? Need data on human vs. AlphaTrak meters

[Ben&Squirrel]

My vet is intractable about using AlphaTrak meters. I cannot afford to. Food, insulin, and vet care are already expensive. Alpha Trak would cost me something like $60-75 a month. I don't want to lose this vet as it took me a while to find one with any knowledge about feline diabetes.

I am meeting with her this morning to discuss Benny.

Does anyone have data about the two types of meters so I can bring this to her this morning?

 

[Tina Marie (GA) and Jan]

A few people have kept track with both meters (same blood drop). The only one I can recall is Debra and Yoyo, but Debra hasn’t been here for almost two years. If you can search for her SS, there were some real time BG comparisons - look at 2019.
Best of luck with your vet!

You can also see when I changed meters in Oct or Nov 2019 from AT to Freestyle Lite.

Hope that helps somehow - nobody can give you direct BG comparisons between meters.

 

[FrostD]

I would tell her exactly what you just said, you simply cannot afford it and if the alternative is no home testing at all, well that's not even a solution.

I know you are still going back and forth about dosing method, but TR was published in a scientific journal and it was based on human meters - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19592286/

 

[Ben&Squirrel]

You can also see when I changed meters in Oct or Nov 2019 from AT to Freestyle Lite.

Hope that helps somehow - nobody can give you direct BG comparisons between meters.

It does help, thank you!

I would tell her exactly what you just said, you simply cannot afford it and if the alternative is no home testing at all, well that's not even a solution.

I know you are still going back and forth about dosing method, but TR was published in a scientific journal and it was based on human meters - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19592286/

Melissa, that's just what I told her. I also mentioned that I had done a head to head comparison and that they were basically the same, with the human meter showing a lower, more conservative number at times. She said, "oh, okay, let's use the human meter then."

Thanks also for the link to the TR study; I'll save that. I gave her the written materials for each method and she will read and advise. She already advises me to use a version of SLGS anyway. She is actually fairly flexible; she just wants to talk things over and make changes slowly. The spreadsheet is invaluable; she wants to see it every time we talk.

Thanks for the responses, Jan and Melissa!

 

[Deborah & Muffy(GA) & Wendall]

When the AlphaTrak first came out in 2006 one of the members here, Hope, did a comparison with several meters, including the AT. Her conclusion was that the AT was no better than a human meter and not worth the price. You can read about it here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/glucometer.htm
You can also use the search function to find other meter comparison discussions. Here's one: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/accuracy-of-human-meters-on-cats.36558/#post-384346

I've been at this since 2004 when there were no special pet glucometers. All of us here - and most vets - used the human ones. When a glucometer manufacturer became aware of this, they capitalized on it by 'creating' one specifically for animals, which actually was an AlphaTrak label stuck on a Freestyle meter. Seriously, the original label was underneath. Then they convinced vets that measuring glucose in blood was somehow different for animals, a clever marketing strategy.

I had the opportunity to compare my human meter (Contour) with my vet's AT a couple of years ago and there was a negligible 15 pt. difference.

 

[Ben&Squirrel]

When the AlphaTrak first came out in 2006 one of the members here, Hope, did a comparison with several meters, including the AT. Her conclusion was that the AT was no better than a human meter and not worth the price. You can read about it here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/glucometer.htm

I've been at this since 2004 when there were no special pet glucometers. All of us here - and most vets - used the human ones. When a glucometer manufacturer became aware of this, they capitalized on it by 'creating' one specifically for animals, which actually was an AlphaTrak label stuck on a Freestyle meter. Seriously, the original label was underneath. Then they convinced vets that measuring glucose in blood was somehow different for animals, a clever marketing strategy.

It's so frustrating, because they know how much money can be made in the pet industry. Most people spend a lot on their pets and would spend everything they could to manage a pet's illness. A dollar a strip is just exploitation, in my view.

Thank you for the link to the glucometer article. I sent that to her as well.