Alphatrak vs Relion Confirm

[Lkldcatlady]

Hello - I am considering switching from my Alphatrak to the Relion Confirm because the strips are causing me to go bankrupt! Does anyone have any good advice on this?? Anyone familiar with both meters? I used both meters one time and the Relion was 100 pts LOWER than the alphatrak. Yikes. Should I just use the Relion and add 100 points?

 

[Blue]

Go with the Relion. it's a very decent meter used by many.
The AT meter is an expensive ripoff.

Gayle

 

[Deb & Wink]

Hi Dara,

I used the Alphatrak 2 and a Relion Confirm for a short period of time in parallel testing. Yes, there are number differences. The differences are about 30 points at the low end. A bit more at higher numbers.

You do not ever need to add points to any reading you get with any meter you use, be it a human glucometer or a pet glucometer. As long as we know which type of meter you are using, we can interpret the numbers you are getting.

I finally talked the cat shelter into paying for the lower cost Relion Confirm test strips to save a lot of money. It took me more than a month to convince them but when I did, and they saw how much less the Confirm test strips were, they were very pleased.

Price is a big factor in people switching from the Alphatrak to a human glucometer. Many of us do that to save money. In fact, a lot of our members in Canada wish the Relion line of meters were available there. A few even drive across the border periodically to buy test strips, if they live close enough.

The 100 point difference you got could be from many factors. Even using the same glucometer to test the exact same blood drop can give you different readings. All meters are allowed to vary from reading to reading, by +/- 20%.

I would estimate that 90-95% of people here use the less expensive human glucometers for testing their cats.

Vets may disagree, but the numbers we get are close enough to be able to see what is going on with the blood glucose levels and make adjustments in the dose. I have heard from some people here, that their vets use human glucometers.

I would recommend the Relion Confirm for the low cost of the test strips, $0.36 each and small blood drop size, 0.3 microliters. The Relion Prime requires a slightly bigger blood drop, 0.5 microliters and seems to get more errors because of this than the Confirm. Selling point for the Relion Prime is $0.18 each for test strips, half the price of the Confirm test strips. If you are not so good at home testing, the Prime and the larger blood drop can present some challenges.

Think about the pros and cons of the Confirm and Prime and decide which one you want. I would feel confident in recommending either one to you.

 

[Cleo & Jane (GA)]

Hi Dara,
I also use the Relion Confirm. I have the Bayer Contour as my backup. I ordered the Relion with strips from Walmart.com when I was getting low on the Contour strips . I love it. It feels more cheaply made than the Contour, but the amount of blood needed is noticably less. I sometimes think I am going to get an error code when the drop seems too small, but no, I get a good reading! It usually only takes two days for me to receive my delivery. Of course, you can buy them right at the store too.

Jane

 

[Lkldcatlady]

I bought the alpha because my vet said it worked better but it IS ridiculous how expensive the strips are. Over $1.00 each!!!! I forgot to mention I have a relion confirm MICRO. Would that's me any difference?

 

[Deb & Wink]

Relion Micro is just fine. In fact, it uses the same strips as the Confirm and needs same size blood drop. I would start using your Relion Micro whenever you have enough test strips for it.

When you do, please update your signature to cross out the Alphatrak and add the Relion Micro as your new meter.

Also, add a line on your SS and write in large letters that you are switching from this time forward. "Switching to Relion Micro from Alphatrak"

 

[BJM]

Think of it as the difference between reading a thermometer in Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Plus, all meters are allowed to read +/- 20% from the true lab value in the US (FDA rules). Thus, at 50, the range is 40-60; at 100 the range is 80-120, and so on. This means that when you compare 2 meters, you really have to compare the ranges and see if they overlap. If the high estimate of the lower value is greater than the low estimate of the higher value, the 2 tests may be considered equal.