PetTest Blood Glucose Meter Starter Kit?

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I haven't I use Alphatrak2. A lot of them use human ones like Relion.
Maybe someone will be able to reply about that one.
 
Not heard of it before, Joanne. I suggest emailing them to ask for testimonials - preferably where the meter is being used by vets in their practices - and any copies of research done to support their accuracy claims. I'd also discuss it with my vet if I were considering buying one.

In terms of test strip prices it does look cheaper to feed than an Alphatrak (not difficult) but it's still not as cheap to run as, say, the Relion Confirm, Micro, and Prime meters sold by Walmart. If you don't have a strong preference for using a pet meter I'd suggest you look at human meters instead. (NB: I have various anxiety problmes which make me irrationally nervous about a lot of things so I use an Alphatrak 2 meter for Saoirse. Were it not for my illness-related paranoia I'd switch to a human meter because the strips are cheaper.)

BTW, the PetTest lancets are being offered at rip-off prices and, at 21 gauge, they're harpoons! A 28 or 29 gauge lancet should be fine for the early days of testing and you can get get them a lot cheaper online at places like ebay.

I would be very interested to hear anything more you find out about this meter, Joanne. I think @MrWorfMen's Mom and @Tuxedo Mom may be interested, too. I hope you'll post an update. :)


Mogs
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My vet is a big fan of using an animal specific meter and had recommend the AlphaTRAX. After I'd looked at the test strip prices for that one and picked myself back up off the floor, then price of the PetTest ones seemed pretty good!

@Critter Mom I'm just the same as you in regard to being irrationally nervous about things so will no doubt end up with an AlphaTRAX, lol, but I ordered one of these to try and will update if I get any more info. I've also emailed my vet to ask if they have anyone using it or have an opinion on it.
 
I found a review from someone who had tested it against the AlphaTrak2 on a dog:

http://www.diabeticdogblog.com/advocate-pet-test-meter/

According to this person the results are very close to the AT2 and the test strips are a bit cheaper:

Cost
PetTest Kit (contains meter, carrying case, 10 count each test strips and lancets, lancing device, user’s guide, quick reference guide, daily log book and two (2) AA batteries)

Suggested Retail: $49.99
Found on Amazon.com: about $45-50
The AlphaTrak 2 is $60 on Amazon.
Very reasonable pricing.

PetTest Strips 50 count box

Suggested Retail: $44.99
The test strips are around $45. $50 with shipping.
Compared to the AlphaTrak 2 for $59.

Having said that, my personal decision would be to stay with the AT2 meter simply because it is a more widely recognized product and I am used to/happy with it myself.


ETA More information here:

http://techna-dem.com/the-advocate-pettest-blood-glucose-monitoring/
 
If you can afford the strips, then by all means, go with a pet meter, but what we've seen over and over again here is that at $1 a piece, people tend to restrict the amount of testing they do due to the cost

At 4 tests per day (the recommended minimum) that runs about $120 a month just for test strips.....and there are lots of us that test a lot more than that!!....there are also going to be times when you'll need to test more (like if your kitty is running low)

Which brings another issue.....if your kitty decides at midnight on Saturday to drop too low and you run out of strips, there's no way to get them quickly. With the human meters, you can almost always run to Walmart for more strips if you need them

All the protocols we use here are based on human meters, so the people here are very used to dealing with them.

Just some other things to consider!! If money were no object and I could get strips at 3am on a Sunday morning if I needed them, I might be using a pet meter too;)
 
Chris & China said:
Which brings another issue.....if your kitty decides at midnight on Saturday to drop too low and you run out of strips, there's no way to get them quickly. With the human meters, you can almost always run to Walmart for more strips if you need them
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@Jo & Buffy -

If your preference is for a pet meter you can always get a human meter as a backup; one that you can readily and easily get strips for locally in an emergency should you unexpectedly run low on pet meter strips (a good plan anyway).


Mogs
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I'm not familiar with that meter at all. Looks like it originated in Germany so perhaps it's just entering the US market. The cheaper strips would certainly be welcome but I personally would want to know it was being marketed in Canada and that the strips were easily accessible before I would consider it. I read through the review and while the reviewer found the results for dogs relatively similar to the AT2, he noted he had not tested it on cats. He also commented on the meter feeling awkward to him and for me that would be a drawback because with the AT2, blood can be drawn into either side of the strips rather than the tip and I find that much easier and comfortable ergonomically. One thing that did catch my eye was that the lancets they are selling with the kit are 21G. That's a huge gauge :eek: and seems to me it would be overkill on an ear or a lip (as used with dogs)......maybe OK for a paw poke!
 
