Help!! Alpha Vs Relion Levels

foodietoria

foodietoria

Member Since 2026
Good Morning,

Need help: I have been using Alpha Trak 3 since Chino's recent diagnosis, and am awaiting new strips, arriving sometime today. This will be the last bottle I will order (due to high cost!) and I was going to transition to Relion Premier unit which I just purchased last night. I only had 1 Alpha strip left for this AM pre-shot test and got an error code so I had to use Relion. The reading was 115, the lowest of any reading by far since his diagnosis. I did not give him the AM dose of course, too risky. There is no way for me to know if the increased dose of Lantus is starting to work or if there is a big variance between glucometers. Last night's Pre-shot reading was 327, and +4 was 240 (see spreadsheet). I would appreciate feedback.
 
Hello! I can’t offer you any help here, but I have had a lot of difficulty with my Alpha Trak a lot of the error codes. Almost wasting 3 strips a go!

I called Zoetis’ customer service and finally got to their Alpha Trak line in specific and they sent me some strips as a way of saying sorry.

To save you a call, this is the Alpha specific customer service line: 800-366-5288. Maybe you’ll have some luck with the “sorry strips” and you can keep them in a hypo kit for an emerg.
 
There is a difference between the meters. The journal article that originally described the Lantus/Levemir Tight Regulation Protocol noted that a human meter reading of 50 was roughly equivalent to the AT reading of 68. As the blood glucose readings rise, there is an increasing difference in the size of the gap between the two meters. I've been here a long time and no one has been able to come up with a formula to estimate the difference between the meters. It's also why we suggest that you pick a meter and stay with it. Just to note, though, the reading on the Relion this morning would have been lower than an AT reading.

If you get a lower than expected number, you have a couple of options. You can:
  • skip the dose
  • shoot a reduced dose
  • don't feed your cat and stall in 15 to 20 min increments.
This is a link to the sticky note on how to handle lower numbers. Given that you're still new to managing your cat's diabetes, skipping was a good idea. Do not be surprised if Chino's numbers skyrocket by PMPS. The combination of a low numbers and skipping a shot can result in the numbers being high.

Also, I'd like to offer an observation. You saw an almost 100 point drop from PMPS to +4 last night. Given where your AMPS was this morning, it's very likely that Chino's numbers were lower than what you saw at PM +4. If that were my cat, I would have gotten a test at either +4.5 or +5 so I knew if I needed to intervene. With SLGS, you need to get a curve on a weekly basis. At this point, without a curve you don't know were Chino's nadir typically falls. Even though the nadir can and does shift around, it's particularly important to know where the nadir generally is.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
There is a difference between the meters. The journal article that originally described the Lantus/Levemir Tight Regulation Protocol noted that a human meter reading of 50 was roughly equivalent to the AT reading of 68. As the blood glucose readings rise, there is an increasing difference in the size of the gap between the two meters. I've been here a long time and no one has been able to come up with a formula to estimate the difference between the meters. It's also why we suggest that you pick a meter and stay with it. Just to note, though, the reading on the Relion this morning would have been lower than an AT reading.

If you get a lower than expected number, you have a couple of options. You can:
  • skip the dose
  • shoot a reduced dose
  • don't feed your cat and stall in 15 to 20 min increments.
This is a link to the sticky note on how to handle lower numbers. Given that you're still new to managing your cat's diabetes, skipping was a good idea. Do not be surprised if Chino's numbers skyrocket by PMPS. The combination of a low numbers and skipping a shot can result in the numbers being high.

Also, I'd like to offer an observation. You saw an almost 100 point drop from PMPS to +4 last night. Given where your AMPS was this morning, it's very likely that Chino's numbers were lower than what you saw at PM +4. If that were my cat, I would have gotten a test at either +4.5 or +5 so I knew if I needed to intervene. With SLGS, you need to get a curve on a weekly basis. At this point, without a curve you don't know were Chino's nadir typically falls. Even though the nadir can and does shift around, it's particularly important to know where the nadir generally is.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply! I got the Alpha strips this afternoon & just tested him on both meters for PMPS at the same time: AT: 534, Relion: 520 (only 14 points different, which is good to know. You were correct, he is really high with the skipped dose this AM. It's just the timing of being without the AT strips and only having the Relion to use this morning, coupled with the transition to wet food and increased dose of Lantus 😳 just a bit overwhelmed but trying to do the right thing for my boy. I work during the day and cannot test 6 times a day, except the weekend. Are you testing 6 or more times everyday?
 
People who aren't home during the day get their spot checks in during the evening before bedtime. Maybe a few night owls also do some later spot checks.
 
This may not work for you but it helped with Gabby. She had an early nadir -- her low for the cycle could be at +3. As a result, I was testing at 5:00. Work wasn't far from home so I could be home by no later than 5:30 or could schedule a late meeting, if necessary, at 6:00 and be back at the office by then. I also could set my own schedule which many people can't do. I was typically getting an AMPS, a +1 and a +2 test given Gabby's tendency to drop like a rock early in the cycle. Getting a curve when you can will give you a better sense of what Chino's numbers look like over a 12-hour period.
 
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