Human glucose monitor for cats in the UK

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Rufus McDufus

Rufus McDufus

Member Since 2013
Hi - I'm new here so be gentle!
My wife and I have taken on an old stray cat from the area (call Ulysses! He's famous around these parts), and he was diagnosed diabetic a few months ago. We've been home-testing with an AlphaTrak meter as recommended by the vet, but as I'm now discovering, the test strips are quite pricey, £30 for 50. I've been reading on here about the use of human meters but I can't find any resource that seems to be UK-specific or has all the information I need.

First off it looks like the most easily-available meters here are Accu-Check, Bayer, OneTouch. The Accu-Check strips don't look to be a huge amount cheaper than AlphaTrak. The Bayer/OneTouch ones are around 2/3rds the price. Any recommendations on one of these meters? Or any other meter from UK sugarcat owners?

Is it possible to use the FreeStyle strips in the AlphaTrak? Is there an adjustment factor needed?

Most importantly - what factor do I need to adjust the reading by? Does the human meter read lower or higher? I see the figure 50 mentioned quite a bit but I'm guessing that's mg/dL. We tend to use mmol/L in the UK as a unit and it looks like there's about a factor of 18 difference between the two so an adjustment of ~3 would seem to be the equivalent.


Thanks for persisting - I realise this has all been done to death but I selfishly want to answer my own questions in one place!
 
Yes. mg/dl * 18 = mmol/L and mmol/L / 18 = mg/dL

Look on the UK e-bay. Sometimes strips may be less expensive there. Check expiration dates and ask how they were stored as excess heat will make them unreliable.

No need to adjust the reading. At the low end of the scale, a human glucometer will read about 30 points lower than an AlphaTrak or a lab value. Per Dr Rand of the University of Queensland, human glucometers read from 30-40% lower than animal specific glucometers or labs.

Also, glucometers in the US may vary 20% higher or lower than a lab value; this may be similar in the UK. I've a table here There are 2 pages; the table is the page which says Test Value Ranges.

ETA: link edited
 
A 'very gentle' hello from Surrey! And welcome to FDMB :smile:

And bless you and your wife for taking care of Ulysses (who sounds like he's had quite an Odyssey before he came to live with you...) ;-) :lol:

Everyone has their favourite meter, and mine is the One Touch Ultra. I find it very straightforward and it's always easy to find test strips on Ebay for about half the RRP. I can usually get them for about 12 quid for a box of 50 strips. I have a couple of spare kits and could send one to you if you'd like it. Just PM me your address if you're interested. But you may also get recommendations for other meters. There is one that's quite popular in the UK because it only needs a tiddly amount of blood but the name of it has completely gone out of my head at the moment! (blame it on the evening glass of Chardonnay.... :roll: )

What insulin is Ulysses on? I'm guessing Caninsulin?
And what are you feeding Ulysses at the moment?

Oh, edited to add: Human meters read lower than the Alphatrack. I'll try to find the details about that, but there may be someone else reading your post who knows all about that and tells you before I do...

Eliz
 
Hi - thank you for the kind offer! I'll see how we go and might just get back to you!
Ulysses is on Caninsulin. He is well known for beaing a fussy eater - he previously had at least 5 houses he use to visit and usually only fresh chicken would do! Since the weather's been a bit nicer after the cold winter he's started going out again and binning. Despite his love of chicken, he doesn't seem to mind chomping on something unidentifable and putrid from a bin. He has a huge territory still (despite us getting him neutered last year) - at least a square mile which is a lot of houses in SW London - but we usually know which bins to find him in now to carry him back!

We're trying to keep the diet consistent and lower the carbs. He's on a mixture of chicken and ordinary cat food (i.e Whiskas, Felix, but avoiding jelly/gravy varieties to reduce carbs). I also got some Orijen dry for very occasional use, lower carb than most but still a bit high I think. I''ve tried some of the posher better foods such as Animonda Carny but annoyingly none of our 4 cats want to go near it. He's a Whiskas milk addict too unfortunately, he took a liking to it when we enticed him with it, and won't let go (we don't give it to our other cats, he's just an old milkaholic). He's actually very well under control at the moment and putting on weight well. He's still absolutely ravenous though and we still need to get his readings lower. The vet is being very good as well. We had a diabetic cat who died 3-4 years ago who was a lot more complicated due to other health issues, and the vet we used then wasn't so good either unfortunately. Treatment definitely appears to have come on considerably even in the last few years.
 
