I just restarted Atkins again a week ago and I have Ketone Stix by TestMedia left from when I did it this summer. There is no expiration date on them but when I test (I should be in ketosis) the strips don't change color but become dark gray. I don't see a hint of purple in them although I am not drinking very much water so if I was a bit dehydrated I wouldn't be surprised. But they just go from gray to dark gray and if I remember correctly it seemed that when I did it before they were more of a tan color (closer to the neutral color on the bottle). I am wondering if my strips are too old or what. I know the strips aren't the be all end all of Atkins but I would like some confirmation so have the encouragement to stick with it. Has anyone had this problem? I was considering having my 5 year old pee on it to get a non-Atkins sample! Please help.
thanks

Hi there, and welcome!

The stix only have a shelf life of about 6 months after they've been opened. It does sound as though yours are outdated.

Personally I never bother with the things. They can be inaccurate for many reasons, giving false positive and false negative results. So I would just carry on with your plan, and worry about the weight, not the stix.

You'll find more info about ketostix in Low Carb Tips, on the orange bar at the top of the screen.

Rosebud

I didn't read anything on the container about them expiring so I appreciate the information. I will throw them away now and try to rely on the weight only. It is just nice to know when I am in ketosis. I did Atkins this summer and I think I was relying too heavily on low carb foods and sweets (and not eating enough protein) so having the strips then helped me see that even though I was not eating a lot of carbs I wasn't in ketosis. I am trying to be very strict this time but I just wanted that confirmation. It has only been six days and I guess I have lost 3 pounds but I want more!! We will see how next week goes.

Thanks

Hi,

I have been using my ketosis stix and I have had them probably a year or more. They are working great.....I stay dark purple! I don't know what is wrong with yours though? Maybe they were already on the shelf a while at the store even before you bought them and now have had enough time to get old? I would buy some more if you like to use them. Me personally......I like to see my ketosis stix change, the weighing scale, and my measurements too because it keeps me motivated. I am the kind of person that has to have some reason to carry on with dieting because I have so much to lose and have been at it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long.

Good Luck!!!

April

212/202/135

It sounds like my stix are bad and I will have to get some more. Perhaps I will split a bottle with someone since I have about 80 left that went bad!!

I tried getting them wet with water and there was no difference in color between the water and urine. That was a clear indicator that they weren't working but they didn't have an expiration date or indicate the shelf life on the bottle at all. They have been in my medicine cabinet in the bathroom for about 6 months so maybe some moisture got to them.

thanks for the info.

You shouldn't use any ketostix over 6 months old. They definitely won't be working correctly (either giving no result or false positives). I have them and used them a lot during induction (like 3 times a day!) just to make me feel better; now, I hardly bother with them except maybe after I cheat a bit just to see if I'm still okay or not. It's probably a waste of money to buy them. If you do get some, just get the smallest bottle they have which I think is 25 stix, then cut them length wise in half to last twice as long.

I never thought of cutting them in half. That would be great since my husband and I are both doing it. When I bought them they only had 100 bottles so I didn't know they came any smaller. Next time I will be a well educated consumer!!
Thanks

Ketostix, and basically all diagnostic strips of any kind will expire quicker once the seal on the bottle has been openend, and can be speedup by moister/humidity (like keeping them in a bathroom). Keep them stored in a cool dark place were the temperature is relitivly even (usually between 2 - 30 degrees celcius). Make sure the cap is well sealed very securly to keep out air/moister.

I am thinking there should have been an expiry date on the bottle you purchased, but maybe it was on the outside packaging (box) of this item.

I don't really feel you need Ketostix unless you are having problems losing the weight and need to test if you are in Ketosis.


Sccuffy

I had the same problem. I was using old keto stiks and I couldn't make them turn. I finally went and got new ones even though the expiration day said my old ones were fine. When I got the new ones they immediately turned. I didn't realize the ex. date was only good if they had not been opened.
It made me feel alot better to know I was in ketosis. I've only lost 3 pounds so far on induction, but seeing that stik turn purple made me feel better.