The cost of pet meter strips is expensive which is why a lot of us use human meters that take cheaper test strips but are still accurate.
 
I figure that for less than $10 it was worth a go with it, but having a human meter as well seems like a great idea for backup. If either of them feels like they are not being accurate enough then maybe I will try the AlphaTRAX.

I'll post an update and let you know how I get on once we get started with his treatment.

Thanks everyone for your input! :)
 
Goodness, you guys weren't kidding when you said the lancets were harpoons! I tested myself first and had to use a bandaid to stop the bleeding. I've ordered some finer ones for ongoing use.

A few more tests and one slightly sore finger later I found that if I use the lancet pen on the 2nd lowest setting it *just* breaks the skin and doesn't hurt much. So I had a go on Buffy... I don't have any insulin yet so this was just for me to practice and get him used to the testing procedure.

Not sure if it was beginner's luck or the fact that I had such great prep from the resources on this site, but it worked first time and he was a champ, didn't seem to feel it at all :) He bled just enough to get the right drop amount; the meter worked perfectly and only takes 5 seconds to get a result. His ear looks fine, I can't even see the spots I poked. The PetTest meter showed a value of 410 before he ate last night :( I tried again this morning and it seemed even easier (admittedly there were many treats involved too so that probably helped :) ) his glucose level was 431 - but this time it was after food and I know that affects the reading. With these numbers I'm extremely worried that I'm not able to treat him yet, but it's only until Friday when we see the vet again and get going with his shots. Deep breaths!

I'm counting my blessings that he seems to be tolerating the testing well, and I'm feeling a bit better about it all and more positive that we can make this work for him when we get him stable.

Is it worth tracking these numbers now even though I can't treat? (I'll also make sure it's always pre-food going forward, these first two were more for me to get the hang of it)
 
wait until you put that lancet through your finger by accident. lol not fun at all. same with the needles
how come you are not using insulin yet? Those numbers are high. Are you testing his urine for ketones?
 
Ha! Yeah, I'm sure that's going to happen quite often as I'm a klutz at the best of times.

He was only diagnosed last week, it took this long to get the blood/urine test results back confirming the diagnosis, figure out what we needed to do and get back in with the vet. Yes, I'm highly worried about ketones too, will be getting ketone strips tonight.
 
Congratulations on joining the vampire club! That is probably the biggest hurdle a new sugar parent faces and you have already succeeded. GOOD JOB! :D

The pet meter reads higher than a human meter so do not despair about those numbers. I've seen differences of 151 points between a pet meter and human meter in that range of BG. There is no formula to convert one to the other because the difference is not linear or a specific %. At low ranges the numbers on the two types of meters will not be that far apart but at higher ranges, that does not hold true. Please note that all the reference numbers used in the documentation on this board are based on human meter readings unless otherwise specified. There are a number of pet meter users here and our "experts" are aware of the differences so help and support is still available but make sure you are using the right reference numbers especially when you start insulin and are heading into lower number readings.

I can just imagine the hole that 21G lancet left in your finger. I darn near dropped my teeth (and they're the originals!) when I saw that gauge! Serious overkill! You will do best with alternate site lancets available at any pharmacy or Walmart with a gauge of 26 to 28. The 31G lancets that come with many human meters do make it harder to get the necessary blood drop at least in the early days. Cats grow more capillaries in their ears as we poke them, so it actually gets easier to get tests as time goes on. And cat's ears are not nearly so sensitive as our fingers so they really don't feel much at all.

While you don't need to, you could keep track of the numbers you get right now. If you get some numbers without a food influence at least 2 hours after a meal and some an hour after a meal you'll get some idea of what kind of rise in BG Buffy has after food. It would give you a bit of a baseline with which to compare as you get him on treatment.
 
I've seen them but don't know anything about it. It only comes with 10 strip so that is probably why the price is good. Most meters come with at least 25 strips.
 
Jo & Buffy said:
Ha! Yeah, I'm sure that's going to happen quite often as I'm a klutz at the best of times.

He was only diagnosed last week, it took this long to get the blood/urine test results back confirming the diagnosis, figure out what we needed to do and get back in with the vet. Yes, I'm highly worried about ketones too, will be getting ketone strips tonight.
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Oh wow. I had all my test results and diagnosis within an hour of the vet running tests and insulin the same day.
 
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