Hi,

Newly diagnosed diabetics are often ravenous because they can't utilise the food they are eating.

What sort of blood glucose numbers are you getting from Ulysses?

Eliz

PS. My diabetic boy Bertie was an 'entire male' when he first came to us as a stray. After removing his wotsits it still took well over a year before he stopped chasing the ladies...but he did stop eventually...
 
He's an old boy and good-natured (luckily), but there do seem to be quite a large amount of mini-Ulysses in the area so I think he had a wild past! Not sure of his age but probably around 12-14. Glad he decided to come and stay over this harsh winter as he may not have made it.
His readings (6 hour after injection) are in the range 10-20, usually around 16. It's been a bit of a barrier around there but he's just broken through that down to around 12, but we're taking it really slowly as he's generally happy and active and don't want to go to fast. Our previous diabetic cat went hypo in the middle of the night completely unexpectedly and died, so we're really wary.
We haven't actually done a curve yet (or the vet) but will give it a go in the next few days. He's not terribly easy to treat so we've been putting it off.
He has a couple of bad front teeth too which we may get looked at when he's a bit better, but he's nipped a few people who have assumed he was just like a domestic cat, and they've ended up in hospital with swollen hands due to his infectious teeth!
 
Unfortunately, dental issues like bad teeth, can keep those BG numbers in higher ranges. You may need to take care of the teeth sooner than you planned.

Yes, with 5 cats in your household, vet expenses can mount up quickly.
 
Good thinking. It might be a good idea to get that treated while he's strong and not too aged.

It's interesting because we figure he must've been diabetic for some time before he came to live with us. One other thing we did give him initially was Royal Canin dry food which he liked, but of course this probably exacerbated the diabetes and hence he went downhill once he started living with us. He did vary in condition dramatically when he was a stray from fairly normal to very skinny and mentally 'not quite all there' . A part of the treatment with him is actually getting him healthy and happy to accept our home as his and somewhere where he can rest his bones and not stray. But seeing as he's survived diabetes for possibly years, it may not be impossible to think of eventually adjusting his diet to get him into remission. Possibly wishful thinking.
 
Raw chicken gizzards are supposed to be helpful in keeping the teeth clean, if you've a mind.

Dr Pierson of Cat Info states it is OK to replace 1/6th of the canned food with just meat or poultry (cooked or raw, though I wouldn't mix the two!). Otherwise, you may need to supplement the plain meat/poultry with essential nutrients to ensure nothing is lacking.

We've got 2 nice spreadsheets which color code the glucose levels into ranges. Instructions are here. One of them is for international members to use.
 
if you can get a bayer contour meter and matching strips -it is a great meter and easy to use - no coding of strips needed either -

i know people here have had issues with the freestyle - butterfly strips - so it's not a popular choice

i also used the one touch ultra and found it easy - although it does require more blood than the bayer contour.

hope that helps
 
BJM said:
Raw chicken gizzards are supposed to be helpful in keeping the teeth clean, if you've a mind.

Dr Pierson of Cat Info states it is OK to replace 1/6th of the canned food with just meat or poultry (cooked or raw, though I wouldn't mix the two!). Otherwise, you may need to supplement the plain meat/poultry with essential nutrients to ensure nothing is lacking.

We've got 2 nice spreadsheets which color code the glucose levels into ranges. Instructions are here. One of them is for international members to use.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this link - very useful! I've read some of Lisa Pierson's other writings and it makes a lot of sense.
 
Hillary & Maui said:
if you can get a bayer contour meter and matching strips -it is a great meter and easy to use - no coding of strips needed either -

i know people here have had issues with the freestyle - butterfly strips - so it's not a popular choice

i also used the one touch ultra and found it easy - although it does require more blood than the bayer contour.

hope that helps
Click to expand...

Thanks - was looking at that one. What does 'no coding' mean?

With all these monitors there's a variety of different models - i.e Bayer make a bunch of different Contours Is it significant which Bayer model?

Thanks!

Rob.
 
