Differences between meters? Freestyle Lite vs Alpha Trak 3

[KLD]

Hello!

For the past month or so I've been using the Freestyle Lite for my cat. However, I've run out of strips for it and his insurance covers the pet ones, so I've switched him back to the Alpha Trak 3. Tonight's PMPS was the first test with the AT3 I've done in about a month. Emmett's PMPS tonight was VERY high at 30.4. He's back in the black, which I haven't seen in over a month. I wanted to test him against the Freestyle Lite, but unfortunately I didn't save any strips for a comparison. Instead, I borrowed an Accu-Check Aviva, which tested him at 29.5.

Has anyone compared the Alpha Trak 3 with the Freestyle Lite? How do they compare? Is the Freestyle Lite accurate? His PMPS tonight was so different than what I've been seeing lately that I'm now questioning the reliability of the numbers I got from the Freestyle Lite.

That being said, Emmett has also been doing some bouncing lately, likely from going low and a dose change, so maybe this unusually high number is from that?

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into this? I'm debating buying some more Freestyle Lite strips just to do some comparisons, but I don't want to spend the money unnecessarily.

Thanks!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hello!

For the past month or so I've been using the Freestyle Lite for my cat. However, I've run out of strips for it and his insurance covers the pet ones, so I've switched him back to the Alpha Trak 3. Tonight's PMPS was the first test with the AT3 I've done in about a month. Emmett's PMPS tonight was VERY high at 30.4. He's back in the black, which I haven't seen in over a month. I wanted to test him against the Freestyle Lite, but unfortunately I didn't save any strips for a comparison. Instead, I borrowed an Accu-Check Aviva, which tested him at 29.5.

Has anyone compared the Alpha Trak 3 with the Freestyle Lite? How do they compare? Is the Freestyle Lite accurate? His PMPS tonight was so different than what I've been seeing lately that I'm now questioning the reliability of the numbers I got from the Freestyle Lite.

That being said, Emmett has also been doing some bouncing lately, likely from going low and a dose change, so maybe this unusually high number is from that?

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into this? I'm debating buying some more Freestyle Lite strips just to do some comparisons, but I don't want to spend the money unnecessarily.

Thanks!

Sorry foe the slow reply.
If you are doing SLGS you need to reduce the dose if the BG drops under 90 with whatever meter you are using. I can see several places where you have not done this.
Also in relation to the meters. You need to pick a meter and stick with it. You can’t compare the meters and it will drive you crazy. The pet meter is much more expensive to run so I would recommend you go back to the human meter and stick with that.

 

[KLD]

Sorry foe the slow reply.
If you are doing SLGS you need to reduce the dose if the BG drops under 90 with whatever meter you are using. I can see several places where you have not done this.
Also in relation to the meters. You need to pick a meter and stick with it. You can’t compare the meters and it will drive you crazy. The pet meter is much more expensive to run so I would recommend you go back to the human meter and stick with that.

Ah, I thought the number was 70.

I’m sticking with the pet meter because it’s actually cheaper for me (pet insurance covers the cost of the strips). (And for what it’s worth, I know the pet meter’s top range is 41.7 mmol, whereas the freestyle lite goes up to 27mmol, and given Emmett often experiences those really high numbers, the pet meter might be better for now until I can get him back down.)

In terms of this post, my cat actually was experiencing an unexpected bounce, which is why the numbers seemed so off. I know I can’t directly compare the numbers, but there is a point where the numbers shouldn’t be SO wildly different (and at any rate, like I said, the numbers only seemed so wildly different to me because of the bounce). He did eventually go back to expected numbers. Right now he’s back up high again because of stress from a move.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

If you are doing SLGS with Prozinc the reduction number is 90 for all meters.
He certainly has had some high preshots in the last week. He is having some very fast drops which are most likely causing some of the bounces as well as the lower BGs. Can you feed him at +2 each cycle to try and slow the drops?

 

[KLD]

If you are doing SLGS with Prozinc the reduction number is 90 for all meters.
He certainly has had some high preshots in the last week. He is having some very fast drops which are most likely causing some of the bounces as well as the lower BGs. Can you feed him at +2 each cycle to try and slow the drops?

Must have misread the number then

Yes, Emmett operates in extremes. The vet gave him gabapentin to help with the transition, and while it does seem to be helping, I think it just happens to be wearing off at the same time as the insulin, contributing to these high preshot numbers. I think once he gets used to the new place they should start to come down.

I feed him at +2, +4, and +6 (that is typically his nadir but I know lately he’s been going back up before then, but I’ve noticed that typically happens when he drops fast early on, rather than his natural nadir changing).