calibrating ReliOn meter...

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Emily and Petey

Emily and Petey

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Hi All - I am fairly new to glucose testing -- just started on 1/21 --and I'm still getting the hang of everything. I bought both a ReliOn and an AlphaTrak meter (don't ask!) and I've tried both. I find the blood wicking strips on the ReliOn easier to use, but I've been told by two vets that I need to have it calibrated next time I take my cat to the vet in order for the levels I get from it to be useful. I actually bought the ReliOn based on recs from users on this site, so wondering if there's any thoughts/advice on this.

Thanks!
Emily
 
You can't "calibrate" the Relion meter...it's pre-set, but what some people have done is take their human meter in and compare the results they get with it to the results the vet gets so they have a reference

The protocols we use here are all written for human meters, but a lot of vets want people using the AT (if they'd give away free strips, we might all use them but who can afford $1 a piece when you test 6-8 times a day?)

What we watch for are "trends" more than exact numbers....is the dose we're giving getting them where we want them?

It doesn't matter if you're using a human meter or a pet meter to know that, as long as you understand your "targets"
 
emily gasoi said:
Hi All - I am fairly new to glucose testing -- just started on 1/21 --and I'm still getting the hang of everything. I bought both a ReliOn and an AlphaTrak meter (don't ask!) and I've tried both. I find the blood wicking strips on the ReliOn easier to use, but I've been told by two vets that I need to have it calibrated next time I take my cat to the vet in order for the levels I get from it to be useful. I actually bought the ReliOn based on recs from users on this site, so wondering if there's any thoughts/advice on this.

Thanks!
Emily
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I think what they meant by "calibration" is really more of a comparison. By that I mean, when testing the same blood sample, if your meter gives you 150 and their test gives you 180, you know approx. how much your meter reads lower. Something like that.

Some of us use the Freestyle Lite strips in our AT2 meters, as they're made by the same company and cost HALF what the AT strips cost. We've found that the numbers run very close. If you decide to do this, you should do some comparison testing of the same blood sample to see how they run with your meter.
 
You'd have to get a lot of paired tests to determine an approximate relationship between the 2 meters, using the same drop of blood or the same control solution.
 
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