Meters & Strips

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Butterscotch's Pawrents

Butterscotch's Pawrents

Member Since 2019
We are looking for information on meters and strips to purchase.

Has anybody used Advocate Redi Code strips in the Pet Test Meter? Any feedback on whether you like the Pet Test meter? We have read that it can produce an inaccurate low reading if the blood sample size is too small.

For those of you who have used Freestyle Strips in your AT meter, we are looking for feedback on this. What have you seen regarding using Freestyle Lite vs Freestyle Insulinx strips? Does using the Freestyle strips work in both the AT and AT2, or just one of these?

We like that the AT will produce an error if you use a sample size that is too small for an accurate reading vs. other meters that just take the too-small sample anyway and produce an inaccurate low reading. Do any other meters besides AT have this safety feature?
 
Butterscotch's Pawrents said:
We like that the AT will produce an error if you use a sample size that is too small for an accurate reading vs. other meters that just take the too-small sample anyway and produce an inaccurate low reading. Do any other meters besides AT have this safety feature?
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I am an AlphaTrak2 user and like it, however, I have to tell you that it sometimes will give a reading that is too low when it does not get enough blood. I know the documentation says it will error out, but let me tell you from real life use that that is not always true. That is my only complaint about it. I cannot remember whether I had this issue with my original one, but I have it with my current one. I may switch back to the original and see. It could be that the newer meter is wonky. (My original still works fine. I have a few new meters due to a sale that ADW Diabetes had for a while where you could get a meter kit and a bunch of strips for cheaper than just strips. I just decided to switch to a new one somewhere along the way.) I have been at this for over 2 years, so I know when the blood drop is good enough or not, but someone just starting out would not.

A couple of thoughts... If money is going to be a concern at all, don't buy an AlphaTrak2. If you are not going to use the AlphaTrak strips with it, it defeats the purpose of using it. The strips are batch tested to determine the correct code that needs to be used for cats. If you are going to use some other kind of strips, that batch testing has not been done, and you have no idea what the correct code to use is, so you are introducing a factor that is going to mess with accuracy. Sure, it is possible that the results might end up close to what they would be with AlphaTrak strips a good percentage of the time, but you really cannot know unless you are doing side-by-side testing all the time which you are not going to do if the whole point is to get cheaper strips. The majority of people here use human meters. If you do not want to use AlphaTrak strips, just get a human meter and the strips that go with it. You will know the numbers run a little lower because it is a human meter, but at least you won't be adding in an unnecessary variable by mixing meters and strips. If you are going to be providing curve numbers to your vet and he/she insists on AT numbers, maybe you could get one just for curves (or borrow theirs again) but use a human meter the rest of the time. The most important thing is that you are able to test as much as needed.
 
Do you happen to have Trupanion Pet Insurance? If so, all you need is an Rx from your vet for the alphatrak strips they are covered under the plan. You obviously don't need the Rx to buy the strips but you need it to send with the invoice & claim form to Trupanion.
 
Fur Babies Mom your post is this very enlightening.

I have the alpha T 2, and someone I know uses the pen. I forget the name it begins with a B In any event, she uses Walmart strips she says it’s compatible with the Alpha T 2 meter because she she's on a budget.

She suggested I order them from Walmart because I am paying a lot for the test strips for the alpha from Amazon. As many of you know, One dollar a strip.
She suggests:
Walmart- Pet Sure Brand, 60 count test strips $17.77 - says on the website good for the Alpha T and alpha T 2

In no way do I want to mess with his accuracy that defeats the whole purpose of testing. But you say if you’re going to use some other kind of strips, that batch testing has not been done, and you have no idea what correct code to use, you’re introducing a factor that it’s going to mess with accuracy. The Walmart strips tell you it’s code 22.
I’m wondering why I can’t change it on the machine to the new code and use the strips. Or can I? I had to change the code on a second batch of strips from Amazon.

Thank you.

Laura and Mush
 
Mushman said:
Walmart- Pet Sure Brand, 60 count test strips $17.77 - says on the website good for the Alpha T and alpha T 2
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Mushman said:
The Walmart strips tell you it’s code 22.
I’m wondering why I can’t change it on the machine to the new code and use the strips. Or can I? I had to change the code on a second batch of strips from Amazon.
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I do not personally know anything about those strips. You may want to search the forum and see if there have been any discussions about them. If they say they work in an AlphaTrak, and each vial provides a code to put in the meter (code is not always the same for every vial of AT strips, so I would not expect it to be the same for every vial of those strips if they are truly tested to work in AT), maybe they are a better option than just guessing at a code to use on some other type of strip.
 
There is a discussion about the PetSure! strips here somewhere but I'm having a hard time finding it just now. If you look at the website, they tell you it's code 4 for cats but then they also provide code 22 (turbo code) which is supposed to give you the closest AT2 strip comparable reading. Why would anyone use the cat code 4 (why even mention it) if code 22 works better? What are the readings with cat code 4 comparable to? I personally find this a little dodgy and don't think I'd trust them.

If cost is a consideration, then rather than introduce more variables into the mix, I'd get a human meter to use instead for consistency.
 
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