So my cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He's 12yrs old, and such an old man. It's been a nightmare trying to give him shots and testing his blood. My vet had his on 3 units X2 a day. I don't think it's enough so I got myself the AlphaTrak3 meter to keep track. I like that I can send his info right to his vet on the app, but my app doesn't seem to be working. Every time I try to transfer the readings from the meter to the app it says is doesn't see any new readings. Then when I put them in manually they magically disappear, it won't save. What a. I doing wrong? And what is the best way to check their BS levels? I'm too afraid to try his toe pads, and his ears don't give allot of blood I end up trying to squeeze it a little. I need to be able to do this by myself cause I don't have someone available to hold him every time. What are your ideas? I'm becoming desperate.
? Hell with the Alphatrak3
- Thread starter Sharbear
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Bron and Sheba (GA)
Very Active Member
Hi and welcome to the forum. It can be overwhelming in the beginning so hang in there. It will get much easier for you.
Can you tell us what type of insulin you are using?
What food are you feeding?
Are you giving a good meal before the insulin doses and are you giving any snacks during the cycles?
I don’t use the alphatrak meter so I can’t help you with the issues you are having trying to send data to your vet.
But I can help with the testing of the BG.
What size lancet are you using? We recommend starting off with a size 26 or 28 gauge as you will have more success getting blood. 26 is the better one to start with if possible.
Here is a link on HINTS AND TIPS ON HOMETESTING
Can you tell us what type of insulin you are using?
What food are you feeding?
Are you giving a good meal before the insulin doses and are you giving any snacks during the cycles?
I don’t use the alphatrak meter so I can’t help you with the issues you are having trying to send data to your vet.
But I can help with the testing of the BG.
What size lancet are you using? We recommend starting off with a size 26 or 28 gauge as you will have more success getting blood. 26 is the better one to start with if possible.
Here is a link on HINTS AND TIPS ON HOMETESTING
Diane Tyler's Mom GA
Very Active Member
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand notthe lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand notthe lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
squeem3
Very Active Member
Insulin can pack a punch so while 3 units may not seem like enough, you won't know for sure until you are testing blood glucose levels. What is the name of the insulin? What kind and brand of food is your cat eating?
I posted some tips on how to warm cat ears for testing: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/first-hypo-attack.297427/ Warm ears will bleed easily.
Have you checked the AlphaTrak web site for the user guide and info on how to use the app and troubleshoot? https://www.alphatrakinfo.com/ Scroll down a bit to Resources.
Most people here use a Human blood glucose meter. These are less expensive than a pet specific meter and any store pharmacy sells test strips if you are in need of more and have forgotten to buy online. Blood glucose levels are tracked through a Google based spreadsheet and shared with the vet. Link to creating a spreadsheet is here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/ All members are encouraged to have a spreadsheet for their cat even if they use something else to share info with the vet. A spreadsheet helps other members help you.
I posted some tips on how to warm cat ears for testing: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/first-hypo-attack.297427/ Warm ears will bleed easily.
Have you checked the AlphaTrak web site for the user guide and info on how to use the app and troubleshoot? https://www.alphatrakinfo.com/ Scroll down a bit to Resources.
Most people here use a Human blood glucose meter. These are less expensive than a pet specific meter and any store pharmacy sells test strips if you are in need of more and have forgotten to buy online. Blood glucose levels are tracked through a Google based spreadsheet and shared with the vet. Link to creating a spreadsheet is here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/ All members are encouraged to have a spreadsheet for their cat even if they use something else to share info with the vet. A spreadsheet helps other members help you.
Laurie&Petey
Very Active Member
I use the AlphaTrak 3 and hadn't had any issues with the app until 3 days ago, I keep getting the same message as you or it won't connect to the device. Turning Bluetooth on and off eventually worked, but not today. So frustrating, like we don't have enough to worry about!
SmallestSparrow
Very Active Member
The Alpha Trak app is seriously sick. Don’t panic if it says reading not available or if you open the app and don’t see them. I did at first, the app started to have that glitch in late September. They haven’t fixed it yet which I find massively disappointing.
give the app a lot of time. A lot of time. It will eventually update. I’ve also had trouble when trying to enter weight or water consumption. Sometimes that it will tell me I’ve already entered the number even though I haven’t that will remain broken. You can’t do it for that day if it tells you that give up, you can’t enter it that day that’s been going on for longer than the other app problems. They still haven’t fixed that either.
give the app a lot of time. A lot of time. It will eventually update. I’ve also had trouble when trying to enter weight or water consumption. Sometimes that it will tell me I’ve already entered the number even though I haven’t that will remain broken. You can’t do it for that day if it tells you that give up, you can’t enter it that day that’s been going on for longer than the other app problems. They still haven’t fixed that either.
SmallestSparrow
Very Active Member
I would like to suggest to all Alpha Trak users that they contact the customer support number and complain about this problem. The good thing is, customer support is all US based and you usually don’t have to wait long to talk to someone. This is unlike most human meters. But I think if we all started complaining rather than just me complaining to them, perhaps they would try and fix this app
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