Glucose meters Which one?

[jeniblue]

So I have to give my baby insulin, but am terrified to do so without home testing.

I spoke to my vet about this. She is all for it and can set up an appointment with a tech anytime to show me how to do it. However, she insists that the Apha trak meter, or one designed specifically for pets is the only one I should use. That the ones designed for human use are not accurate for cats.

I simply can not afford this for at least a few more weeks, but don't want to delay getting started with regulating my little guy. I am getting information here that most of you do home testing with much less expensive monitors. Can anyone comment on this situation? If I really have to I MAY be able to borrow the money to get the alphatrak. But honestly, I just want to get something and get it quick.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Very simply, you don't need an AT meter. Are they more accurate for cats? I think so. But it doesn't really matter. If you understand that the human meter is normally going to read a little bit lower than the AT meter would, then that's all that really does matter. There a generic "30 points lower" phrase that gets used here daily.
If your cat's BG is "really" 250, and that's what the AT says it is, then on a human meter, you might see a 220. Not a big deal. It isn't the specific numbers that matter, unless you are talking about really low numbers. Really low numbers can mean the cat may be close to "hypoglycemia".

Normal cat BG on an AT meter is 80-150.
Normal cat BG on a human meter is 50-120.
Normal is normal. As long as you are aware of what the number on the meter you choose to use means, well, you can buy a whole lot of test strips for a human meter with the money you save by not buying an Alpah Track.

My vet sent me to walmart to buy a Relion Micro meter and test strips. She did that because she understood that many people, when faced with the high cost of vet meters and strips, will choose to not home test. Not home-testing can put your pet's life in danger when you are giving it insulin. She knew that if it came down to safety, or an AT meter, safety wins.

My advice? Go to WalMart, buy a Relion meter...they just came out with a new one called the "Prime". It has what appears to be the lowest "cost per strip" of any meter out there. Take it, and your kitty, to the vet, and ask them to show you how to test. Using the same drop of blood, compare your meter to theirs. See what the difference is, and make them understand that as long as the difference is somewhat consistent, using a human meter is just fine. They might even decide to switch, and save themselves (and their clients) a ton of money on BG tests done "in house". ;-)

Carl

 

[hmjohnston]

No- you can get a human meter- which is what most of us use.

Walmart has the Relion brand- Micro ($10) and Confirm ($15) use the smallest amount of blood and have cheap strips ($36/100), they just came out with a Prime ($?) that has even cheaper strips ($9/50) but it is new and I don't know how well it tests yet.

Bayer Contour is good- DCIN has some to sell and some cheap strips that expire soon- look in the Supply forum for them and how to contact Venita.

Stay away from Free-style Lite meters that use the butterfly strips or ANYTHING with "true" in the name- generic- not so good for felines.

A human meter will test 20-30 points LOWER than a pet meter- THAT IS IT. There is nothing else to differ between them except for price of the meter ($100+) and strips ($1/strip I've been told).

I test 7 times or more a day. I save $150/month using the Relion Micro over the Alpha track. If your vet is insisting ask if it because she gets money from you using the strips. If so... not the best reason.

Many vets assume that a human meter is wrong because it is for humans. All you need to REALLY know is the steadiness of the numbers. You can add 20-30 points to them before taking to the vet if it makes her happy.

 

[jeniblue]

Thanks so much again for the info. One more question though, I don't live anywhere near a walmart. I do however see that walgreens carries several types of affordable human meters that I can have today. Most of them do have the "true" word in their name, but I noticed one that was called Accu-check Aviva Plus. (I think that I wrote that down correctly.)

Anyone with insight into that meter?

 

[jeniblue]

Wait. I seem to remember in a previous post that someone suggested the accu check wasn't a good choice as strips were expensive. Sigh... I am ordering the relion, but want something immediately.

 

[squeem3]

Any Human blood glucose meter works for a cat except for the FreeStyle brand and the generic True/Tru ones. Wal Mart's Relion brand is popular here on FDMB but not everyone has a Wal Mart nearby or easy access to one and you can't buy a meter or supplies online.

Whatever brand name meter you can find at the local pharmacy will work. AccuChek Aviva is another popular meter here on FDMB. It's cat-friendly and easy to use. The test strips are pricye but many people buy the test strips online. When I had a diabetic I used to buy Aviva test strips fom HealthWarehouse.com. I bought the "mail order" Aviva test strips since those were the cheapest and the exact same thing as the Aviva test strips labeled as "retail" or "professional". Some people buy their test strips from Ebay. You have to be careful to not buy expired test strips or test strips that will expire shortly after you buy them.

OneTouch is another good brand. There are several models. The Mini one is basic and all you need. You don't need any of the fancy meal settings or graphing options that come with the other models.