HOLY RIPOFF BATMAN!!

[marieze]

Well, since I've been sharing my whole medical life with y'all, I don't mind telling you that when I re-started Sept. 1st and got really serious I decided to get one of those blood glucose moniters to really be able to tell what raises my i sulin levels.

I bought the little kit from Amazon for something like $10.00 and it came with lancets and like, 10 test strips. It was a great little investment to test two hours after certain foods to see how they affect my bg.

I remembered that I needed to order more strips and just called a few pharmacies here in town to discover that for 50 flippin' strips it's anywhere from $79.99 to $85.00!!!!

I went on Amazon especially since I am a "prime" member with free 2 day shipping and for 50 strips just paid $24.99! REALLY?????

I'm so ticked off because most likely people who buy them at the pharmacy submit it to insurance so the drugstores jack up the price....these are the same EXACT strips manufactured by the SAME company!

And what about people who don't have internet service and can't go to Amazon? That makes me feel bad thinking they are being ripped off! What about the elderly or infirm?

Help me out here, am I missing something?

Marieze

[VooDooDoll]

You are so right. I agree. I dont have insurance right now but before it ran out I ordered more strips and I only had to pay a small portion of that but its insane.

[Arctic_Mama]

Eh, I'm deleting my rant on this, it's probably a TOS violation! Needless to say the cost is insanely high for cash payers and that won't improve anytime soon. I'm glad they were cheaper on amazon!

[debkeversole]

i agree!

[ravenrose]

I know those big stores have fairly recently introduced their own meters and strips that are a lot less expensive. Some people are trashing them as not accurate, but I don't think they would probably be any different than the more expensive ones.

As to getting name brand strips cheap, that's harder. Be sure to check the date, because often they discount them when they are either expired or about to expire. I don't know how they could be that cheap on Amazon. I think it's the pharma companies jacking the price, not the retailers... Good for you finding them though!

[Vilya]

Oh yeah, the test strip market is a total racket.

I don't use my insurance for strips, it's still too expensive even with a copay.

When I had my OneTouch meter, I bought strips from an eBay seller. 100 strips for $45.

Then I switched to Walmart's ReliOn brand of meter; I use the Confirm. That one is 100 strips for $36.

There is a new model in the ReliOn line, called the Prime that is 100 strips for $18. I haven't switched to it because there's been some conflicting reports about how accurate it is. But you sure can't beat the price on strips for that one!

I'm happy with my Confirm for now.

[CarolynF]

Yes, Reli-On at Wallies is the cheapest..but don't get the Prime as Vilya stated..It is not a very reliable meter and sometimes you use 3 strips to get one reading.

[emily1965]

Not exactly the same thing, but my DD requires prescripton shampoo because she has beyond severe dandruff caused by a fungus. The prescription shampoo is $60 for an 8 oz bottle at the pharmacy and insurance won't pay for it.

I found it from a foreign seller on Ebay and paid $28 for two 8 oz bottles.

Without this shampoo, she develps what looks like severe cradle cap. I typed that then realized that I haven't heard the term "cradle cap" in years. Do babies not develop cradle cap anymore? Heck...I think I need to go post on the PG instead of jacking up your forum.

[dawnyama]

Originally Posted by emily1965

Not exactly the same thing, but my DD requires prescripton shampoo because she has beyond severe dandruff caused by a fungus. The prescription shampoo is $60 for an 8 oz bottle at the pharmacy and insurance won't pay for it.

I found it from a foreign seller on Ebay and paid $28 for two 8 oz bottles.

Without this shampoo, she develps what looks like severe cradle cap. I typed that then realized that I haven't heard the term "cradle cap" in years. Do babies not develop cradle cap anymore? Heck...I think I need to go post on the PG instead of jacking up your forum.

Yes, babies do have cradle cap nowadays. I have heard the term, but am not even sure if my babies had it I am sure they did to some degree. The dermatologist said on Dr Oz that dandruff shampoos otc fight a fungus. I remembered this because my DD is on dandruff shampoo-she itches like crazy without it. She doesn't need it because of flakes, but her itchiness which leads me to believe she may not be washing her hair thoroughly. Anyhow, interesting information.

About the strips---my DD has type 1 so her strips are through our insurance. We just got 200 strips for her meter for about $10. Thank goodness because with her so young, she tests all the time. To help offset our cost the nurse in our endo's office gave us a box of strips someone had given her and we could not get the code to work. So yes, do be careful of the strips you can get over the internet. Sometimes they may not work. I went on a trip out of state with my DD and she ran out of strips. Went to get a box, was going to pay out of pocket. There was no way I was going to pay what they wanted I forgot what they asked for, but I asked them to transfer my script from the home pharmacy to the one we were at (thankfully we were at the same chain of grocery, but still ). $5 for 200 strips was much better than the several hundred it could have cost me. The pricing is outrageous!!!

[SlowMovingWoman]

Suggest you google and check out different on line places that sell test strips.
Can be much cheaper. Also you can buy them on e-bay but be carefull who you
are buying from. I buy most of my strips (Contour) off e-bay and have never had
a problem. If you buy off ebay pay attention to the explaration date of the strips
and how much they charge to ship before you click to buy. SMW

[heidihomom]

I agree! My strips were on sale this first time for $37 per 100, but I'm sure that's an intro price, and next time I'd have to pay "normal" retail of $150 per 100!!! Holy moley! Even more reason to have regulated BG levels!!!

[floridagirl6]

I do have the Reli-On Prime. When I first got it - I tested on my old meter and then the prime was within 3 points of my first meter.

[Annie75]

Maybe its a YMMV thing, but I bought the Relion Prime a couple of months ago and tested for 3 days against my One Touch Ultra (which always matches up to my doc). Almost every time the Prime was 30-60 points off from the One Touch.
Didn't work for me. If I have to upgrade to the Relion Confirm it would cost $36 for 100 strips. My insurance co-pay is only $35 for 100 strips.
If anyone finds a cheaper system that is accurate, please keep me informed!

[songbird]

Tested my Relion Priime with former Relion Confirm and very close, also, with latest labs which were 187 the Prime showed 180.

[Irishgirl57]

I bought the Relion Prime as a secondary monitor. It's always within 1 point of my One Touch when I randomly compare. 50 test strips for $9 can't be beat.

[sarahatl]

I just bought the Relion Prime so I hope it is accurate. I am getting the control solution (they send it free in the mail). Would that help with accuracy? Thanks!