What does 'no coding' mean?
Click to expand...

Some meters require you to change the settings and enter the code from the container of test strips into the meter. The alphatrak 2 required that. These codes can change from batch to batch of test strips so you need to verify the code on the container of test strips matches the code that shows up on the meter when you turn it on.

Meters that don't require coding, read the info directly from the test strip and display it on the screen of the meter when you put the test strip in. No programming change to the meter settings are required when you switch from one batch of test strips to a different one.

It was a pain to do with the alphatrak 2. I'm much happier with the Walmart Relion meters we can get here in the US.

Found this in the lantus/levimir forum stickies: STICKY LANTUS AND LEVIMIR NEW TO THE FORUM PLEASE READ , about country specifc meters. Last update was in 2011.
http://www.glucosesafety.com/uk/pdf...e V5 mhra inputs FINAL for website + Nova.pdf
 
OK I went to bayer contour website and see what you are asking.

it looks like there are various types - old fashioned or classic, another with a usb connection so you can connect it to the computer and download the data that way. and then others with other bells and whistles

honestly, the simple classic is all you need - http://www.bayercontour.com/Blood-Gluco ... rs/Contour

and you do have a choice of colors if you like.... ;-)

The simple, post-meal reminder of Bayer's CONTOUR® blood glucose meter was shown to help insulin users achieve success in changing testing behaviors.

EASY TO LEARN AND USE

Insert the test strip and test your blood glucose level — it's that simple

Identify trouble spots with personalized HI/LO target range and summary of your blood glucose test results

See effect of food choices on your blood glucose levels with pre-meal and post-meal markers3

No Coding™ technology eliminates inaccurate blood glucose test results due to user miscoding
Click to expand...
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
There is one that's quite popular in the UK because it only needs a tiddly amount of blood but the name of it has completely gone out of my head at the moment! (blame it on the evening glass of Chardonnay.... :roll: )
Eliz
Click to expand...

Ah, I've just remembered what it is (isn't coffee a wonderful thing..? ;-) ) The Accu-check Aviva is popular in the UK. It's available in most pharmacies; only needs a tiny blood sample, and the strips are usually readily available on Ebay.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Ah, I've just remembered what it is (isn't coffee a wonderful thing..? ;-) ) The Accu-check Aviva is popular in the UK. It's available in most pharmacies; only needs a tiny blood sample, and the strips are usually readily available on Ebay.
Click to expand...

Ah thank you! I notice the Accu-chek devices do seem to be the most easily available by quite some distance, though the strips are a bit more expensive. I'm guessing the lack of availability of meters is due to most people getting them on the NHS?
 
Rufus McDufus said:
I notice the Accu-chek devices do seem to be the most easily available by quite some distance, though the strips are a bit more expensive. I'm guessing the lack of availability of meters is due to most people getting them on the NHS?
Click to expand...

Yes, insulin dependant (human!) diabetics can get supplies on the NHS. But many diabetics in the UK can't get stuff on the NHS, hence the huge trade in diabetic supplies on Ebay; which also benefits those of us with non-human diabetics. ;-)

You should be able to get any 'human' test strips on Ebay at around half the cost of what they'd be in a pharmacy. I've bought zillions of them and have only ever had about 2 dodgy boxes during the 6 years I've been buying them.
 
Hi Rob, just popping in to say welcome from another UKer (in Surrey) - there aren't many of us but as you've discovered, you'll get help from members of this board from all over the world! Thank you for taking on this little chap and caring for him. It's so heartening to see.

You seem to be doing all the right things and asking all the right questions so just carry on as you are. FD can be quite a steep learning curve and cats can respond differently to different treatments - insulins/doses/foods etc. It keeps us on our toes but it's very rewarding when you start to see an improvement.

As Elizabeth has said, do look on ebay for meters/strips/lancets - vastly cheaper there.

Anyway, just cheering you on from the sidelines!

Best of luck
Diana
 
Hi Rob,

Greetings from yet another Britisher :-D . I'm also Surrey based.

Ulysses sounds like quite a handful! You're a true good'un for taking him in hand!

