Meter ?

[shellygirlky]

Does anyone use the Relion Ultima meter? Do you like it? How is the accuracy? I checked my meter to the vets meter and I have to add 50 to the reading.

[usfacc]

I use the Alphatrak for curves but I also have the Relion. I like that the strips are individually wrapped and the way the strips soaks the blood. The only drawback is it takes a large amount. Relion has a new meter call the "Confirm" that only takes .03 like the Alphatrak and you do not have to code the strips. It cost $12 and I think it uses the same strips as the Relion Micro. I might get one of those for my spot checks.

[eileen]

In my opinion it is always best to stick with one meter. If you use your Alpha Trak for curves yet another for those all important 'spot' checks you will have such inconsistancies. Your 'spot' checks will not be comparable to your Alpha Trak curves.You may think there's a problem indicated by a spot check when in fact there is not or there may not be one indicated when there is....just too much of a difference in readings.

If you are looking to cut costs as I know how expensive the AT strips are you may want to use your Alpha Trak with Freestyle LITE test strips as several here have pointed out. A friend of mine has recently run her own comparisons and has found the readings to be extremely close.

Again, in my opinion there are more accurate human meters than the ReliOn.
Several being the Freestyle and the One Touch Ultra.

When comparing ones meter with vet results it is very important to do so when the pet is in different ranges. There is never just a standard amount of additional points to automatically add to the readings your meter is indicating.

With one particular comparison I did with an Accu Chek Aviva (before I went to the Alpha Trak) the difference was an astonishing 130 points. With my meter showing the lower number....this was not acceptable.
All comparisons I've run since switching to the Alpha Trak have been within a 10 point spread.

Eileen/Mil

[k9diabetes]

I haven't used the Relion... seems like I've seen mixed results with it. I personally like the Freestyle meters for small dogs and the OneTouch Ultra for medium to large dogs.

It is also true that some of the human meters can have a much larger variance at higher blood sugars. I did not have this problem with the OneTouch - it was a pretty consistent 30-40 points low at many different levels. We tested it from the low 100s to the mid 300s.

Natalie

[eyelostit]

Does anyone use the Relion Ultima meter? Do you like it? How is the accuracy? I checked my meter to the vets meter and I have to add 50 to the reading.

I've been using the Relion meter for years now, I do use the Alphatrak when I do a curve or I suspect something is wrong.

With the Relion when I get a reading of 40-50 the bg is usually in the 90-125 range.

If it reads over 100 I go with 150-180

If its reading 200's then I go with 300+ or more

The higher the reading the more points I add.

This is my own personal observation with this meter, I have compared it with the One Touch, The Breeze2, One Touch Mini and have only seen differences of 20pts plus or minus with doing bg readings at the same time. I have taken it to the vet also and had it compared to the whole blood reading.

I test often enough that the Alphtrak or Glucopet strips were getting too expensive, I used the Glucopet meter for about 2-3 years, then I bought the Relion meter and did my comparisons, a friend had sent me the Alpahtrak and I used that as comparison also.

When I get unusual high readings I always check the urine for glucose and ketones.

Best thing is to take the meter to the vet when you go, have them draw up some whole blood and test your meter with that and also test the way you normally do at the vets office with the lancet.

If you are getting regular blood draw for bg you will have that reading from the lab, the reading with whole blood with the meter and the reading from the spot where you do your home testing. They all can differ but you will get a good idea of how the meter compares to actual whole blood vs capillary blood (from the skin)

With the Relion meter the higher the bg the more points you add, 50 pts is good if you get a reading of 40-60 which would put it into the 100's range, but as the readings get higher you cannot go by adding 50 points.

I hope this does not sound too confusing, some like to be exact with the pet meters, I was that way for quite awhile until I felt comfortable with Niki's bg and how she was doing.


We have a page on meter comparisons, I think everyone has their own views on meters, I'm happy with the Relion meter and have the Alphatrak in case I feel I need to use it.

Hope this helps:)
Dolly

[eileen]

I think you hit the nail on the head by your comment about how exact one wants to be and how important that is to an individual.

You have obviously done many things right to have your diabetic in her 7th year...a big pat on your back!
Mildred is heading into 5 1/2 years.

I on the other hand have caused myself undue grief by not using a meter that was as close to 'exact' as possible.... playing the guessing game by adding points is something that I absolutely do not want to do. I need to know where she is at any given time of the day or night, I test daily at least 3+ times if not more so very rarely run full curves as the need is just not there because I can see how she is daily.
The fact that I use Humalog with her NPH is most likely a contributing factor to my beliefs on wanting the numbers I see with my Alpha Trak to be what they are (or as close as possible). There is just no way I could use Humalog basing her dose on fastings if they were not.

Eileen/Mildred

[eyelostit]

Since Niki is having problems with her eye I've been testing more, I bought some more Alphatrak strips, this is the comparison with the Alphatrak on the left and the Relion meter on the right and the difference points between the meters. Where you see the stars or asterisks is considered a low to me and I give syrup at that time +her meal, my figures are at fasting times. I think you need to click on the picture to enlarge it, or keep your cursor over it. You can see the higher the bg the more difference with the points, I tested on myself with the Alphatrak and got a 172 and a reading of 87 with the Relion on, I wonder if anyone else out there has tested themselves with the Alphatrak meter just to see.
I need to test this viewing of my picture. ok, click on the picture and it will enlarge.

[[[From Natalie: The picture is in Dolly's album. You can view it there. There do not necessarily show up here I discovered.]]]

http://k9diabetes.com/forum/picture.php?pictureid=647&albumid=3&dl=1265182335&thumb=1 (http://k9diabetes.com/forum/album.php?albumid=3&pictureid=647)

[shellygirlky]

Thank you for the information but I don't see your picture.