Metres with cheapest strips? (Canada)

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eccentricfuzzyme

eccentricfuzzyme

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I am looking to buy a human meter since the strips are cheaper than for the alpha trak i have now.
people recommended relion (sp?) but they dont carry it here.
I am wondering if anyone who is also in Ottawa/Canada knows of a readily available metre/strip brand that is the cheapest and works for cats.
Thanks
 
I am in Toronto and there are not really any strips much diff in price unless you want to get your strips online and then you can get some deals. Otherwise you will likely pay between $80 -$90 for a 100 pack.
 
in another thread people mentioned one that is at walmart for 50 cents a strips or less, but the name they mentioned isnt carried in my walmart.
 
Can you buy the relion meter and strips online from WalMart? The strips here cost 20 dollars for 50 (40 cents a piece), and I think you can get a higher qty for less per strip.

Carl
 
carlinsc said:
Can you buy the relion meter and strips online from WalMart? The strips here cost 20 dollars for 50 (40 cents a piece), and I think you can get a higher qty for less per strip.

Carl
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i will have to look into how much the walmart US site costs to ship here, and if they will ship this sort of item.


If I am going to have to pay 1$ a strip or so, I wont be able to home test her every day. At the minimum I try to do 3 times a day now, but that would be almost 100$ a month. I am on disability, I cannot afford anywhere near that.
 
Walmart.ca doesnt have them, and walmart.com doesnt ship to canada.

ADW ships to canada but charges 30$ to do so, negating any savings.

:(
 
How far from the border do you live, or are med supplies even something that can be carried across? Can someone here buy them and mail them to you?
Carl
 
I would get the Aviva Accuchek. They should have it at Walmart. The strips are expensive in the store, but you can get them on ebay for a fraction of what you pay in the store: http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from...iva+accuchek+strips&_sacat=See-All-Categories. Just make sure you're planning ahead buying your strips online. You don't want to run out, because murphy's law dictates the moment you do will be the day your cat drops low and you'll be forced to run out and buy them at the store. :smile: You also get the best deals on ebay when you buy them in larger amounts. For example, if you buy 250 strips at once, you'll pay between $100 and $120, which averages out to around $20 a bottle, as opposed to $50 for a single bottle at Walmart.

It's a very good meter. I live in the states, but I got this meter because a friend of mine had some extra strips she was getting rid of. Since buying strips online was just as cheap as the Relion Micro, I stuck with it because I preferred it to the Relion.

I believe you said you're in Ottawa? I grew up about an hour south of Ottawa near Ogdensburg, NY. There's a Walmart there right over the bridge, and they have Relions and test strips. So your other option if you don't want to haggle for strips on ebay would be to make a monthly/bimonthly trip and stock up at the store in Ogdensburg.
 
ADW ships to Canada as well, and you can get the Arkray Glucocard 01, which is the generic equivalent of the Relion meter, for less than what you'd pay for the meter/strips at Walmart. I believe they also accept paypal as a payment option, which I find helpful. I participate in several online survey sites, plus I get paid for shopping through cashback sites and those funds get deposited into my paypal account, which means those funds can be used for diabetes supplies.

Good luck!
 
ADW charges 30$ to ship to Canada.


I went to look at my walmart to see what meters they sell since they dont carry relion in Canada.
They have the following:
One touch- ultra mini and ultra 2
Bayer- contour and breeze 2
AccuCkek -compac plus, aviva and nano
Freestyle - lite


There was a long line at the pharmacy and they keep the strips behind the counter so I didnt get a chance to compare prices, but any thoughts on these metres/strips?
 
I called costco, thier cheapest ones are 55 cents for true trak, or 73 cents for aviva.

and walmart's cheapest strips are 80 cents each for contour.
 
If I am going to keep Josie I need the cheapest strips I can possibly find. \I simply cannot afford her care as it is. As soon as I run out of the AT strips I am switching to a human meter, but even then, at 1$ a strip that is 150$ a month or so just on strips, not including needles, lancets, insulin, special food, etc. That is almost half my income after rent is paid.
 
It takes some getting used to, but I've used the Advocate Redi-Code in the past. I've been able to get strips on ebay very inexpensively. You may want to see if it is one that might be available for you. It requires a larger droplet of blood and you have to have the right technique to get it to read, but I've been able to pick up strips as low as $0.06/strip, though usually $0.12-0.20/strip.

ETA: Okay, I'm doing some internet searching... take a look at this site: http://www.bestbuydiabeticsupplies.com/. Looks like they have more reasonable shipping rates to Canada and they appear to have some more affordable options, including the Arkray Glucocard 01 (the generic Relion meter). Not sure which products they ship to Canada... may be worth it to give them a call.
 
Just remember if you buy a meter from the US, it will read in US values, so you will have to convert.

The meters are super cheap just about anywhere (especially Walmart), so it is the cost of the strips, so if you can get the strips at Costco for cheaper, then that's the way to go.

Try calling your nearest branch of the Cdn Diabetic Assoc., as well, to see what they can suggest.

Any store that offers a points program (like Zellers) and also sells diabetes supplies can add up to savings. I got my strips at Shoppers and joined their Optimum points program. The strips were no cheaper there, but by buying them on 10 or 20x the points days, the points added up fast, and I could get a free supply of strips or syringes every few months - and that's a big help.

Good luck!
 
Christie & Willie said:
It takes some getting used to, but I've used the Advocate Redi-Code in the past. I've been able to get strips on ebay very inexpensively. You may want to see if it is one that might be available for you. It requires a larger droplet of blood and you have to have the right technique to get it to read, but I've been able to pick up strips as low as $0.06/strip, though usually $0.12-0.20/strip.
Click to expand...

Where do you find the strips so cheap?
 
KarenRamboConan said:
Just remember if you buy a meter from the US, it will read in US values, so you will have to convert.
Click to expand...

American numbers are the high ones right, like 80-400, and the canadian the low ones 3-20 ish? my vet used low ones, but the AT i have now must be american as it uses the high ones.


If i buy a canadian metre and american strips which number will it give? i would rather it give the high numbers since that is what people on here use and it would be easier for me and my SS
 
You can get strips cheap on Ebay.ca . I mentioned the Aviva Accucheck up above--check out the link to ebay in my previous post to see what kind of deals you can get, especially if you get the bigger lots of 200-300 strips. Even though the Accuchek strips are About $1 a strip at Walmart, I usually pay about .50 cents a strip on ebay. However, I only pay that much because my cat is in remission and I don't go through them quickly. You can get better deals on strips that are expiring soon (since you can't use aviva strips past the expiration date). If your cat is on insulin, you're going to go through about 100 strips a month. So if you check ebay a lot and watch for deals, every so often a lot will come up where the strips are going to expire within the next few months and you can get them REALLY cheap, like .25cents a strip.

I'm guessing that Karen does the same with her meter.

Yes, the higher numbers are the American ones. To convert Canadian numbers to American, you just multiply by 18. If you get a US meter and buy strips in Canada, it will give you American values since the meter determines the display.
 
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