1/24 Maggie PMPS 137; +2 115

Yesterday viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35077

Alpha Trak 111
Relion 74

Hi, I know I shouldn't do this, but just wanted to show you the difference between the animal meter and the human meter. I am using the animal meter because my Vet is really interested now to see how Maggie is faring with home testing. He used to be one who wasn't for home testing but now sees the advantage with Maggie. So if this will encourage him to ask other pet owners to home test, it's all worth it.

Maggie is doing good overall with all P's except she doesn't want to eat this morning, and I don't want to shoot unless she will eat something, so may have to stall. I still have some time and will try fresh opened wet food. She usually will eat refrigerated with some added water added - don't know what's up with her!!! :sad:

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111

Good morning guys .. nice amps .. I hope your vet get's on board with home testing .. and I hope maggie eats soon for you .. have a great day!

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111

Come on Maggie. Eat, Eat, it's good for you!

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111

What a difference in meters. Beautiful AMPS.

Chicken dust is the only thing that will tempt Maverick to eat anything when he's not in the mood. He has the same AMPS as Maggie but his is a blue and yours is a pretty green.

Happy Monday.

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111

Thanks Ann and Tess. Would you believe once I opened a fresh can of Supreme Chopped Grill and added chicken dust, she cleaned the plate. I had a little Cowboy Cookout on the first plate, and she doesn't like that flavor, so it must have been spoiling her sense of smell/taste???

Hi Karrie. Yes big difference between the two meters. so when Maggie is having blues, they are really greens with the human meter,

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111; +2 130

Nice amps Maggie! I agree too - if using that meter will get the vet on board with other pet owners - hooray!, and whatever it takes. I wish my vet had done that when Mannie was first diagnosed. We went for far too long without home testing.

Have a great day guys! and Maggie - good girl - you ate your fuds!

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111; +2 130

Good Afternoon, Ann! From what I've read and experienced, you can expect about a 30 point difference between the relion and the alphatrak. Plus, factor in the 20% margin of error for any meter, and your difference is in the range to be expected.

After breaking up with my vet who insisted we use the alphatrak, I went back to the relion, and will soon be switching to the advocate redi-code. The important thing is that the difference is relatively consistent, and because the human meter number is always lower than the Alphatrak, it will give you plenty of notice if your kitty is in hypo danger.

I personally have no problem with the Alphatrak, but ultimately, cost is what killed me. I'm trying to buy a house this summer, and so having all my financial affairs in order is really important... I know Willie will be needing more tests soon, and my funds for him aren't unlimited, so I'm trying to prioritize. The best strip price I could get for the AT was around $0.80/strip. The relion is $0.40/strip, and I managed to snag 600 Advocate strips for about $0.16/strip. That's a $32 savings for every 50 strips I use, and lately I've been going through 50 in a week!

I know some have had success using the Freestyle strips in the AT meters (the new strip design works SOOOOO well!!!!), and you can more easily get the cost of those down (and you can get them locally almost any time day or night, which is important). The other factor that did it for me was the inconvenience of having to make sure everyone was aware I was using the AT when seeking advice on here.

If you continue with the AT, check out American Diabetes Wholesale. I found them to have the best AT prices, and if you link through Mr. Rebates, you get an additional 8% cashback.

Good luck with your vet visit!!


PS-- if you continue using the AT, I recommend changing the color coding in the spreadsheet to reflect the difference between AT and Relion numbers. I did that, and I think it allows someone trying to assist you to have a quick, clear view of where Maggie has been without having to decipher the numbers too carefully. You can see my spreadsheet as an example!

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111; +2 130

I know some have had success using the Freestyle strips in the AT meters (the new strip design works SOOOOO well!!!!), and you can more easily get the cost of those down (and you can get them locally almost any time day or night, which is important). The other factor that did it for me was the inconvenience of having to make sure everyone was aware I was using the AT when seeking advice on here.

If you continue with the AT, check out American Diabetes Wholesale. I found them to have the best AT prices, and if you link through Mr. Rebates, you get an additional 8% cashback.

Good luck with your vet visit!!

Click to expand...

Hi Christie,
Thank you so much for your post. What you said about having to remind everyone I'm using the Alpha Trak does ring so true. I feel like I'm being a pain sometimes, and I do feel a little out of sync in a way with everyone with using the AT. I wasn't aware that you had started out using the AT. Maggie had been OTJ five months, so maybe it was during that period. Thanks for that info on the Freestyle strips. That would be great to get some cost savings. I've been getting the AT strips thru both my Vet and Amazon, both about the same price. I will definitely check out American Diabetes Wholesale. One thing that is very fortunate is that Maggie is doing so well, and hopefully she will be able to get to the Falls again or OTJ. If she continues for a long length of time though, I may have to reconsider the human meter. I've not heard of the advocate redi-code. It sounds great and inexpensive, too. Thanks again so much for the info on strips and meters. I am going to check out using the Freestyle strips definitely.

Maggie's had a really flat cycle today, and it seems every time that happens, she has a drop. I'm going to set the alarm for +5 and hope to catch her nadir. She has an early nadir in the am cycle. I really shouldn't have to set the alarm as I usually never sleep well.

Re: 1/24 Maggie AMPS 111; +2 130

Ann and Maggie11 said:

I know some have had success using the Freestyle strips in the AT meters (the new strip design works SOOOOO well!!!!), and you can more easily get the cost of those down (and you can get them locally almost any time day or night, which is important). The other factor that did it for me was the inconvenience of having to make sure everyone was aware I was using the AT when seeking advice on here.

If you continue with the AT, check out American Diabetes Wholesale. I found them to have the best AT prices, and if you link through Mr. Rebates, you get an additional 8% cashback.

Good luck with your vet visit!!

Click to expand...

Hi Christie,
Thank you so much for your post. What you said about having to remind everyone I'm using the Alpha Trak does ring so true. I feel like I'm being a pain sometimes, and I do feel a little out of sync in a way with everyone with using the AT. I wasn't aware that you had started out using the AT. Maggie had been OTJ five months, so maybe it was during that period. Thanks for that info on the Freestyle strips. That would be great to get some cost savings. I've been getting the AT strips thru both my Vet and Amazon, both about the same price. I will definitely check out American Diabetes Wholesale. One thing that is very fortunate is that Maggie is doing so well, and hopefully she will be able to get to the Falls again or OTJ. If she continues for a long length of time though, I may have to reconsider the human meter. I've not heard of the advocate redi-code. It sounds great and inexpensive, too. Thanks again so much for the info on strips and meters. I am going to check out using the Freestyle strips definitely.

Click to expand...

Glad you were able to have some luck with the ADW site! You should check out this site as well: Freestyle Lite. If you sign up, they will send you a free meter (great for a backup) and 10 free strips... a good chance to get a comparison between the AT #s and the Frestyle strip ones.

Fingers and paws crossed that Maggie won't be needing them much soon!!