I need help again! Test strips question???

[Scratches123]

I've been using the alpha trak 2. Test strips are 50$ for a box of 50. I'm testing my cat five times a day right now. Once pre morning shot. Once a couple hours after her morning shot. Once mid day. Once before pm shot. Once a couple hours after. That's five strips a day. I'd use the whole box of 50 in ten days. That's 150$ a month. Does this seem right to you or am I doing everything wrong?? I cannot afford that..

 

[Sarah&Soph]

AlphaTrak strips are outrageously expensive which is why a lot of people use a human meter instead. The protocols on this board were also written using a meter, so that’s another benefit to using one! The only difference between a human meter and a pet one (besides the cost) is that on a pet meter the ideal BG range is 68-150, while on a human meter it’s 50-120

 

[Diana&Tom]

Testing five times a day is not excessive while you are gathering data on how your cat responds to a particular dose of insulin but yes, strips for the Alphatrak are eye-wateringly expensive. This is one reason that some people stop using this meter and switch to a human one for which strips are much more affordable. You can however substitute another brand of strips that is compatible with the Alphatrak - I'm not sure where you are in the world and what's available in your country but I'm sure someone else will be along to give you some suggestions.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

You can get a human meter and switch over. The meters are cheap and the strips are MUCH cheaper than AlphaTrak strips. If you are not going to use AlphaTrak strips, there is really no point in continuing to use the AlphaTrak meter. The strips are batch tested to determine the code that needs to be used to get the most accurate reading for a cat; the code then has to be entered in the meter. So, if you do not have strips that have been batch tested and give you the right code to use for each vial, it defeats the purpose. There are a lot of posts here on this topic, if you want to search for them. There are some people who use other strips with their AT meter, so it can be done. From the posts I have seen, I think the Insulinix strips are supposed to be the closest in accuracy. My personal opinion is why introduce an unnecessary variable that could impact accuracy. If you want to use 'human' strips, go with a 'human' meter. They are perfectly fine to use, most people do. You just have to keep in mind that the readings will be a little lower than they would be with a pet meter (though there is no set conversion that you can do). If you have a vet that insists on seeing curve numbers taken with an AT, you could switch to a human meter for daily use then just use the AT for curves for the vet.

Whatever you decide to use, the most important thing is that you keep on testing!

 

[Scratches123]

You can get a human meter and switch over. The meters are cheap and the strips are MUCH cheaper than AlphaTrak strips. If you are not going to use AlphaTrak strips, there is really no point in continuing to use the AlphaTrak meter. The strips are batch tested to determine the code that needs to be used to get the most accurate reading for a cat; the code then has to be entered in the meter. So, if you do not have strips that have been batch tested and give you the right code to use for each vial, it defeats the purpose. There are a lot of posts here on this topic, if you want to search for them. There are some people who use other strips with their AT meter, so it can be done. From the posts I have seen, I think the Insulinix strips are supposed to be the closest in accuracy. My personal opinion is why introduce an unnecessary variable that could impact accuracy. If you want to use 'human' strips, go with a 'human' meter. They are perfectly fine to use, most people do. You just have to keep in mind that the readings will be a little lower than they would be with a pet meter (though there is no set conversion that you can do). If you have a vet that insists on seeing curve numbers taken with an AT, you could switch to a human meter for daily use then just use the AT for curves for the vet.

Whatever you decide to use, the most important thing is that you keep on testing!

ill just stick with the alpha trak for now. im used to it and im new at this. i just didnt realize how expensive everything is total per month. i have my own health problems that cost a lot per month as well

 

[Sarah&Soph]

ill just stick with the alpha trak for now. im used to it and im new at this. i just didnt realize how expensive everything is total per month. i have my own health problems that cost a lot per month as well

If that’s what you’re comfortable with for now, then certainly stick with it! If you do decide to switch to a human meter, the ReliOn prime is a popular and super affordable option. The meter is $9 and the test strips are $18 for 100, so only $0.18 per test strip, compared to $1.00 per test strip for the AlphaTrak.

 

[fourcatmom]

I have been using the Relion Prime meter for almost 18 months testing several times a day. Recently the meter began acting up - would go blank after I put in a strip and had blood ready, causing problems because Sophie was not happy that she had to be held down longer while I reinserted the strip. This started happening with every other test so I replaced the battery with a new one, thinking that was it. It's still doing it. Thinking of switching to Agamatrix meter based on the recommendation of another forum user. Anyone else having the same kind of problem with the Relion meter??

 

[Sylvie]

I've been using the alpha trak 2. Test strips are 50$ for a box of 50. I'm testing my cat five times a day right now. Once pre morning shot. Once a couple hours after her morning shot. Once mid day. Once before pm shot. Once a couple hours after. That's five strips a day. I'd use the whole box of 50 in ten days. That's 150$ a month. Does this seem right to you or am I doing everything wrong?? I cannot afford that..

don’t know if u are still on here or not but, get ‘freestyle lite’ strips to use with your AT meter and set pet meter on 38. the BG readings are only about up to 10 or so off which is on lower side with these strips. so say it says 120, chances are BG is really between 120-130 or so.. you can usually buy these on eBay anywhere from $10-25 a box, bulk is usually cheaper. expired strips up to a year still work great so i grab those too when i can.. these FS strips are identical to the AT strips, made by same company. Your close by somewhat, if you like i can send u a box early next week to try out, you can compare them to your AT strip readings so you can see they are not that off. they are what i have been using for almost 2 yrs with my AT meters for i too go through like a box every 10 days, even still today.

