Advice needed: buying a glucometer and transitioning to wet food

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sarah Mc

Sarah Mc

Member Since 2017
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/samba.171268/#post-1871708

hello all,

Samba & I recently joined. He went back to the vet today, and his blood sugar was still high at 426. This is after one week on Novolin N, followed by one week on Lantus (2 units twice daily), eating Royal Canin Glycobalance. On 1/7/17, my regular vet advised us that we would need to do a glucose curve, and we were referred to an office closer to my home so that I could coordinate this with my work schedule. However, today when I met the new vet, she advised against doing a glucose curve at this time. Instead, she recommended staying on 2 units of Lantus twice daily but switching his diet to wet food right away and ordering a glucometer. We will go back to her office on 1/28/17, and she will show me how to use it so that I can do the glucose curve at home.

In regards to the glucometer, she wants me to get the Alphatrak, and I wanted to know if you would agree. I was leaning toward ReliOn due to cost, but she said that these #s cannot be compared to the vet's #s. Basically, I either get the Alphatrak and can do home monitoring and the glucose curve from home or I get the ReliOn, but she would probably want me to do the glucose curve in her office and would not be able to provide me phone consultation.

In regards to changing the food, I will mix some of the dry food in with his wet food to start, but how much Fancy Feast would you recommend that I give him per day? He loves the Classics, so I don't think that it will be a difficult switch. One can in the morning and one can at night? He has lost a significant amount of weight, and I am currently feeding him 3/4 cup of the dry food. I think that 12lbs might be an ideal weight for him.

Also, in regards to food, am I able to feed any of the following to Samba as treats when he gets his insulin?
-Pet-Ease Paw Gel (http://m.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27186) *He loves this stuff so much**
-Blue Buffalo Wilderness cat treats (meat is 1st ingredient)
-Delightibles Wild Country Meats (meat is 1st ingredient)
-Temptations (I assume not)
These were all Christmas presents, and I am not sure if I should avoid them or if they will be okay. I have tried looking online and have had trouble finding info about carb content for each of these.

Lastly, could someone please send me the link for how to make a spreadsheet? I am having trouble finding it.

Sorry so many questions. Thanks very much for your guidance.

-Sarah & Samba
 
Last edited:
Your vet sounds exactly like the last two vets I dealt with. I get annoyed when a vet tells me I have to use alpha trak meter or they can't treat my cat. I use a relion micro meter most of the time and an alpha trak 2 sometimes to do curves at home. I had to find another vet since my old one was just like your vet.
I gave Smoky three cans of FF and kept giving him less of the dry each day. Smoky lost weight too, 14 pounds down to 7.5 lbs.
I give him as much food as he wants right now to try and get the weight back on him. He is only up to 8.8 lbs now. Just remember that his BG may drop a lot once he transition over to all wet food.
Your vet should not have told you to go "cold turkey" and stop the dry food all at once. This could result in BG dropping too fast and the insulin dose you are giving him cld be too much and cause a hypo.
I am not sure about the snacks, I cld try and find the link for you.
 
I'll send you a private message regarding the SS. Please click on "inbox" in upper right corner of this page and you'll see the message.
 
Sarah Mc said:
hello all,

Samba & I recently joined. He went back to the vet today, and his blood sugar was still high at 426. This is after one week on Novolin N, followed by one week on Lantus (2 units twice daily), eating Royal Canin Glycobalance. On 1/7/17, my regular vet advised us that we would need to do a glucose curve, and we were referred to an office closer to my home so that I could coordinate this with my work schedule. However, today when I met the new vet, she advised against doing a glucose curve at this time. Instead, she recommended staying on 2 units of Lantus twice daily but switching his diet to wet food right away and ordering a glucometer. We will go back to her office on 1/28/17, and she will show me how to use it so that I can do the glucose curve at home.

In regards to the glucometer, she wants me to get the Alphatrak, and I wanted to know if you would agree. I was leaning toward ReliOn due to cost, but she said that these #s cannot be compared to the vet's #s. Basically, I either get the Alphatrak and can do home monitoring and the glucose curve from home or I get the ReliOn, but she would probably want me to do the glucose curve in her office and would not be able to provide me phone consultation.

