Weird BG Readings on Alpha Trak 2 tonight

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jacereske

jacereske

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I just had something very scary happen. I did a pre-shot test and it read 666. Well the highest we’ve had so far is 411 pre-shot on Tuesday and nothing over 400 since then so it really scared me. She was at 233 this morning. After the 666 I re-tested and got 317, then 265, then 345. I have the Alpha Trak 2 meter - are those normal variances? And has anyone every seen a crazy high reading like that 666?

Trying not to freak out here.
 
Your cat's BG was all Mark of the Beast of you!

I have no experience with those meters so I have nothing helpful to share. My Tasha's numbers have been all over the map lately as well (not quite THAT far) and I understand how discomforting it is to us beans. The last day or so, she seems to be settling down a bit though. We've also had a couple of high readings that we've immediately retested and seen what felt like high variances (though again, not that big).

Hang in there and I hope someone with more experience will be able to give you some insight soon. I just wanted to reply and let you know you weren't alone in feeling flipped out by the variances.
 
All meters sold in the US are allowed to vary +/- 20% from what a lab would get on the species for which the meter was developed.

Small errors in use may not register as errors, ie, too small of a blood drop.

Any 2 numbers are the same if the low test + 20% is higher than the high test - 20%.
For larger numbers, this is quite a range.
Ex
50 -> 40 to 60, a span of 20.
500 -> 400 - 600, a span of 200.
600 -> 480 - 720, a span of 240. Note that this overlaps the 500 test span.
Once a number is over 300 or so, it really doesn't matter. It is too high and you want to work on finding ways to control it.
 
Thank you. I've never seen those kind of variances with this meter. The 666 was crazy - I think it's possessed.

I contacted our vet (the one who sold it to us) and he said we should not see that much of a variance. He told me to call Abbott and of course they are closed for the holiday.

I think I will go get a new meter today - I just have a bad feeling about this one.

We are in a severe pancreatitis flare and she is on pred until we get it under control, that is part of why her numbers are so high. She had been in remission for 6 months prior to this. When she threw up, wouldn't eat and her BG went from 90 - 100 to 200, we did the pFL and it was 50 (high as the test goes).

Thanks for repsonding.

Jeanette
 
Go with a WalMart Relion Confirm, Confirm Micro, or Prime and use pet-specific reference numbers.
 
So since Abbott labs is closed for the holiday I was poking around the internet and found a message board where several people were having this same weird variance on an Alpha Trak 2. Here is a post that caught my eye:

Hi Folks and fellow Alphatrakers :) As previously posted I was having a terrible time with wasting strips when i first purchased my Alpha Trak inspite of more than adequate sample. After speaking directly with one of the veterinarians at Abbot he had me go through a couple of steps to be sure it was not my meter. One of the steps was to "buff" as he called it the internal parts to free up any microscopic debris.

Procedure: You will have to sacrifice 1 alpha test strip, but I put the strip away in a separate plastic bag to be used again for cleaning purposes.

anyway, simply insert the strip into the machine as you would for a test and take it out and put it back in several tims. Then remove the strip and very gently tap the meter on the counter, etc. so that any debris might fall out of the port.

Now, take the same strip and put it in backwards into the port, It will go in harder becase this end is larger, but put it in and take itout several times and then tap.

He told me that even microscopic specs can get trapped and this "buffing" will take care of it.

Also, I read a tip that soe people use petroleum jelly on the test area so the blood sample beads up and does not go into the hair. This is not the best thing to do with "sipping strips" he told me as the vaselin can plug the tiny little areas on the strip where the blood goes in.

So 2 tips, no vaseline if possible and buff your meter to clean on occasion.
Good luck
Mary Jo
Click to expand...

I just tried what she suggested about cleaning the meter and took a reading - I got 201, 201, 205 with the same drop of blood. I am thinking that may have been the problem. Going to hold off on the new meter (I have another crisis to deal with right now with our small cell gi lymphoma cat).

Will test again at +7.

Thank you.
 
I use Vaseline on Saoirse's ears.

For info, I put the test strip into the meter without pushing it all the way in so that it's ready for testing. Next, I apply the Vaseline to Saoirse's ear and wipe my hands well on a piece of kitchen paper before warming her ladyship's ear. I then push the test strip the rest of the way in to activate the meter. I hold the sides on the wider part of the strip away from the sampling area. It has worked well thus far.

Thanks for posting the info on how to degunk the Alphatrak if I get a similar problem. :smile:
 
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