I use a Bayer Contour XT (kindly donated by Elizabeth & Bertie, too!). It only uses a weeny amount of blood & is really easy to use. Diabetes.co.uk gives away free meters every month: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/promotions/bayer-meters.html Might be worth adding your details, or take Elizabeth up on the offer of a freebie. She's a good'un too! :lol:

These meters use Contour NEXT strips. It's important to get the right ones (the previous edition of the Contour strips are incompatible), but I have picked up 100 strips for 14 quid on Ebay in the past. In fact, this has just reminded me to bid on more....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_t...TR0.TRC0&_nkw=contour+next&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Best of luck!

Juliet

Oooh, BTW - I work in SW London. If you need a hand with anything, drop me a PM?
 
Thanks for all your replies - so many diabetic cats in Surrey! We're just over the river in Twickenham so maybe it's spreading northwards?
I've added a picture of Ulysses for my avatar. This is recent and he's almost normal weight. Got some shocking pictures of him with scratches on his face - he was always poking his head through catflaps and getting a biff on the nose from the incumbent. In fact some of you might recognise him and I wouldn't be surprised if he crosses over the river sometimes and goes for a jaunt!
 
Hi
I'm in the uk too but a bit further north in County Durham. I use Aviva accu check on my cat jasper and find its great as you only need a tiny amount of blood. I always get the strips from eBay and the lowest I've paid £29 for 3 boxes of 50 but generally it's about £15/box of 50 strips including postage.
 
Interesting. I have to admit the availability of the Accu-chek (why do my fingers keep typing 'check' by default?) appeals to me. That said, being a freetard of the first degree I did enter the draw for a Bayer Contour XT on diabetes.co.uk!
In the meantime we were running low on AlphaTrak strips so I did order 50 more. Just gives a little more time to decide. I'm probably over-deciding frankly as these devices do look much of a muchness!
 
It's worth having two meters, anyway Rob, not that they're likely to go BANG! on you, but you never know when you might leave one in a 'special' place. You know, the place where all the odd socks go? Doesn't matter if they're the same model or not, as long as you have your supply of emergency strips too. And yes, they are much of a muchness.

(Returning to local geography, I work at Kingston Uni & can just about see the river from my office. I'll wave at Ulysses when I see him swimming across the Thames and taking down the swans!)
 
Hello from the Midlands :)

Juliet and Eliz have been looking after me and thankfully supplied me with a one-touch Ultra as the prices of the Alphatrak strips were killing me (and putting me off testing as if you work it out with the price of the lancets it's about £1 a test!!!!!!) We have been doing loads more testing since. I would recommend you come off the ALphatrak as you are more likely to do more tests when you're not thinking of the cost so much?

THe one touch needs slighly more blood than the Alphatrak but it didn't take long to get used to it. I have kept my Alphatrak just in case as a spare meter but I only have about 4 strips left and there is noooo way I am spending £30 on any more!!

Just as a question guys - the last twice I have bought strips/lancets on eBay - they have had their prescription labels either on or torn off. This made me feel a bit :? as I am not sure if people are getting them on NHS and flogging on :sad: I guess sometimes it's better not to know :(

Good luck with your stray fella,

Best wishes

Jax
 
Harrycat said:
ust as a question guys - the last twice I have bought strips/lancets on eBay - they have had their prescription labels either on or torn off. This made me feel a bit as I am not sure if people are getting them on NHS and flogging on I guess sometimes it's better not to know :(
Click to expand...


Yes I think it's better not to know but at the end of the day, supplies on ebay are so much cheaper and I don't see why other diabetics shouldn't benefit from NHS supplies ;-)

Diana
 
Be nice to get something cheap from the NHS seeing as I seem to have to pay for everything else mumble grumble!

OK, we started doing Ulysses's first curve today. Hrrm, very odd figures.
7:40 11.5 (just before feeding & injection)
9:40 18.3
11:40 5.8

This is with the AlphaTrak. I don't trust these measurements at all. I'm sure he hasn't gone out elsewhere and eaten before his morning meal. Might abort this test and borrow a meter from the vet.
 
Yes, those do look rather odd readings. The rise at +2 could be either a food spike (food intake raises BGs) or a bit of rebound (too high a dose of insulin) but it is on the steep side. And then that B-I-I-I-IG drop...hmm. I think I'd be distrustful of the meter/strips too, but it might be worth continuing to take readings when you can today to see if a picture is emerging.

