Help! new monitor readings read high BG levels!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hi everyone~ I posted this in Relaxed Lantus, but thought to post it here as well:
Thanks to DCIN, Louie received his new monitor & test strips & insulin yesterday! Louie's insulin was expired, and so I was thrilled to get him some fresh Lantus~
I used the new Bayer monitor last night and got a PMPS reading of 478~ was kind of freaked out about it, but thought it must be inaccurate, because Louie has not had those high numbers since the beginning of his treatment~ So this morning for his AMPS I used both the new Bayer monitor and the FreeStyle Lite we had been using and got very different readings~ Bayer: 491 and FreeStyle: 266 (more in line with what I expected).
I'm wondering if there is something I need to adjust on this Bayer monitor that I don't know about~ any suggestions?
By the way, Louie is doing pretty well, but we have a ways to go before he is regulated. He is still hungry all the time!
I have not posted the high readings, since I don't think they reflect accurate BG levels for Louie.
I'm working all day today, but tomorrow will curve test~ hoping to solve this problem~
thanks!
Tracy and Louie
 
There's been quite a bit of post activity going on regarding the inaccurate low readings on the Freestyle. :sad: I'd trust the Contour (not just because I use one but because of what the others are finding out comparing their Freestyle with other meters, fruc tests, and vet meters).

Here's one thread:
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=61043

And another:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=61090
 
I don't use either of those meters, so you may take this with a grain of salt, but from what I've seen, the Feestyle is notorious for reading low, so i would tend to think that the Bayer is, unfortunately, giving the more accurate number.

Here's a thread running now about the Freestyle and its (lack of) accuracy: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=61090

As for the high number, is it possible your cat got into something you don't know about? My cat ate about a quarter cup of milkshake a couple of weeks ago, and it shot his BG through the roof for a cycle. If not, and you have been using the Freestyle as your regular meter, you may need to get several readings with the Bayer to figure out where you're really at.
 
I dont use either one, but something I just did last week was test Bean then ask a fd friend that lives close enought to me to let me borrow her meter and a strip... perhaps someone lives close enough for that to happen????
 
thanks! maybe the higher numbers are right...

Thanks everyone for the input~ I am afraid that Louie's numbers must have been higher all along.....he has been ravenously hungry, even though his tummy feels full. Poor guy! I'll test him several times tomorrow to see what reading I get. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who lives near me with a diabetic kitty, so I'll need to keep investigating this~
Tracy & Louie
 
I jsut switched from the freestyle lite to relion as I was getting inaccurate
readings that were too low.
I would go with the other meter
 
It is the freestyle that is wrong for sure. It seems to be an issue with the strips which they changed the formula for about 12 months ago. The higher the BG the more wrong the freestyle will be. You can do a search for FS and/or freestyle to find some peoples horror stories if you like. My personal horror story is a cat that ended up hospitalised with DKA and on death's door step because the vets decided the ketodiasticks (which were showing ketones) were more likely to be wrong than a meter. Next time you are at the vet it is a good idea to test your meter/s against the vets meter
 
Vyktors Mum said:
It is the freestyle that is wrong for sure. It seems to be an issue with the strips which they changed the formula for about 12 months ago. The higher the BG the more wrong the freestyle will be. You can do a search for FS and/or freestyle to find some peoples horror stories if you like. My personal horror story is a cat that ended up hospitalised with DKA and on death's door step because the vets decided the ketodiasticks (which were showing ketones) were more likely to be wrong than a meter. Next time you are at the vet it is a good idea to test your meter/s against the vets meter

Thanks for the input~ I'm thinking that Louie's lower readings with the Freestyle lite have been wrong all along~ since he does not seem to be improving. Glad we switched and can help him better now!
Tracy & Louie
 
dmartini4 said:
I jsut switched from the freestyle lite to relion as I was getting inaccurate
readings that were too low.
I would go with the other meter


Yes~ glad we switched, it could have been bad for Louie if I was not clued in on his higher BG levels~ good to get this information out there~!
Tracy & Louie
 
Linda for Weezer used the freestyle then changed to the Relion when she discovered how MUCH TOO LOW the freestyle read. She also thought Weezer was doing much better than she actually is with her numbers.

There's a topic started discussing it right now - not sure what forum it's in as I 'view new posts' so get everything.

Hugs and I'm sorry you got stuck in the freestyle mess...
 
Squeaky and KT said:
Linda for Weezer used the freestyle then changed to the Relion when she discovered how MUCH TOO LOW the freestyle read. She also thought Weezer was doing much better than she actually is with her numbers.

There's a topic started discussing it right now - not sure what forum it's in as I 'view new posts' so get everything.

Hugs and I'm sorry you got stuck in the freestyle mess...

Thanks! this forum is an excellent way for people to compare experiences~ how could we have known otherwise? Now maybe Louie can get the help he needs with numbers that reflect his real BG levels. The freestyle lite monitor came with my Newbie kit~ so it would be good to let folks know about this issue. I still am so grateful for the generosity and the welcoming we received from the beginning, and the intentions were good~ hopefully changes can be made from what we've learned~
Tracy & Louie
 
Louie is so adorable, Tracy! I'm so sorry you two have had this setback with the Freestyle Lite meter, but I know you'll get him back on the regulation path soon.

Wishing you better numbers for your darling furguy as you test with your new meter, Tracy.

Hang in there,
Eva
 
Eva & Butters & 5 Others said:
Louie is so adorable, Tracy! I'm so sorry you two have had this setback with the Freestyle Lite meter, but I know you'll get him back on the regulation path soon.

Wishing you better numbers for your darling furguy as you test with your new meter, Tracy.

Hang in there,
Eva


We appreciate the good wishes Eva~ :-D
Tracy & Louie
 
I'm going to guess that you'll need at least 0.5 increase, based on new numbers. You just upped the dose to account for the meter change reflecting higher numbers, so you'll need to give it 5-7 days to stabilize.

Hang in there!
 
Just a note ... if your "old" Lantus had lost its efficacy AND you were using a meter that was giving falsely low readings, then you have two variables at work here. If the old vial/cartridge had quit working, please keep in mind that the shed will need to rebuild so I'd want to test frequently and be careful about bumping that dose too quickly.

I haven't been following your history so this is just a general observation. And of course if you fairly certain that the old vial of Lantus was still "packing the normal punch," then my comments might not be relevant.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top