Alphatrak

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shawna

shawna

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Hello friends!
Thank you again for everything you've all suggested and the info you've given me to help sweet Teddy. He wouldn't be where is he now if it wasn't for you all! xoxo

I have a question for those who use the alphatrak. (I have switched to it so I can converse with my vet, but I don't know if I'll use it forever because the test strips are so pricey...but for the next month or two I am, and then I'll decide from there).

I was wondering what numbers are bad/good? And what numbers to give insulin? I have the insulin here but haven't given it to him in awhile now!!
My vet told me 100-200 on alpha is perfect and no insulin is needed. Can anyone tell me if this is what you have all found?

Now I know the numbers of the human meter, but I don't know what the alphtrak numbers mean as much... it seems like he jumps around with his number on the alpha more?

Is there a way I can change my spreadsheet to show the colors for the alphatrak, so I can understand more, without losing my data from when I was using a human meter?

Thanks for any help anyone can give me while transitioning to the alpha. I've put his recent alpha score on my spreadsheet and labeled them alphatrak.

xoxoxo Happy Thursday!
 
shawna said:
Hello friends!
Thank you again for everything you've all suggested and the info you've given me to help sweet Teddy. He wouldn't be where is he now if it wasn't for you all! xoxo

I have a question for those who use the alphatrak. (I have switched to it so I can converse with my vet, but I don't know if I'll use it forever because the test strips are so pricey...but for the next month or two I am, and then I'll decide from there).

I was wondering what numbers are bad/good? And what numbers to give insulin? I have the insulin here but haven't given it to him in awhile now!!
My vet told me 100-200 on alpha is perfect and no insulin is needed. Can anyone tell me if this is what you have all found?

Now I know the numbers of the human meter, but I don't know what the alphtrak numbers mean as much... it seems like he jumps around with his number on the alpha more?

Is there a way I can change my spreadsheet to show the colors for the alphatrak, so I can understand more, without losing my data from when I was using a human meter?

Thanks for any help anyone can give me while transitioning to the alpha. I've put his recent alpha score on my spreadsheet and labeled them alphatrak.

xoxoxo Happy Thursday!
Click to expand...
The only numbers that are different colors for the Alphatrak on the spreadsheet is that under 68 is lime green... Otherwise the charts are the same.

Normal range on an Alphatrak is 68-150.
 
The AlphaTrak reads higher as you know. My vet told me that the good range on that meter is between 90 and 160 or so. One reason why you might be seeing more ups and downs with the AT meter is that its low values are fairly close to a human meter's lows but its highs can be 100 points+ higher - ie., there's a wider range of BG values across the spectrum on an AT. I've noticed a "collapsing" of the range since I switched from an AT meter to a human meter for my kitty.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
The AlphaTrak reads higher as you know. My vet told me that the good range on that meter is between 90 and 160 or so. One reason why you might be seeing more ups and downs with the AT meter is that its low values are fairly close to a human meter's lows but its highs can be 100 points+ higher - ie., there's a wider range of BG values across the spectrum on an AT. I've noticed a "collapsing" of the range since I switched from an AT meter to a human meter for my kitty.
Click to expand...

I just don't understand if the spreadsheet chart is the same for both meters with the exception of 68 being lime green for the alpha, then if he is 80 on human it's green and 110 on alpha he is blue - and it was the same blood sample. So basically I won't know if he's green or blue anymore?
And to be honest I don't really understand what you mean that the high can be 100 points higher??

Now I'm thinking I should switch back to human since I understand it more and it's way cheaper. But the vet prefers the alpha.

Thanks for your help understanding all this!
 
Ok I switched back to the Relion meter because I can't handle this change lol
I'll test with the alpha once in awhile to share with the vet.
But I need to stick with what I know. Just sharing lol.
 
shawna said:
Ok I switched back to the Relion meter because I can't handle this change lol
I'll test with the alpha once in awhile to share with the vet.
But I need to stick with what I know. Just sharing lol.
Click to expand...
Whatever works for you. You don't really do anything different with the alpha other than to know above 150 is high and below 68 is to low, where on a human meter above 120 is high and below 50 is low.... So I'm confused by your confusion. Lol. The big discrepancy in numbers are when the numbers are much higher.
 
shawna said:
I just don't understand if the spreadsheet chart is the same for both meters with the exception of 68 being lime green for the alpha, then if he is 80 on human it's green and 110 on alpha he is blue - and it was the same blood sample. So basically I won't know if he's green or blue anymore?
And to be honest I don't really understand what you mean that the high can be 100 points higher??

Now I'm thinking I should switch back to human since I understand it more and it's way cheaper. But the vet prefers the alpha.

Thanks for your help understanding all this!
Click to expand...
What does it matter if it's green or blue? Both numbers are in the normal zone.
 
JanetNJ said:
Whatever works for you. You don't really do anything different with the alpha other than to know above 150 is high and below 68 is to low, where on a human meter above 120 is high and below 50 is low.... So I'm confused by your confusion. Lol. The big discrepancy in numbers are when the numbers are much higher.
Click to expand...

I was confused because she said the alpha can read 100 points higher on the alpha. Unless it was a typo or perhaps I just didn't understand at all what she was saying above.
 
shawna said:
I was confused because she said the alpha can read 100 points higher on the alpha. Unless it was a typo or perhaps I just didn't understand at all what she was saying above.
Click to expand...
It's true that the reading can be off by quite a lot at high levels. For example, if you have a 350 on your human meter you might get a 450 on the AT meter. However, at low BGs the difference can be a lot less - eg. a 60 on the human meter and a 72 on the AT. These are just examples that I made up.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
It's true that the reading can be off by quite a lot at high levels. For example, if you have a 350 on your human meter you might get a 450 on the AT meter. However, at low BGs the difference can be a lot less - eg. a 60 on the human meter and a 72 on the AT. These are just examples that I made up.
Click to expand...

Ohhh ok now I understand. That makes sense. Thanks for explaining again!! xoxoxo
 
Over 140 or 150 I'd give a tiny 0.25 just to get him a little further down and more firmly into remission.
 
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