Alphatrak vs Relion confirm

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Dez

Dez

Member Since 2016
PMPS on alpha = 456 & relion = 373 (He's high due to overfeeding kibble due to hypo last night)

I just bought the relion tonight due to cost effectiveness with the strips. But is that difference huge between the two numbers? Will this effect my decision on insulin amount?

I heard the human glucometers run low numbers but I know the majority of you all swear by the Relion meters
 
Yes, there is that much of a difference between the two meters, especially at the higher numbers. I used AT2 for many months before I switched to a human meter - that was about 6 months ago and to be honest, I still really miss the AT2.
Most people here use human meters, so those are the numbers most members are most familiar with - but as long as you stick with one or the other, it shouldn't affect how much insulin you give - sometimes there is confusion over your "no shoot number"
What insulin are you using?
 
Thank you for the response Carol & Murphy! I am currently using the Lantus pen through a syringe. After I got those numbers, I fed (wet) and shot him with 2 units. I just want to make sure I understand the human glucometer numbers correctly related to his BG's before I transfer over to the Relion completely (which is the ideal goal considering I saved $50 on the strips). I found a wiki page that may help me in confirming when he's too high or low on the Relion -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_in_cats
 
You also have to remember that ALL meters are allowed a 20% variance from the results you'd get in a professional lab, so

456-20% = 365

373+20% = 447

So as you can see, those are basically the same number
 
Chris & China said:
You also have to remember that ALL meters are allowed a 20% variance from the results you'd get in a professional lab, so

456-20% = 365

373+20% = 447

So as you can see, those are basically the same number
Click to expand...

Ohhh! I didn't know this! So if I use the Relion, should I always add 20% to get a more accurate reading?
 
This is what I did when I switched over - for the first few days, whenever I took a blood sample I measured it with both the human and the AT2 so I could get a feel for the difference - I put them in the spread sheet - if you click on the tab on the bottom of the spreadsheet, you can see some of the comparisons. As far as above, no unfortunately, adding 20% doesn't work. I suggest doing a few days of comparison to get a feel for the difference
 
I also used AT for over a year and I really liked it but I test often and it was getting crazy expensive especially since remission is not going to happen-
I did side by sides like @Carol & Murphy and it is more than 20% which is fine as long as you know ... the lower numbers do seem to be closer as Dre was 59 on relion today and 120 on AT-
The higher numbers are about 100 higher.
The last FD webinar vet said the best guess is a 30% variance, it gets confusing if 1 if running 30% high and the other 30% low.....
I would drive myself crazy before-now if he is running low or acting low I will also test on AT otherwise we go with relion. (and I post the relion numbers now)
 
well, as it happens, I am fighting a hypo with Murphy right now
I just tested him - he is 60 on freestyle lite meter, and 91 on alphatrak2
 
You'll drive yourself into the insane asylum if you try to compare meters all the time and try to make any sense out of it

The best thing you can do is choose the one you can afford to test most with (the human meter) and stick with it so you can start to see patterns in how your cat is responding to treatment

All our protocols here were written with human meters in mind, so we're all very comfortable advising based on the human numbers
 
I just think, at the beginning, it is not a bad idea to get a mental picture how they compare - for peace of mind if nothing else. I think it is important that people realize that there can be significance difference between the two meters- I'm not sure everyone appreciates that
I just got a 55 on freestyle lite, and 101 on AT2.
 
Chris & China said:
You'll drive yourself into the insane asylum if you try to compare meters all the time and try to make any sense out of it

The best thing you can do is choose the one you can afford to test most with (the human meter) and stick with it so you can start to see patterns in how your cat is responding to treatment

All our protocols here were written with human meters in mind, so we're all very comfortable advising based on the human numbers
Click to expand...

Yes, in the next few days I am going to run out of alpha strips and start using just the relion only so I wanted to make sure I could understand the numbers on the human meter properly. Unfortunately, with xmas around the corner, I'm going to have to shelve my alpha meter.
 
Dez said:
I'm going to have to shelve my alpha meter.
Click to expand...

You're not alone there!! So many people buy the AT when their vet tells them to (before they know about us and that you can use human meters).....there are lots of AT's sitting around gathering dust in people's drawers!!
 
