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

ketonix
acetone
breath
(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

Iā€™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 - itā€™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 thatā€™s not for me.
Long story short, I wouldnā€™t assume you arenā€™t in ketosis from this test alone.
Cheers -K

(What The Fast?!) #227

I donā€™t feel or smell it, if it makes you feel any better. :slight_smile: i test constantly.

(Paolo Di Donato) #228

Sounds like youā€™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 bloodā€¦ ā€˜Theyā€™ 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, Hereā€™s a data point for you.

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

I assume Iā€™m in ketosis as I havenā€™t ingested more than 10-15 carbs a day for 9 weeks.

So, maybe I have a bad unit. Maybe Iā€™ll buy another and see. Maybe I wonā€™t.

(roxanna) #230

Did you try the only blowing for 6 seconds?

(Paolo Di Donato) #231

Yes, Iā€™ve had the same experience with the GreenWon device. I have registered 0.1 a few times but something doesnā€™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, Iā€™ve tried blowing for differing lengths of time.

#233

Not at all. Iā€™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

Iā€™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

Iā€™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 ā€œCā€ (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 donā€™t seem to register ketones in breath.
I am inclined to think of the blood test as the ā€œgold standardā€ 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 donā€™t breath acetoneā€¦

#237

I received my Greenwon ($11 Amazon) today and blew 3 times getting .05, 0.8, .07 BAC%. Iā€™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 thatā€™s awesome! Since their cheap maybe Iā€™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

Iā€™m having a good time with my Greenwon! I donā€™t have a blood testing device ā€“ the strips are not really in the budget at this time. But I have the urine strips and now the cheap Greenwon.

Iā€™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 Iā€™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 ā€“ 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.

Iā€™m getting good at paying attention to how I feel ā€“ 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.

Iā€™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.

(Cheryl Hall) #243

@Cassydowns
I take a deep breath and and breathe out slowly from deep down in my lungs and belly. When you breathe out steadily and slowly like this your tummy will rise - itā€™s like Iā€™m emptying all of the air from my organs. I seem to get consistently good readings like this. Just a thoughtā€¦