Making a curve for my vet

[Julie mueller]

Hello -
I have both the Advocate PetTest and the Relion human meter . I have to do a curve chart for my vet this weekend to determine if we are going to start insulin.
My question is- I have been randomly testing Smokey over the past week with both meters to see where his levels are and the advocate has his ranging from 200-300 and the ReliOn has him 100-200 all the time. I'm wondering which meter I should use for the curve?? All his symptoms have improved greatly since the diet change . And I dont want to start insulin if his numbers are already low but I dont want to not treat him if he needs it . It is so frustrating!

 

[CandyH & Catcat]

newbie here -- I'd say do the curve with both meters if you can get sufficient blood to do so -- this, just because my vet keeps telling me to get an Alphatrak 2 rather than the human meter I'm using -- and I keep telling her I'd rather use that $ on cat food and insulin, rather than a "pet meter" and test strips $60 for 50 rather than $9 for 50 ... not to mention food for us humans (thank goodness the food bank does get some canned catfood, they've handed me Instinct and Newman's Own so far) ... if the blood drop isn't sufficient for both at the same time, I'd say use the PetTest for the curve you show the vet simply because many vets have a preference/blind spot about the meter type

 

[Jasper Blue and Jay]

Hello -
I have both the Advocate PetTest and the Relion human meter . I have to do a curve chart for my vet this weekend to determine if we are going to start insulin.
My question is- I have been randomly testing Smokey over the past week with both meters to see where his levels are and the advocate has his ranging from 200-300 and the ReliOn has him 100-200 all the time. I'm wondering which meter I should use for the curve?? All his symptoms have improved greatly since the diet change . And I dont want to start insulin if his numbers are already low but I dont want to not treat him if he needs it . It is so frustrating!

If you know it's a good quality meter and the strips are not expired and properly calibrated or whatever it is you have to do with the pet meters... then I'd use the pet meter if its for the vet because that's closest to what they use. Unless your vet is familiar with how human meters run and understands thats what you'll be using.

You can also ,, if it's not too much trouble so as to mess up the curve cause thats most important right now... you can also get a couple few tests with the other meter in there too just for your own edification going forward.

But since its for the vet I'd stick with the meter they expect, as long as you know its in good working order and giving accurate results for a pet meter.

 

[Julie mueller]

If you know it's a good quality meter and the strips are not expired and properly calibrated or whatever it is you have to do with the pet meters... then I'd use the pet meter if its for the vet because that's closest to what they use. Unless your vet is familiar with how human meters run and understands thats what you'll be using.

You can also ,, if it's not too much trouble so as to mess up the curve cause thats most important right now... you can also get a couple few tests with the other meter in there too just for your own edification going forward.

But since its for the vet I'd stick with the meter they expect, as long as you know its in good working order and giving accurate results for a pet meter.

Do you know if theres a big difference between advocate and alpha trak

 

[Julie mueller]

Because of the huge difference between the readings I question whether the pet meter is right or not . Just now he was 355 on the pet meter and 190 on the relion

 

[Jasper Blue and Jay]

Because of the huge difference between the readings I question whether the pet meter is right or not . Just now he was 355 on the pet meter and 190 on the relion

oh wow that is a huge difference...

I don't know... I don't know how pet meters work except I've seen some references to having to have a special code for the strips?

What kind of relion is it? How old are they?

Is it worth getting another Relion to compare to the other Relion? That way if the two human meters are closer to each other you'll know it's the pet meter that's off?

 

[CandyH & Catcat]

my guess is, it's kind of an apples and oranges situation -- each meter will show you the BG tendency at the test time, but their scales are different .. someone else made the analogy between Centigrade/Celsius and Fahrenheit when talking temperatures .. I suspect the vet will be far more interested in the shape of the curve, when it's plotted, and the approximate onset (beginning) of insulin activity, the nadir (lowest BG), both amount and time since injection, and the duration of the insulin activity (when the BG approaches the pre-shot values) ==== but I'm still a newbie, hope some of the more experienced sugarkitty caregivers can chime in

still think the vet will give more weight to the PetTest results, which may (crossing fingers) coordinate more closely to the clinic's meter ---

another thought too, which meter do YOU find easier to use, which one will you keep on using, giving weight to all considerations ...... from what I've researched, no meter is 100% accurate all the time, the standards allow for something like a 20% discrepancy, so if you still question something, try a retest if Smokey is okay with it