Goodbye to My Murphy

[abdamurph]

I am currently only getting my dog Murphy tested at the Vet but am considering buying a meter. I am unemployed right now and cannot afford one of the expensive brands plus the supplies that you need for them. I read somewhere about Reliion from Walmart that is for humans but can also be used for dogs, can anyone confirm this or suggest another expensive brand and supplies. Thx!

[Monsters Momma]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

I am currently only getting my dog Murphy tested at the Vet but am considering buying a meter. I am unemployed right now and cannot afford one of the expensive brands plus the supplies that you need for them. I read somewhere about Reliion from Walmart that is for humans but can also be used for dogs, can anyone confirm this or suggest another expensive brand and supplies. Thx!

Hi and Welcome!

Craig, our resident expert in meters will be much better at answering your questions. You might check his posts about Annie, but I'm sure your title will catch his attention! I know a lot of folks use the Relion. Personally, I found it difficult to get the strip in, but that was early on and I should probably try again! I started testing almost right away because I couldn't see spending all the money at the vets on something I could do. The money I've saved has more than paid for the meter and supplies!

So, tell us about your pup! We'd love to hear as much as you want to tell us!
Mel

[CraigM]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

I use the ReliOn Prime for everyday testing due to the very low cost http://www.relion.com/diabetes/blood...g/relion-prime The problem with the Prime is that it does read dog blood low. Through comparing with my AlphaTrak dog meter I've determined that if I divide the reading off the Prime by 0.65 I get a number that is close to what my AlphaTrak would have indicated. Example: if my Prime read 100, I'd divide by 0.65 any get 153 as my "corrected" reading. Of course these were my tests, but others seem to do the same type of correcting. Some members have reported seeing wide swings in readings, but I think my meter is pretty reliable.

Another consideration would be the One Touch Ultra2 meter. You can find the OTU2 on Amazon for under $20 and there is a generic test strip, GenStrip http://www.amazon.com/Genstrip-Strip.../dp/B00B5VC074 that seems to be a low cost option for the OTU2. The OTU2 seems to read dog blood just 25-30 points low in the normal 100-200 range and most users just record the reading off the meter as close enough. Minor problem with the OTU2 is that it requires a slightly larger blood sample than most other meters.

Of course there are other low cost meters, but these are the two I've "played" with, along with my AlphaTrak.

Craig

[abdamurph]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

Thanks for the response. Murphy is my 10 year old Golden/Aussie mix who I rescued from a shelter when he was 4 mos old, he was diagnosed in May of this year. Unfortunately I am currently unemployed and he is already on other meds so any extra expenses is really difficult. We go in for a frutosimine test on Monday so hopefully his numbers will be ok.

[Emily]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

I also use the Relion Prime...very reasonable price. I also did a comparison with my Alpha Trak 2 and do a conversion when I use the Prime.

[CraigM]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

Thanks for the response. Murphy is my 10 year old Golden/Aussie mix who I rescued from a shelter when he was 4 mos old, he was diagnosed in May of this year. Unfortunately I am currently unemployed and he is already on other meds so any extra expenses is really difficult. We go in for a frutosimine test on Monday so hopefully his numbers will be ok.

If you start home testing you might be able to quit doing frutosimine tests in the future. Many who home test feel the frutosimine test is at best redundant, and possibly a bit of a waste. The reason is that test basically tells what the average glucose level was over a length of time. It doesn't tell how low, nor high the glucose has been. So it's possible that a dog had wild swings from dangerous low to dangerous high and could show a good frutosimine test. At least that's what I think I've heard. http://diabetes.about.com/od/glossar...saminetest.htm

You would get much better information from a day long blood glucose curve where you (or vet $$$) would check Murphy's blood about every two hours from before breakfast to around dinner time (usually difficult at a vet clinic due to their office hours). This way you would see the highs and lows. You would also see how his meal affects his diabetes - much more informative! You could do a day long curve at home and it would only cast about $1 (Relion Prime). I would guess some vet clinics would charge $75+. Most of us test at least twice a day to be fairly sure our pups are in a "good spot".

Craig

[CraigM]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

By the way, if you would like to change the title of your thread to something else (Murphy, or whatever you'd like) just post it here and a moderator can change it for you.

[Bosco]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

Can you tell me what is the difference between the Relion Prime, the Relion Confirm & the Relion ultima. Can I use either of the 3. I know the test strips are cheaper for the Prime.

[CraigM]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

I have both the Confirm and Prime meters. They work the same as most modern meters, nothing earth-shaking about either

The Confirm requires slightly less blood than the Prime: .3micromliters compared to .5microliters, probably an insignificant difference.

The Confirm "beeps" when there is enough blood for the test. The beep can startle some pups. With the Prime, you can easily see the blood sucked up by the test strip and will know if there wasn't enough.

I sort of like the packaging of the Confirm test strips. The plastic vial is sealed in a foil wrap and that might provide some protection during shipping / pre-use storage?

I normally use the Prime for routine testing due to the lower cost.

