New here with some questions...

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J

Jenx

Member Since 2023
Hello, my cat Jax has been diagnosed with diabetes since last year. His numbers are still running high and I been upping his ProZinc insulin per his vet. So, I been testing his blood sugar 3 times a day now and I use the Alphatrak 2. Well, the test strips used to be in the $50 range now I see them in the $70 range and recently found out they are being discontinued. I read that you can use certain human test strips for the Alphatrak, but I'm not sure how the accuracy would be since it's meant for humans. Does anyone have any experience with different test strips that work in the Alphatrak 2? Also, is the insulin only good for 60 days after the first puncture, I know they say it should be replaced, but is it necessary and will not work to it's full potential? I know these companies just want your money, so do guys feel the insulin should be replaced at 60 days or is it fine to use the whole bottle? Thanks!!!
 
Welcome to the best group you could have ever joined. If it wasn't for the advice the experienced members here gave me Tyler wouldn't be in remission since 1-24-21
I would not use any other test strips other than the ones for the Alpha Trak 2
Yes I know they are being discontinued.
My vet was fine with me using a human meter
Most of us here use human meters ,that's what our numbers are based on anyway
The vial of Prozinc should last about 6 months depending on how many units of unsulin you are giving, are you keeping it in the fridge?

How many units of prozinc are you up to now, we test more than 3 times a day , I assume that's all you are testing now because of the price of the Alpha Trak Strips
We adjust doses by 0.25 units at a time
Do you have the U-40 syringes with the half unit markings?

If you want a suggestion of what human meter to use just ask.
If you want help with trying to get Jax's BG regulated

Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

Tap on your name up top ,then tap on signature add the information that is asked in the Blue link and tap Save
If you need help setting up the spreadsheet just ask ,we have a member you will be glad to do it for you.

Just keep asking questions :cat:
 
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Most of us use Walmart’s ReliOn. The test strips are very economical and the meter gets consistently high accuracy ratings. You can buy 100 strips for about $18. As Dianne said, most of us here are used to interpreting the human meter numbers, which btw is what vets used until pet meters were invented not that long ago. If you’ve been at this for over a year with your vet, I hope you’ll consider trying our way. We follow 2 dosing protocols that have been proven successful in regulating diabetic cats. I was just writing to another btw member that Minnie only got regulated and improved once I found this forum and followed the advice from the pros here :cat: I wasted too much time in the beginning following three vets’ advice so I was never able to get her into remission but Bobo became diabetic this year and, with the help from folks here, he went into remission last week. I never even had to consult the vet!

can I ask what food you’re feeding him?
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Welcome to the best group you could have ever joined. If it wasn't for the advice the experienced members here gave me Tyler wouldn't be in remission since 1-24-21
I would not use any other test strips other than the ones for the Alpha Trak 2
Yes I know they are being discontinued.
My vet was fine with me using a human meter
Most of us here use human meters ,that's what our numbers are based on anyway
The vial of Prozinc should last about 6 months depending on how many units of unsulin you are giving, are you keeping it in the fridge?

How many units of prozinc are you up to now, we test more than 3 times a day , I assume that's all you are testing now because of the price of the Alpha Trak Strips
We adjust doses by 0.25 units at a time
Do you have the U-40 syringes with the half unit markings?

If you want a suggestion of what human meter to use just ask.
If you want help with trying to get Jax's BG regulated

Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

Tap on your name up top ,then tap on signature add the information that is asked in the Blue link and tap Save
If you need help setting up the spreadsheet just ask ,we have a member you will be glad to do it for you.

Just keep asking questions :cat:
Click to expand...
I actually used to test only once a day and then went to every other day especially since the test strips are way too expensive. But now realize he should definitely be tested before insulin is given in case it's too low and he shouldn't be receiving any. He's at 3.5 units and was just at 2 units up until a month ago, the vet said to increase it 1/2 unit for a week and increase it again 1/2 if his blood sugar still is high. When I called last week they said give him 3.5 units and if it's still high to bring him back in. Any time I check his blood sugar before I give him any insulin for the day, it's usually in the 400s. So, I'm wondering if the ProZinc just isn't working for him and he needs something else? And yes, I would like a recommendation on a human meter like someone else posted below. But I don't know how to read a human one, if I'm testing on my cat.
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Most of us use Walmart’s ReliOn. The test strips are very economical and the meter gets consistently high accuracy ratings. You can buy 100 strips for about $18. As Dianne said, most of us here are used to interpreting the human meter numbers, which btw is what vets used until pet meters were invented not that long ago. If you’ve been at this for over a year with your vet, I hope you’ll consider trying our way. We follow 2 dosing protocols that have been proven successful in regulating diabetic cats. I was just writing to another btw member that Minnie only got regulated and improved once I found this forum and followed the advice from the pros here :cat: I wasted too much time in the beginning following three vets’ advice so I was never able to get her into remission but Bobo became diabetic this year and, with the help from folks here, he went into remission last week. I never even had to consult the vet!

