1/6 need help with meter

Nicole Z

Nicole Z

Member Since 2017
Hi Everyone!

Been quite awhile since I posted here! Hope everyone is doing well! So I have been tracking Aurora 1x per week always on Sunday mornings. She seems to be creeping back up. I'm taking her on Tuesday 12/31 for a complete check up including a fructosamine test to see where she is at. I'm rusty beyond rusty with remembering anything about what I'm supposed to do.
1. If the test results come back that she needs insulin again, I'll request an RX for Marks drugs in Canada and get the Lantus pen
2. I was using the relion confirm meter - are those strips still available? I thought I remember seeing quite awhile ago something about those meters being discontinued?
What is everyone using now if that's the case?

She seems to be drinking more water - but otherwise acting normal.
Here's a recap of her numbers so far - I asked for help creating a new spreadsheet.

10/6 - 85
10/14 - 68
10/28 -99
11/3 - 92
11/10 - 75
11/17 - 107
11/24 - 92
12/1 - 102
12/8 - 104
12/15 - 111
12/22 - 136
12/29 - 137

She's been OTJ for over a year -- was doing so well but I guess this happens.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

~ Nicole
 
Nicole,

I so hope she isn't out of remission. Maybe teeth, UTI? Got into any contraband? Strips out dated? Battery old? What about different food? It's possible manufacturers changed the formula, is the can label redesigned, usually indicates they changed the food.

The strips are available through ADW. I don't know what people are using now. I'm using the Relion Micro which uses same strips as the Confirm. Or the Nova Max (strips are cheaper) since blood drop size is a factor for me. The Nova is temperamental though.

Hope it's an easy fix.
 
HI!
Well, she just had a dental a few months ago. She was also fighting a UTI for awhile but that seemed to resolve as well so I'm not sure. They were on the rad cat for years until they went out of business. The local pet store I buy from has a butcher make raw food so I buy that frozen from her, it's almost identical to the rad cat consistency - so I feed that in addition to the Daves Naturally Healthy. Of course, nothing with gravy - just the turkey with salmon, regular turkey formula and some other gobblicious dinner. I also mix d mannose in the water dishes just to be sure incase of any UTI stuff going on.

No contraband - would be odd that her numbers were up for 4 weeks in a row so nope, no new treats or anything. Strips are still good. I think I'm also using the Relion confirm micro it was the meter from Walmart that everyone was using.
What is ADW?
 
You can still get the 50ct boxes at Walmart, and they are still on clearance. Unlikely that they will have any on the shelf, but you can either have them mailed to your house, or order them online and have them sent to your Walmart. Here they are: https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Confirm-Micro-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-50-Ct/13396848

So they are $29.96 for 100 (free shipping to your home if you order over $35) at Walmart, rather than $36.10 for 100 (free shipping if over $89) at ADW. HOWEVER, I've not seen any from Walmart with an expiration date later than 4/30/2020, so I don't think I'd order a ton of them at a time until you knew. Not sure if anyone else has seen a later exp date.
 
Has the box of strips been opened a while? At the rate you are using them, I imagine the box has been open over three months.

If you get the Glucocard01 strips, I think one of the packages has a free meter too. That way you know you have a meter and strips that were meant to work together. Although Arkray also made the Confirm, they don’t admit they are interchangeable.
 
@Wendy&Neko yes I’d imagine since it was a container of 50 they’ve been opened for awhile. I think I bought these in the summer. I checked and they dint expire until feb 2020.
Good tips @Sandi & Whisper i didn’t even think that strips expire. I sure hope she’s not going back diabetic.
 
Nicole Z said:
Hi Everyone!

Been quite awhile since I posted here! Hope everyone is doing well! So I have been tracking Aurora 1x per week always on Sunday mornings. She seems to be creeping back up. I'm taking her on Tuesday 12/31 for a complete check up including a fructosamine test to see where she is at. I'm rusty beyond rusty with remembering anything about what I'm supposed to do.
1. If the test results come back that she needs insulin again, I'll request an RX for Marks drugs in Canada and get the Lantus pen
2. I was using the relion confirm meter - are those strips still available? I thought I remember seeing quite awhile ago something about those meters being discontinued?
What is everyone using now if that's the case?

She seems to be drinking more water - but otherwise acting normal.
Here's a recap of her numbers so far - I asked for help creating a new spreadsheet.

10/6 - 85
10/14 - 68
10/28 -99
11/3 - 92
11/10 - 75
11/17 - 107
11/24 - 92
12/1 - 102
12/8 - 104
12/15 - 111
12/22 - 136
12/29 - 137

She's been OTJ for over a year -- was doing so well but I guess this happens.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

~ Nicole
Click to expand...
Awww! I hope those spikes were just a fluke and she can come back down into those pretty greens she had!
 
Hi there! I’m glad you are getting some BW done and hopefully it’s something that can easily be remedied.

You can switch to the Relion Prime meter which is what I use when you can no longer get strips for the confirm. Hopefully it is just bad strips, But with drinking more water, it could be more than that. Glad you are on top of the numbers !

Keep us posted!
 
I also use to use Confirm and switched to Relion Prime and have been very pleased , not only in quality but ease of purchase and reasonable price of strips .
 
Been using Relion Prime meter for nearly 2 years. No problems. Meter is $9 & strips $18 for 100.
Make sure they test her kidney values.
 
I hope she's not out of remission but if she is you've caught it right away and hopefully she'll just need a little insulin support and she'll be right back OTJ!
 
Good luck and I hope they find something with Aurora to explain the rising numbers. But if it is a need for insulin, you caught it early. Good job there!
 