In regards to changing the food, I will mix some of the dry food in with his wet food to start, but how much Fancy Feast would you recommend that I give him per day? He loves the Classics, so I don't think that it will be a difficult switch. One can in the morning and one can at night? He has lost a significant amount of weight, and I am currently feeding him 3/4 cup of the dry food. I think that 12lbs might be an ideal weight for him.

Also, in regards to food, am I able to feed any of the following to Samba as treats when he gets his insulin?
-Pet-Ease Paw Gel (http://m.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27186) *He loves this stuff so much**
-Blue Buffalo Wilderness cat treats (meat is 1st ingredient)
-Delightibles Wild Country Meats (meat is 1st ingredient)
-Temptations (I assume not)
These were all Christmas presents, and I am not sure if I should avoid them or if they will be okay. I have tried looking online and have had trouble finding info about carb content for each of these.

Lastly, could someone please send me the link for how to make a spreadsheet? I am having trouble finding it.

Sorry so many questions. Thanks very much for your guidance.

-Sarah & Samba
Click to expand...
The AlphaTrak meter gives numbers very close to what the vet would measure but the cost of the strips is prohibitive. You could use the AlphaTrak strictly for BG curves that your vet wants to see and use the more economical human meter for routine testing. They'll read differently but you'll soon learn the ranges they give when BG is too high, OK or too low. Not having to pay for a glucose curve at the vet's office will more than compensate for the extra cost of AlphaTrak strips.

Most cats lose weight when their FD is unregulated. There's no need to limit meals if your kitty is under weight. I think that only two cans of Fancy Feast a day is not enough food. Many of us feed several meals a day.

Orijen freeze dried meat treats are very good for FD kitties, as are Pure Bites freeze dried meat treats. The latter are available at Pet Smart stores.
 
Last edited:
Lisa and Smoky said:
Your vet sounds exactly like the last two vets I dealt with. I get annoyed when a vet tells me I have to use alpha trak meter or they can't treat my cat. I use a relion micro meter most of the time and an alpha trak 2 sometimes to do curves at home. I had to find another vet since my old one was just like your vet.
I gave Smoky three cans of FF and kept giving him less of the dry each day. Smoky lost weight too, 14 pounds down to 7.5 lbs.
I give him as much food as he wants right now to try and get the weight back on him. He is only up to 8.8 lbs now. Just remember that his BG may drop a lot once he transition over to all wet food.
Your vet should not have told you to go "cold turkey" and stop the dry food all at once. This could result in BG dropping too fast and the insulin dose you are giving him cld be too much and cause a hypo.
I am not sure about the snacks, I cld try and find the link for you.
Click to expand...

Thank you. That was helpful info about using Alphatrak for the curves and the other for the rest. The test strips for the Alphatrak are so expensive. I'm sorry your cat has lost so much weight, but it sounds like you are taking really good care of him, and I'm happy to hear that he has gained more than a pound back :) I will watch carefully for hypo. Right now he is eating 2 cans of FF a day plus 1/2 cup of dry food.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
The AlphaTrak meter gives numbers very close to what the vet would measure but the cost of the strips is prohibitive. You could use the AlphaTrak strictly for BG curves that your vet wants to see and use the more economical human meter for routine testing. They'll read differently but you'll soon learn the ranges they give when BG is too high, OK or too low. Not having to pay for a glucose curve at the vet's office will more than compensate for the extra cost of AlphaTrak strips.

Most cats lose weight when their FD is unregulated. There's no need to limit meals if your kitty is under weight. I think that only two cans of Fancy Feast a day is not enough food. Many of us feed several meals a day.

Orijen freeze dried meat treats are very good for FD kitties, as are Pure Bites freeze dried meat treats. The latter are available at Pet Smart stores.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your advice... it sounds like I should go ahead and purchase the AlphaTrak meter to do the glucose curve at home. For future testing, though, I see that you use the freestyle lite strips. I read about the difference in #s between the freestyle lite strips and the Alphatrak strips (freestyle seems to consistently read lower and needs to be set to code 7?). Would you advise that I can try using the freestyle lite strips as well or would it be too confusing for me as a beginner? Purchasing two meters right now sounds expensive, but if that's the best way to go, I will try to make it work...

