Ketone blood meter advice needed

Kev B

Kev B

Member
Hello, Everyone!
I'm checking to see if anyone has any experience with AccuTest or Alieve Pet Blood Glucose/Ketone meters (the packaging for both products is exactly the same, only the brand name is different). I just received one, but am having difficulty with it, specifically starting it. The battery won't sufficiently click into place, and when I manually pressure it into place, I am getting error readings not indicated in the manual (E-C, then OFF). I even tried a new battery and got the same result. So far, I haven't found any applicable fixes or solutions. I got it on eBay, and I think returning it won't be an option. So, does anyone have experience with this model?

Thanks!
Kit & Kev
 
Kev B said:
Hello, Everyone!
I'm checking to see if anyone has any experience with AccuTest or Alieve Pet Blood Glucose/Ketone meters (the packaging for both products is exactly the same, only the brand name is different). I just received one, but am having difficulty with it, specifically starting it. The battery won't sufficiently click into place, and when I manually pressure it into place, I am getting error readings not indicated in the manual (E-C, then OFF). I even tried a new battery and got the same result. So far, I haven't found any applicable fixes or solutions. I got it on eBay, and I think returning it won't be an option. So, does anyone have experience with this model?

Thanks!
Kit & Kev
Click to expand...

@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Diane Tyler's Mom GA
 
Kev B said:
Hi, Diane Tyler's Mom GA!!

Do you use any of the ketone blood meters? It looks like I'll be shopping for a new one, so any suggestions from personal experience would be wonderful! I'm researching now...

Thanks!!

Kit & Kev
Click to expand...
@Kev B
Hi I have never used any ketone meters but found this posted by another member

Here are two of the more commonly used ketone meters: the Nova Max Plus or Precision Xtra Blood & Ketone meters Nova Max Plus or Precision Xtra Blood & Ketone meters
 
Precision Xtra is a human meter and has been used for pets for quite a while. Strips are like $5 apiece and seemed to take a long time to come from Abbott. I used it for over a year—I liked the meter but tech support was terrible when something went wrong with the meter. And as I said, took forever to get strips. I think they have a newer meter—I haven’t used it nor priced their strips.
Keto mojo is a popular human meter. Strips I think more like $1 apiece and many seems happy with it. I e been considering trying it.
Centrivet makes a ketone meter specifically for pets. I replaced my Precision Xtra with it because I got tired of taking to ignorant non English speaking tech support who would refuse to help once they knew I was using it on a cat. I find the meter to be a bit big for my small hand but it was the easiest of any meter I’ve set up. Strips are about $2 each

unlike blood glucose, where human meters are significantly off from pet meters (because glucose is carried differently in the blood) ketones measures a chemical in the blood and I don’t know that there’s a significant difference (that said, centrivet uses different coding chips for dogs, cats, and cows so there must be some species variation). I think human meters are probably fine for cats for ketones —so far the main reason I haven’t switched to keto mojo is those strips ALSO need to come from the maker (like precision xtra for Abbott)—the only strips I see on Amazon are sold as a kit with glucose strips that I don’t need.
 
Hi, SmallestSparrow & Larry and Kitties!!!

Thank you for the advice! Walking the price/efficacy line is definitely not for the easily discouraged, and the trial-and-error component to it all has revealed more patience in me than I ever thought I had! Gosh! Kit has been an absolute Trooper through it all, though. I couldn't find a solution to my initial issue, so I found another meter, and it arrived last night. It's the Yi Lian Kang Blood Ketone Meter, and I found it on Amazon (so I'm more confident about a return policy). Fortunately, it turned on, so I'm off to a good start this time. The strips are affordably priced (<$1 each), so now it has to pass the efficacy test. SmallestSparrow, you brought up the human ketone meter results issue being compatible with cats vs the human glucose meter results. For my human ReliOn glucose meter results, I figured out an acceptable adjustment I have been using since August '24. Is there an adjustment you make for the human ketone meter results? Also, have you found any "best time" for ketone testing (i.e., pre-shot, after feeding, middle of cycle, etc.)?

Thank You for all the info!!!:bighug:

Kit & Kev
 
Kev B said:
Hi, SmallestSparrow & Larry and Kitties!!!

