Time to measure?!

(Kat Lewis) #1

(Using blood meter) When is the truest time to measure your ketosis state? Is it like weighing yourself as in before eating or drinking in the morning or is it in fact ,to be done only at night?

(Louise ) #2

Iā€™ve tended to test in the morning, as this is a truely fasted state. Your levels will be at its lowest. The reason this is a good idea is because it forms a baseline for your measures. You can of course test later in the day, however, the ranges may well be higher and / or lower with exercise and after food.

#3

Like weight, the individual number isnā€™t important, itā€™s the aggregate that yields useful information. So consistent environment is crucial. I measure ketones (and weight) in the morning after bathroom activities and prior to any food or liquid intake. This is may or may not be the lowest level (depending on food consumption) but itā€™s a replicable baseline for tracking.

(Consensus is Politics) #4

When I was diagnosed with T2D, I was taking BG samples about 5 to 10 times a day. My morning readings were always all over the place, and always the highest. A little research told me that the folks at the ā€œofficialā€, or ā€œmedicalā€ websites, which to me should really be on the bleeding edge of diabetes testing ( pun fully intended). The forums there were clueless as to the cause. Where does this sudden rise in sugar come from? They just called it ā€œSunrise Syndrome ā€œ or such, and likened it to just another unsolved mystery! My own research led me to discover that the liver produced its own glucose for use by the few organs that actually need it. It was that very piece of science that got me to think that Keto wasnā€™t just viable, but most likely a preferable diet seeing as we obviously donā€™t need to eat sugar to live as we produce it ourselves!

But I digressā€¦ so checking my BG levels slowed down to what I felt was the most important times. Just before eating, and comparing it to the BG level 30 minutes after eating. If those readings look good, not seriously out of wack, then I donā€™t test the rest of the day, unless something queues me to. I think I ate too much, or realize what I ate had a lot more carbs than I thought it did. Then Iā€™ll test again, and if BG is high, Iā€™ll jump on my bike for about an hour, and retest.

[EDIT: I officially remove my endorsement of the CVS brand glucometer. It has been off horribly. As much as 60 points. This morning I tested with it, I showed 164. Yowza, Test again, 158, sighā€¦ Test again, 138. I then tested with the one the VA gave me (that has test strips that cost $1 each). It showed me 109, with a second test of 108. I tested with the cvs brand again, 148 :face_with_raised_eyebrow:]

I went to CVS pharmacy and purchased the CVS brand BG meter. It was on sale for $10. The strips are relatively cheap. $12 for 50 count. So I buy those all the time. They have the same accuracy as the other meter the VA gave me, which has test strips that cost $50 for 50 count. So I do my official VA BG Test every other day, once a day, per prescription. And do the testing I need with my cheap meter as often as I want.

Finally, to answer your question there doesnā€™t seem to be a best time to test. If I had to Test only once, I would test one hour after eating. If BG level was high then, then I would know I should worry. If I was just testing to see how I was doing for the ā€˜fun of itā€™ :roll_eyes: then iā€™d Do it before dinner. After a day of burning off everything, and before eating the evening meal.