which glucose monitor uses small blood samples

Status
Not open for further replies.
K

kathryntx06

New Member
Hi, my cat Heidi was diagnosed with diabetes last week. I have been reading on this board about the extreme importance of home glucose testing. People have been saying to make sure and get a test strip that "sips" the blood because it will require a smaller sample size. I think this will be necessary for my cat because she's very underweight and her veins are fragile so her vet has a difficult time getting blood from her. Diabetes is very new to me and I have no experience with it at all. Which kind of test stips are the best at requiring small blood sample sizes? Also, how do I know what kind of lancet to use? I don't want to use one that is too big and stabs right through her ear; it's just supposed to be a little prick right?
 
cheapest to use because of strip prices is the relion micro or confirm from walmart. a lot of us use that here. very small amount of blood and sips really fast
 
I have three meters that all work well, for Maxwell I have a Relion (Walmart's housebrand) Micro, for Musette I have a Bayer Contour and as a backup meter I have a One Touch Mini...really the only difference in all three that I can see is the price of the testing strips. Both the Contour and the One Touch the strips are more expensive than the Relion. I use the Relion for Maxwell because he is in remission and only gets tested about once a month just to keep an eye on him so I can pick up very small batches of strips and if they happen to expire before they are used up I don't have a lot invested in them.

Almost all lancing devices have a depth setting on them that you can use to adjust the depth they poke, the size of the lancet is more concerned with how big of a hole they make, the smaller the gauge number the bigger the hole it will make, in the beginning you want a fairly big hole so using a 25-28 gauge lancet will give you a better sized hole. Once their ears learn to bleed you can get smaller lancets.

You are also not aiming for the vein in their ears but the capillaries that run off the large vein that runs around the edge of the ear. But if you do happen to hit the vein its not a big deal just means you need to apply a little more pressure to stop the bleeding.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
as far as i know the Freestyle meters and the Relion Confirm/Micro take the smallest blood samples as far as store bought meters. they come in at 0.3uL if i remember correctly, and the next up is 0.6uL which i think would be the One Touch meters and the Bayer meters. there may be some off brand ones available online that take the small sample too.

just a word of caution though, Abbot changed the strips for the Freestyle Lite & Freedom Lite meters recently and many here have concerns that they are not reading accurately so you may not want to go that way right now. I have been using the old Freestyle Flash since 2006 and have never had a problem with it but I'm not sure you can still buy that one.

as far as lancets go, many advise to get a 28 gauge or so when first starting because the ears are a bit resistant to bleed in the beginning. personally i've always used a 30 gauge and set my depth on the lancet device at the highest or deepest setting and have never had a problem. i did this also with my new foster kitty I got sunday and he had no problem bleeding, so much so that i backed his lancet device off halfway on the depth setting and it's still working good for him.
 
I use the Relion Confirm. It takes just a small amount. I have been really happy with it. The screen size is nice & has lots of little what I call bells & whistles on it. For the price I think it's a great meter.

Hope my review helps.
Jenn & Baxter
cat_pet_icon
 
I've got the ReliOn Ultima (dark blue). Strips are about $.36 each when you buy the box of 100. In using another meter, the ReliOn Confirm, there is a distinctive difference in the amt of blood needed. The Ultima takes a little more than the Confirm. I haven't checked, but expect the strips are comparably priced.

Whatever you choose, it would be wise to either stock up (if you order on-line especially), or make sure your most convenient places carry the strips in case you run out. The ReliOns are at Walmart, and ours is a 24 hour place, so it's convenient from that angle. Likewise, I have a drugstore a block away, but can't get the test strips there - but could have if I had a different meter. Look at what's most convenient and economical for you when choosing.
 
The Relion Micro takes (I think) .3. A lot of folks have that. I had a dud so I switched to the Contour USB by Bayer which takes .6. Still isn't a whole lot an not too hard to get once you get used to it. Some others require up to 3! (mL? I'm not sure the measurement) One reason why I opted for the Contour USB was that it was easy to handle while I was trying to get Hobbs to not splatter me with blood. The strips are priceier than the Relions though.
 
Our cat, Neo, was just diagnosed last week and we started insulin yesterday. Our vet is pushing for a veterinary glucose meter at around $170. Are the ones listed above just as good?
 
The AccuChek Aviva uses a 0.3ul drop of blood. It's an easy to use cat-friendly meter. But test strips are pricey. People who use the Aviva shop online for the best prices, even on Craigslist and EBay.


SabrinaFaire said:
. Some others require up to 3! (mL? I'm not sure the measurement)
Click to expand...

Ul (microliter) not ml (mililiter) :smile:

3 ml would be three full 100 unit insulin syringes which is obviously a lot of blood.

Even 1 ul of blood is a lot and newbies oftentimes can't get that much blood at first. The AccuChek Advantage uses 1 ul of blood and takes forever to give a reading (not good if your cat is hypoing and you need a bg result NOW). I don't think I've ever seen a meter that needed 3 ul of blood.

Look for a meter that only needs 0.3 ul or 0.6 of blood. I think I remember seeing a chart here on FDMB or other FD web site that compares different meters and how much blood is needed.
 
I use the Bayer Contour and buy strips at hocks.com for just under $25. I buy the lancet pen separately, the freedom freelance for about $7 online at Americandiabetes.com or amazon.com. I think it's the best and would buy the lancets that go with it. They're very adjustable.

You'll also want a rice sock to warm the ear which makes it much easier to get blood. Just an old soft sock with the top cut down, filled with rice and tied with a ribbon that you can warm in the microwave to hold against the ear. And some neosporin with pain relief to put on after warming which serves a twofold purpose of keeping the blood from soaking into the hair and helps any pain.

Melanie & Racci
 
I use the Aviva Accuchek and it uses a small amount and is extremely good at sipping up that tiny drop on the ear. After trying a different meter for ketone testing, I am really in love with my Aviva and its ease of use.

The strips can be pricey over the counter, but I buy on eBay (watch out for expiration dates, don't get anything less than 3 months out, of you buy in quantity, go even farther) and I get them at a comparable price to the others at around $22 per 40 strips including shipping. Aviva did just change the strips that the Accuchek takes by adding the Plus line and I think that is increasing the prices. I stocked up a few months ago so I haven't bought recently.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top