In regards to the food, I'm not sure that Samba is currently underweight at 1olbs 15 oz. I think his ideal weight might be 12lbs, but he was previously overweight at 14lbs. He gained 15oz in two weeks since diagnosis on 12/31/16 and was 10lbs when diagnosed. Right now, I am feeding him 2 cans of FF plus 1/2 cup of dry food daily to transition him off of the dry food. I am still trying to figure out whether it would be best for him to have 3, 3.5 or 4 cans of the FF daily once he is totally off the dry food. I definitely do not want to deprive him, but going back to his original 14lbs would probably not be great for him either, as his vet had always said that he should lose a few pounds.

Thanks for the info about the treats. He loves the freeze dried Pure Bites chicken :)
 
Sarah Mc said:
Thank you. That was helpful info about using Alphatrak for the curves and the other for the rest. The test strips for the Alphatrak are so expensive. I'm sorry your cat has lost so much weight, but it sounds like you are taking really good care of him, and I'm happy to hear that he has gained more than a pound back :) I will watch carefully for hypo. Right now he is eating 2 cans of FF a day plus 1/2 cup of dry food.
Click to expand...
I personally love my alpha track and love having the same meter my vet uses. Once I started home testing cc never had to go back to the vet.... I just emailed her my spreadsheet.

The cheapest place to get the strips is adw.com. Plus they always have a discount code. I get 50 for $48 after a $5 code.

Temptations are a huge no, but save them for hypo problems. I found from personal experience they raise numbers fast. 3 can raise my cats bg 100 points in a short period of time.

I am thinking the gel has loads of carbs.
 
Sarah Mc said:
I see that you use the freestyle lite strips.
Click to expand...
I have an AlphaTrak meter and use the very expensive AT strips only when I want to double check a low number. The Freestyle Lite strips are made by the same manufacturer as the AT strips and are identical with one exception. The AT strips are batch tested to ensure that they will give an accurate BG reading when the AT meter is set at the code corresponding to the cat code on the vial of AT strips. The FS Lite strips don't undergo this special batch testing. However, I put them in my AT meter to test BG, not in a Freestyle Lite meter. I routinely start a new vial of FS strips by doing 3 or 4 same blood drop BG comparisons: test with AT strip in AT meter then FS strip in AT meter. So far the FS strips in the AT meter read slightly higher than the AT strips in the AT meter by a small amount of 3 - 7%.

In the US, FS Lite strips are still quite expensive. Here in Canada, they're still expensive but much less than the AT strips. Those cost me $102 CAD for a vial of 50 from my vet whereas at the right time I can pay as little as $36 for 50 of the FS Lite strips.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
The Freestyle Lite strips are made by the same manufacturer as the AT strips and are identical with one exception
Click to expand...
No longer true. The Freestyle Lite strips are now made by a different company. The AT is made by Zoetis. The Freestyle Lite is made by Abbott. Not sure I'd want to risk my kitties health on them always working together if made by a different company.

Your plan of getting the Relion Confirm or Micro meter (or the Glucocard01 from ADW) for everyday use is a good one. The strips are cheaper and easy to get on evenings or weekends if you are running low. You could get an AT if you want to keep your vet in the loop for dosing. After a couple of times when I had a hard time getting a reply from my vet when I needed it, I turned to the forum for dosing advice.

My vet uses the Onetouch Ultra meter in her office. She finds it reads quite close to the lab results she gets. She told me to just get a meter that needs a smaller drop of blood.

If you are going to switch to low carb food, it is essential that you monitor closely. We have a few cats need greatly reduced amounts of insulin when switching from hard to wet (or raw) food. Please ignore that vet's advice not to monitor. I would stick with treats that have meat as the first and only ingredient.
 
Yes, the AT is no longer made by Abbott as of that purchase. As I can well attest to in personal life, new management may have the best of plans but make things differently in the interests of cost savings.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Yes, the AT is no longer made by Abbott as of that purchase. As I can well attest to in personal life, new management may have the best of plans but make things differently in the interests of cost savings.
Click to expand...
Quite possible. I still use FS strips in my AT meter and do same drop comparisons when I start a new vial. They still read very close with a difference of 3 - 7% on average.
 
JanetNJ said:
I personally love my alpha track and love having the same meter my vet uses. Once I started home testing cc never had to go back to the vet.... I just emailed her my spreadsheet.

The cheapest place to get the strips is adw.com. Plus they always have a discount code. I get 50 for $48 after a $5 code.

Temptations are a huge no, but save them for hypo problems. I found from personal experience they raise numbers fast. 3 can raise my cats bg 100 points in a short period of time.

