Our team recently attended ATTD and came across a lot of information on continuous ketone meters. Everyone’s experiences and preferences can vary, so I’m curious to hear how you all feel about this development. Would you consider using one, and what concerns or hopes do you have regarding them?
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So I will admit here that I have NOT used ketone testing …well ever. I’ve been T1 since 1990. I am some what intrigued as maybe there is something I am missing so the idea has me interested. The old tests (urine tests) I was advised were rather unreliable. Clearly with CG 
M’s on the rise I suppose it would make sense. Can you all share a highlight or two about why testing is important?
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Hey @e1haskidiabetes! Continuous ketone meters are meant to help with keeping track of your ketones and prevent DKA. Right now in the US, we don’t have any FDA-approved devices available, so we’re still using urine test strips. However, I heard about the SiBio KS1 at the ATTD conference! I’m really curious if people would be excited to try out a device like that.
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Ketone testing is especially helpful to prevent going into DKA. I was diagnosed in the 90s and it was always a part of “sick day management”. If you start to feel bad and test and have small ketones, you can act quickly to get them down at home. But, if you end up with large ketones and they aren’t going away, it needs some medical intervention at a hospital. I’ll admit that I’m like you and I don’t test often (unless I’m really sick/throwing up or can feel it - I can definitely feel when I’m getting there). Ketones can also happen when your BG isn’t high, so you might not have as obvious of symptoms…this is when I think a CKM would be helpful!
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I think we might learn some new things with continuous ketone meters… Like others have mentioned above, checking for ketones had always been a part of sick day management, checking for site failure, etc., but I was in a study ages ago that required checking for ketones every morning, regardless of symptoms, and I frequently registered low levels. I was an n of 1, so not sure that this applies more broadly or, if it does, what it means, but was certainly interesting at the time, given all I had heard to that point was that any level of ketones was not good, but here I was popping up with some measurable amount pretty frequently.
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Given it is measuring for an outlier, I do not think I’d be buying it as a distinct sensor to wear, unless I was doing something particularly risky for DKA. If there was the option of a CGM or a combined sensor, I’d go the combined.
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I think it is cool that it is available, but I would not wear it.
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Interesting topic! Continuous ketone monitoring could be a big step forward. I’d definitely consider trying one it might help catch rising ketones earlier. Curious how accurate they’ll be and how often they’ll need calibration.
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This article could be useful: Ketones: The Unjustly Demonized Villain in T1D Management
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