Chris & China said:
You're not alone there!! So many people buy the AT when their vet tells them to (before they know about us and that you can use human meters).....there are lots of AT's sitting around gathering dust in people's drawers!!
Click to expand...
So true. I actually have two (I bought a second one for backup) before I realized, I was gonna go broke testing using the AlphaTrak strips. I would like to keep one the other away. Honestly, I hesitate to do that because whoever I give it to will inherit the same problem with the costly strips.
I know it's been mentioned before here but I can't emphasize it enough, so important to familiarize yourself with the difference in hypo ranges between the two kinds of meters. They are very different.
 
Carol & Murphy said:
I just think, at the beginning, it is not a bad idea to get a mental picture how they compare - for peace of mind if nothing else. I think it is important that people realize that there can be significance difference between the two meters- I'm not sure everyone appreciates that
I just got a 55 on freestyle lite, and 101 on AT2.
Click to expand...
wow --that is a big difference for FS and AT- I have never had that big of a difference.
with relion that is about the difference I get, now I only double check if I get something pretty low on relion or if he is acting hungry.

How is Murphy feeling now??
 
jayla-n-Drevon said:
59 on relion today and 120 on AT-
Click to expand...
Hi Jayla - the 59 Relion/120 AT you got is more divergent than the 55 freestyle/101 AT2 (although really the same number)
Truth be told, I don't use the AT2 any more - I just got it out as Murphy going low last night occurred at the same time I was responding to this thread - the comparison actually does give me peace of mind - as I still think of the AT2 as the "true" number and I see that they are very safe at human reading of 50
 
I understand... I don't use it either unless he is low-and I have to leave or work-
I knew he was heading for low numbers today so I did a AT to compare with 41 on relion and AT was 90-
I didn't want to feed too much HC:rolleyes:
How is Murphy today?
 
Chris & China said:
You also have to remember that ALL meters are allowed a 20% variance from the results you'd get in a professional lab, so

456-20% = 365

373+20% = 447

So as you can see, those are basically the same number
Click to expand...

While this may appear to explain the difference, it really doesn't because you are making the assumption that the pet meter is reading 20% low and that the human meter is reading 20% high. What if both meters are reading bang on? You can't use meter variance to compare the two different meter scales.

The difference between meters will get larger as the BG increases. It does take a while to get accustomed to the lower readings after using a pet meter but all you really need to be aware is the new low number warning of 50 instead of 68. High is high no matter which meter you are using.
 
Human meters typically read lower than pet meters because the distribution of glucose in the cellular and liquid constituents between humans and cats is different:

Blood Glucose Meter for Cats

Facts:

Blood has two constituents, the red and white blood cells and the liquid (serum). Blood plasma is blood serum without the clotting factor

The blood glucose value obtained via laboratory analysis is the glucose level in the serum/plasma constituents of blood

The glucose is in both the serum and red-blood cells (RBC) themselves. However, the distribution of glucose is different between humans and cats (and dog too)1

In Humans 58% is in plasma/serum and 42% in RBCs

In cats 93% is in plasma/serum and 7% in RBCs

In dogs 87.5 % in plasma/serum and 12.5% in RBCs.

The point-of-use blood glucose meters (the ones we use at home) all use whole blood.2 However, what specific blood glucose they measure varies with the manufacturer. Some manufacturers only measure the glucose in the serum/plasma. Others lyse (disrupt the cell walls of the RBCs) and thus mix the glucose that was in the RBC into the liquid and thus measure total glucose. The meters then correct/adjust the reading to be equivalent to human blood plasma

Discussion:

Since the glucose distribution is different n humans and cats/dogs the resulting BG valve obtained from the human meters will be different that lab values and animal-calibrated meters. Also, some manufacturer's meters will be much different that lab values for animals depending upon which method (lyse cells or only use plasma/serum) they use to measure glucose.



Animal calibrated meters correct the value to be equivalent to lab values.



What clouds any BGs obtained from hand-held meter is that they are only accurate to +/- 20 %. That includes the animal-calibrated meter. Also, do not confuse accuracy with reproducibility. It is expected that one meter with one lot of tests strips to be relatively repeatable, that is if you use the same drop of blood, you BG value will be much close than +/- 20%



References:

1 Different Species, Different Blood

http://www.vet-advantage.com/dsr_library/get_file.php?file_id=161

2. Glucose Meters: A Review of Technical Challenges to Obtaining Accurate Results

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769957/
 
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