Lucky AMPS 191 +6 146 PMPS 420

[Luckyducky]

I recently decided to get an Alphatrak glucometer to compare against the Arkray Glucocard I've used for the last 2 years, and I have to say, I'm disappointed. I've been doing the comparison since yesterday afternoon, and although it's a bit early to fully judge the results, I've already found in several readings that the numbers are different almost by 100 points. It's making me question my entire perspective on his numbers --- it's as though whatever blue numbers I saw might have actually been yellows, yellows were pinks, pinks were reds... it's just got me thinking he may have been a lot worse regulated than I'd imagined.

I had read in the forums that the readings from human glucometers are generally 30 to 50 points higher on the Alphatrak, closer at the lower numbers and farther at the higher ones. I also recall reading that glucometers have a 20% variance. I've also read the Alphatrak is more accurate than the human glucometers.

Here's the side-by-side results since yesterday so far (Arkray first, Alphatrak second):

216 ... 302 (86 points)
51 ... 77 (26 points)
115 ... 191 (76 points)
97 ... 146 (49 points)
302 ... 420 (118 points)


Anyways, I dunno what to think. It just makes me feel like I've misunderstood Lucky's actual condition, and it's got me in a bad place. I'm going to keep moving forward with the comparisons, and if the variances keep running high, I think I may need to reconsider my approach to his readings.

 

[Tara & Buster]

With regards to meters, you're going to drive yourself bonkers in trying to find something that is as accurate as we all want it to be. My advice would be to stick with one - usually the one that is most cost effective for you - and go with that. It's a measurement, whatever the number reads. Lucky doesn't know the difference and the important thing to do is use consistent tools, whatever they may be. It's frustrating, for sure. We all want what is best for our sugar babies and we want accuracy to the nth degree, but there's only so much you can do. Hope Lucky can flatten out an find his way to lower floors.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

If you look at the latest paper by Roomp and Rand (Tight Regulation Sticky, 5 paragraph's down), Management of Diabetic Cats, they say that at the low end the human blood glucometer is about 18 points lower than the Alphatrak. Higher up the scale, they use the figure of the Alphatrack being 30-40% higher. However, the protocol that we use was developed with the idea that people would be testing with human blood glucometers.

Your readings seem to confirm that 30-40% difference. But as Tara said, it's too easy to go crazy comparing meters. I'd pick one and stick with it.