? Big glucometer disparity--which to trust?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Squeakycats

Squeakycats

Member Since 2017
Hi, all--I've been using the AlphaTrak 2 glucometer since I first started testing my kitty (at the beginning of this month). A couple of days ago, I somehow managed to run out of test strips. I didn't want to stop testing while waiting for the new strips--we're at a point where I'm trying to keep him on .1 unit for a little while before attempting to go OTJ, and I wasn't happy about missing shots.

So I went out and got a Relion Confirm meter and the associated strips. He missed two cycles because it was giving readings under 100. Well, the Alpha Trak strips arrived today, and I tested the same blood sample with both meters, and now I don't know what to think. The Relion said 66. The AlphaTrak said 116! If the Relion is right, I'd be really hesitant about giving even his little dose, but if the AlphaTrak is right, this is exactly the occasion for .1.

I tried both meters on myself--102 from the Relion, and 125 from the AlphaTrak.

I'm going to go with the AlphaTrak reading, since it's what we've been using successfully for the last couple of weeks, and since my vet did compare it with the meter they use and said they got similar results. But is this normal--this much of a discrepancy? Is there some kind of calculation I should be doing to compare the reading from the pet meter vs. the human one? I was happy about having the ReliOn as a back-up meter, but if they're this different...Any advice is much appreciated!!!
 
Those are pretty typical numbers

There's no exact formula that says "if you get X on the Relion, it's Y on the AlphaTrak"

The only official numbers we have are that 50 on a human meter is equal to 68 on the AT....so if you'd give .1 at the AT 116, it's about the same as giving .1 at the 66 on the Relion

You also have to remember that all meters are allowed a 20% variance......so any number you get could be up to 20% higher or lower
 
Yes, human meters read lower than the AT pet meter. You'll make yourself crazy trying to correlate the two because there's no conversion factor and the difference in readings varies with the size of the reading - bigger difference at high numbers, smaller at low numbers. It's best to work with just one meter and learn the ranges for too high, OK and too low. The key thing is the marker for too low is 50 on a human meter and 68 on a pet meter.
 
Last edited:
Thank you both! In that case, I think I'm just going to stick with the AlphaTrak and make very sure not to run out of strips!
 
Huh--I think they just must not offer same-day shipping in my area... :( That's what I get for living in the boonies!
 
Off (this) topic--I saw in y'alls signatures that you use the Young Again food and decided to order a bag! I was really excited to see that they had a limited ingredient version for cats with allergies (mine has problems with chicken). He gets hungry during the night; I'm excited to think that I might be able to leave him a little of it to snack on. I'll have to figure out what to do with the civvie, though...she's overweight. The YA site suggests just free feeding all cats in the household--leaving a full food bowl out at all times--I'm having a hard time imagining that working with her, given how much she enjoys eating!
 
I might have to try that food as Smoky has a severe allergy to chicken.
Did you have to call them to order it? I don't remember seeing it on their website the last time I checked. They also have a new formula for cats with IBD.
 
Lisa, I was able to just order the food on the website--I think it was a pretty new thing, as some of the other pages on the site don't make reference to it. This is it: http://www.youngagainpetfood.com/new!-lid-zero-mature-health.html . The fact that it includes chicken fat makes me nervous, but my understanding is that that's not where the proteins are--it might be worth asking them about it, though, if Smoky's allergy is severe.
 
Yong, Willa the Chubby Civvie is 10. She's not hugely, hugely overweight--she was 11 lbs 7 oz this morning--but I think she should be more like 10. She and Misha get along ok, but she can really be a pest when she thinks he's getting an unfair share of the attention; obviously she thinks that at the moment! So we are having a whole lot of kitty playtime and petting time at our house right now. Now that he's gained back some weight (he lots a ton right before he was diagnosed), I probably need to start getting a little more rigid about their food intake.
 
I posted the link for the new LID zero on Lisa's thread (I think you guys call them condos in Lantus land:))

Ok so they're both fully grown cats. Did you read the section on the YA site? You can feed them both YAZ Mature and it might help Willa lose some weight :)
 
I am so new that I don't even know what a condo is, alas--I should do some more reading! They're both grown, yes, and I did see that I can feed them both the YA, which is awesome! I'm a little nervous about feeding them dry food exclusively, especially since they've kind of been junkies about it in the past, but I'd like to add it into the daily menu and see what happens. From your signature, it sounds like that's working ok for you, right?
 
It has definitely helped him from being soooo hungry for meal. Seems to keep him "fuller" because it's nutrient dense. He is given a portion to eat up until 2 hours prior to PS time. I haven't tested leaving it out all the time like Janet was able, my lack of income couldn't afford that if he did want to keep eating it all day :). He also get's wet food with water added 4 times a day. He needs to gain at least another pound. Total loss of about 8 lbs before diagnosis but he doesn't need to gain all 8 back, he was chubby :cat:
 
Wow, 8 lbs--that must have been so scary! I'm glad that he is eating well now! He is such a handsome boy.
 
Thank you :cat:. It was scary, I felt so bad because how skinny he got and fast! He's at least half maine coon, his paws and head looked even bigger with the smaller body :(. Last I weighed him he was back up to 12lbs :D I'd like to see him about 14, ideally more of the muscle mass coming back, not necessarily the fat :smuggrin:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top