I am thinking the gel has loads of carbs.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Janet :) I am going to use ADW to purchase the Alphatrak and test strips now. I am also contemplating buying a bag of the Young Again Zero Formula. So happy to hear that your kitty went into remission! Thanks again for helping me with this decision.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
I have an AlphaTrak meter and use the very expensive AT strips only when I want to double check a low number. The Freestyle Lite strips are made by the same manufacturer as the AT strips and are identical with one exception. The AT strips are batch tested to ensure that they will give an accurate BG reading when the AT meter is set at the code corresponding to the cat code on the vial of AT strips. The FS Lite strips don't undergo this special batch testing. However, I put them in my AT meter to test BG, not in a Freestyle Lite meter. I routinely start a new vial of FS strips by doing 3 or 4 same blood drop BG comparisons: test with AT strip in AT meter then FS strip in AT meter. So far the FS strips in the AT meter read slightly higher than the AT strips in the AT meter by a small amount of 3 - 7%.

In the US, FS Lite strips are still quite expensive. Here in Canada, they're still expensive but much less than the AT strips. Those cost me $102 CAD for a vial of 50 from my vet whereas at the right time I can pay as little as $36 for 50 of the FS Lite strips.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this info! Yeah, I was looking at the freestyle lite strips, and I guess that they aren't much cheaper in the US. I see why it makes sense for you to use them though.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
No longer true. The Freestyle Lite strips are now made by a different company. The AT is made by Zoetis. The Freestyle Lite is made by Abbott. Not sure I'd want to risk my kitties health on them always working together if made by a different company.

Your plan of getting the Relion Confirm or Micro meter (or the Glucocard01 from ADW) for everyday use is a good one. The strips are cheaper and easy to get on evenings or weekends if you are running low. You could get an AT if you want to keep your vet in the loop for dosing. After a couple of times when I had a hard time getting a reply from my vet when I needed it, I turned to the forum for dosing advice.

My vet uses the Onetouch Ultra meter in her office. She finds it reads quite close to the lab results she gets. She told me to just get a meter that needs a smaller drop of blood.

If you are going to switch to low carb food, it is essential that you monitor closely. We have a few cats need greatly reduced amounts of insulin when switching from hard to wet (or raw) food. Please ignore that vet's advice not to monitor. I would stick with treats that have meat as the first and only ingredient.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think that I will start with ordering the Alphatrak and maybe hold off on getting additional test strips. I'll use that for the glucose curve that my vet is requiring and perhaps run over to Walmart to purchase the Relion & strips to start my spreadsheet here. Do you guys advise that I test his BG every day? If so, Alphatrak definitely wouldn't be affordable.
 
Sarah Mc said:
Do you guys advise that I test his BG every day?
Click to expand...
We recommend testing every AM and PM before feeding and shooting (no food for at least 2 hours beforehand so it doesn't influence BG) to see if the planned dose is too high. Then try for one other test around the middle of the cycle (12 hour interval between doses) to see how low the dose takes the BG. That can be late evening if you're away at work on week days. You can also do a few more tests on the weekend.
 
Sarah Mc said:
I am also contemplating buying a bag of the Young Again Zero Formula.
Click to expand...
It's true some cats have gone into remission after being fed Young Again Zero Carb Formula. However, before you order, do yourself and your cats a favor by thoroughly reading Dr. Lisa Pierson's "Feeding your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition".

The carbs in YA kibble may be low (some say around 5%), but there are a ton of other reasons not to feed kibble to any cat. While YA may help keep kitty's blood glucose lower than other kibble on the market, feeding dry food invites a host of other problems/health issues. Heck, if we can get the diabetes under control, who wants to leave the door wide open to other problems if you don't have to?
 
Jill & Alex (GA) said:
It's true some cats have gone into remission after being fed Young Again Zero Carb Formula. However, before you order, do yourself and your cats a favor by thoroughly reading Dr. Lisa Pierson's "Feeding your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition".

The carbs in YA kibble may be low (some say around 5%), but there are a ton of other reasons not to feed kibble to any cat. While YA may help keep kitty's blood glucose lower than other kibble on the market, feeding dry food invites a host of other problems/health issues. Heck, if we can get the diabetes under control, who wants to leave the door wide open to other problems if you don't have to?
Click to expand...

