Glucose testing...Dr. said use alphatrak

[HK987]

Hi fellow parents,

After Monday's visit for a second ever glucose curve, We found ourselves making an " urgent care" type visit to the Dr. on Wednesday morning (2-8-2017). Sensei had been what seemed to me as very lethargic, sleepy, not drinking water, even when I literally held a clean fresh bowl up to his face for him to partake. Plus I just had a feeling.. One of those "Mom" feelings that kept gnawing at me, I KNEW my boy wasn't feeling well, even though I didnt know precisely why. Called vet, Dr. wanted to see him asap, so we were there before 11:30 am. At 6:00 pm we went to pick him up. Doc told us his bg was high, making him look and feel so lousy. His numbers were as follows: 12:50pm-342, 3:00pm-450, 5:00pm-462.
Dr. said the TWO 1 1/2 unit doses we had given him ( meaning tues morning and tuesday night) had not been effective, thats why he felt so lousy. So she changed his dose again. Now it is 2units twice daily. I stopped at walmart before i went to pick him up that night, and bought a relion confirm glucometer and test strips, I was hell bent on starting home testing that night!! I even brought the newly purchased unit still in the bag, with receipt, in with me to the office, and showed the doc. She told me she wasnt precisely sure which model it was, but to hold off testing because she said those relion models tend to register anywhere from ten to twenty points lower than what the cats bg actually is. She then proceeded to encourage me to look into the alphatrak.
I have zero problem purchasing the alphatrak set for home testing if it is really the elite, most accurate one for the job, The cost isn't a problem if necessary, but i dont honestly know enough about this whole glucometer thing yet to make that judgment call. I had read a few places around the forum here of other parents having success with walmart models such as freestyle and relion. So I dont know what to think, but I am absolutely insistent that I need to start home testing asap, for peace of mind, and making sure his numbers dont get crazy either way. I also plan on ketone testing at home too. In a matter of two to three weeks there have been SO many changes with his dose, feeding, and everything else, its tough to keep up, but like I said, we are committed to this. We also changed his food, with success. He is no longer eating seafood flavors, and seems to agree with it. We had some trouble getting him to eat his last two meals before the wednesday vet visit happened, I figured he was telling us he didnt care for the food anymore, so that night, I also bought a box of the beef and poultry flavor fancy feast classic pates. He LOVES them. Happily gobbles up every meal now, so I guess that worked out.

 

[StephG]

When we use the human meters we compensate for the slight difference seen between the two. I do believe the alpha trak is the closest to what the vets lab would get. It is calibrated for Feline blood. So if you're looking for the best that's probably the best choice.
I test A LOT so it's not financially possible for me to use an alpha trak but my vet is OK with the human meters.
Some people use Human meters for every day testing and then the alpha trak for at home curves.
Glad your kitty is feeling better!

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Right, this is the tradeoff: ultimate accuracy in feline numbers and correspondence with vet numbers vs. cost. Oh, the cost!

Most of us use human meters because it just isn't financially feasible to do the amount of testing most of us do with the alphatrak. If you go over to the Lantus forum and read the stickies on the two dosing protocols (Start Low, Go Slow and Tight Regulation), they are written for human meter numbers, and that is what most of us here are used to interpreting. As StephG says, the compromise many people make is to use the Alphatrak when they want to get information to communicate with their vet, and a human meter for the day-to-day testing.

The correspondence between meters (i.e., human meters and "the truth") is closer at the lower end, and we have solid cutoff numbers for the "too low, take action now" point for both types of meters and reasonably good ranges for "good, normal cat" numbers. Above that, we just know that BG is too high and mostly interpret the trends in numbers relative to other numbers we've gotten from the same meter, whichever type we're using.

I hope Sensei is feeling better soon-- glad he's a fan of the new food! Good luck with starting home testing, it is a steep learning curve but gets easier as you go, and it is so critical in keeping your cat safe and getting him healthy.

 

[HK987]

Nan & Amber,
Thank you so much! I appreciate your explaining it as you did, all of this is still a whirlwind, and I have been combing through the essential topics in the forum, but some things still dont quite "click" yet. I totally understand. I am eager to home test, and I believe I will go ahead and learn to use the relion confirm that i purchased, then I may get the alphatrak in the next couple weeks. I just want to have peace of mind that his sugar isnt going wonky if he looks tired or like hes not feeling well. Wanna be able to nip it in the bud asap should a hypo episode occur, or if he goes too high. Thank you so much!!

