Any Information on New Relion Confirm "Plus" Test Strips?

Hi,

Lolly has been using Relion Confirm meter for the past year. She is in remission, and I test her weekly. I went to get new test strips, but Walmart is only selling a newly designed strip for the Relion Confirm (and micro) meters, called "Relion Confirm/micro Plus".

I had one of the old-style strips left, so I tested her with the old and new strip. The old-style strip tested at 41 which is what she's been averaging the past year. The new "plus strip" tested at 55. I then tested one of her civvies, Zoe, with the new strips, Zoe tested at 44.

Does anyone else have experience with the new strips? Do they test higher? This is really upsetting, I don't understand why they would change up the strips like this. Lolly's been in remission for 15 months, and she's really slowing down lately (She's 14). I am terrified of her slipping out of remission, and me missing it. Do these numbers sound right for the new strip?

Thanks for any advice.

 

Wow...they changed over to the Plus strips well over a year ago!! Are you sure the older ones you've been using are still within the "use by" date? Usually once they're opened, they're only good for a limited time

55 is still an AWESOME number and totally normal...and all meters are allowed to have up to a 20% variance by the FDA so even if you were to use two identical strips on the exact same drop of blood, you could get 2 numbers up to 20% different

 

Thanks- I did buy the non plus strips online about a year ago - I got 100, and she gets tested about 5 times a month. I didn't even think about them going bad. I'll be more careful from now on.

Thanks for putting my fears to rest, hope everything is well with you.

 

Happy I could help

Since you're testing so much less now, you might want to just buy 20 at a time so you don't have to worry about having them expire on you

 

Hi Chris,

I'm not trying to be alarmist, but Lolly hit 73 today, a good 6 hrs after her last meal. I haven't seen anything over 50 in a long time. She's also getting the same "look" she had when was first dxd I can't explain. She's not drinking or urinating excessively so maybe it's just age. Anyway the point is what is the best way to test to see if there is a problem? It's been a while so I'm not sure. Should I try testing once a day at the same time? Or at different times? They are fed at 7am and 5pm (Fancy feast classic).

I just want to be safe. Thanks for the refresher.

 

73 is still a totally normal number....anything under 120 is

I think as long as you're not seeing any problems like increased thirst, urination or hunger, it's probably just a normal variation.

If you're really concerned, try testing/feeding her and then test again about 3 hours later...if the number comes down, her pancreas is working

 

Thanks, I did what you said and her pancreas is fine- but I took her to the vet, as she wasn't looking well. Apparently her teeth have deteriorated badly in the past year, and she needs a large dental. She also showed irritation when her bladder was pressed, so they are testing her for UTI as well as all the blood work she needs for the dental.

They know she is diabetic (though I can tell they don't believe I got her into remission through TR). Can the dental cause any problems re her remission?

Thanks so much for your help. Should I post this to the general health forum?

 

Martha, sending feel better vines for Lolly. Hope the dental goes smoothly.

 

Thank you. Her blood work was very good. The vet says she doesn't have a UTI, also very good news! She still has a large dental ahead of her.