Question:
What are Ketone stixs and where can we find them?

   — carman (posted on March 5, 2008)

March 5, 2008
Keto-stix are found in any drug store or pharmacy (in grocery stores) that carry diabetic supplies. They measure the amount of Ketones in your urine with a color coded bar. When you are in "Ketosis" you are dumping stored body fat and muscle... losing weight.(This is why protein and exercise is so important to build muscles that your body wants to burn as fuel) When the body has no carbs or sugar to burn it burns the stored fat. This is what you are trying to do in the beginning stages of WLS! Ketones leave your mouth smelling kinda like rotten fruit. And you can often smell it in the urine too. If you are eating sugary foods and snacking on carbs that are not complex carbs, your body will burn those first and your weight loss will be slower. The body LOVES to burn sugar and bad carbs...so the more you eat, the more your body craves! Eat less of those things..Lose more fat! Keto Stix are about $8-15 a bottle of 50 strips...Test once every few days to monitor how mild or heavy the ketones are that you are burning.
   — .Anita R.

March 5, 2008
Thank you I feel real stupid now, But thank I will get me some.
   — carman

March 5, 2008
Thanks for your helpful answer! It was a good question, too. I didn't know much about Ketones but I do now!
   — cherub13

March 7, 2008
Hi Carmen, Don't feel stupid. Managing blood sugar can be really tricky. Ketones are excreted in the urine as a sign that our body does not have enough insulin to netabolize the food we eat. It can result in dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and coma. It is nothing to play with. unless you are on insulin, testing a few times a week will be sufficient. Early signs of ketoacidosis include: Thirst, loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, listlessness, drowsiness, visual disturbances, hot flushed appearance. Later manifestations include a sweetish odor on your breath, low BP, drowsiness, leading to coma, Kussmaul breathing (deep but not labored breathing) which is a sign of profound acidosis. I'm not trying to scare you, but it is something to watch carefully. Test on certain days routinely and you will be able to keep a handle on it. ( Mon. and Thurs.) or (Tues. Fri. Sun.) Hope this helps. LMS
   — Triumphant_Daily