Reli On Platinum meter questions

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Jake and Althea

Jake and Althea

Member Since 2023
I've come to realize that a lot of caretakers are using human meters for testing their cats and Reli On seems to be a popular choice because of cost. I already had purchased a pet meter, an Advocate Pet Test. I quickly realized that the cost of strips would make it impossible to afford if I want to stay on top of her levels. I went to Walmart and purchased the only Reli On meter that they had and it is a Reli On Platinum. It was $20 and came with 50 strips, and strips are $18 for 100. Much more reasonable than $40 for 50 strips for the pet meter.

I have a few questions.

1. I'm fairly certain that my vet would not approve of using a human test meter. They gave me a handout discouraging their use for testing my cat. They have approved me doing her testing at home based on me showing them that I had a pet meter. I obviously want to keep them in the loop so they can help me make dosing decisions. It would make this simple by linking to her SS in my emails to them, but they would quickly figure out that I'm not using the pet meter. I don't want to go back to having them do periodic checks at about $50 for the visit and test which is both ineffective and costly. So my question here is what can I do to convince them to let me use the human meter? I did quite a bit of research to back my using the human meter, but so far I'm only finding results discouraging their use for cats because of accuracy issues. Part of the problem here is that this is unfamiliarity with this new vet, as my old vet had staffing issues and could not accommodate our needs. Some of you might suggest finding a different vet if they won't approve the use of the human meter, but this is the only vet in my area that will help me with a Diabetic cat and is accepting new patients.

2. Obviously most of you trust the accuracy of using a human meter. I'm still kind of skeptical. I did a BG test at about midnight last night and it read 263. This morning (about 7:30) when I did her pre-shot test it read 309. How did it go up with no carb intake, or is it the meter and the claims of their inaccuracies are well founded? I myself have been Diabetic for over 20 years and never experienced anything like that, if I test and don't eat for 8 hours my next test will be lower. How do gain trust in using this meter enough to present my case for using it to the vet?

3. Being Diabetic myself I realize the importance of making sure your test equipment is accurate by using a control solution. I have not been able to find a control solution for a Reli On meter. Any help here?

I was able to find a place online to order control solution.

Sorry about the lengthy post and thanks in advance for any help. This whole experience has been as overwhelming as when I was diagnosed myself.
 
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Years ago control solution came with the meters but not it does not. I have only used control solution occasionally when it came with the meters. I have not used control solution for years and years. My guess is that before one had to enter the code into the meter that wa one each vial of strips. Thus, if an incorrect code was entered use of the control system would find that. However, now all the meters that I know are self coding and no action is required by the user to enter the correct code.
 
Hi Jake. My name's Kyle.

So, couple things: a midnight BG of 263 and then about 7 hours later, a BG of 309 is really about the same reading. The meters are allowed a 20% variance.

Yes, you are correct that typically if kitty has all food withheld for 7-8 hours then you would expect a sort of 'fasting' glucose number that is a bit lower. But keep in mind it's not just carbs, even zero carb food will usually raise a cat's BG. With a working pancreas, this rise would come with insulin production.

For the most part, a diabetic feline's BG will experience a rise after an insulin injection wears off. It is not clear from your post, are you giving insulin yet? If so, what kind, how much, and how often?

Regarding your vet and your use of a human meter -- many, many people have gone through this same challenge with their vets. A good tactic is to simply tell the vet that the strips are much too expensive so you will be using a human meter which is much more affordable. They really can't argue with that.
 
First off I will say that I myself am diabetic and still use a meter to confirm my CGM readings and still to this day use control solution to ensure the accuracy of my meter which makes my doctor happy. You can buy control solution from the manufacturer for most all meters on the market including pet meters. The pet meter I purchased came with it.

I did find that the reason I couldn't find Reli On control solution for sale is that the manufacturer provides it for free if you know where to ask.

https://supplies.relionbgm.com/?fbclid=IwAR0c_ATe6vnhh3kXX8W-SlvRwjY3UrOl3vBERbkyTG4uyOLvPzAZCtWz1iI

I encourage you to use control solution also and follow the meter manufacturer's guidelines on when to use it. At least for me, it's a little extra peace of mind.
 
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Thanks for your response, Kyle! I actually have learned a lot since this was posted. I'm being much more patient now with her numbers, now knowing that a cat's metabolism is very different than ours.

As far as her vet, my concern is that she will withhold the insulin prescription because she can't understand the human meter numbers. There is a huge shortage of vets in my area and none that are accepting new patients.
 
Jake and Althea said:
Thanks for your response, Kyle! I actually have learned a lot since this was posted. I'm being much more patient now with her numbers, now knowing that a cat's metabolism is very different than ours.

As far as her vet, my concern is that she will withhold the insulin prescription because she can't understand the human meter numbers. There is a huge shortage of vets in my area and none that are accepting new patients.
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I am curious, your spreadsheet says you're giving Prozinc already, 3U BID? But you're also waiting on a prescription for insulin?
 
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I have a vial of insulin currently, my concern is getting it refilled when needed. I'm not sure what BID means. She gets 3 units in the AM and 3 units in the PM.
 
whoops, sorry force of habit -- BID is just medical nomenclature for twice daily

probably some latin thing, haha

Great job on testing the blood glucose. One thing I learned here is that it is a great idea to test at varied times throughout the day so that you build a picture of how the insulin is acting at different times of the day and night cycles. A common approach is to always test before you shoot (AMPS and PMPS, I see you've got that down!)

and then also test about 2 hours after shooting, see how the insulin is starting to kick in. This test is good because sometimes the little feline bodies are unpredictable or maybe the pancreas decides to kick in just a smidge and without a test at +2, you would not know that kitty's BG is going lower than normal.

And then if possible, at least one other test some point during the cycle.
 
I will try to vary my testing times, thank you for that advice. I will be doing a curve in a few days as the vet increased the insulin dose about a week ago. I appreciate all your help.
 
A lot of people use the human meters for daily testing and the Alpha Trak for doing a curve where they will send the numbers to the vet. There is absolutely no reason to send your spreadsheet to the vet. You do not need the vet to make dosing decisions for you. On an almost daily basis, I am helping people whose vets are making incorrect dosing decisions for people’s cats. Just over this weekend while I was on vacation, I checked in and found a person whose vet started their cat on a dangerous dose of insulin. Vets receive little education on feline diabetes at vet school. Most vets don’t understand the differences between dog and cat diabetes and most don’t understand the subtle nuances of feline diabetes. They make dosing changes in whole units and don’t even understand that small dose changes are significant. Anyway, we would love to help you here. I guess my bottom line to this message is that most times that I have seen people share their entire spreadsheets with their vets, the outcome was not productive.
 
Thank you for the response. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't make a difference what the vet wants, I will use the human meter so I can afford to do the amount of testing that is needed. If that becomes a problem with my current vet, I'll find a more understanding vet. I'm going to use my pet meter to send her Althea's curve and use the human meter on a day-to-day basis. Thanks again!
 
Jake and Althea said:
Thank you for the response. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't make a difference what the vet wants, I will use the human meter so I can afford to do the amount of testing that is needed. If that becomes a problem with my current vet, I'll find a more understanding vet. I'm going to use my pet meter to send her Althea's curve and use the human meter on a day-to-day basis. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Bravo!

Btw, all the yellow you're seeing in Althea's spreadsheet is really not that bad, especially considering how early it is in her insulin therapy. It is a good start, I'd say. We often see cats that are in reds or blacks to start out, and sometimes it can take weeks just to work through the pinks to the yellows. And you're already there.
 
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