Suggestions For a Glucose Meter

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ToddyTiger

ToddyTiger

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Hi all!


So, Todd seems to be doing better, I started him back on his insulin. Now that he is back on insulin (for the last week at 1/2 a unit twice a day) I would like to get a meter to use. I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I would like to get a good one. Our vet uses the AlphaTrack Blood Glucose Meter. Which I used when they lent it to me for a day. It was good, but I did feel that it needed too much blood. It was also nice that it was made for cats (at least, this is what I was told).

But I would love some good suggestions of different meters I can check out. Also, depending on which kind I get.. if I get one that is made for people, how does that work when used on a cat? Are the numbers the same or.. well, I don't know how to explain what I mean. HELP! hehe

Oh... I'm in the Seattle area if anyone is able to shop with me or something. I would love some help. :)

Thank you!
 
Any basic Human blood glucose meter works. No meter can tell the difference between Human blood or animal blood. Some meters have fancy options like graphing and meal tracking. Obviously, you don't need those for a cat :smile:

For a cheap good meter, you can use the ReliOn brand. You'll find this brand only at Wal Mart. I think there are a few different models you can choose from. The meter itself costs like $10 and a box of 50 test strips is like $20. Quite a few people here use the ReliOn and really like it.

The OneTouch brand is also good and not too expensive.

A store generic blood glucose meter works, too. TruTrack is one brand, I think.

The AccuChek Aviva is very cat-friendly but the test strips are pretty pricey. Most people shop around online, especially at eBay, for cheap unexpired test strips.
 
The AlphaTrac meter/strips only use 0.3 ul of blood. This compares to 1 ul for the popular One Touch series of meters (One Touch Mini, One Touch Ultra, One Touch Ultra 2). The important think about meter/strips is the cost of the strips. Mail/internet and Ebay is a lot less expensive that buying them at the local Pharmacy. In most places you can get the meter free or very low cost if you buy say 100 strips. Click on the Hocks.com link to see what they have to offer. They also have a page that compares various meters.
 
I'm happy with my Relion from Walmart, but I loved the Accu Check, it had the best sipping action out of all the meters I've used.

I recently had to use one of my One Touch Ultras, ran out of test strips, and had forgotten how much blood that needed, as Larry mentioned, the One Touch series does require more blood.

Freestyle is another good one that uses 0.3 ul of blood and sips well.

So, for price and ease I like the Walmart brand Relion, but if I were new to this and not getting lots of blood in the beginning I'd go with Accu Check Aviva because it sips so much better and even when it seemed like I didn't always have enough blood, it was very rare that I got an error message for not enough blood.
 
Thanks everyone! I think I am going to go with the ReliOn Micro. It looks like it is just what we need. :)
 
There is no Walmart near us in Seattle, so I went with the Wavesense Presto from Bartell Drugs. It uses a small amount of blood and loads from the end (rather than the side like Alphatrak). And when I tested it against the Alphatrak my vet used, it gave me the same numbers. When I've done a retest (because I didn't believe the number), the second test is only different by 2 or 3 points which makes me think it is very accurate.
 
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