience to use all 3 tests for an extended period. The results will be really useful to everyone.

(Roxanne) #235

I’m finding the same thing - if I blow for 10 seconds until it beeps, I get zero, but if I only blow 6 seconds and it shows “C” (for calculating, I assume) before showing the result, I usually get a positive result.

(Kristin Rogers) #236

I was hoping that the ketonix or BAC would give me a cheaper way to track my ketosis - so I could check certain foods or meals.
But for whatever reason, I don’t seem to register ketones in breath.
I am inclined to think of the blood test as the “gold standard” anyway, so I am not worried that I am not in ketosis or whatever. I would have to dig a lot deeper into the details of the metabolism to have a hypothesis about why I don’t breath acetone…

#237

I received my Greenwon ($11 Amazon) today and blew 3 times getting .05, 0.8, .07 BAC%. I’m stoked!

(Paolo Di Donato) #238

For now I think the same - gold standard in blood testing, although I would love to see something that is the cross between the GreenWon and the Ketonix - directed to keto specifically

I may just have an idea :wink:

(Paolo Di Donato) #239

Hey that’s awesome! Since their cheap maybe I’ll buy another

(Rick Burton) #240

I just received my breathalyzer from amazon this morning. I have tested it about a dozen times with myself and wife.
I am very surprised with its consistency. I blew .160 %BAC every time I blew, and the wifes #'s were the same everytime as well. I am 8 days into a water only fast.

(Cheryl Hall) #241

I’m having a good time with my Greenwon! I don’t have a blood testing device – the strips are not really in the budget at this time. But I have the urine strips and now the cheap Greenwon.

I’ven been getting consistently lower readings of 0.2 and 0.3. Had a 0.4 one morning and a 0.5 another. This morning I blew a 0.6! Yay! Even if this device is not completely accurate it is giving me an idea of how I’m doing which is fine with me. I tested my sister and great nephew many times and they always blow zero.

Just a little observation from me – when I blow higher readings my urin strips register very light so there seems to be some truth that the strips are lighter when we are using Ketones more efficiently.

I’m getting good at paying attention to how I feel – when my numbers are lower I feel different than say I felt this morning. Lower numbers = lower energy, hungrier. I can also taste the Ketones now, a very distinct metallic taste.

I’ve been at this since May 28th - no cheating - logging everything on my Carb Manager app - feeling like I may be getting fat adapted! Exciting!

(Cassy Downs) #242

Ok, I spent ALL morning reading all of the post in this group. Wow, that took time. I did this because I was at a loss. I am always at around 80-85% fat 20-25%protein and 2-5% carbs. My net carb count RARELY goes over 10! I feel great,I love my BCP and can usually go til about 2 before I am hungry and eat my macros within a 6-8 hour time period.

I purchased the Greenwon meter and when I got it my first day I was blowing a .04. Peeing on sticks and still showing a high amount of ketones. After that the numbers would average from .01 to .03. Then all of the sudden .00 everyday, every time no matter what. I was sooooooo annoyed. I am following EVERYTHING. My pee sticks showed a moderate level.

Then after reading everything thing this morning I fixed the way I would breathe into it. I blew a .00 with my old way then 10 min later I did a more relaxed breath and stopped with 4 sec left on the countdown and it was a .04. So I went and peed on my sticks and I showed a moderate level.

So I think that the breathalyzer is just touchy. I think you have to really breathe into a certain way to get the correct read. I do believe it can be accurate. I think that if you KNOW you are really following everything you just need to find a way to tweak the way you do it to make sure you get an accurate reading.