Glucose monitors

[Shawna & Davidson (GA)]

HI.........new to this and been getting soome very helful information from many of you. I bought a ReliOn Confirm monitor today with all the goodies to do home testing and when I spoke to my Vet he said that the readings will be off and I should purchase a monitor that is specifically for cats and dogs.............any opinions on this?

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

It is true that the pet meter is more accurate. It is also very expensive, both for the meter and the strips. And on a stormy night, when you run out of strips and you are worried about your cat's numbers, you can't go buy more strips for it at the drug store. Because we are looking for patterns and trends rather than a specific number, most people here forego the expensive pet meter and use the human one.

 

[Shawna & Davidson (GA)]

ahhh, makes sense. So should I use these types to adjust the dosage of insulin once a 'pattern' is established? I.E. if I'm giving Davidson 3 units twice daily and see his levels are dropping and they are consistantly on the lower range, should I assume I could drop the dose a bit or best to take him to the Vet and get an accurate reading/

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

The complication is that the vet's meter might be more accurate, BUT the number won't be as accurate because of the stress your cat is under at the vet. So it is a wash. I'd stick with your numbers at home. The next time you go to the vet, take your meter along to see what the difference is.

 

[BJM]

Pet-specific vs human glucometers is like reading temperature in Fahrenheit vs Celsius.
Both are correct. As long as you have the reference numbers for the one you are using, you know how to interpret the tests you get.

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

How to use the glucose reference values chart:

When you get a test, look for the number on the chart that either equals, or contains, the test value you have. Read the information. As needed, make a decision and act.

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)

 

[BJM]

Also, both pet-specific and human glucometers are allowed to read with +/- 20% of what a lab would get.

A 50 mg/dl represents a number somewhere between 40 to 60 mg/dL, a 20 mg/dL range.
A 500 mg/dl represents a number somewhere between 400 to 600 mg/dL, a 200 mg/dL range.

At low numbers, you want more accuracy as hypoglycemia can kill quickly.
You don't really need a specific number at high glucose levels; high is high and you determine what changes you need to make.

 

[Janet and Izzy (GA)]

Once my data was pretty well established my vet would use my data to determine steps. but typically since I was already adjusting the dosing based on my data I was already "on top" of things before the vet would have been. He did use to try and establish trends. He also said, before the Alpha Track they all used human glucometers...so it wasn't a huge issue for them.