Canadian Meters/Alpha Trak 2 strips?

[Charlie M]

Awe man, my first post and I've goofed it already...not sure what happend!
Anyway my question was...

For Canadians, if you get Alpha trak strips, where is the cheapest place you've found the?
Or
What meters have you found to work well enough, with less expensive strips here in Canada.

I'm thinking I'd like to keep using the Alpha Trak2 for curve tests and stuff like that, but for those times when I just want an idea where he's sitting it would be nice to have something a little (or a lot) cheaper to just do a random check with. I've found I've been using quite a few more since I've started being willing to test him more often.

I have seen one called True2Go that seemed quite a bit cheaper...but no idea if it will work well, or if the drop size will be small enough...he doesn't give up much usually!

Any advice appreciated!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Hey Charlie!!

A lot of people here that live in Canada use the Bayer One Touch or Contour, but there's another one gaining in popularity because the strips are more affordable called the Bravo

As for the True2Go, we've had a recent discussion in this thread titles "True home glucose meters" that still recommends staying away from them

 

[jayla-n-Drevon]

If you want alpha track on hand I think country side pet has the lowest price at 56$ for 50 strips. They ship very fast and free in the USA not sure about Canada.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Hi Charlie,

Not sure where you are located in Canada but you cannot order from Countryside because it's in the US and they don't deliver to Canada. Probably would be more expensive anyway between shipping, taxes, duty etc.

I get my AT2 strips from Glen Shields Pet Pharmacy. They deliver across Canada.

I chose the Freestyle Lite meter as my backup meter because it uses the same strips as the Alphatrak2 meter. There is also the Freestyle Freedom Lite.

Having thoroughly investigated the FS vs. AT2 strips (checking patents, manufacturing location, assay used in the strips, calling both human and animal divisions of Abbott etc.) I am 99.9% sure the FS strips and AT2 strips are identical in their physical composition. The AT2 strips however have been batch tested to determine what code on the AT2 meter will produce a reading closest to animal lab values. Without the AT2 code for each vial of FS strips, your results will not be as accurate as those using AT2 strips with the meter set to the appropriate code. My own cross checking elicited results within 10% of the AT2 strips. Others have indicated their results were within 5%. The difference may depend on how high or low the reading being compared is.

I am not advocating use of the FS strips in the AT2 meter, but they will work. If you choose to do so, it is imperative that you have your AT2 meter set on one of the cat codes (known codes are 08, 37, 38, and 93) to get a reasonably accurate result. Do NOT use the code on the FS strip vial as that is for use only with older FS human meters.

It is also imperative that you keep some AT2 strips on hand to do baseline checks of your results with the same drop of blood, each time you open a new vial of FS strips or alternately, use AT2 meter control solution to ensure the strips are readings within the expected range. Also double check any unexpected, especially low FS strip readings using an AT2 strip.

All meters have an allowed variance in their results of up to +/- 20% and using the FS strips in the AT2 meter adds another variance into the picture so your results, while in the ballpark, may not be as accurate as is possible.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

The Bravo test strips are the cheapest I've seen in Canada. Personally I live clost to the border and have a post box across the line so just order on line and get them to deliver there. I buy in bulk so only have to go down a few times a year. I've seen lots of Canadians with either the Bayer Contour (or Contour Next) or the Accucheck. Check Ebay for best prices on strips. Although my vet uses the OneTouch, I don't like it because it requires a larger drop of blood than any of the others.