Oh dear. It sure is complicated making all of these decisions...
 
Sarah Mc said:
Thank you, Janet :) I am going to use ADW to purchase the Alphatrak and test strips now. I am also contemplating buying a bag of the Young Again Zero Formula. So happy to hear that your kitty went into remission! Thanks again for helping me with this decision.
Click to expand...
Write to them and get a free sample to make sure your cat will eat it first. Youngagainpetfood.com
 
Sarah Mc said:
Thank you, Janet :) I am going to use ADW to purchase the Alphatrak and test strips now. I am also contemplating buying a bag of the Young Again Zero Formula. So happy to hear that your kitty went into remission! Thanks again for helping me with this decision.
Click to expand...
I figured that while the test strips are expensive, it was a wash when I factored in less trips to the vet. My vet office is like twice as expensive as most, but they are good and I trust them, ya know? But to charge me a buttload of Money for curves and fructosamine tests when I can monitor at home and have it be more accurate was a no brainer.
 
Sarah Mc said:
Oh dear. It sure is complicated making all of these decisions...
Click to expand...
Yes, it can be complicated. However, all things considered, choosing to feed a species appropriate diet (wet) is one of the easiest decisions you'll make on this journey. Most kitties will easily transition from dry food to wet. The difficulty comes in if kitty is a die-hard kibble addict and simply won't transition to a wet diet.

That's when a food like YA may become a viable choice for diabetic cats because bottom line, a kitty has to eat. It's at that point that one has to absorb the added costs and extend their efforts to make sure kitty is consuming enough water. One has to only hope adding and maintaining extra water bowls and drinking fountains will be enough to ward off other health issues Dr. Lisa mentions in "Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition".

FWIW, I have die-hard kibble addict. It took me 4 long months to transition him to a species appropriate diet, so I'm familiar with the difficulties associated with switching cats to an all wet diet. I'm glad I didn't give up after a few weeks or even a couple of months. The transition was successfully completed 10.5 years ago and we've never looked back. He's now a very healthy 14 years young and has been eating a species appropriate diet ever since! :)

 
Wendy&Neko said:
The Freestyle Lite strips are now made by a different company.
Click to expand...

Zoetis has been involved with the AT2 meter from it's inception. Zoetis has always owned a part of the pet meter business and simply partnered with Abbott to produce the meter and strips. They have now bought out Abbott's share of the rights to the meter. The AT2 strips are still manufactured by Abbott in Ireland and still have the same patents. If Zoetis was manufacturing their own strips specifically for the AT2 meter, they would have had to get new patents and change the butterfly graphics on the strips, because they didn't purchase the rights to use the Abbott trademark butterfly graphic which also appears on the FS human strips.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Zoetis has been involved with the AT2 meter from it's inception. Zoetis has always owned a part of the pet meter business and simply partnered with Abbott to produce the meter and strips. They have now bought out Abbott's share of the rights to the meter. The AT2 strips are still manufactured by Abbott in Ireland and still have the same patents. If Zoetis was manufacturing their own strips specifically for the AT2 meter, they would have had to get new patents and change the butterfly graphics on the strips, because they didn't purchase the rights to use the Abbott trademark butterfly graphic which also appears on the FS human strips.
Click to expand...
I wondered about the strip design and butterfly logo being used on both strips but didn't have these facts. Thanks, Linda. I did see on my vials that both strip types are made in Ireland and the labelling on the vials near this info is identical in format if not in precise details.
 
If you check the patents, they are both the same except the AT2 strips have one additional US patent I presume required by the FDA for the branding of the strips to be called AT2 strips. I called Health Canada about the fact that the AT2 and FS strips could not be "visually" differentiated meaning one could inadvertently mistake the pet strips for the human ones and use them in their human meter. While they couldn't say there was a regulatory requirement for different visual identifiers between the AT2 and FS strips because there are apparently no regulations governing pet meters under their jurisdiction, they did indicate that individual companies have their own identifiers that serve to limit the possibility of someone using inappropriate strips in their glucometer.