I did think it was weird that my bottle didn't have an expiration date on it nor did it say anything about storage or 6 months after opening. I will now know, not to keep them in the bathroom and to write the date I open them on the top. I also think I will try to buy less than 100 or split a bottle wth a friend.

Thanks for the support!! I am down 5.8 pounds and only have 2 days of induction left!! I can't wait to start eating Advantage bars with my coffee in the morning!! It is so much easier than making bacon and sausage and eggs!

I almost cheated yesterday when my oldest (5) slip his eyebrow and required stitches. I was gone all day, starving, at the ER and getting the other two picked up (3 1/3 y.o. and 17 mo old) while my husband was unreachable by phone at a conference. It was such a crazy day and I came home completely exhausted and starving and I really wanted nachos or pizza or cheesecake but my husband said he would go where I wanted to pick something up and so I stayed strong and had hot wings with bleu cheese and an italian soda (sugar free of course). So I am hoping I will continue to lose since I have a long way to go!!

I almost cheated Wed when I had to take my 2 1/2 year old to emergency myself (she had stuffed a large plastic bead up her nose - goodnes knows why).

My husband had gone with me as it was about 10 at night when she did this, and while I went in to see the dr to remove this plastic thingamagig, he went and bought me a French vanilla coffee thing from a machine.

Wheeew that was a hard one to resist, but even before I gave it a second thought I had located a garbage can and threw the whole thing out. I hate to waste things so this was very hard to do.

Oh yeah the bead came out, the Dr. had me close the unpluged nostrile and blow really hard into my daughter's mouth, and the bead came out.

It still makes me laugh to think that she blamed this bead being up her nose on our cat.

Your husband sounds very supportive, and my is starting to support me more.

It gets easier not to cheat when you can actually see the results, doesnt' it?

Sccuffy

Sccuffy,
WOW!! That is self control! That would have been a tough one for me!! Although coffee vending machines aren't usally all that tempting so maybe I could have been strong!! Who knows! Good for you! Keep up the good work!

My daughter (3 1/2) stuck a lego up her nose the Friday before Halloween and we had to go to the ER (where we were told it would be at least an hour before she got to triage!!) Fortunately my MIL was there with me and she was going to try to go in with her acryllic nails. We started with getting her to blow and it came out after only 15 min in the ER (and we never even saw a dr) I was very grateful that it was over and she was actully was in bed by 9:00!! (it happened at 7:45)

So fortunately this time I have stuck to induction this whole time with no cheating, except a friend brought me a sugar free breve (12 carbs) about a week ago and it was so sweet of her (and sugar free), that I drank it (and enjoyed every minute of it) I wasn't over 20 grams for the day but it was probably not the right mix of protien and carbs, oh well. I am still losing.

My husband is very supportive although he only has 15 pounds to lose and he has already lost 5 on induction so he is already thinking of what to do after induction and he wants to switch to the South Beach Diet for more variety and wants me to join him. I don't know if I could give up my heavy whipping cream and bleu cheese dressing. We will see how it goes.

Madbovine;

I have strong self will when I am motivated, when I quite smoking about 5 years ago I used the patch for 1 week, then I went cold turkey and just dealt with the mental pressure my addiction put on me ( I had started smoking in Grade 7 and quite at the above of 27).

I just don't want to ruin all the hard work I have done, and besides I feel better.

Lego up the nose sounds painful, the ER on Wednesday was slightly full, and I guess because they say the age of my daughter and I am guessing the ease of the procedure (blow it out her nose) we were in and out in only 20 - 30 min max. I was really suprised as we see on the news here that the Hospital ER is always packed with a 6 - 12 hour waiting periord.

I love this site so much, it is my main reason for keeping my spine stiff and my diet on track.

Sccuffy