Opinions on switching glucometer for Charlie

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EllieKozak

EllieKozak

Member Since 2014
Hi guys. Charlie is still in the 500 range this am but negative for ketones (had moderate on Wednesday). I know it was suggested to me a while back to switch to a human glucometer for economical reasons. I think it may be time to do just that but to be honest I am very scared about interpreting the numbers and was hoping to get a little advice on which ones are most accurate and recommended. We have been going thru a box of 50 strips weekly at 50$ a pop for the alpha trak. I was able to get the meter for free at work but not really saving money by having to get the AT strips weekly. Please advise. Thanks so much!
 
Many members use the Relion meter from Walmart. It's the Confirm or the Micro NOT the new Prime (less accurate). Strips are $20 for 50 or $35 for 100. You can get them for less at ADW. Get the Arkray Glucocard 01 strips, that's the manufacturer.

I like the Up & Up from Target. Get the Agamatrix Presto strips at ADW. Strips are about the same price in the stores, but if i order 12 boxes at a time fron ADW I get 50 strips for less than $10.50 a box.

You can order either meter from ADW and maybe get it free. Both these meters got Top Pick ratings from Consumer Reports. The nice thing is to be able to run to a local retail store to get strips if an order gets delayed, but ADW is usually really fast.
 
ADW was formerly American Diabetes Wholesale, an online supplier w/ really good prices. Here's a link to the strips I use. http://search.adwdiabetes.com/search?keywords=wavesense presto test strips

As long as you consistently use one meter, interpreting the results isn't hard. You just have to get used to a different range, w/ human meters normal range is 50 to 120, I thnk the AT is about 70 to 150. Most here just subtract 30 from an AT result or add 30 to the human meter. And actually it is easier for advisors here to look at a SS w/ human meter readings because that is what is used most here. It's vets who tend to get hung up on the AT. The Queensland protocol is based on testing done w/ human meters.
 
I use the Relion Confirm/Micro and get Glucocard 01 strips from ADW as Ann suggests. If you go the top of the page on this board, there is a big SHOP button. Part way down that page is a link to American Diabetes Wholesale/ADW. If you shop there via that link, the board here gets a small cut that help runs FDMB. :-D The best deal on the Glucocard is a buy 4, get the 5th one free deal. http://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/arkray-glucocard-01-sensor-blood-glucose-test-strips_4050_54.htm

The biggest different between meters is at the higher end of the scale since the pet meters register about 30-40% higher. After I started testing with the human meter, my vet asked me if I wanted to use the AlphaTrak. However, I gave her the raised eyebrow - she uses the OneTouch Ultra herself in her clinic and has found it matches pretty closely to the lab results. No sale. :lol: :lol: I've tested Neko before going into the vet for blood work and after, and found the Confirm is close enough to the lab results too.
 
Hello! I just got home with our new relion confirm. Tested with they AND the alphatrak for comparison reasons. The AT was 434 and the relion was 348. The difference is 86. That's a decent difference. I am confused about this and just want to make sure Charlie is getting accurate measurements.
 
If you take the Relion measurement and add 30%, 348 * 1.3, you get 452. That's not far off the AT reading of 434. Remember that the differences are more at the higher BGs. Manufactures are allowed to have up to 20% differences and that difference is well within that range. You can try a few side by side comparisons in the 100's and 200's, and you'll see less of a difference. Try it on yourself for example or another kitty if you have one around.

For dosing purposes, we make decisions on size of increase based on nadirs above or below 300. Anything above 300 just means the blood sugar is too high and the exact number is not so important.
 
Hi there :cool:

Glad to hear ketones are negative :thumbup
all P's in place?

Hows Charlies appetite today?
I'm looking at his ss and wondering why the red and black - Is he still insisting on HC?
If that is all he will eat - bring it on! :-D That's a excellent strategy since he needs the calories.
If he has been eating HC and you plan to continue feeding HC for a while, let us know.
He will need more insulin to cover the resulting raise in BGs to help get the energy from the food into his cells.
We can help you figure out the best way to accomplish that.

I think you will be very happy with the human glucometer.
(and so will your wallet! ;-) )
 
Hello! The bizarre thing is that he is back to eating LC food. I actually just switched him to purina DM savory selects. The carb content is 10% with 250 ish calories per can. And he absolutely loves it. Like literally climbs up my leg to get his face in the bowl and practically inhales it. He eats faster than a golden retriever than hasn't eaten in a week. It's awful because he is starving all the time. He eats 4-5 full 5pz cans a day and he would gladly eat more but I don't know how good it is to just feed him constantly. Opinions? He is picky but when he finds something he likes he can't get enough. I've tried raw, tiki cat, weruva, wellness, friskies, Dave's brand 95% protein and fancy feast all varieties. I strongly believe something with seafood was contributing to the profuse bloating/diarrhea bc since eliminating as much seafood as possible it's much better. But I can't understand why his numbers are still in the 500 range being on LC now for 2 days solid and no ketones for 2 days now and even increased his lantus a half unit tonight will be the third shot on the 5.5 u. Haven't used R in about 2 weeks but wondering if we may need to in irder to get him down some more? Have a funeral to go to tomor afternoon but will be home tonight and the rest of the weekend to monitor my boy. Thanks all!
 