 

[JanetNJ]

I use an alpha track as I like having the same readings as the vet. It is expensive though at about $1 each strip. The cheapest place to get them that I've found is adw.com. Plus they always have a discount code.

That being said, a human meter while not calibrated for feline blood will still tell you if the cat is high or low, even if the number isn't exact. So if cost is an issue, go that route.

 

[HK987]

Janet,
Thank you so much!! I'm definitely going to buy the alphatrak, as it sounds like the most accurate meter, being designed for feline blood. I definitely want the most accurate read on him and I'm sure the Dr. and I can discuss any differences in readings between office and home. I have to wait a week or two to buy the AT, but in the meantime I have a relion confirm meter, and test strips. I have to read up on how to use it for him, but cant wait to get started. I showed hubby the Lantus info page on the forum, we both learned a lot about how to measure, store, and handle his insulin. Sweet baby did well this morning, I got home from work, prepped the syringe, and he took it like a champ. He's curled up on the couch sleeping, doesn't look distressed or anything, so Im going to try and get some rest and I'll be keeping a close eye on him as we have been. Thanks so much!

 

[JanetNJ]

Janet,
Thank you so much!! I'm definitely going to buy the alphatrak, as it sounds like the most accurate meter, being designed for feline blood. I definitely want the most accurate read on him and I'm sure the Dr. and I can discuss any differences in readings between office and home. I have to wait a week or two to buy the AT, but in the meantime I have a relion confirm meter, and test strips. I have to read up on how to use it for him, but cant wait to get started. I showed hubby the Lantus info page on the forum, we both learned a lot about how to measure, store, and handle his insulin. Sweet baby did well this morning, I got home from work, prepped the syringe, and he took it like a champ. He's curled up on the couch sleeping, doesn't look distressed or anything, so Im going to try and get some rest and I'll be keeping a close eye on him as we have been. Thanks so much!

I bought my alphatrak on amazon (the kit). Compare the price to adw.com. I know the strips on adw are cheapest I've found.

 

[Just-As-Appy]

The Relion may test a few points different from the Alphatrak, but until his bg numbers are in the lower range, like around 150, it really is not significant. And by then you will be so expert that you will be able to sense by his behaviour if he is lower than the metre reads. I used my friend's Alphatrak on her cat while I cat sat and it is very nice to use, but the cost and availability of strips is an issue. Of course the cat went low over New Year's and I had to ration my strips because they are only available from the vet or mail - neither available on short notice.

 

[JanetNJ]

The Relion may test a few points different from the Alphatrak, but until his bg numbers are in the lower range, like around 150, it really is not significant. And by then you will be so expert that you will be able to sense by his behaviour if he is lower than the metre reads. I used my friend's Alphatrak on her cat while I cat sat and it is very nice to use, but the cost and availability of strips is an issue. Of course the cat went low over New Year's and I had to ration my strips because they are only available from the vet or mail - neither available on short notice.

I learned the hard way to always have a backup bottle of them.

 

[HK987]

The Relion may test a few points different from the Alphatrak, but until his bg numbers are in the lower range, like around 150, it really is not significant. And by then you will be so expert that you will be able to sense by his behaviour if he is lower than the metre reads. I used my friend's Alphatrak on her cat while I cat sat and it is very nice to use, but the cost and availability of strips is an issue. Of course the cat went low over New Year's and I had to ration my strips because they are only available from the vet or mail - neither available on short notice.

That's good to know about the AT test strips. I'll be buying the AT monitor, but for now I'm going to start with my relion confirm, see how it does. Thank you!

 

[HK987]

I learned the hard way to always have a backup bottle of them.

I'll definitely be buying backups as pay periods allow, so that theres no risk of running short. Just try to keep like two bottles on hand most of the time, if possible. We'll see how ot goes. Hubby and I are immersing ourselves into reading more of the Lantus forum, as well as beginning reading up on home testing. As of this moment, I havent had much time to read into it, but as soon as I have a day off this coming week, I'll be occupying myself with learning all about it. As of now, I dont fully understand how the relion meter will work with cat testing, but I have a lot to learn. Im sure it's not as complicated as Im thinking it to be. Thank you all so much!!