Has any one used those A1C meters they sell at Walmart? and if so how is it working for you and is it expensive for the testing materials, In general are they worth it.
Would be nice to check and see how I’m doing instead of waiting for the Doctor to schedule one.
the box costs $30 for two tests. The first box I bought didn’t work at all, but I called the customer service no. at Bayer and they sent me a coupon for a free one. The test appears to work fine, although then you get the problem “How accurate is it really with no lab result to compare it to?” My last one told me I have an A1C of 5.2.
Well, I have not used the Walmart brand, but I can provide some background. The Relion brand provided by Walmart provides discount supplies (and tests) for diabetics. The Relion A1c test is a single use test that has you lance and place your blood sample on collection form which is then sent to a test lab (Heritage). Heritage performs the test and then makes the result available to you on their web site in about 5 days. Heritage is Level 1 certified by the NGSP. This means that they have to quarterly monitor their testing performance and they have their A1c be accurate within 0.7% with a 95% CI. Heritage uses the Roche Cobra Integra 800 for testing and the most recent test survey for that machine shows very good performance. The average absolute error (bias) was found to be at most 0.17% over the three sample points (5.9%, 7.4%, and 9.8%) and the coefficient of variation was 3% or less, so there was very good repeatabiliity. This is one of the better performing testers.
Other than that, I have nothing more to say on the subject.
Yeah, the Walmart ‘brand’ test is mail-in. Not good if you aren’t patient!
I have used the A1CNow by Bayer. Walmart probably also sells those, but CVS often has $10 off coupons - so 2 tests for 20 bucks. Pretty accurate and simple to use. I think the one time I checked the day before my office visit was like 0.1 or 0.2 off of the lab test. They’re definitely convenient if you want to see how you’re doing between visits.
Well, being a T1 and On insuling for some 17 yrs.
I tried them and they were pretty close to my lab…
butt? By testing 6-8x .day ave out your day , then your week, then your month
Plus using your meters 7,14 and 30 day ave… using the coversion chart gets me close enough to give me an idea where I’m at… and I go in every 4mos for a Blood Lab…
and since A1c’s are ok for beginers… It’s how you are doing with How many Hypo’s, Hypers and when that counts… Can have a good A1c, but if your having alot ( more than 1 per day) Mild Hypo? That can throw it all off…And give a False A1c’…
and don’t forget… Meters use Whole Blood, vs Labs use Plasma and thus show higher readings . Off hand 120 meter = 136 Lab/Plasma… but have to ck the charts…
I’d spend the $30 and get the Data Cable to download your meter instead…
I’ve tried the Bayer A1C Now and did not get very accurate or reliable results. I did an A1C Now test right before a lab blood test and the A1C Now test was .7% lower than the lab test. I also did an A1C Now test right before an Endo visit two weeks later and agian it was lower. .8% lower than the test in the office. I have also tried two A1C Now tests within a few days of each other using the same device and they were off by .5%.
Possibly the mail in test from WalMart is better but I really don’t see much value in the Bayer A1C Now.
Thanks for the info I’ll have to try one from CVS, I’m not very patient.
Thanks to everyone who replied to this discussion it’s good to have different opinions and use the info to make good decisions.
The Relion was $9.99 for one test at my Wal Mart. You can have the results in five business days over your computer, or via snail mail, your choice. My lab said my A1c was 5.5, Relion said 5.6. This is an exception buy for anyone who can’t afford a doctors visit or does not have insurance.
Have used them for years and never had a problem.
Mary
Just so we are clear, the Bayer A1cNow is a hand held meter that takes an instant reading of your A1c from a sample at home. It has demonstrated “weak” performance in calibrations by the NGSP. In the most recent assessment, the A1cNow was found to have an average absolute bias(error) of nearly 0.7% (just as you reported) as well as a CV > 6%. So the A1cNow has really been evaluated to have “marginal” performance and is much less repeatable than the Walmart version.