Relion Confirm Meter Reading Help

[saratienhaara]

In June my cat was diagnosed with diabetes. He is only 4, so very young. He is a very large cat and at the time weighed 26 lbs and his ideal weight is 17 lbs. He has been put on a strict high protein lower calorie diet and has lost about 4 lbs and is much more active. He was given Lantus insulin and he is receiving 3 units twice a day. Today I noticed that he was a little shaky and I am wondering if he is getting too much insulin. We have been meaning to start home testing him and I am looking to buy the Relion Confirm meter but I do not know what a good reading would be. My vet, who I am no longer willing to see (long story), recommends that I get the Alphatrax, but that is not an affordable option. She says that I should not get a human meter, but after doing some research, I am going to go with the human meter over the pet meter. I cannot take my cat to the vet to compare meters as he gets to panicked when we get there (part of the long story), that he gets a very high reading.

So after all that, basically I am asking what a good reading is as I believe he is getting too much insulin. Maybe he is going into remission, I don't know, but I want to start tighter regulation. My vet said anywhere between 150 and 200 would be fine on alphatrax.

I would really appreciate some advice.

 

[BJM]

If he is < 50 mg/dL, he is showing hypo symptoms. Do you have any Karo or other syrup? Rub a bit on his gums; does he perk up? If yes, he may be having a hypo episode. Do you have any high carb canned food? Give 1-2 teaspoons of the high carb. You need to get to the vet unless you can test and feed over the next couple hours.

Perhaps having a reference for what the numbers mean will be helpful.

Here are some glucose reference ranges used for decision making using glucometers. Human glucometer numbers are given first.

Numbers in parentheses are for non-US meters. Numbers in curly braces are estimates for an AlphaTrak.

< 40 mg/dL (2.2 mmol/L) {< 70 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- Treat as if HYPO if on insulin
- At nadir (lowest point between shots) in a long term diabetic (more than a year), may earn a reduction.

< 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) {< 80 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- If before nadir, steer with food, ie, give modest amounts of medium carb food to keep from going below 50 (2.8).
- At nadir, often indicates dose reduction is earned.

50 - 130 mg/dL (2.8 - 7.2 mmol/L) {80 - 160 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- On insulin - great control when following a tight regulation protocol.
- Off insulin - normal numbers. (May even go as low as the upper 30s (1.7 mmol/L){60s for an AlphaTrak}; if not on insulin, this can be safe.

= 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {> 180 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- the lowest level pre-shot for ProZinc, PZI, or other non-depot insulins.
> 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {> 180 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- At nadir, indicates a dose increase may be needed when following a tight regulation protocol.

200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) {230 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- no shot level for beginners; may slowly reduce to 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {180 mg/dL} for long-acting insulins (Lantus,

Levemir, and ProZinc) as mid-cycle data collection shows it is safe

180 - 280 mg/dL (10 - 15.6 mmol/L) {may be 210 - 310 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- Any time - The renal threshold (depending on data source and cat's renal function) where glucose spills into the urine.
- Test for ketones, glucose is too high.

>= 280 mg/dL (15.6 mmol/L) {may be >=310 mf/dL for an AlphaTrak}, if for most of the cycle between shots
- Uncontrolled diabetes and thus at risk for diabetic ketoacidosis and hepatic lipidosis
- Follow your insulin protocol for dose adjustments
- Test for ketones; if more than a trace level of ketones, go to vet ASAP.

 

[thatgirlblu]

I use the Relion Confirm and I love it. Tip, if you can grab test strips cheaper in bulk online than at Walmart or wherever else, do it.
What the person before me said was spot on.
But to tell you what my vet said, they tested him at the same time as me with their alpha trak and mine (relion) was 17% lower than theirs (alphatrack).

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

As a general rule, the human glucometers read about 30 points lower than the AlphaTrak, but there's absolutely no reason you need to use the Alpha. The important thing is learning how your cat responds to insulin and the "patterns" as you get more testing and therefore more data on your cat.

That being said, your vet is wrong to have you on such high doses. 3 units twice a day is a BIG dose. We recommend starting at no more than 1 unit twice a day, changing from a high carb diet (pretty much all dry foods are high carb, as are pretty much all treats) and learning to home test so you can start to see those "patterns" and how your cat responds to each dose.

What are you currently feeding? Here's a Food Chart that shows the percentage of carbs for pretty much any food you can buy. You need to find foods that are under 10% carbs (column C) High protein, low calorie doesn't necessarily mean low carb, and it's the carbs you need to reduce.

If you've been feeding higher carb foods, it's important that you gradually switch to the wet foods that are under 10% since you're giving insulin. Just the food change can drop the numbers by over 100 points.

Giving too much insulin can cause high numbers as well as too low, so I strongly suggest you learn to home test (and the Relion Confirm for about $15..strips about $18 for 50 at WalMart is just fine to use).

Keeping your kitty safe is the number one rule here, and we'd never suggest you give 3 units to a newly diagnosed diabetic. Another thing to keep in mind is that at the vets office, numbers can be up to 200 points higher than they are at home due to the stress of being at the vets office. Then the vet bases his dosing decisions on that number, you take kitty home and once the stress is relieved, kitty's numbers drop and you're giving way too much.

Good luck to you and please feel free to ask questions. We're all dealing with the day to day challenge of feline diabetes here, and have a vast amount of knowledge to share, but we can sometimes give you too much information, too fast, so don't ever feel bad for saying "Slow down!!"

 

[BJM]

Slight edit: At the low end, the difference is about 30 mg/dL. At higher numbers it may be closer to 40% ... but it really doesn't matter if it is 450, 600, or too high to read, because its too high and you take action to deal with it based on the reason - infection, bouncing, stress, just needs a higher insulin dose.

 

[auntbot]

Hi I am new here. 14 year old Tabby just diagnosed. 1 unit of Prozinc twice a day. Only 2 shots so far. He seems to be worse after the shot, lethargic, sitting in one spot not moving etc. I feed low carb canned food immediately after shot and he eats it right up. I don't have a meter yet. Vet wants pet specific meter but I am looking at Relion because of the price. A bit confused about all the % difference information. If I get the Relion what numbers should I be looking for and when should I test? Feeling pretty overwhelmed right now.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Auntbot...It'd be better for you to start a new post with your information and questions so we can help you. We'd also like to know your name and your kitty's name.

Just to quickly answer your question, using a Relion meter, you're looking for between 50-130 as "normal" diabetic values

When you start a new post, it'll help if you tell us what you're currently feeding, as well as your insulin information (the fact you're using Pro Zinc at 1 unit twice/day)

It's very important that you learn to home test, and it's totally fine to use a human meter...the strips for the AlphaTrak are over $1 each (plus the cost of the meter itself) so if you're not independently wealthy and just want to spend a lot of money for things you really don't need, get yourself a Relion from WalMart.

Home testing is vital if at all possible (and there aren't many cats that haven't learned to put up with it...or even purr while it's happening!) We can give you lots of tips on how to do it too. Without home testing, there's no way to know how your cat is doing, if he might need more or less insulin, or if he's dropping too low and needs emergency care. Hypoglycemia (Low blood glucose) can kill quickly. You'd never give a child insulin without first knowing what it's blood glucose was...the same should go for your fur-kid

Will watch for a new post from you, and Welcome to the FDMB!! You're in the BEST place to be to learn how to manage your kitty's diabetes!!