Alpha Trak 2 calibration

Status
Not open for further replies.
Kate & Toby

Kate & Toby

Member Since 2019
I have just started testing, my vet lent me their monitor last weekend after a DKA hospitalization, my monitor then arrived.

Upon testing AMPS with my vets monitor I got a reading of 22.7 and using my own monitor I got 27.8. I have calibrated mine using the test solution and it was perfect. At some point i need to give my vet back their monitor and use my own but I'm nervous as the readings are SO different.

Can anyone offer any advice or experience please?
 
Hi Kate
First, well done for getting into testing at all without any fuss - it's not the easiest thing in the world to do for beginners so you should be really pleased with yourself!

Meters can and do vary, I think the accepted range is between 15 and 20 per cent, so it's not unusual to get different readings from different meters, and different readings do look more extreme when bg is in higher numbers. The tests were done using the same drop of blood, yes? Same batch of test strips? It's possible I guess that the vet's meter is callibrated slightly differently but yes, a 5 point difference is on the high side and you're right to pick up on it and be concerned. See what others here have to say and you could also put in a call to the vet, maybe - from what you said last week they seem to know what they're doing.

The good thing is that at this point you're not into dosing different amounts of insulin depending on bg readings, you can still give the same dose as you have been at numbers in the high 20s and that should be fine.

Sorry I can't be much help but hopefully you'll get some suggestions as to what to do. Good luck!
 
Thanks Diana, yes I used the same drop of blood, using 2 different batches of strips though, my meter is set to 38 and my vets 37. Should I change the setting to 37 on mine and then use the vet strips in my meter to try again?

Thank you, yes it's going well, I'm collecting as much data as I can. Toby is an absolute angel at being tested, he stretches out and purrs and waits patiently whilst I fumble about with his ears and all the gadgets! I'm very blessed he is SO laid back.

His BG is still very high, but the vets dont want me to increase over the weekend and whilst hes still recovering from DKA, but hes bounced back so well, hes back to his old self, eating well, very chatty. I'll hopefully be able to increase his insulin on Monday as I'm worried about ketones returning whilst we are constantly up in these high numbers.

Thanks again.
 
I'm far from expert on meters so I think I'd wait to see what more experienced users have to say about this really, Kate, sorry. I don't want to give you bad advice.

You really are lucky that Toby is such a good patient. He sounds an absolute poppet..Many people here struggle with testing for months because their cats are so feisty and unco-operative.

See what the vet says about increasing insulin dose on Monday. He/she may suggest going up to 2u but here we normally advise smaller increments, simply because requirements can vary so much, insulin is a powerful substance, and what seems a tiny increase of 1u is actually a 100% increase and could drop bg lower than is ideal during a cycle. So if you increase by 0.25u or 0.5u you are more likely to get where you want to be because you wouldn't be skipping over what might be the ideal dose at that point. Does that make sense? It's up to you of course - many of us face the dilemma of doing what our vets say vs what we read here. Vets aren't always right but we aren't professionals!

Keep asking questions - that's what we're here for and between us all on the FDMB community there is nearly always someone who has been exactly where you are now!
 
Last edited:
You adjusted the code based on the code for cats on the vial of strips, right? And did you check that the vets meter was the correct cat code as well?
 
Kate & Toby said:
Thanks Diana, yes I used the same drop of blood, using 2 different batches of strips though, my meter is set to 38 and my vets 37. Should I change the setting to 37 on mine and then use the vet strips in my meter to try again?

Thank you, yes it's going well, I'm collecting as much data as I can. Toby is an absolute angel at being tested, he stretches out and purrs and waits patiently whilst I fumble about with his ears and all the gadgets! I'm very blessed he is SO laid back.

His BG is still very high, but the vets dont want me to increase over the weekend and whilst hes still recovering from DKA, but hes bounced back so well, hes back to his old self, eating well, very chatty. I'll hopefully be able to increase his insulin on Monday as I'm worried about ketones returning whilst we are constantly up in these high numbers.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
no use the code for whatever the vial of strips say. If more than a few seconds are in between the readings, maybe poke in a new spot.
 
To get the closest possible results:
1. Use strips from the same vial and make sure both meters are coded to the cat code on the vial.
2. Use a fresh blood drop for each test, doing the tests back-to-back.

Even if you do this, you most likely will NOT get the exact same number. You can test with the SAME meter twice and get slightly different results. Meters can have a variance of 15 to 20%, so as long as the difference between the two numbers falls within that, everything is working. You could probably do a control solution test on both meters (following step 1 above) and still not get the same number. Notice how large the acceptable range is for the control solution test.

Don't get hung up on this. Give the vet's meter back and start using yours. You will drive yourself crazy. (Yours may be better anyway, it's newer and probably has a fresher battery!) The point is that you will be able to see what range your cat falls in and what the patterns are, and you will be able to see if he is going too low so you can do what you need to keep him safe.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top