Glucometer

[isispoet13]

I was wondering if anyone had tried the iPet - Glucose Meter for dogs and cats. Also I have been reading the posts and is it true that there is no difference in using a meter disigned for humans or pets? One of my cats just got diagnosed and I have to find a meter. The vet makes it seem as though the only good choice is alphatrak.As I look through the internet there seem to be some other choices. I would appreciate any input.

 

[Ronnie & Luna]

Hi there

maybe add "iPet" to your title line to catch the eyes of anyone using it....I think there are some members who use it.

this link is a bit outdated, but handy for human meter comparisons...Consumer Reports Meter Reviews

If you live in the U.S, one of the most inexpensive (for strips) is the Relion.
The only choice is not the pet meters, human meters are just as good,... I believe the pet meters can read a bit higher than the human ones, others will see your thread here and hopefully offer the range differences for you......my vet uses the Accucheck(sp)....besides being more expensive, the AlphaTrack strips seem to be only available at the vets and online, so what do you do when you need strips in an emergency?
Go to to your nearest Wal-mart or pharmacy! Plus it is a good idea to have a back up meter, just in case.

 

[squeem3]

Tha mian issues with pet specific blood glucose meters are they tend to be more expensive than a Human meter and test strips cannot be bought at any store.

Human blood glucose meters work just fine for cats, despite what your vet may say. Many people here use a Human meter: Relion, AccuChek, FreeStyle, Contour, OneTouch, etc. You can run to any Human pharmacy and buy more test strips if you are running low. Most people in geneal buy their test strips online from a Human diabetic pharmacy or Amazon.com or Ebay or other places.

The Relion is a good inexpenesive brand. It'sa Wal Mart only, though, so if you don't have a Wal Mart nearby you won't be able to get it or buy test strips. The brand is not sold on the Wal Mart web site.

The bigger name brands (OneTouch, AccuChek, etc) are sold in almost every Human pharmacy. You don't need a high end fancy meter with tons of bells and whistles. A basic meter that gives a blood glucose reading is all you need.

 

[Christie & Willie (GA)]

If you do decide to go with an Alphatrak, at American Diabetes Wholesale, you can order the items ala carte... The monitor, 100 strips, and two bottles of control solution are under $200 with coupon codes and if you link through Mr. Rebates, you can get 8% cash back. After cashback, I paid $165, which was significantly cheaper than buying the kit from the vet, and I got twice as many strips.

I have a rental from the vet now, and have been comparing to the Relion. For the most part, the two do seem to be within the 20% margin of error, I just honestly didn't want to fight with my vet and figured I could sell the alphatrak on ebay later if I changed my mind. Some say that you can use the freestyle lite strips in the alphatrak. I've requested a free monitor that comes with 10 strips and plan to compare.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

As the others have said, most human meters works fine. Avoid the older meters that take a lot of blood since it is hard to get enough blood. You want a meter that uses 1 micro liter (ul) or less. Cost and availability of strips is the major concern. Buying over the internet or eBay is less expensive than buying locally.

 

[BJM]

Also important - the FDA allows meters to read within 20% accuracy of the true value. This is unlikely to change what you are going to do with the results.

A result of:
100 is between 80 - 120
200 is between 160 - 240
300 is between 240 - 360
400 is between 320 - 480
and so on.

 

[Christie & Willie (GA)]

Tha mian issues with pet specific blood glucose meters are they tend to be more expensive than a Human meter and test strips cannot be bought at any store.

Human blood glucose meters work just fine for cats, despite what your vet may say. Many people here use a Human meter: Relion, AccuChek, FreeStyle, Contour, OneTouch, etc. You can run to any Human pharmacy and buy more test strips if you are running low. Most people in geneal buy their test strips online from a Human diabetic pharmacy or Amazon.com or Ebay or other places.

The Relion is a good inexpenesive brand. It'sa Wal Mart only, though, so if you don't have a Wal Mart nearby you won't be able to get it or buy test strips. The brand is not sold on the Wal Mart web site.

The bigger name brands (OneTouch, AccuChek, etc) are sold in almost every Human pharmacy. You don't need a high end fancy meter with tons of bells and whistles. A basic meter that gives a blood glucose reading is all you need.

Actually, the Relion is available for online purchase, though if you don't have a store to ship to, you do have to pay for the shipping. Or does this maybe vary from state to state?

 

[BJM]

The WalMart ReliOn is made by Arkray and is equivelant to one of the Glucocard models (based on the case design, its either Glucocard-X or Glucard-01; you could contact the company to find out)

A number of online sellars carry it under the Glucocard label.