ketone testing- I have the strips

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hmjohnston

hmjohnston

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I just started testing for ketones in the urine- I bought the strips and followed the instructions- doing it twice to make sure. After 15 seconds it was darker than the negative but not as dark as the small 5.

Anyone out there familiar with these? Or what do I need to get to do it by a meter?

Thanks.
 
If you are talking about KETOSTIX there is a legend on the side of the container I think... compare the color you got to the colors in the legend.... are you saying it's between trace and 5? I can't remember the values on the container at the moment.
 
it is between negative and a trace- the smallest amount.

she hasn't been eating a lot and has such high numbers followed by low ones so I was asked about the ketones and I had no idea. I just bought the only box W-M had today and it was the strips. I didn't know you could measure by a meter. Another possibility on the high numbers was too large a dose so she was rebounding.

I am going to start at the beginning as I am not sure the vet did that and start out giving her 1 unit of PZI on a 12/12 schedule.

What do I need to do if she is starting to show them in her urine? How often do I need to test? It would be in the evenings when I am home.

Thanks!
 
Hi Heather,

I use the urine strips to test my Kitty. My Kitty was DKA at one time, and her reading on the ketone stix at the time of Diagnosis was 50 or moderate. Since her recovery from DKA, I have never had any test results other than negative. I know we have had some PZI users that post in our forum, that have seen trace readings on the urine strips--- but, the test reverted back to negative the next day.

I just got out my bottle of Reli On Ketone strips and the key on the side of the bottle goes from ...negative (0)....trace (5) .....small (15). You referred to your test being between negative and small not negative and trace in your initial post.......is that what you are seeing? I would be more concerned with a small reading than a trace.

Please confirm is it trace or small that you are seeing?

Kim
 
hmjohnston said:
I just started testing for ketones in the urine- I bought the strips and followed the instructions- doing it twice to make sure. After 15 seconds it was darker than the negative but not as dark as the small 5.

Anyone out there familiar with these? Or what do I need to get to do it by a meter?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


That is because the strip is now wet. Run one under water and you should see a similar color.
 
So she just had a trace of ketones, correct? Did it match the trace color? You don't really need a meter to read the ketostix. Do you have a hypo kit as suggested? Don't panic. A trace reading is not too bad, you do have to watch him though and attend to him now so it doesn't get worse. How long has it been since she ate or drank? Her numbers are really high. Did she eat something she shouldn't?

Melanie & Racci
 
I use the Precision Xtra meter to check for ketones. Missy would never let me catch urine! The meter was not very expensive, but it is hard to find the ketone strips for it. None of the drugstores locally had them, although one could order them overnight. I found CVS the cheapest source for the strips. I like the meter because there is no 'stalking' the action in the litterbox.....Miss usually pees when I am in bed :shock: . Also, you can use the same "poke" for testing the BG and ketones, as long as it is a big enough droplet. I just have both meters ready, strips out and use the same blood drop. I also have been told that the meter is more accurate than the ketostix....it takes longer for the ketones to show in the urine as opposed to the blood test.
I know it is more expensive to use the meter than the ketostix, but you don't have to wait for them to pee with the meter.......you can check according to your schedule. Sometimes convenience is worth the price.
Good luck!
 
hmjohnston said:
it is between negative and a trace- the smallest amount.

she hasn't been eating a lot and has such high numbers followed by low ones so I was asked about the ketones and I had no idea. I just bought the only box W-M had today and it was the strips. I didn't know you could measure by a meter. Another possibility on the high numbers was too large a dose so she was rebounding.

I am going to start at the beginning as I am not sure the vet did that and start out giving her 1 unit of PZI on a 12/12 schedule.

What do I need to do if she is starting to show them in her urine? How often do I need to test? It would be in the evenings when I am home.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


You can't test the urine more often than she goes to the loo :-) I'd say, test as often as you feel you can.



If you are interested;

The mathematics for ketones and keto acidosis is a whole science by itself. Firstly, there is a difference between ketones and keto acidosis. Ketones are normal fatty chains in the body, and an energy fuel for most parts of the internal body. People dieting and/or not eating, and/or cutting carb food normally release more ketones (fatty chains) and it will show on both the urine a-ketone stixs and blood b-ketones meter. But as long as within the normal range (0.2-1.8, on the meter, or trace to small on urine stix) those persons aren't in any keto acidosis.

Keto acidosis for diabetics happenes when a series of inner body cells goes wacky. One thing, often overlooked is the Osmosic pressure (english name?) - drinking more water, as a unregulated diabetic does, is more water than the cells can handle, and with the great urinating that comes from drinking so much, the potassium is pushed out of the cells and also lost out of the body with the urine. That disrupts the Osmosic pressure (<300), and sets of a whole series of other inner values off the chart, and eventually the blood pH value starts to get affected and if it goes under < 7,3, that's when you have an acidosis.

You can google all this, it is out there both in published medical texts and other medical texts.
 
The reading was between negative and trace- not small. And it wasn't all the way up to trace- more like a blush of color.

She has been drinking a LOT! I have two water dishes out and she uses them both. And my toothbrush water if I leave it full and she feels like a jump. Yesterday had an increase in the drinking as I gave her a can of FF- which she finished, plus two treats- one for the poke when I got home and one for the poke just before her shot- decided to half or even quarter those. I got something grain free but I think they added a ton of sodium so will look on here for store treats that are better. My sister has two droolers who will love the extra bag of treats. Hence the long drinks at the water bowl.

She looks at me funny as I am hovering over her while she is digging around for that perfect spot and then hops out without doing anything leaving me there with a spoon. The expression on her face is close to "Voyeur! Leave me alone!" I'll try again tonight.
 
Heather,
Just to clarify what Kim was saying (I saw you mention this in another thread)
Since her recovery from DKA, I have never had any test results other than negative. I know we have had some PZI users that post in our forum, that have seen trace readings on the urine strips--- but, the test reverted back to negative the next day.
Click to expand...

It wasn't the PZI that caused the trace ketone reading. Kim usually posts for the most part in PZI because her Kitty is on PZI. Several people who post there have gotten trace readings one day, and then the next check came up "negative", but it wasn't due to the insulin causing a "positive" reading. Just that one day the ketones were present is tiny amounts, and then the next test they didn't show up.

Carl
 
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