Hello! We were told to keep
Ketodiastix (that test both glucose and ketones) on hand (my child doesn’t have a diagnosis, but is predisposed.) our pediatrician told us that if they are drinking and peeing a lot and diabetes is the cause, these sticks would be sufficient to catch it because sugar is definitely spilling over into the urine by that point and the bg rating would be off. Is this correct? Also, is there a time window with the urine strips that is best to test? Is it longer than a blood test because it’s urine? Thank you!
Any form of ketone testing strip whether urine or blood will work if you are just monitoring for possible ketones. With the urine strips I would advise doing several tests over the course of the day if you suspect ketones because they will lag behind blood by several hours. The blood ketone strips will show ketones immediately and are best for close monitoring of ketones (such as illness).
Urine strips are much cheaper but once the vial is opened they go bad quickly. Blood strips are more up front as you also need a meter to use the tests strips but the strips are individually packaged so you don’t have to worry about them going bad aside from normal expiration dates.
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Glucose strips are what you need. Ketones will show up after high glucose has been a problem for a while.
Any amount of glucose in the urine is a problem, so that would be key.
If you check urine 2 hours after the biggest meal of the day, it will be the best chance to catch it.
My whole life, medical staff have been telling me to check ketones. Sometimes I have small amounts of ketones in my urine, but so what, it only matters if you are in ketones acidosis which is an extreme level,of ketones.
The few times that I have been in ketoacidosis, I’ve been horribly sick, vomiting and dizzy and weak.
So I don’t bother checking ketones.
Thank you so much. I’m not looking for ketones, but rather glucose in the urine. The strips I have test for both. I just wasn’t sure how accurate they are as compared to blood, but I don’t have a glucometer.
Yes, my kids and I it seems very often have ketones in the urine pretty much every time I’ve checked and I definitely dont have type 1. So I ignore that and look for glucose. I don’t have a glucometer at the moment but The urine strips were just opened yesterday. Do you think they’re pretty accurate if testing after biggest meal? Thank you!!
I don’t know about the accuracy, but the BG at which glucose spills over into urine is high (160-180?) and the detection limit of the strips is even higher. If multiple daily urine tests will be needed, once a day test strips might not be much more expensive. The test strips I use are sold at pharmacies in a nonstandard (e.g. insurance won’t cover) quantity at half the insured cost.
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If you eat a lower carb, high protein diet, you are more likely to see ketones in urine.
Early signs of diabetes is when pancreas is no longer producing enough insulin. Without insulin, glucose cannot get into cells, and ketones usually go up.
If you reduce fats/proteins from diet, more carbs, you would likely see little or no urine ketones.
You could do glucose only urine after meals, and if positive, then do ketones if you see high glucose. Glucose only strips are usually much cheaper.
Losing weight quickly, always thirsty/hungry are also signs of diabetes, and convinced my Mom it was time to see doctor. I was diagnosed at age 5 when only urine testing was available.
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If you are talking type 1 in a young child, the symptoms will be noticeable. You seem to have a good handle on what they are and are watching for them.
I went from a perfectly happy healthy youngster, to coma in about a week. Sugar in the urine will show up first. Ketones come later. But testing when you might think the symptoms are showing up, urine test strips will work. I wouldn’t be doing it all the time because you could drive yourself and your child crazy with worry.
I would suggest keeping supplies on hand, whether it’s urine or blood testing strips, and live your life! It will be ok and you may never go down this road.
My one child tested positive for multiple antibodies when testing for the Trailnet study. We worried and worried and worried! But she is almost 30 and nothing! All that early worrying was not needed. We all know the symptoms and we all know what to do if something happens. But no longer worrying about it.
Good luck and keeping my fingers crossed that your story line will be like ours!