Hi, names Felicia. I’m new here and new to diabetes as well, got diagnosed in October of of last year… Has been an interesting journey so far.
Anyway. I just ran out of test strips tonight and unsure of if I’ll have any more tomorrow because there seems to be some confusion my doctors assistants part on why I would be out of a twenty day supply at the end of the month when I got them near the beginning.
So how do you guys handle when you won’t be able to test for a few days?
If you’re in the US, I’d recommend heading over to Walmart and picking up their Relion Prime meter. Test strips for it cost around $0.18 each (100 for $17.88). No prescription required. With that, you have a low-cost option to make sure you have strips when you need them. Your doctor should really make sure you have what you need.
I may just run over there tomorrow and pick a few up to hold me over until they fill my script then. My care staff has been pretty good to me for the most part, but with my numbers being all over the place they’ve been having me test five times a day and don’t think they quite get how fast you go through a bottle of fifty in a month when you do it that many times.
Do the relion ones universal? I have a true test meter. If that makes a difference anyway.
Thank you for the advice too, by the way… I had no idea you could get them without paying 20.00 bucks for a bottle.
yours doctor, need to make sure you don’t run out, my do,.
i had the TRUEResult & it from Amazon, & i buy all my Strips, from Amazon,.
I’m on obamacare so I pretty much got what I could get from Molina for the meter. Maybe sometime I’ll see about upgrading by paying out of pocket.
They’re trying their best, we’re all kinda learning what I do or don’t need right now. Like I said, just getting things under control… Planning on telling them that upping is a good idea.
I buy my own on Amazon. Truetest strips. They cost $45 for 300 and work with trueresult or true2go meters. Free shipping. In my opinion they are a very very high quality too-notch product… I actually chose to pay cash for them instead of use the major name brand that my insurance covers because I like them so much more.
Over time many of us develop protection mechanisms like little squirrels where we hoard extra supplies against lean times. There are things like having a margin of overprescription where the doctor tells you to test 4 times a day but you know that some strips and tests are bad so you have him write 5 or 6 times a day. Another thing to do is refill your prescription early, most insurance plans allow you some leeway (like a week or so). By doing this repeatedly you can actually eek more out your prescription.
In the meantime you have some other options. Some of it will depend on where you live and your exact situation. Typically doctors and diabetes educators have starter and sample supplies, you can often ask for these to help tide you over. Your pharmacist may also have some latitude to help you negotiate this, most pharmacists are authorized to dispense temporary amounts in these sorts of situations. And finally as others have suggested there are increasing numbers of cheap meters and test strips. You don’t say what kind of meter you have but test strips are unique to every meter. If you end up paying out of pocket for your strips it is best to either go to a place like Walmart of buy from a place like amazon which offers inexpensive meters and strips.
I’m learning more and more that this definitely going to have to become a habit for me. Also, that I am going to have to put aside my fear asking for help outside of my doctors when I need it but can’t get it. As i’m sure you know, this is a huge life change for me. So, it’s a process.
I have a true result meter. Which I understand only takes the true test strips… But as I said, I may end up looking at others with my fiance just as a safety measure for when I run out on the prescription. Or the batteries die in this one. “Have not the slightest clue how much meter batteries actually cost but heard they can be costly.”
they can be costly, to me it all-about, where to look for them, Amazon is where, i buy my meter batteries from,.
I never replaced batteries in that kind of meter, but did in another - they were just a couple bucks. Not a bank-breaker - nor should they be, as I could just as easily gotten a new meter!
Batteries for the True Result meter are $1.97 at my local Walmart.
The TrueTest test strips seem to be available on-line and are quite affordable. You can probably get a temporary supply from Walgreens and then place an on-line order.