The Lantus depot takes a while to catch up when you change the dose. Unlike faster acting insulins where you see immediate results, with a depot insulin, the response takes longer. The trade off is that the insulin is much gentler and less subject to bottoming out the numbers. This is where you'll keep hearing us suggest that Lantus teaches patience!

As for Charlie being starving, when numbers are high he is starving. Insulin helps to transport glucose into the cells. When numbers are high, there's not enough available insulin to get the glucose into the cells so nutrition isn't getting where it's supposed to go. Thus, Charlie is hungry. As his numbers get into a better range, his appetite will return to normal.
 
I'll be here all night :)
So just want to be sure I'm understanding correctly. When his numbers are high he should be allowed to eat as much as he wants even when all p's are in place and negative ketones? He literally will eat constantly if allowed. And as a reminder he's still on zeniquin and metronidazole. I am going to go thru his ss tonight and fill in meds info in the notes section for easier reference. Also trichtimonas test cane back negative and still waiting on results of the acromegaly test.
 
if i remember correctly, isn't he about 7.5lbs, but that's with losing weight from the diagnosis? you want to feed him enough that he returns to a normal, healthy weight.

Remember, one part of the 'recipe" for ketones is "not enough food." Give him more food right now -- we really need him to not be burning fat to stay alive. Even though that is a ridiculous quantity of cat food (my two 10lb one year old cats each eat 5-6oz per day), he's not getting the nutrition from his food because his blood sugar is so high.

Let's see what Sandy says when she gets back, but my gut feeling is with these numbers, you need to increase by another 0.5u in the morning (so after 4 cycles at 5.5u, increase to 6u.) Saying that, if his numbers change tonight, that might make a difference, but right now it looks like tomorrow morning should bring another increase in dose.
 
I stand corrected. I just bought a case of the purina dm savory select yesterday and he's eaten 10 cans in a 24 hour period. That would be 55 oz in a 24 hour period. My 100 lb Labrador eats less. I go thru cat food as if I'm feeding the population of New York for one 8 lb cat that acts like he's eaten last week. I just can't understand it. I've been a tech for 10 years and have yet to find a case even close to what Charlie has going on. And at 2 years old it just breaks my heart.
 
julie & punkin (ga) said:
if i remember correctly, isn't he about 7.5lbs, but that's with losing weight from the diagnosis? you want to feed him enough that he returns to a normal, .
Click to expand...
He current is teetering at the 8lb mark. His lowest was 7.5 and his heaviest was 12.5 which was his ideal weight
 
Happy to hear he is chowing down on LC once again. :-D

Since he does not presently have ketones in his urine and he is eating well and all Ps are present, no need to complicate the picture - I'd keep the R in the fridge.

As recommended in your last condo :
Sienne and Gabby said:
I'd suggest increasing Charlie's dose every 4 - 6 cycles until you start seeing nadirs that are below 200. We can help you decide if you need to increase the dose by 0.5 or 0.25u. This is aggressive but it's one way you can keep the ketones at bay.
Click to expand...
It looks to me like tonights PM cycle will be cycle 4 at the dose of 5.5u. Short of the numbers doing an about face on the overnight , I too agree an increase from 5.5u to 6u is in order. Since you will be away tomorrow afternoon and not able to monitor, might be best to wait until tomorrows PM cycle to increase.
what do you think?

Looks like Sienne and Julie have answered you food question.

That is a crazy amount of food, however he has a lot of catching up to do right now.
It will take a bit of time but his appetite will subside as the numbers go down.
And as he recovers, so will your wallet ;-)
BK went through a similar phase. He was down to 7lbs and change after his 2nd run-in with DKA.
We used to order Wellness by the case(s) - the tall 15 or 16(?)oz ones. He went through 1can per day, sometimes more.
It all eventually leveled out and he now eats 5-6 oz FF per day.
 
still no results for the acro or iaa tests? cats with acromegaly have a voracious appetite - but cats with high BGs do too. Could be both causes - we can't know without test results.

when do you expect to get those results? they don't usually take this long.
 
The delay in the results may be when they received the sample. MSU runs the IAA and acro labs on Fridays. If the blood didn't get there in time, you'll wait a week. It may also be prudent to make sure they received the sample.
 
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