Hi everyone,
I'm Ashley, and I'm new to the forum. My 9 year old cat, Buzz, was diagnosed with diabetes in December 2009, and was on insulin for about two months, after which my vet and I agreed that his glucose levels were low enough that we could continue with a wet, low carb diet (Purina DM) and I stopped giving the insulin. So far, everything has been going quite well (despite the fact that, though he loves his wet food, he pines for my dog's dry food like it's crack cocaine, resulting in strictly monitored food schedules).
Anyway, I still check his BG every now and then at random, and I'm really starting to hate the meter that I have. My vet suggested the iPet when Buzz was initially diagnosed, which was rather expensive, but I purchased it anyway. My first one gave me nothing but problems, so she took that one back and gave me another. It's still a piece of junk though...sometimes I'll check his BG and it'll say 24, when obviously that can't be right, so I'll do a control test, get it in the correct range, try again, and get something normal, like an 94 or 106. Additionally, replacement sticks etc are not easily accessible, and it has to be coded.
So, I want to try a different meter. I had his glucose tested the other day when he went to the vet to have his teeth cleaned, and his fasting BG was 124, so I was extremely happy about that. That being said, since he is regulated and I only have to test him every now and then, I really don't want to shell out hundreds for the fancy pet meters. Based on some Internet research that I've done, lots of people seem to use the human meters for their cats. Regardless of what I buy, I plan to compare it with my vets numbers.
The main three that I've seen repeatedly mentioned are the Accucheck Aviva, the Bayer contour, and the Relion. Do you guys have experience with these? Which do you suggest? I noticed that the boxes on both the Bayer and Relion said no coding, which I'd really prefer. I've never had a non-coded before though, so does that mean I can just take it out of the package, take a sample, and get a reading?
I would appreciate any input that you guys have regarding the above mentioned meters, or any others that you've had success with. Thanks in advance for your help! Buzz thanks you too...he's really tired of having to be pricked multiple times due to bad readings.
I'm Ashley, and I'm new to the forum. My 9 year old cat, Buzz, was diagnosed with diabetes in December 2009, and was on insulin for about two months, after which my vet and I agreed that his glucose levels were low enough that we could continue with a wet, low carb diet (Purina DM) and I stopped giving the insulin. So far, everything has been going quite well (despite the fact that, though he loves his wet food, he pines for my dog's dry food like it's crack cocaine, resulting in strictly monitored food schedules).
Anyway, I still check his BG every now and then at random, and I'm really starting to hate the meter that I have. My vet suggested the iPet when Buzz was initially diagnosed, which was rather expensive, but I purchased it anyway. My first one gave me nothing but problems, so she took that one back and gave me another. It's still a piece of junk though...sometimes I'll check his BG and it'll say 24, when obviously that can't be right, so I'll do a control test, get it in the correct range, try again, and get something normal, like an 94 or 106. Additionally, replacement sticks etc are not easily accessible, and it has to be coded.
So, I want to try a different meter. I had his glucose tested the other day when he went to the vet to have his teeth cleaned, and his fasting BG was 124, so I was extremely happy about that. That being said, since he is regulated and I only have to test him every now and then, I really don't want to shell out hundreds for the fancy pet meters. Based on some Internet research that I've done, lots of people seem to use the human meters for their cats. Regardless of what I buy, I plan to compare it with my vets numbers.
The main three that I've seen repeatedly mentioned are the Accucheck Aviva, the Bayer contour, and the Relion. Do you guys have experience with these? Which do you suggest? I noticed that the boxes on both the Bayer and Relion said no coding, which I'd really prefer. I've never had a non-coded before though, so does that mean I can just take it out of the package, take a sample, and get a reading?
I would appreciate any input that you guys have regarding the above mentioned meters, or any others that you've had success with. Thanks in advance for your help! Buzz thanks you too...he's really tired of having to be pricked multiple times due to bad readings.