Sorry I can't be more helpful but my own experience of this is far less than either Elizabeth, who has a brilliant all-round 'take' on FD, and our newer member Juliet, who I believe is a scientist and so takes all this in her stride. I don't have a diabetic cat these days and when I did, it was different as my Tom had complications :cry:

Don't be disheartened though, everyone has struggles at first for one reason or another. Oh and do remember the importance of treats - little Ulysses won't be feeling too great from these fluctuations in his BGs so give him lots of cuddles and TLC. And you will need your chosen pick-me-up too eg alcohol, chocolate or whatever floats your boat ;-)

Best of luck

Diana
 
Thanks! Funnily enough he's really bright and perky. You wouldn't know he has anything wrong with him, but them he's been really good for quite some time and putting on weight nicely.
 
Rufus McDufus said:
...OK, we started doing Ulysses's first curve today. Hrrm, very odd figures.
7:40 11.5 (just before feeding & injection)
9:40 18.3
11:40 5.8
Click to expand...

OK, that is a fast drop, and that 5.8 may well not be the lowest number of the cycle (he might still drop over the next hour or so after that). Do you have any other test numbers from him?

Edited to add:
If this is typical of your cat's numbers then Diana may well be right in that the 18.3 might be a bit of a rebound/bounce from dropping too fast and/or too low in the previous cycle. "Too low" doesn't necessarily mean 'dangerously low' (although it could be...); it can just mean that it got a bit too low for your cat's comfort zone.
 
OK, another number to add:

7:40 11.5 (just before feeding & injection)
9:40 18.3
11:40 5.8
13:40 6.9

So a little bit more consistent. He certainly didn't show any signs of being hypo earlier. We've normally taken 6 hourly readings up to now and this last number is on the 6 hour boundary and is the lowest we've seen. Strangely the 6 hourly readings have all been in the 15-20 range so far for the last couple of months so it's gone through that barrier and straight into the 'be wary' zone.
 
Phew!

It looked like he may have been dropping at around 6 mmols an hour so I must admit that I started nibblling my fingernails when I saw that 5.8 at +4 (four hours after the shot) and thought he may still drop for another hour or more... nailbite_smile

Congrats, Rob, on cracking on with that first curve. How is Rufus coping with the tests? And how are you doing...?
 
We're doing fine! My wife does part of the work and I do the rest. She's good at the injections, I do the blood tests while she holds him.
Its Ulysses ... he's perfectly OK with it all. He struggles a bit with the blood tests and it needs two people. Injections aren't easy either as he's really not keen on it. As he's getting on a bit he tends to be a bit slow reacting so I often find if I surprise him it takes about 5-10 seconds for Mr Brain to register alarm.

One of our other cats is Rufus - his name stuck as my username! He has other problems ... very anxious and suffers from itchy skin, but not too bad.

Thanks again for your help!
 
Well, I can understand why Eliz was nibbling her fingernails when she saw that 5.8 at +4 (in my case it wasn't fingernails but plain chocolate digestives which are currently half-price everywhere which makes it rude not to buy them and eat - er... one or two at times of need).

Looks like what may have happened is that most of the insulin was used up in those initial few hours and the BG will start to rise again now, possibly quite fast. TBH this is not untypical of Caninsulin's action - it can work fast and be used up fast. Bit of background here - this insulin is really made for dogs ~ the clue is in the name. A cat's metabolism is different which is why Caninsulin is usually not so effective for long-term use in cats, although ECID - every cat is different - and you may be one of the lucky ones who find you can control your cat's FD on it.

Some more tests would be helpful to see exactly what's happening. The first numbers did look odd but they might just be Ulysses's individual response to this insulin. Or it could be the meter. It would be interesting to see what his numbers would be with a different meter, maybe a One Touch Ultra.

Keep smiling!

Diana
 
I'll put some more figures here as it's pretty crazy numbers. I'll do one more reading but you can get the gist:

7:40 11.5 (just before feeding & injection)
9:40 18.3
11:40 5.8
13:40 6.9
15:40 10.6
17:40 26.6 (just before evening meal)

Just what is happening with that last reading! He has been particularly ravenous in the last 2-3 hours leading up to that 26.6 and has had some food. I tend to feed him smaller amounts through the day rather than 2 big meals as he does pester a lot. He'll have some supper at about 11pm too.

