Jazzy Girl

[eyelostit]

Re: Jazzy Girl

Hi wondering hows its going ?

[JazzyGirlsMom]

Re: Jazzy Girl

Hi wondering hows its going ?

The testing is going ok, her bg were in the 100's today. Probably a fluke. She goes in on Thursday for the curve.

My computer crashed (seems you might be contagious lol). I was searching the internet for a tail light for my car and obtained a trojan (grrr). Internet explorer shut down, then the whole computer. I got it back up and running by installing windows again but don't have all the functionality. AND I LOST the excel spreadsheet I was working on w her bg, urine glucose, ketones, insulin levels etc. I can't retrieve it. I'm not a happy camper.

But otherwise, we're good. Thanks for asking

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jazzy Girl

Ugh... all these computer problems prompted me to pick up an external drive last night and back up everything on my system that can't just be reinstalled.

[JazzyGirlsMom]

Re: Jazzy Girl

I'm somewhat up and running w this computer. Really ticks me off cuz I consider myself to be pretty computer saavy and can't get all the bugs out of this one so I'll be taking it away somewhere to get it looked at.

Took Jazzy to the vet for a curve today. The vet was really please w the results. She's keeping her on 6U of Vetsulin. I did switch her over to Iams weight control dry and am feeding her a new food that's either out or is coming out. It's called FreshPet Select. They seem to like it. It's made by Tyson foods and will be refrigerated when you buy it.

On to the curve results. I did ask them to check my meter when they drew blood. They weren't too happy with the results of my meter. and strongly recommend I use the AlphaTrak. I'll post both results. Hopefully it will come thru as a table the way I typed it
_________Theirs_______ Mine
8:35 ______278 ________205
10:35 ______172_________110
12:35 ______147_________ 83
2:35 _______135_________ 80
4:35 _______349_________245

[Ricksma]

Re: Jazzy Girl

I just wanted to add my thoughts about the results you are getting with the meter you are using. I have an AlphaTrak, but the strips are very expensive, and the way they work, you have to have the blood in EXACTLY the right spot, or it won't register. I love the way my human meter works (I use an Accucheck Aviva). The strips are inexpensive on eBay, and they have the capillary (sipping) action, so you don't have to be perfect placing it in the right spot. I know that the readings I get with it are not exactly accurate, but all I really want is a rough idea of where we are at any given time...I did some comparisons in the beginning, and I averaged the differences out to about 30 points lower than the AlphaTrak. So...if I get a reading of 130, I just add 30 points to that, and I can say Ricky's bg is APPROXIMATELY 160. I don't think any of us would benefit from knowing the exact number every day...it's too easy to start "chasing the perfect number". I am satisfied with having an approximation...and Ricky is...knock wood...so far doing great. If you are comfortable with this, then I wouldn't invest in an AlphaTrak in order to pinpoint a more accurate reading. That's just how I feel, of course, but the fact that you are testing at home at all is a huge advantage...I don't think having an exact reading each and every time is that important.

Teresa

[eyelostit]

Re: Jazzy Girl

You're doing good Jazzy, now you have a picture of when the insulin is working the hardest.

To me anyway it seems when bg is going over 200 the human meter will be off more.

The Alpha Trak seems to take more time to draw the blood, what I don't like about it is where the blood is drawn up, its on the sides of the strip rather than the bottom of it. This makes it somewhat hard for me to position the meter when I test Niki's tail, with having to hold the meter sideways, it is no doubt the sipping action or where its placed, its less blood needed I think, but still takes as much time drawing the blood up as the human meters.

You can always get the Alphatrak and use the one you have for daily testing.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jazzy Girl

Over the years I've seen some trends with various brands of meters.

Like Freestyle meters have tended to work extremely well with small dogs and not as well with large ones.

OneTouch Ultras have tended to be most accurate with larger dogs and less so with smaller ones.

I think both have a very good reputation for accuracy and they are the first two that I would recommend. Most of the time I've seen OneTouch Ultras be 30-60 points low... can't say anything for sure as it varies with every single dog. But that's been a pretty common difference with a OneTouch Ultra on a larger dog.

And generally I've seen OneTouch's have more or less the same difference whether the blood sugar was in the 100s or 300s.

I'm not familiar enough with that aspect of Freestyle to report a trend. Just know that some spot readings were done and I've seen Freestyles with small dogs be dead on even with lab values in spot checks!

Generally, the more generic/budget-priced the meter is in terms of cost, the less accurate it tends to be.

I can't say why there are size differences in which meters work better - just know that I've consistently seen this trend over the years with these two brands.

Could be individual differences in screen sizes and how the blood is handled/tested make one brand work better for animals than another.

If you can get good deals on the meters, try a few different ones until you find one you like the best with your dog. I have used Accuchek Advantage, which was accurate for us - about 30-40 points low - but took a lot of blood, Freestyle Flash - ran about 60-70 points low with Chris, and OneTouch Ultras - ran about 30-40 points low with Chris and was my favorite meter long-term, plus AlphaTrak and GlucoPet. I once had three OneTouch Ultras - two regulars and an Ultra 2 - and had only paid for one and that was a reduced price.

It does seem lately when I've been in the pharmacies that the good deals on meters are harder to get. I don't see them on sale or with rebates as much as I used to.

You really can't add a set number of points to a meter without running the meter against lab values and finding out directly how your meter works with your dog's blood. For example, Dolly's meter is farther off at higher blood sugar ranges, but my OneTouch Ultra was not that way. I tested it at BGs of 50-350 and it was within a very narrow range of difference.

So you can't "add 30" or "add 100" without some real lab value comparisons to go by, preferably as many as possible.

Natalie