Both meters read dog blood low, but you can apply a math adjustment and get an answer close to true. Some folks don't worry about the error and use the error as a safety margin.

Craig

[harleychik66]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

I just started testing my guy on Monday. I read threads on here and recommendations. It seems in my reading that Craig is the meter testing/review guy. Initially I considered the alpha track and down the road may go that route but for now I wanted something cheap in case for whatever reason it didn't work for us I wasn't out 100.00+ bucks as opposed to 25-30.00.

I researched the ReliOn Prime and Confirm. I wanted something simple and as foolproof as possible since I've never touched a meter in my life. I read reviews on both till my eyes bled and decided to go with the Confirm. It seemed to me that more people had problems with error codes on the prime and it not always reading accurately as opposed to the Confirm. I also liked how little blood it needed. I also considered the mini as it takes the same strips as the confirm and also got good reviews but they were out of the mini's when we went to buy it.

I had my vet run side by side comparisons so I'd know the variance between my meter and their readings and yes it does run low. In our case it seems to be about 25 low on readings under 100 and 30 low on readings in the 100-300 range.

I have been testing my guy for two days now and am very happy with the Confirm. I wish the size of the meter was a little smaller but eh I'll deal. I found test strips on e-bay and including shipping it broke down to 37˘ a strip so not too dang bad. I had hoped they'd be here today but no so I had to run to wal-mart again tonight to pick up another 20 pack.

I have gotten 2 error codes in 20 strips. The one I knew right away I borked up. The other eh who knows why.

I am contemplating already getting an alphatrack system and using that for the all days curves when I take them but then the Confirm for just random testing.

[eileen]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

I am contemplating already getting an alphatrack system and using that for the all days curves when I take them but then the Confirm for just random testing.

So very glad you are home blood testing!

With americandiabeteswholesale the Alpha Trak 2 meter/kit is about $60.00 when using the code, alpha2...a great savings.
They do however require a script from your Vet for the first order. They will fax your Vet for a signature.
If you go this route you may want to call your Vet to give him the heads up.

[harleychik66]

Re: Good Inexpensive Glucose Meters?

So very glad you are home blood testing!

With americandiabeteswholesale the Alpha Trak 2 meter/kit is about $60.00 when using the code, alpha2...a great savings.
They do however require a script from your Vet for the first order. They will fax your Vet for a signature.
If you go this route you may want to call your Vet to give him the heads up.

When I was in Monday for Lou's curve test there I asked/ mentioned that down the road I may need him to write a prescription because I saw it showed you needed one. Because we'd already kinda verbally duked it out about home testing....guess who won...he said no problem. If/when I decided to order one he would gladly write a prescription for it.

[abdamurph]

Bladder Infections

Has anyone had problems with bladder infections and having trouble regulating the glucose because of this? Murphy was diagnosed with diabetes in June 2013 and we still cannot regulate him, he started at 15 units and he is now up to 23 and still not working. It seems he may be having bladder problems and possibly an infection and from what I read this can contribute to regulation problems. Just was wondering if anyone had experience in this area and if once the infection was cleared the glucose was able to be regulated. Thx

[abdamurph]

Freestyle Lite Strips where to purchase

Is it true you can use these strips instead of AlphaTrak 2 strips which are much more expensive and if so how accurate and realiable are they? I hear they aren't good over a 300 reading and Murphy tests over 300 on a regular basis since he isn't regulated yet. Also where can you buy these strips and how much less expensive are they? Thx!

[CraigM]

Re: Freestyle Lite Strips where to purchase

Is it true you can use these strips instead of AlphaTrak 2 strips which are much more expensive and if so how accurate and realiable are they? I hear they aren't good over a 300 reading and Murphy tests over 300 on a regular basis since he isn't regulated yet. Also where can you buy these strips and how much less expensive are they? Thx!

Several of us use FreeStyle Lite test strips in our AlphaTrak2 meters. My theory is that these strips are identical (no proof, just my theory). I've compared several vials of FSL test strips and they generally have read within 10 points of the true AlphaTrak strips. I figure 10 points is "nothing", just normal variance between different batches.

The trick is what code do you plug into the AlphaTrak? What I do is to IGNORE the code printed on the FSL vial and use the code from the AlphaTrak vial. So far I think all my vials of FSL strips have been marked "code 16" which, I guess, auto-codes the real FreeStyle Lite meter to human blood. We don't want to code to human blood, so I have used the latest code marked on an AlphaTrak vial (currently 35).

Best if you want to try FSL strips is to make a few tests with both FSL & AlphaTrak strips and see if they work for you.

I order FSL strips from Amazon, whatever site that gives the best price.

Here is a screenshot of the strips I'm using: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sqpa5h8z4c...-26_121134.png I think the boxes that state FreeStyle Freedom Lite (see the orange arrow on the screenshot.

Craig

Just looked in Annie's logbook. On 1-5-14 I tested using both AlphaTrak strips & FSL strips. The AlphaTrak = 105, FSL = 112 (left the AlphaTrak meter set at 35 per the AlphaTrak strip vial). Your results may vary. :-)