Zoetis originally partnered with Abbott to develop the meter and obviously it was far more cost effective to use existing strips and change the colour/algorithms of an existing meter than to develop something totally new. Zoetis is not in the business of manufacturing glucometers so it would make no sense for them suddenly decide to change the strips or the meter when it is arguably, the veterinary standard glucometer. All Zoetis did was buy back the marketing rights that previously belonged to Abbott and that gives them the right to now put their name on the packaging in place of Abbott's.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
If you check the patents, they are both the same except the AT2 strips have one additional US patent I presume required by the FDA for the branding of the strips to be called AT2 strips. I called Health Canada about the fact that the AT2 and FS strips could not be "visually" differentiated meaning one could inadvertently mistake the pet strips for the human ones and use them in their human meter. While they couldn't say there was a regulatory requirement for different visual identifiers between the AT2 and FS strips because there are apparently no regulations governing pet meters under their jurisdiction, they did indicate that individual companies have their own identifiers that serve to limit the possibility of someone using inappropriate strips in their glucometer.

Zoetis originally partnered with Abbott to develop the meter and obviously it was far more cost effective to use existing strips and change the colour/algorithms of an existing meter than to develop something totally new. Zoetis is not in the business of manufacturing glucometers so it would make no sense for them suddenly decide to change the strips or the meter when it is arguably, the veterinary standard glucometer. All Zoetis did was buy back the marketing rights that previously belonged to Abbott and that gives them the right to now put their name on the packaging in place of Abbott's.
Click to expand...
Certainly sets my mind at rest even though my "real world" same drop tests were telling me that they read very close to the same BG number - FS Lite strips always a little higher in the range of 3 - 7%.
 
I found that the FS strips read a little higher too (if memory serves mine were 5-8% difference) but that likely depends on the cat code each of us is using. The numbers are close and as long as folks have some AT2 strips to use in case of a questionable reading/situation and realize there is an additional variable in the mix, it's a viable alternative.

While my pet pharmacy took the heat for the recent huge price increase for the AT2 strips, I have no doubt that either Abbott has increased the pricing for the batch testing or Zoetis is trying to make a bigger profit/recover some of what they spent buying out Abbott Animal division. Any way you slice it, Zoetis is pricing themselves out of the market. Abbott is certainly not oblivious to the fact that pet owners are using the FS strips in the AT2 meters so they still get a share of the profits from AT2 meter usage. They're not stupid. Increasing the batch testing costs for the properly branded strips means Abbott just pushes more people toward the FS strips. Such is the deceptive corporate world.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
I found that the FS strips read a little higher too (if memory serves mine were 5-8% difference) but that likely depends on the cat code each of us is using
Click to expand...
Yes, the difference is due to the code used.
In human meters to code is used to account for differences between different lots of test strips in order to maximize accuracy.
In AT meter a different code is entered for each lot of strips to account for the different distribution of glucose in the blood constituents for human compared to animals.

Blood Glucose Meter for Cats

Facts:

Blood has two constituents, the red and white blood cells and the liquid (serum). Blood plasma is blood serum without the clotting factor

The blood glucose value obtained via laboratory analysis is the glucose level in the serum/plasma constituents of blood

The glucose is in both the serum and red-blood cells (RBC) themselves. However, the distribution of glucose is different between humans and cats (and dog too)1

In Humans 58% is in plasma/serum and 42% in RBCs

In cats 93% is in plasma/serum and 7% in RBCs

In dogs 87.5 % in plasma/serum and 12.5% in RBCs.

The point-of-use blood glucose meters (the ones we use at home) all use whole blood.2 However, what specific blood glucose they measure varies with the manufacturer. Some manufacturers only measure the glucose in the serum/plasma. Others lyse (disrupt the cell walls of the RBCs) and thus mix the glucose that was in the RBC into the liquid and thus measure total glucose. The meters then correct/adjust the reading to be equivalent to human blood plasma

Discussion:

Since the glucose distribution is different n humans and cats/dogs the resulting BG valve obtained from the human meters will be different that lab values and animal-calibrated meters. Also, some manufacturer's meters will be much different that lab values for animals depending upon which method (lyse cells or only use plasma/serum) they use to measure glucose.



Animal calibrated meters correct the value to be equivalent to lab values.



