New to the board question about relion micro

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Rpiwonka

Member Since 2014
My name is ronnye and i have a 19 year old male that was diagnosed with diabetes. We started testing at home using a relion micro, but between our meter and the vets numbers are 80-100% difference depending on how high his blood glucose numbers are. I've read online that many people use the micro, so I'm wondering am i the only one who has this problem. Tiger is 19, weighs 15 lbs. When he was first diagnosed his blood glucose numbers where 450-550. The vet would test and get 500, the micro would get 250 with a ear prick. We tested several times and even tried another micro and the larger relion meter, but still the same. Vet has him on nph now, to see how it is going to work. At first we had him on vetsulin, worked for a while, became very regulated, same dose every evening and morning for a few months like clock work, then it seemed to quit working as good as it did, as we had to go up on his insulin quite a bit. Then vet changed him to novolin n.
Anybody have this problem, with the relion micro? Thanks for any and all info.
 
I think the micro is a good meter. Not sure what the vet was using, but if they use an Accutrak (a meter specifically calibrated for pets) the numbers willl vary by about 30 or 40 points. No matter what meter you use, there is an accepted industry variance of 20 %. So, you could test the same sample repeatedly and have a 20% variance in results.
 
I agree, until you know what meter they were using, it can be difficult to say why there is a difference.

However, I do suggest that you talk to your vet about a different insulin. Novolin is a short acting insulin that can have steep drops in the BG levels. Better insulins to use in cats are Lantus, Levemir, PZI and Prozinc. All are longer acting insulins that cats respond well to. Lantus and Levemir are human insulins. If your vet prescribes either one of these ask for the prescription for pens instead of vials. They last longer and there is usually a discount coupon on the manufacturers websites. PZI and Prozinc are pet insulins and your vet can order them.
 
Just checked, the lantus for five pens at my local walmart are priced $390.00. Guess i will check the levimir and the vets prozinc next.
 
Try here to find lowest price.
http://www.goodrx.com/lantus/price
In my area, Walgreen is best for Levemir since they have a discount.
When comparing ProZinc, remember that the 5 pens contain 1500 units of insulin while a 10 ml vile of ProZinc only includes 400 units. 4 vilas of Prozinc is 1600 units.
 
Unsubstantiated information about pet-specific meter reference numbers has been removed by Moderator.


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Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
 
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