AlphaTrak Meter -- can anyone advise?

Hi,
I just found this online group and I've been using an AlphaTrak meter to try to regulate my kitty, Phoebe Squeak. She was diagnosed in early March and we still have not found the perfect dose of Lantus.
Is there anyone here who may be able to help me if I post her numbers using this meter?
Thanks very much.

 

Hi and Welcome!

Most of us use a human meter. The protocol Tight Regulation and the method of Start Low, Go Slow both were written for the use of a human meter. The AT meter strips are very expensive, so you would save a lot with a human meter. I use the Relion Prime from Walmart. The strips are about 9 bucks for 50 of them.

But, to answer you question, yes we can help with a pet meter too. Can you set up a signature and a SS and put your numbers that you have so far and dose in the SS. Attach the SS to the signature. That way anyone here that would read your thread could help with dosing.

In the signature you will want to add which insulin, Lantus,Levemir or Basaglar that you are using. Also, date of diagnois ( DX), how old Phoebe Squeak is ( love the name) how much she weighs, pet meter, food being fed and if there are any medical conditions other than Diabetes.

If you need any help setting up the SS, let us know and someone will help you.

Meantime, read the yellow stickies at the top of the insulin support group to familiarize yourself with the two different dosing style and other great information.

And keep posting and asking questions as that is how we all learned.

 

Welcome to the group!!

There are sticky notes at the top of the board that will help to get you oriented. We tend to be rather numbers driven so setting up a spreadsheet, as Bobbi suggested will allow you to see Phoebe's progress and it will allow up to provide you with suggestions and/or feedback.

You can find the instructions for setting up a spreadsheet in this link in the New to the Group sticky.

 

Thank you so much! I will follow your suggestions.

 

What a beautiful face he/she's got with those big wondering eyes ..! Lovely kitty! Welcome to the group, feel free to post and ask questions as often as you need! We are all in the same boat, fighting to get to the same results; we have a lot of very experienced members to give us a hand to get there!
Yellow stickies are a huge source of information.

To set up your Signature:

click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
enter the information suggested by Bobbie (post above); you can also add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

As for the meter, I was using the AlphaTrak at the beginning, but the strips were so expansive that I switched to a human meter "Free StyleLite" (strips half price), I'm from Canada; also, the two protocols followed by members are referring to numbers from human meters so it will be a lot easier for you to use a human meter!

Hope to see J.J. posting soon!

 

After 4 years, I am still using the AlphaTrak. Many people use human meters, and in general the test strips are less expensive. If you stay with Alphatrak - you can get good deals on test trips on Ebay. I use Freestyle Lite test strips in the AT meter, and they work fine.

The protocols in this forum can be applied to either meter. You just have to recognize that:
Alphtrak - 68 and below is hypoglycemia territory
Freestyle, and other human meters - 50 and below is hypoglycemia territory

I was given great advice by my vet at the start of Leo's diabetic journey.
She said "Keep Leo safe."
That is the primary goal of each diabetic care-taker.

 

Hi JeffJ - I am using the AlphaTrak 2 meter for Sophie and was going to order more strips but saw your post about getting the Freestyle Lite strips on eBay. Do you have any sellers you recommend? How do you code them? (I've seen some posts about trying several strips to guess the proper code). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I have purchased from multiple vendors on ebay. "dietze07" multiple times. Other vendors too. You want "freestyle lite".
https://www.ebay.com/itm/300-Freest...596478?hash=item34096029be:g:HlEAAOSwzqdcwzH4

Last time I found someone with 300 that were about to expire. Worked for me. Leo burns through the strips like candy. There are lots of threads on this topic - in the general subforum.

I don't code them, but I think they register as 36 or 38 when I put in the strip.

Worth repeating - in general, you can get cheaper strips for the human meters. I'm not financially constrained, so this is not an issue with Theresa and I.

 

@fourcatmom - you really should test before you dose. Maybe you are doing that, and just not putting it in the spreadsheet.

 

Thank you all for your replies! I have finished Phoebe Squeak's spreadsheet, but I can't figure out how to attach it to my signature. It keeps saying I have too many characters. Can someone please tell me how to shorten the URL, or how to attach her link properly? I'd really appreciate it. In the meantime, I'll try to paste the link here. Thanks again!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...bunV9ZdAZSyK1xwOrEplCGx4SCcQR3HVMxmwu/pubhtml

 

Just embed the URL with a label. I use this sample to show you. That way you just have the link's label showing up.

Copy the URL that is your spreadsheet = https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...bunV9ZdAZSyK1xwOrEplCGx4SCcQR3HVMxmwu/pubhtml
In Windows, I highlight, then right-click and push "copy".

Type the text you want, I suggest "Phoebe's SS". Then highlight it and click the round symbol to add the link.
Phoebes's SS

 

Thank you very much for your help!

 

What a cute kitty! I love the window picture!

 

No problem. Glad to see you got the spreadsheet into your sig. Phoebe is looking good!

 

Thank you.
I saw your pix -- great looking kitties!!

 

Thank you. Leo is a looker!