What clouds any BGs obtained from hand-held meter is that they are only accurate to +/- 20 %. That includes the animal-calibrated meter. Also, do not confuse accuracy with reproducibility. It is expected that one meter with one lot of tests strips to be relatively repeatable, that is if you use the same drop of blood, you BG value will be much close than +/- 20%



References:

1 Different Species, Different Blood

http://www.vet-advantage.com/dsr_library/get_file.php?file_id=161

2. Glucose Meters: A Review of Technical Challenges to Obtaining Accurate Results

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769957/
 
Jill & Alex (GA) said:
Yes, it can be complicated. However, all things considered, choosing to feed a species appropriate diet (wet) is one of the easiest decisions you'll make on this journey. Most kitties will easily transition from dry food to wet. The difficulty comes in if kitty is a die-hard kibble addict and simply won't transition to a wet diet.

That's when a food like YA may become a viable choice for diabetic cats because bottom line, a kitty has to eat. It's at that point that one has to absorb the added costs and extend their efforts to make sure kitty is consuming enough water. One has to only hope adding and maintaining extra water bowls and drinking fountains will be enough to ward off other health issues Dr. Lisa mentions in "Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition".

FWIW, I have die-hard kibble addict. It took me 4 long months to transition him to a species appropriate diet, so I'm familiar with the difficulties associated with switching cats to an all wet diet. I'm glad I didn't give up after a few weeks or even a couple of months. The transition was successfully completed 10.5 years ago and we've never looked back. He's now a very healthy 14 years young and has been eating a species appropriate diet ever since! :)
Click to expand...

Samba is having no problem transitioning to a wet diet. He goes wild over the Fancy Feast Classics. They have always been a very special treat for him, given on special occasions, and I never knew until recently that they would actually be better for him than the dry food that I was feeding him. I was considering Young Again for a few reasons, mainly cost and the fact that I could leave it out for him to graze on during the day. I am a social worker, and we don't get paid well despite the long hours we work. I am single and the only one caring for Samba. I just had to pick up a second job to afford these new expenses associated with his FD. I love him more than anything in my life. I will do what's best for him the best I can, but now that I am working two jobs, I am home even less. I am leaning away from the timed-feeder because, TMI, but we have a roach problem in our apartment complex, and I do not feel good about leaving wet food out, even in a closed container. I have Orkin come out monthly, and they insist that my place is clean and that the bugs are coming from my neighbors. However, I cannot leave any food out. Dry cat food seems to be fine, but one time Samba vomited, and I came home to find a roach eating it (GROSS). My point is, I appreciate your input, but it actually did take me a lot of time to make a decision about his food despite you saying it's easy, as well as his glucometer, and the other ways that I will have to rearrange my lifestyle to make this work. There is no one else to care for him except for me. Point taken. I will not get the Young Again zero carb food. I had a kitty with kidney disease who died at Samba's age, and that is the last thing that I want.
 
JanetNJ said:
I figured that while the test strips are expensive, it was a wash when I factored in less trips to the vet. My vet office is like twice as expensive as most, but they are good and I trust them, ya know? But to charge me a buttload of Money for curves and fructosamine tests when I can monitor at home and have it be more accurate was a no brainer.
Click to expand...

I am still having a hard time deciding whether I will stick with just the Alphatrak or get a Relion too. I ordered the Alphatrak per my vet's instructions (thank you for telling me about ADW). If I am to be testing 3x daily though at $1 a piece, $90/month is an expense that I cannot afford. You make a good point about lessening the trips to the vet though. My vet mentioned that she would be willing to consult over the phone as opposed to me going in (if I use the Alphatrak). Thanks again for your guidance.
 
Hi Sarah. I am using an AlphaTrak with Freestyle Lite strips. When we adopted Morris I took him straight from animal control to our vet. Our vet said "get a meter and home test" and told me about the elevated BG's that occur from stress when done at the vet. I ordered a meter as soon as I got home before finding FDMB. If I could do it over I would have gotten a human meter with cheaper strips. The Freestyle Lite strips are $20 cheaper than Alphatrak (Amazon) but still expensive in comparison. I am still planning to switch meters eventually.
I have to honestly say that I don't need to consult my vet for adjusting Morris' insulin because I have some great people helping me on this forum. I took Morris to the vet for something else last week and my vet asked what kind of numbers I was getting. When I spoke intelligently of preshot numbers, how low he is dropping at usually +6 ish (my cat, my type of insulin, ECID), his bouncing, and what dosage he is on, my vet was pleased with his progress. (Thanks Sue and Kris:) I just call when I need more insulin so they have it ready when I get there.
 
