alphatrak2 problems! can anyone help??

[anna and bailey.uk england]

im having abit of a nightmare with my alphatrak metre.
ive done a test with the solution to check its ok but 3 times now ive done a reading at different times and its been quite low but then ive retested and got a higher number within a few seconds.e.g 127 then straight after 343. ive had the setting at code 38 but this set of strips say 8 for a cat so ive changed it but this was happening before which is why I checked the coding in the first place.
can anyone shed any light on this as I just felt like I was making progress and now I don't know whats happening :-(

 

[Shawna & Davidson (GA)]

I don't use that tester, but why not remove the battery and reinsert it and set the tester up again..........may just be a glitch and needs a reboot.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Gosh, that is a huge difference in readings.

And you're not getting any meter error messages showing? Any battery error messages? There's definitely something wrong there...
It's a while since I used my Alphatrak meter (strips way too pricey!) but I'll try to dig out my 'book of the words'. Am not confident it will help though...

Edited to add:
As expected, the user's manual didn't help. I think maybe this is something to contact the manufacturer about..?
I couldn't find an email address for them, but the UK phone number on the back of the manual is 01628 644354.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Do you have a back-up meter...?
If not, it could be worth your popping to a pharmacy and picking one up... The Accucheck Aviva is usually fairly easily available (and quite popular with Brits), and strips are around half the RRP on Ebay. (It reads differently to the Alphatak though, so you'd need to take that into account).

 

[anna and bailey.uk england]

no error messages at all or battery messages! solution test shows accuracy.il take battery out and start again! ive rang a few pharmacys tonight to see ive could get the other abbots one but to no avail.:-( a pharmacist though did say if I ring abbotts they'll send me out a new one free of charge if I ring cos they want me to keep buying the strips.im not bothered about the price as long as its accurate!!!

 

[Larry and Kitties]

How long has the strip container been open?
Is there any foreign material in/near the strip insertion slot?
Try inserting/removing a strip a dozen time or so to clean the contacts.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

...a pharmacist though did say if I ring abbotts they'll send me out a new one free of charge if I ring cos they want me to keep buying the strips.im not bothered about the price as long as its accurate!!!

Hi Anna,
Yes, I'm pretty sure they would send you a new meter. The pharmacist is correct in saying that the makers of meters really want us to keep buying the strips. That's how they make their money...

If you can afford the Alphatrak test strips then that's not a problem. Many of us do find the cost prohibitive though.
Like many folks here I use a 'human' meter. Fortunately, most brands are sufficiently accurate for the needs of our diabetic kitties. And in my case it means I can pay around £13 for a box of strips instead of almost £40 (and I get through at least a box each week). That means I have more money to spend on ridiculously expensive Thrive treats! :lol:

Eliz