 

Thank you very, very much. I think I am all set up now. Love the name Bubba!

 

Thank you. I am all set up now. Gabby is gorgeous!

 

Thanks so much. Such a touching story about your kitty's frozen ears. So glad he found you!

 

Hi, since you've used both AlphaTrak & human meters, can you please help me with this question -- in reading the protocol for tight regulation on the Tilly page, it says this, "If the cat drops below 40 mg/dl once, reduce the dose immediately!" What is the equivalent number for the Alphatrak meter? Do you know?

 

There is no equivalent between 40 on a human meter and the AlphaTrak. Here, we use below 50 as the reduction point for newly diagnosed kitties following Tight Regulation. Phoebe would be considered newly diagnosed, which means less than one year since diagnosis. We use below 68 on the AT as the equivalent to 50 on a human meter, not because we know they are the same, but because the authors of the TR protocol have said 68 is a good number below which to reduce.

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...ert-between-human-and-pet-glucometers.125256/
This is a link talking about human and pet meters conversion and Jill is giving good explanations!
As for me, I switched to human meter as regulation methods were designed for use with them; also when seeking help, it's easier as most of us do use them, so we're talking about the same numbers! I keep my AlphaTrak with my strips as my backup but use a FreeStyle Lite as my regular one. I would have liked to give you precise conversion numbers, but there are none; it's approximate, you'll see in the post.

Hope this helped a little!

 

The AlphaTrak user's manual indicates:

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) values are:
Below 65 mg/dL (3 .6 mmol/L) for adult cats

In general, as glucose values are even lower (say ~35), the Alphatrak and human meters give closer to the same readings. You don't want your kitteh in this range (of 35).

 

Thank you very much.

 

Thank you for your help. Confusing for a newbie.

 

That link really helped. Much appreciated!

 

I'm happy if it did. Hope the best for you and your little Phoebe.

 

Please be aware that all meters (Alphatrak and Human) can be off by 20% on each reading. For example:
BG reading = 100
could be between 80-120 actual

You could take a reading 2 minutes later and get a different (but close) value.

The meters are incredibly handy. But they are just spot checks. In general I have found the meters to be good references on the general BG range. For example if Leo's BG reads 100, he is just fine and I don't worry. If it is 250, then he is high -- could be the end of his cycle, or too much gravy food, or not enough insulin.

 

Thanks for that info. I didn't know that.
Could you please educate me about keytones? My vet never mentioned it at all. Is this something I should be testing for in addition to BG tests?

 

Yes, you should test for ketones. It's something important to do on a regular basis, specially when kitty his in high numbers!
There are special meters that test both ketones and BG. You can also test with urine strips; it's easy you dip strip in urine flow when kitty goes; I use ketostix! When you test, you can just put a note in your SS.

Here is a not long but complete info on ketones. http://www.felinediabetes.com/ketones.htm

 

WOW! Thank you SO much!! I clearly have a lot to learn and I appreciate you teaching me. >^..^<

 

You're the best!! Asking questions, ready to learn and taking good care of your little Phoebes! We're all there to help you get there!

One last thing that could make things easier : on this forum, we encourage people to post daily instead of having one huge Thread that is continuously fed like right now. Actually, we have one thread only for J.J. "AlphaTrak Meter" since Sunday that is being fed.
One thread (or "condo" in our slang) per cat per day if needed. In order to keep track of the information, we link the previous day's condo in the current day's thread. That way it's easy to back track conversations and have the whole history. We do it exactly how Jeff showed you for linking your SS, which you did perfectly! Normally, the title of our thread is: date - Kitty's name - numbers (ex: 05/04 Phoebes AMPS:.....)

You are doing a great job, testing and a nice YELLOW tonight for little Phoebes!

 

Just get the Ketosticks - test strips from Walgreens or CVS. I think they are ~$11. A lot of this info is on the general forum, just do a search for stuff like this.

When Leo goes in the litter box, there is usually some foamy pee above it. I just swipe the strip through that. Not perfect but close enough.

 

Walmart also makes a brand of ketone strips from ReliOn. They are only $6.64 and you get 50. I use them a couple times a week or just off and on to make sure things are ok. I agree that the AlphaTrak strips are painfully expensive. I switched over to the ReliOn PRIME from Walmart also. Now I can check my cat's blood glucose and not feel guilty for the amount of strips I use.

Welcome to this community! I joined in January of this year. I am so impressed by the help from these kind, loving, cat owners on here! I have learned far more from the people on here than my vet has ever attempted to teach me. You will too! I am still learning to this day. These wonderful people are so patient and excellent guides for tips and tricks. It is so comforting to know there are people who understand what you go through with feline diabetes.

 

Thank you very much. What a beauty Lily is!!

 

Thank you kindly! Your Phoebe looks very sweet too. Her markings on her face are pretty!

 

I do. I have a paper spreadsheet and don't always get the time to sit at the computer and input it all. Plus we've been having behavioral issues and inappropriate urination issues with Sophie (not related to the diabetes) so I've been unfortunately occupied with that.