Pati said:
Hi Sarah. I am using an AlphaTrak with Freestyle Lite strips. When we adopted Morris I took him straight from animal control to our vet. Our vet said "get a meter and home test" and told me about the elevated BG's that occur from stress when done at the vet. I ordered a meter as soon as I got home before finding FDMB. If I could do it over I would have gotten a human meter with cheaper strips. The Freestyle Lite strips are $20 cheaper than Alphatrak (Amazon) but still expensive in comparison. I am still planning to switch meters eventually.
I have to honestly say that I don't need to consult my vet for adjusting Morris' insulin because I have some great people helping me on this forum. I took Morris to the vet for something else last week and my vet asked what kind of numbers I was getting. When I spoke intelligently of preshot numbers, how low he is dropping at usually +6 ish (my cat, my type of insulin, ECID), his bouncing, and what dosage he is on, my vet was pleased with his progress. (Thanks Sue and Kris:) I just call when I need more insulin so they have it ready when I get there.
Click to expand...
Hi Pati,
Sounds like you have a very good vet who's willing to work with you, not against you. Pleased we can help! :)
 
Sarah Mc said:
I am still having a hard time deciding whether I will stick with just the Alphatrak or get a Relion too. I ordered the Alphatrak per my vet's instructions (thank you for telling me about ADW). If I am to be testing 3x daily though at $1 a piece, $90/month is an expense that I cannot afford. You make a good point about lessening the trips to the vet though. My vet mentioned that she would be willing to consult over the phone as opposed to me going in (if I use the Alphatrak). Thanks again for your guidance.
Click to expand...
You could use the AlphaTrak only when you're doing a curve before a telephone consult with your vet. Other than that, buying a much more budget friendly ReliOn from Walmart is the way to go. You'll soon learn to keep the different BG ranges they generate separate in your mind.

BTW - kudos to you for being a social worker!! My sister is one as well, now retired. I know it's a very difficult, emotionally draining, poorly paid profession that gets precious little recognition of its vital role. :bighug:
 
Hi Sarah...Just want to echo what Kris said. I started out exclusively with AT and AT strips then transitioned to Freestyle lite. Both of these have expensive strips so I bought a Relion, as Kris described. Then when you need to share info with vet u can use the AT but at home use Relion. Sounds like a lot at first but it does simplify in not much time . I was thrilled when my new vet suggested the Relion for not just price of strips but ease of getting them. Any Wal Mart has them so no waiting for an order in the mail to come.:)
 
Also for peace of mind during transitioning between meters , I would test with both so I had a side by side compare of numbers. Set my mind at ease until I never use the AT anymore but have for a backup.
 
Pati said:
Hi Sarah. I am using an AlphaTrak with Freestyle Lite strips. When we adopted Morris I took him straight from animal control to our vet. Our vet said "get a meter and home test" and told me about the elevated BG's that occur from stress when done at the vet. I ordered a meter as soon as I got home before finding FDMB. If I could do it over I would have gotten a human meter with cheaper strips. The Freestyle Lite strips are $20 cheaper than Alphatrak (Amazon) but still expensive in comparison. I am still planning to switch meters eventually.
I have to honestly say that I don't need to consult my vet for adjusting Morris' insulin because I have some great people helping me on this forum. I took Morris to the vet for something else last week and my vet asked what kind of numbers I was getting. When I spoke intelligently of preshot numbers, how low he is dropping at usually +6 ish (my cat, my type of insulin, ECID), his bouncing, and what dosage he is on, my vet was pleased with his progress. (Thanks Sue and Kris:) I just call when I need more insulin so they have it ready when I get there.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this advice!! It was extremely helpful to me, and I will be purchasing the Relion meter tomorrow.
 
Beth 73 said:
Hi Sarah...Just want to echo what Kris said. I started out exclusively with AT and AT strips then transitioned to Freestyle lite. Both of these have expensive strips so I bought a Relion, as Kris described. Then when you need to share info with vet u can use the AT but at home use Relion. Sounds like a lot at first but it does simplify in not much time . I was thrilled when my new vet suggested the Relion for not just price of strips but ease of getting them. Any Wal Mart has them so no waiting for an order in the mail to come.:)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reassurance. My Alphatrak came in the mail tonight, but I will be getting the Relion tomorrow and using the Alphatrak just when my vet requires it. You guys are great.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top