can I ask what food you’re feeding him?
Click to expand...
That sounds great and I just don't where to begin with the human meter if I need to read it different since it's for a cat. I feed him fancy feast classic pate and he has Dr. Elsey's dry since I have 4 cats and I need to leave that out so the others can eat. I just ordered a bag of Young Again mature because I seen different posts on sites that it works great for diabetes and helped cats get into remission. So I'm hoping different dry food may help.
 
Jenx said:
I actually used to test only once a day and then went to every other day especially since the test strips are way too expensive. But now realize he should definitely be tested before insulin is given in case it's too low and he shouldn't be receiving any. He's at 3.5 units and was just at 2 units up until a month ago, the vet said to increase it 1/2 unit for a week and increase it again 1/2 if his blood sugar still is high. When I called last week they said give him 3.5 units and if it's still high to bring him back in. Any time I check his blood sugar before I give him any insulin for the day, it's usually in the 400s. So, I'm wondering if the ProZinc just isn't working for him and he needs something else? And yes, I would like a recommendation on a human meter like someone else posted below. But I don't know how to read a human one, if I'm testing on my cat.
Click to expand...


Most members use the Relion Premier Classic Meter
Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
You can order them on line also
Our numbers are based on human meters
 
I'm going to tag Bhooma
@Bandit's Mom
to help you set up your signature and our spreadsheet, she will probably be on later on since she lives in India
We wouldn't know if you should switch to another insulin because we would need to see the BG numbers you might already have and since you were only testing once a day and then once every other day. Even testing only 3 times a day isn't enough to see how he is responding to it.
Dr Elsey's Clean Protein and Young Again are about 5-6 % carbs
It's best not to feed any kibble but since you have 4 other cats that eat it I guess you will have to see how it goes
Can you feed the other cats all low carb wet food ?
We can help you learn about the human meter numbers if you switch
The normal range with a human meter is 50-120 mg/dl and this is also the range in which the pancreas gets a chance to heal.


We adjust doses by 0.25 units at a time
Do you have the U-40 syringes with the half unit markings?

Do you think you can at least set up your signature?
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

Tap on your name up top ,then tap on signature add the information that is asked in the Blue link and tap Save
 
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Those are good low carb foods for a diabetic cat so that’s great! You don’t have to convert the human meter numbers, you just plug them into the spreadsheet. The normal range for a cat on a human meter is 70-120 so the goal is to try to get your cat to be in that range for as long as possible and that’s what we mean by regulated. If we can see the data you've already collected, we can then give you dosing advice.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
I'm going to tag Bhooma
@Bandit's Mom
to help you set up your signature and our spreadsheet, she will probably be on later on since she lives in India
We wouldn't know if you should switch to another insulin because we would need to see the BG numbers you might already have and since you were only testing once a day and then once every other day. Even testing only 3 times a day isn't enough to see how he is responding to it.
Dr Elsey's Clean Protein and Young Again are about 5-6 % carbs
It's best not to feed any kibble but since you have 4 other cats that eat it I guess you will have to see how it goes
Can you feed the other cats all low carb wet food ?
We can help you learn about the human meter numbers if you switch
The normal range with a human meter is 50-120 mg/dl and this is also the range in which the pancreas gets a chance to heal.


We adjust doses by 0.25 units at a time
Do you have the U-40 syringes with the half unit markings?

Do you think you can at least set up your signature?
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

Tap on your name up top ,then tap on signature add the information that is asked in the Blue link and tap Save
Click to expand...
Thank you. That's a lot of information all at once so it might take me some time to figure out the signature and spread sheet, but I appreciate you guys helping. Yes, I have the U-40 syringes and no, I can't feed just wet food since some of the cat's are picky and don't always eat the wet food and I don't want them starving.
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Those are good low carb foods for a diabetic cat so that’s great! You don’t have to convert the human meter numbers, you just plug them into the spreadsheet. The normal range for a cat on a human meter is 70-120 so the goal is to try to get your cat to be in that range for as long as possible and that’s what we mean by regulated. If we can see the data you've already collected, we can then give you dosing advice.
Click to expand...
Okay thank you. I'm going to try to figure out the spreadsheet and signature that is needed.
 
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