Dehydration, but urine is pale?

Dehydrated despite dilute urine? Sure, if you have a renal and/or diuretic condition where you can't concentrate your urine. Then you would be hyposthenuric or isosthenuric despite dehydration. No bueno.

A more plausible scenario, though, is not to rely on ketostix to determine your ability to concentrate urine in the face of water input (or lack thereof).

In other words, unless you have a known medical condition that would contraindicate it, rely on your urine color as a gross, rough, indicator of hydration level versus how much ketonuria you are experiencing. Which, by the way, is an expected (nay, highly desirable) by-product of low carbing. That's why low carbers use ketostix - for the visual confirmation they are "doin' it right".

(Which, for the record, isn't necessarily always the case. I never turned a ketostix darker than pale pinkish yet initially was an Atkins ver. 2003 "success".)

grinning_chick is right on point, I'm a nurse and agree completely with her above statement! Another way to determine your hydration status and kidney functioning is not only the way your urine looks which yes does usually indicate how hydrated you are, but how often you're urinating.

There are medical conditions which cause you to be constantly thirsty and constantly urinating, bad news, but I would have to agree with what was said above about relying on the keto thing.

Firstly, unless you are feeling unwell l don't see why you keep testing your urine and bgl. Drink water and cut out the diuretic (coke) and you shouldn't be feeling dehydrated. Worrying unnecessarily about things you don't have will just cause you stress. See a doctor if you think it's serious.

I pis# like a camel, but that's probably because I easily drink over a gallon of water a day. It is also rainbow coloured because of them vitamins. Its actually quite beautiful when the light hits it. True story.

cassandranken wrote: »

I've been afraid of becoming diabetic (4'9'' 184lb) so I do have a glucose meter lying around. I actually had it because my dog was diabetic but after she passed I kept it. I used to check fairly often, but not anymore. Never had a doctor warn me I was even close to developing diabetes. On my days off I don't drink much water honestly, and urinate 2-3 times a day...but I sleep most of the day, as I work night shift. At work I drink more water, to keep myself awake mostly. But obviously I urinate more during that time because I'm drinking more.

Something I did notice is that I've had less problems with my blood sugar dipping. While no one has told me I'm diabetic, I did used to get low blood sugar if I didn't eat for 5-6 hours. I think I had one mild episode at work last week when I didn't eat for 6 hours. Otherwise, though, I've had a much better time since starting keto. Then again, back then I would drink 4-6 sodas a day, pizza, cake, sandwiches galore, etc. So that's probably why.

Stop the self-testing, worrying and self-diagnosing. It will only add stress and make you act paranoid. If you suspect there is soemthing wrong with your health, talk to the dr. Stop testing without dr instructions, chances are your conclusions will be just wrong, and either have you worried over nothing, or create a false sense of security.
Instead of focusing on testing and worrying, work on what you can change: diet and physical activity.

cassandranken wrote: »

Either way, my goal for this upcoming month, now that I've squashed all those sugar and carb cravings (or at least learned how to say NO), is upping my water intake.

Two other easy good checks to look for dehydration. If your voice is weak, soft and airy - it's a good sign your not hydrating enough to keep your voice functioning at its normal volume and ease of effort. Also, if your eyes are not as moist as usual and feel rather dry, it's a good sign you have not adequately hydrated for your level of need or environmental factors (forced air heating/AC).

My balance (dizziness or lightheaded feeling) gets off when a bit dehydrated. I also see it in my increased heart rate doing cardio compared to my usual rate at the same effort.

My other usual checks are skin, breath, muscle cramps, food cravings for sweets, headaches, fevers or chills.

Mayo Clinics list of symptoms...

Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:

Dry, sticky mouth
Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual
Thirst
Decreased urine output
No wet diapers for three hours for infants
Few or no tears when crying
Dry skin
Headache
Constipation
Dizziness or lightheadedness

Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause:

Extreme thirst
Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults
Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes
Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be darker than normal
Sunken eyes
Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold
In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby's head
Low blood pressure
Rapid heartbeat
Rapid breathing
No tears when crying
Fever
In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

you get water from more than water.

why are you constantly testing blood sugar if youre not diabetic or pre diabetic? blood sugar fluctuates throughout the day for everyone. its called normal.

This. Unless you have been diagnosed by a doctor with a medical condition, there is no reason to be testing your urine and your blood sugar. Every perfectly health human being has times when their urine is dark, times when it's light, times when their blood sugar is high, times when it is low.

Focus on eating your calories, drinking some water, and being active. If you want, develop a relationship with a primary care physician and get an annual physical. The stress you are causing yourself is probably more dangerous than whatever you are testing yourself for!

cassandranken wrote: »

I haven't been drinking enough water. I know I haven't. I drink water at work mostly. Sometimes I'll have a 7oz coke zero, but I always make sure to follow it up by only water or tea for the rest of the night.

I picked up some Ketostix at the CVS yesterday, and I'm moderate-mild on key provided. I've heard it can be a sign of dehydration. But my urine is always very light colored. So can I still be dehydrated even when my urine is looking pale? Or maybe my Ketostix aren't that accurate? I don't intend to use them often, maybe once a week, or after an "off" day where maybe I consume more than I should/higher carbs.

Either way, my goal for this upcoming month, now that I've squashed all those sugar and carb cravings (or at least learned how to say NO), is upping my water intake.

How many carbs are you consuming per day? Are you purposefully eating a keto diet (Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, etc)? Ketosis diets will cause urine ketones to be present. When are you assessing your urine ketones (many people experience small-moderate urine ketones after fasting overnight)? Are you assessing the stick color at the 15 second mark? Using fresh urine?

Though this might not be applicable for you, ketones are also produced in instances where there is insufficient insulin in the body to utilize carbohydrate metabolism (eg: type 1 diabetes), and fatty acid metabolism takes place instead (producing urine ketones). If you are not purposefully inducing nutritional ketosis by eating a low carb diet or are experiencing other symptoms, it might be a good idea to pay a visit to your doctor to rule other medical conditions that can cause urine ketones. There are some instances where high concentrations of ketones can be toxic to the body (like in diabetic ketoacidosis, where the combination of ketones and very high blood sugar cause dehydration and the blood to become dangerously acidic), and identifying those issues quickly can be the difference between life and death.

Edit: I just saw your other post. Low-carb diets induce ketosis, which will cause ketones to be present in the urine. It's completely expected.

If you are afraid of developing diabetes, it is a good idea to talk to your doctor about your risk for it and ways you can reduce your risk (losing weight, being physically active, etc.). Otherwise, you're going to drive yourself crazy (trust me -a big portion of my life had to be dedicated to managing my diabetes. If you're also using your dog's old meter, you might be using expired test strips, which can cause some wonky results).