 

[Sylvie]

I have been using the Relion Prime meter for almost 18 months testing several times a day. Recently the meter began acting up - would go blank after I put in a strip and had blood ready, causing problems because Sophie was not happy that she had to be held down longer while I reinserted the strip. This started happening with every other test so I replaced the battery with a new one, thinking that was it. It's still doing it. Thinking of switching to Agamatrix meter based on the recommendation of another forum user. Anyone else having the same kind of problem with the Relion meter??

i don’t use that but, did you try a new vial of strips? could just be a bad batch, happens sometimes.

 

[Sarah&Soph]

I have been using the Relion Prime meter for almost 18 months testing several times a day. Recently the meter began acting up - would go blank after I put in a strip and had blood ready, causing problems because Sophie was not happy that she had to be held down longer while I reinserted the strip. This started happening with every other test so I replaced the battery with a new one, thinking that was it. It's still doing it. Thinking of switching to Agamatrix meter based on the recommendation of another forum user. Anyone else having the same kind of problem with the Relion meter??

I have not had this problem with mine, but at only $9 for the meter, if it were me I’d be inclined to just buy a new one first and see if it works before I switched to another meter

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Please do not use strips developed for a different meter in the AT. Several years ago, the same manufacturer made the AT and Freestyle. The meters are no longer made by the same company. You have no idea if the strips use the same reagents. There is no guarantee that you will get accurate readings. One of the other moderators, @Marje and Gracie, spoke with the AT manufacturer and they indicated the strips are not interchangeable.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

There are some people who use other strips with their AT meter, so it can be done. From the posts I have seen, I think the Insulinix strips are supposed to be the closest in accuracy.

don’t know if u are still on here or not but, get ‘freestyle lite’ strips to use with your AT meter and set pet meter on 38. the BG readings are only about up to 10 or so off which is on lower side with these strips. so say it says 120, chances are BG is really between 120-130 or so.. you can usually buy these on eBay anywhere from $10-25 a box, bulk is usually cheaper. expired strips up to a year still work great so i grab those too when i can.. these FS strips are identical to the AT strips, made by same company. Your close by somewhat, if you like i can send u a box early next week to try out, you can compare them to your AT strip readings so you can see they are not that off. they are what i have been using for almost 2 yrs with my AT meters for i too go through like a box every 10 days, even still today.

I just spoke, actually, with Abbott. They said the Freestyle strips (some are now using InsulinX) should not be used in the AT and are not interchangeable.

I have looked at Janet’s comparisons and, while many are close, there are some that are not. In addition, her sample size is really small. It is not a chance I would ever take that one test could be off that would cause my kitty to have a symptomatic hypo. I also had an AT2 and a ReliOn Micro meter. I ran comparisons just so people could see that they were not consistently equivalent but I used the Micro for my day-to-day testing.

My personal opinion is why introduce an unnecessary variable that could impact accuracy.

Exactly!!!!! Thank you

I've been using the alpha trak 2. Test strips are 50$ for a box of 50. I'm testing my cat five times a day right now. Once pre morning shot. Once a couple hours after her morning shot. Once mid day. Once before pm shot. Once a couple hours after. That's five strips a day. I'd use the whole box of 50 in ten days. That's 150$ a month. Does this seem right to you or am I doing everything wrong?? I cannot afford that..

I would encourage you to buy a human meter. It’s really not that big of a deal. Ask around and see what other members are using that only take 0.3 ml of blood. I believe alot of members are also using the ReliOn Prime but if you just look through condos, it will usually state it in the signature block. Believe me, it will save you a ton of money. There might be days when it will be necessary for you to to test a whole lot more.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

I’ve moved the rest of this discussion to this thread in Think Tank to avoid hijacking Scratches’ Mom’s thread. I’m happy for the discussion on using FS strips in AT meters to continue there but not here.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[fourcatmom]

I have not had this problem with mine, but at only $9 for the meter, if it were me I’d be inclined to just buy a new one first and see if it works before I switched to another meter

It's not the strips, it's been happening over several vials of strips, too. The Agamatrix meter comes with 400 strips and 300 lancets on ADW for $89 which is a pretty good deal right now and strips are only about .20 per strip vs. Relion which are .18. Still thinking this one over...

 

[Karen&Rocket]

It's not the strips, it's been happening over several vials of strips, too. The Agamatrix meter comes with 400 strips and 300 lancets on ADW for $89 which is a pretty good deal right now and strips are only about .20 per strip vs. Relion which are .18. Still thinking this one over...

Mine (the Relion) has been great, very reliable as far as I can tell. I've heard the meters can wear out after a while, so a couple of weeks ago I bought another as a backup - like @Sarah&Soph said, for 9 bucks it's worth a try.