Guest guest Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 My son, Will, is going to start the diet Oct. 11th. He is on depakote, and have been told that the urine testing wouldn't be able to be done because it can give a false positive reading. How is the blood testing done? Finger prick, draw blood from the arm, or what? Can we do it at home, or will we have to take him in to have it done? Is it done on a daily basis? Thank you for reading. (mom to Will- 29mos.; IS resolved; atonic seizures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 HI , Home test kits can be used - dual glucometer/bhb (blood ketone) testing that diabetics use. Fingerprick, same as glucose monitoring. How often in a day etc depends on seizure control really, if all is stable and urine sticks give an indication of ketosis, then you shouldn't have to do it too often. The capillary fingerprick though is not equivalent to a lab vein reading, as it is 'watered down' by plasma etc, and approx 30% is therefore added on to get a rough vein equivalent. Even though depakote can give false urine ketone readings, we still find the urine tests ok to give us a ballpark figure, ( is on dep as well) and only use the blood kit if we are changing something diet wise or finetuning in any other way. The brand most seem to use is the Medisense Precison one, (we are in NZ and that is the one also available here) and if you're lucky, you may get the test strips on script - otherwise they are v pricey, hence the other reason we don't use them often - they are not included on script items by our Govt here, so we limit them as much as possible Dep with the diet can be a tricky combination, if at all possible I would recommend trying to wean some down before Will starts the diet, but I know this isn't always the way neuros like to do it - most prefer to instead wait to guage diet response and then wean afterwards. ----- Original Message ----- From: sdklloyd@... My son, Will, is going to start the diet Oct. 11th. He is on depakote, and have been told that the urine testing wouldn't be able to be done because it can give a false positive reading. How is the blood testing done? Finger prick, draw blood from the arm, or what? Can we do it at home, or will we have to take him in to have it done? Is it done on a daily basis? Thank you for reading. (mom to Will- 29mos.; IS resolved; atonic seizures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 We were on Depakote with the diet for quite some time. I think it makes ketones much higher. Thus, if you can reduce it, I suggest it. was only able to tolerate 1:1 ratio on the depakote. With hindsight now, I really wish we would have reduced it more so that he would have been able to try the full blown 4:1 ratio and weaned all meds. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Haven't heard about false positive readings. I have heard that the combination of depakote and the ketogenic diet are about the worst. Both cause acidic blood condition apparently, so you get problems from that before you see good ketones and good seizure control. If you can wean off that you may get better results on the diet. Blood ketone testing is done like glucose, finger prick. Test stips are very expensive. It would never be done on a regular basis like urine ketones; much too expensive. Urine ketones are read at least twice a day, morning and evening. Some people do it more often, depending on how well the diet is going. Good luck on the diet, Bill sdklloyd@... wrote: > My son, Will, is going to start the diet Oct. 11th. He is on depakote, and > have been told that the urine testing wouldn't be able to be done because it > can give a false positive reading. How is the blood testing done? Finger > prick, draw blood from the arm, or what? Can we do it at home, or will we have to > take him in to have it done? Is it done on a daily basis? Thank you for > reading. > > (mom to Will- 29mos.; IS resolved; atonic seizures > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 P.S. Are you sure that the blood ketone testing doesn't give false results as well. If it is because of the acidity being off from the depakote, maybe the results are skewed there as well. Bill sdklloyd@... wrote: > My son, Will, is going to start the diet Oct. 11th. He is on depakote, and > have been told that the urine testing wouldn't be able to be done because it > can give a false positive reading. How is the blood testing done? Finger > prick, draw blood from the arm, or what? Can we do it at home, or will we have to > take him in to have it done? Is it done on a daily basis? Thank you for > reading. > > (mom to Will- 29mos.; IS resolved; atonic seizures > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Depakote (valproate) is partially eliminated in the urine as a keto metabolite, this is why it can give false positives in urine ketone readings. So in our kiddies who are already producing urine ketones, the valproate can make it appear that the kiddie is in deeper ketosis than we actually think. As it is just the metabolism of the med, and subsequent excretion in the urine affected, as far as I am aware, this means that blood ketone (bhb) readings are not affected. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Barber P.S. Are you sure that the blood ketone testing doesn't give false results as well. If it is because of the acidity being off from the depakote, maybe the results are skewed there as well. Bill sdklloyd@... wrote: > My son, Will, is going to start the diet Oct. 11th. He is on depakote, and > have been told that the urine testing wouldn't be able to be done because it > can give a false positive reading. How is the blood testing done? Finger > prick, draw blood from the arm, or what? Can we do it at home, or will we have to > take him in to have it done? Is it done on a daily basis? Thank you for > reading. > > (mom to Will- 29mos.; IS resolved; atonic seizures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 27, 2004 Report Share Posted September 27, 2004 , Sorry, I am not convinced. I would have to see some stronger information. Call me a cynic. Bill & Hill wrote: > Depakote (valproate) is partially eliminated in the urine as a keto metabolite, this is why it can give false positives in urine ketone readings. So in our kiddies who are already producing urine ketones, the valproate can make it appear that the kiddie is in deeper ketosis than we actually think. > As it is just the metabolism of the med, and subsequent excretion in the urine affected, as far as I am aware, this means that blood ketone (bhb) readings are not affected. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Bill Barber > > P.S. Are you sure that the blood ketone testing doesn't give false > results as well. If it is because of the acidity being off from the > depakote, maybe the results are skewed there as well. > > Bill > > sdklloyd@... wrote: > > My son, Will, is going to start the diet Oct. 11th. He is on depakote, and > > have been told that the urine testing wouldn't be able to be done because it > > can give a false positive reading. How is the blood testing done? Finger > > prick, draw blood from the arm, or what? Can we do it at home, or will we have to > > take him in to have it done? Is it done on a daily basis? Thank you for > > reading. > > > (mom to Will- 29mos.; IS resolved; atonic seizures > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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