Are you drinking plenty of water? Dehydration usually registers high levels on Ketostix which are, as I hope you know, fairly unreliable. Did you recently eat carbs and are you going through keto flu again?

I get high readings on the urine Ketostix all the time. It can be because I had something with coconut oil. That increases the ketones in the urine. It could be because I didn't get enough water. It's the blood value that matters because what comes in your breath (Ketonix) and urine (Ketostix) are waste products. The ketone that really matters is the beta hydroxybutarate, which you can measure with the expensive ketone blood monitor. I wouldn't be too concerned about the urine sticks. In fact, as you stay with ketosis, you might not even have a reading on the urine sticks even though you are in full nutritional ketosis.

i get my blood ketone strips on eBay dirt cheap. About .85 a strip, including the 20.00 shipping from AUS. Here is a link if you are interested.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221408471176?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I have the precision Xtra meter so i can do both glucose and ketone...these strips are for the freestyle optimum, but they are the same strip...same part number. etc.

I also get my glucose strips on ebay or amazon. I ran out the other day while on travel and had to get some at CVS to the tune of 89 bucks. I was peeved.

BansheeCat wrote: »

@Booksandbeaches
As of a day ago I was hoping I was passed ketostix phase because I wasn't registering however it was just my cycle playing tricks on me again.

I'd like to get the ketone breathelizer (msp) by Ketonix but the Sport version seems to be sold out. It measures acetone (ketones secreted during extended ketosis). The Sport in particular is more accurate than the other model based on reviews I've read.

You're correct--The blood test is the most accurate but the strips that go with it aren't, plus their very pricy ($5 bucks a strip). I guess if push came to shove I'd get them if I can't get the breath reader. Or, I can assume ketosis based on the way I feel like a lot of people do. It's something to think about.

http://ketodietapp.com/Blog/post/2013/11/30/Ketosis-Measuring-Ketones

BansheeCat,

When I first went online for the Ketonix, they were out. I ordered it anyway. It only took about two weeks to get it. They have a FaceBook page that tells when the next batches are made and if there are any holdups. Check it out...

Dan the Man from Pork Rind Land

<I hear the breathilizer may pose similar issues as ketostix.>

Well, I don't know, I haven't heard that. It does work. When I am keeping carbs low, it is in the suggested range. When I water fast, it goes high (red). As soon as I eat again, it goes in the suggested range.

I think, if a person wanted to skip the cost of the meter, just stay below 25G of carbs a day and no more than 100g of protein (just like all the "old-timers" have been saying on this list over and over.)

PatchEFog is the expert. Drop her a note.

Dan the Man from Pork Rinds Land (Michigan)

Just a thought... If you weren't registering in the ketostix at all a few days ago, maybe you weren't in ketosis. Now, that you're registering really high, maybe you're back in ketosis and therefore going through the ketoflu again?

Is three weeks long enough to not register on the sticks anymore? Because I've been doing this for two months, drink 4 liters of water a day and still register on varying degrees on the urine sticks, depending on how hydrated I am.

I've read a bunch of stuff that doesn't quite fall inline with what you're saying, including stuff from my keto doctor, but I'm NO expert.

I also read yesterday a bunch of stuff on why the ketostix don't mean anything, here are the links in case you want to read them:
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/1w8cbs/science_dont_fall_victim_to_ketone_envy_ever/
There are others on reddit on this issue, but this seemed the most legit.

DittoDan wrote: »

I heard that when a person drinks a lot of water, it dilutes the pee/ketones to where the sticks don't measure right or you get low readings.

Dan the Man

DD;

Crisb's post is pretty much spot on (IMO).

The "dilution" issue is but one of a myriad of reasons that the styx are (again, IMO), basically a useless waste of money and provide, at BEST, unreliable results.

It's actually worse than just "unreliable", in many instances the results have been shown to be flat out wrong, prompting the users to make unnecessary and oft times counterproductive changes in their diets.

Ketosis, as you know is not an "on/off" switch and while the styx purport to place the test results on a "scale" (by color), even the "in (or out of) keto" results are wrong as often as they are correct.

It's a generalization but for "most" people, maintaining a LCHF (<20/day) diet for a period of time will almost guarantee that ketone levels will begin to rise (slowly).

How long the process takes appears to be most closely tied to the level of carbs ingested daily and the specifics of one's diet for the period leading up to the beginning of LCHF (for someone changing overnight to 20/day when they had been ingesting 250/day prior to starting it will take a lot longer than someone moving from 40 to 20.

In fact, almost anyone who skips breakfast after awakening from a night's sleep will see mildly elevated ketone levels (although likely not detectable with the styx) - simply as a result of the body's natural reaction to the depletion of glycogen stores.

While some MAY see levels rise and approach "adapted" levels in a matter of days, most DO NOT. It just doesn't happen that quickly - weeks (or even months) for most - regardless of what the styx "say".

For those who simply "must" know the actual numbers (which, other than those actually engaged in n1 sorts of research I can't understand the reason why) the blood test is the only, proven, practical method for home users, although it is expensive.

The recently released breath analyzer is more economical and has shown promising results but I think the jury is still out as to accuracy.

If I absolutely, positively, just "had to" know the actual numbers I'd probably go with the breath meter - one because I don't "do" needles and two because I'm too cheap to buy the meter and strips for the blood tests.