Does the raw food you're feeding Aurora contain all of the necessary supplements or is it just ground meat? I'd make sure it's to generic -- the same formula for dogs and cats. There are pre-mixes you can add if the supplements aren't part of the formula. Did the pet store give you the carb count for the food?
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Does the raw food you're feeding Aurora contain all of the necessary supplements or is it just ground meat? I'd make sure it's to generic -- the same formula for dogs and cats. There are pre-mixes you can add if the supplements aren't part of the formula. Did the pet store give you the carb count for the food?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure - I partially thaw the big tub and portion it out into smaller containers and freeze so I'll have to check next time I buy a tub and get back to you on that.
 
Quick update - took Aurora this morning for her check up. The vet wasn't too concerned with her numbers that I showed her - she said she wouldn't treat her unless she was in the 200 range on the Alpha track meter. She did full blood work, thyroid, and fructosamine panel - won't have labs back till Thursday. She did check her with their Alpha track meter and she said she was 167 however, I just had fed her less than 1 hour prior and she said it could be raised just because she was at the vet. She was happy with her overall. Maybe it's my fault but in August when she had a dental she was 11.08 lbs and I felt she was looking a little skinny so I have been feeding her a little more and giving snacks when she wants them - she's gained 2 full pounds so she's not 13.08. The vet said the weight increase could be the issue so she'd like me to have her drop 1 lb. She said she also has some arthritis in her knees, right was worse than the left and said the extra lbs could cause her discomfort so I guess we will scale back the snacks. Will post an update when I know more.
Can someone please send me the link to the exact meter Relion prime so I know exactly what it looks like? I will purchase next time I go grocery shopping.
Thanks Everyone! Happy New Year! Fingers and paws crossed Aurora doesn't need more juice....we are enjoying the falls and don't want to end the party!
 
Wanted to provide another update. Aurora labs came back and everything was normal including the glucose test so we are all good. She’s gained some weight so the vet said she needs to drop 1 lb which is ok. I’m not sure if I bought the wrong meter but I tried three strips and can’t get any of them to suck up the blood. I used the old meter after that failed and she was 85 so that’s good. Please see photo and let me know if I screwed up or what I did wrong. Thanks!
 

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Great news about Aurora's labs!
On the meter you pictured, make sure you turn the meter on with that center button, before you insert the strip. Just guessing why you may have had a problem . . . some meters turn on automatically when a strip is inserted.
 
Tina Marie and Jan said:
Great news about Aurora's labs!
On the meter you pictured, make sure you turn the meter on with that center button, before you insert the strip. Just guessing why you may have had a problem . . . some meters turn on automatically when a strip is inserted.
Click to expand...
Yeah that wasn’t the issue seemed like the strip wasn’t sucking up the blood and it appeared like it needs a lot of blood to make it up the strip. I tried three and even tried dipping it in the blood and nothing worked.
 
Yes I’ll have to call I thought maybe I had the strip in wrong but nope it was right. Does this meter take more blood than my old meter the relion micro?
 
I watched a you tube and the person said they feel like this meter takes more blood. What other meters can I use that take a very small drop like my old relion micro?
Maybe I bought the wrong meter I bought the relion prime meter maybe I should have picked the relion confirm.
 
Nicole Z said:
Maybe I bought the wrong meter I bought the relion prime meter maybe I should have picked the relion confirm.
Click to expand...
They quit making the confirm meter. I'm not sure what people are buying now. The one I bought from ADW isn't made any more either. Whenever they quit selling the strips I'll have to find a new meter.
 
I just called Walmart Relion customer service - most painful phone call ever. The agent spent more time arguing with me about the fact that I'm using this on a pet and that they don't give advice on pets. I was simply asking her WHICH meters have the claims on the packaging for the smaller amounts of required blood. I ended up ending the call. Anyways....I was using the Relion Micro but those strips are getting hard to find and are discontinued correct? I then purchased the Relion PRIME meter this past weeked but was having trouble because it seems like the strip requires significantly more blood than my old mico meter did. After 3 attemps and Aurora getting annoyed, I switched back to the micro meter. I need to know what meter to purchase that requires a small amount of blood. This Prime meter doesn't seem to be a good fit - any other suggestions?

Not sure what to do.

Thanks!
 
The strips for the Relion meters are the least expensive. I used a Contour with Gabby but it's been 4 years since I tested. I liked the meter a lot!

FWIW, if you're willing, call Relion back. Tell them this is for testing your infant, not your cat.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
The strips for the Relion meters are the least expensive. I used a Contour with Gabby but it's been 4 years since I tested. I liked the meter a lot!

FWIW, if you're willing, call Relion back. Tell them this is for testing your infant, not your cat.
Click to expand...
She asked for my first and last name at the start of the call so I"m sure she made a case about it already. I'm going to try and return what I bought to Walmart and make due with that I have. Aurora is OK and doesn't need insulin so I'll just continue to use the strips I have and I guess re visit when the time comes. I don't want to buy the alpha track meter - seems very expensive and inconvenient for strips to have to order online.
 
I tried to return the meter and strips to Walmart yesterday but they told me they don't allow returns of these kinds of items. I had to call Relion again. This time I got a nicer person and she told me basically all the meters now will require larger amounts of blood - she didn't know why they were moving in that direction but that's what she said. They are sending me a gift card to cover the return cost and told me to donate the meter and strips which I have already done. Is Relion the only brand the group recommends here? Are people using meters say from Walgreens or other retailers that might offer a meter that requires a small qty of blood?
 
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