Thank you for the advice! Walking the price/efficacy line is definitely not for the easily discouraged, and the trial-and-error component to it all has revealed more patience in me than I ever thought I had! Gosh! Kit has been an absolute Trooper through it all, though. I couldn't find a solution to my initial issue, so I found another meter, and it arrived last night. It's the Yi Lian Kang Blood Ketone Meter, and I found it on Amazon (so I'm more confident about a return policy). Fortunately, it turned on, so I'm off to a good start this time. The strips are affordably priced (<$1 each), so now it has to pass the efficacy test. SmallestSparrow, you brought up the human ketone meter results issue being compatible with cats vs the human glucose meter results. For my human ReliOn glucose meter results, I figured out an acceptable adjustment I have been using since August '24. Is there an adjustment you make for the human ketone meter results? Also, have you found any "best time" for ketone testing (i.e., pre-shot, after feeding, middle of cycle, etc.)?

Thank You for all the info!!!:bighug:

Kit & Kev
Click to expand...
Hi Kev
There’s actually not a conversion factor for human glucometers used on cats. There are too many variables not the least of which is the algorithm used in the design of the human meter depends on how glucose is transported in human blood which is different that in cats. For general use (especially if following advice given by advisors on this board) then the human meters are close enough—especially since they generally show a lower value than is true so it’s less likely the cat could become hypoglycemic when dosing using the human meter (unless the cat is anemic—then it is very possible)

as far as I know the ketones are distributed similarly in all species (but since they market species specific ketone meters there is obviously something I don’t know but will now get off the sofa and research it)
for this reason I wouldn’t worry about a conversion for cats. I would suggest you find the accuracy of your meter (if it’s not in the manual you can find out by emailing/calling the manufacturer). All of them (sadly) have a pretty wide variation (yet I still do it)—I can’t recall off the top of my head but I want to say it’s something like +/- 0.3 for numbers under 1.5 for the Xtra. I console myself with the fact that I *shouldnt* get as worked up as I get for numbers under 1.0
 
SmallestSparrow said:
Hi Kev
There’s actually not a conversion factor for human glucometers used on cats. There are too many variables not the least of which is the algorithm used in the design of the human meter depends on how glucose is transported in human blood which is different that in cats. For general use (especially if following advice given by advisors on this board) then the human meters are close enough—especially since they generally show a lower value than is true so it’s less likely the cat could become hypoglycemic when dosing using the human meter (unless the cat is anemic—then it is very possible)

as far as I know the ketones are distributed similarly in all species (but since they market species specific ketone meters there is obviously something I don’t know but will now get off the sofa and research it)
for this reason I wouldn’t worry about a conversion for cats. I would suggest you find the accuracy of your meter (if it’s not in the manual you can find out by emailing/calling the manufacturer). All of them (sadly) have a pretty wide variation (yet I still do it)—I can’t recall off the top of my head but I want to say it’s something like +/- 0.3 for numbers under 1.5 for the Xtra. I console myself with the fact that I *shouldnt* get as worked up as I get for numbers under 1.0
Click to expand...
Hi, SmallestSparrow!!
I hear ya about the "too many variables"! In the beginning, I was taking Kit to his vet every 5 days (!!!!) or so for BG testing. Fortunately, my vet was only charging me a testing fee (no office visit fee) while encouraging me to home-test instead. I was aware of the "variables", so when I got my ReliOn meter, he let me test my meter with his Pet-grade meter (using the same blood sample). Over the next few BG tests, I was able to calculate an average from the differences between my meter reading and his (using his as the "standard"). I still cannot attest to anything but mild confidence in the accuracy of my home-testing results (especially since his BG levels were "normal" when he fell into DKA) and so am now hoping the BG/Ketones combo approach paired with hyper-awareness of his activity level and food/water intake might help avoid another DKA nightmare. Oh, let's not forget "gut-feelings" and "ECID" in that mix...:banghead:
So, I'll probably run into the same protocol for ketone testing also. Have you found a "good" time to test for ketones? With BG readings, I use the AMPS reading to "generally" be the "control number" for the day because he hasn't eaten anything that could affect the result. I haven't yet been able to find any such protocol when it comes to a ketone blood testing time for any "accuracy" reading.

Thank you, SmallestSparrow!!!

Kit & Kev
 
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