2 glucometers, 2 different readings

Hi all,

I was down to my last few test strips for my ReliOn Ultima yesterday, and after going to 3 different WalMarts and having them all be out of those strips decided to buy the ReliOn Micro and give it a try. It uses half the blood sample that the Ultima does, and the strips cost the same, so I figured, why not?

So I took the reading this morning using the Micro. I take the AMPS right after I give Casey her breakfast, she doesn't even notice I'm pricking her ear.

The number I got using the Micro was 345. After Casey had been eating for a few minutes, I decided to take a reading with my Ultima as a 'control'.

I got 296. Surprised - I wasn't expecting a difference of almost 50 points - I took another reading with the Micro. I got 278.

Now I know the glucometers have a variance of 20%, but is it possible that her BG could have dropped that much in just a few minutes, when I hadn't given her her shot? I thought numbers went up when the kitty eats, not down. Which number should I take as 'true'? I took the 296, since it was about in the middle.

Any thoughts?

 

Those numbers are all within the 20% variance. The important thing is that you use the same glucometer consistently so you are comparing apples and apples. Obviously you had a problem with that when you couldn't get the strips you needed and getting another meter was absolutely the right thing to do but you should pick one (maybe the one that uses less blood!) and stick with it saving the other for a back up meter. You will drive yourself nuts if you keep comparing them :lol:

 

short table for reference
test -> 'true' range
100 -> 80 - 120
200 -> 160 - 240
300 -> 240 - 360
400 -> 320 - 480

as long as the following is true
(low reading + 20%) > (the high reading - 20%)
the numbers are considered the same.

 

Thanks, everybody. I guess as long as they're close, it doesn't really matter - it was just a surprise!

I got another surprise tonight - I took Casey's BG at +11 and got 438. An hour later, I took her BG to give her her shot, and it was 278! Her BG came down a whopping 150ish points without me giving her a shot! Does that usually happen??

 

You may be in luck with Casey having a functioning / healing pancreas.

In Normal cats, the act of eating stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin, which processes the blood sugar and transports it into the muscles to be burned.

Maybe Casey is trying to go OTJ -- good luck!

 

Where's the LIKE button in here???

I sure hope Phoebe's right!

About the meters, if you got 5 diff meters and tested them all with the same big drop of blood, I bet you would get 5 diff numbers. and if you tested with one meter 5 times from the same big drop of blood, you would get 5 diff numbers. With the variance %, so long as you are in that range, you will be fine.

 

Wouldn't that be cool??

Alas, it's not happening, at least not yet - I tested Casey at 5 today and got 413. I fed her a little snack, tested her an hour later...and got 435.

Not sure where the low number came from yesterday, but thanks for the encouragement! Of course I'll check her numbers again when I give her her shot. I'm not expecting a miracle, but lower numbers WOULD be nice! Wonder when I should up her dose to 2 units??