*Before I start this post I must say I’m not responsible for any damage or malfunctions or any thing that happens to your testing equipment. If you try what I talk about in the post, do it at your own risk.

On the Diabetic Dog Owners Facebook page I belong to Sharon, a fellow diabetic dog owner suggested that you could use Freestyle Lite test strips (Human) instead of Alpha Track test strips (Dog/Cat) in an Alpha track meter. Both test strips are made by Abbott. And leave the testing code at 7.

Which if the Freestyle lite test strips do work and are accurate then its a good way to save money. I currently pay about $46 for 50 count of Alpha Track test strips. The Freestyle lite test strips I’ve seen for as low as $19 plus shipping for a 50 count.

Here is my first round of testing.
8:45am | Shot | Ate
Aphla: 55
Free: 73

11:45am
Aphla: 158
Free: 175

3:15pm
Aphla: 103
Free: 114

6:15 | Ate
Aphla: 81
Free: 74

7:15 | Shot

10:15pm
Aphla: 72
Free: 89

A few things to note here. Very much adjusted Bender’s insulin shot. Any thing below 100 is a bit too low. Which is also why he didn’t get a shot right after he ate at 6:15, like he normally should have. This is a reminder as to why you should test your dog on a regular basis.

The difference between Aphla and Freestyle is very good. About 10-15 difference but does that really matter? If Bender is 150 compared to 160 is that bad? No. If I would test him again in ten minutes he could be 140 compared to 150. Now if it was 50 points off it would have been bad. That is not an accuracy level I’m comfortable with.

I would say FreeStyle lite test strips are pretty comparable to the Aphla track test strips. I’m going to suggest if you are going to switch to Freestyle lite, check your meter with the Freestyle lite strips versus your Vet’s testing meters. I would do this any way even if you didn’t switch over just because you want to make sure your meter is correct.

I would like to know if any one else has tried Freestyle lite test strips or other test strips and what the results are.

Note -I’ve found each bottle of FreeStyle Lites will read slightly different. My first bottle was 10-15 points off but my section bottle was 20-30 points off. Either test several strips from each new bottle against your Vet’s glucose machine or keep a bottle of Alpha Trak strips around to test against so you know how much each bottle will be off.