So these daily 'peak low' figures have been very low compared with previous daily spot checks. I'm actually a little concerned he could drop too low at night. He sleeps like a log all night long - always has done. I suppose the thing to check would be another reading later tonight, say +4 hours after injection, but the thought occurred to me not to give him an injection tonight just in case. Will see what his reading is at 19:40 pre-injection. Definitely going to the vet tomorrow.
 
Rob, I know it's mystifying, and yes, take these results to the vet and see what they say - but there may not be a lot anyone can analyse constructively other than to say this is how Ulysses utilises this insulin. It may be that he is particularly prone to food spikes, so the next experiment for you may be to feed him less, or at different intervals. It's the two big differences - the morning's steep drop and then tonight's sharp rise - that need to be smoothed out if possible, the million dollar question of course being how...

Try not to be overly concerned, you are gathering data all the time which will help, and if Ulysses himself is ok, as you said earlier, that's always a very good sign.

BTW if you can, maybe try to put your data into "standard" curve results format, ie:

AMPS (morning pre-shot) - 11.5
+2 -
+4 -
+6 -
+8 -
+10 -
PMPS (evening pre-shot) -

it will help everyone to see at a glance exactly how the insulin is acting in your little guy. If you have a calculator to hand and it's easy to convert your numbers into American ones (multiply by 18) put that number in brackets after the first - this board is heavily US-slanted, so you may get more responses if people over there find your posts easier to understand.

Finally, don't be afraid to start a new thread at any time if you have a specific query. Sometimes threads tend to get a bit unwieldy and the latest concern doesn't bear much relation to the title - so to improve your chances of getting help, start a new one!

Keep us posted

Diana
 
Cheers! Don't worry - I have been using you all somewhat today, but it's been very helpful. Will take a look at producing a 'standardised' chart for here maybe but I have enough data (and a graph) to take to the vets tomorrow.
 
I don't think you're "using" people here, Rob, as much as airing your thoughts and asking for a bit of moral support. There are all kinds of reasons people post here and all are as valid as each other ;-)

Do let us know what the vet says. The board is great in being able to add members' enormous wealth of experience in treating an FD cat to a vet's more technical approach.

BTW I meant to say before - I can see why you may be reluctant to give Ulysses any insulin tonight, given your previous experience and fearing he may go too low. We might usually suggest just reducing the dose, otherwise you will almost certainly get a very high reading in the morning, but it's a personal decision and it is certainly better to be high for a short time than too low...

Diana
 
Yep - I think we'll reduce the dose tonight. There's no point risking hypo. Will keep an eye on him too. We've got the technique for treating hypo cats from our previous diabetic guy.
 
Nice one for getting that curve nailed, Rob! Any data that you can show the vet will be useful.

Looks like the caninsulin is only in Ulysses's system for about 7 hours, which is not uncommon at all. Don't worry about the post injection food spike. Insulin can pass at different rates into the blood stream depending on where & how it was injected. It may have been sitting in a little fatty patch under his skin for a while before it started leaching into the blood, but it's clear that it ad quite a rapid onset & then disappeared pretty quickly too. I think he might have 'bounced' a little back up to 26.2 as the change in BG was too fast for his little system to cope with. Did you drop the dose last night, in the end?

I'll translate your readings for our American buddies:

AMPS: 11.5 (207)
+2: 18.3 (330)
+4: 5.8 (105)
+6: 6.9 (124)
+8: 10.6 (191)
+10: 26.6 (479)


It would be really helpful if you could set up a spreadsheet for his numbers that we could all access. FDMB provides colour coded charts that are much easier for our brains to analyse at a glance. This info is here:

http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207 or I can simply set a link up for you that you can save & fill out yourself?

Juliet
 
Thanks! Link to spreadsheet in my signature (Google Docs is disappointingly flaky isn't it?).

In the end we decided to stick to the regular dose but test +2 & +4 hours afterwards & watch him closely for any adverse signs. You can see he was very high then so there wasn't really any risk of hypo. Looks like the trough is actually in the morning after the first meal glucose bump & the insulin takes effect which causes a plummet.
 
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