Opinions on "True Track" system (Cheap option in Canada)

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eccentricfuzzyme

eccentricfuzzyme

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By far the cheapest strips available here in my city are True track, which at costco are 44 cents each. The next cheapest is 77 cents each. That is a pretty big difference.
I know a lot of you use ebay to get cheap strips, but I dont have a credit card and do not feel comfortable linking my bank account to a service that is not regulated the way banks are. They wont let you use prepaid credit cards to load your account balance either, as they "dont meet thier security checks" apparantly.

So, what do you think of the true track system? I never heard of it before, but DCIN says it can be unreliable?
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

That's what I've heard, too. Any meter with "true" in the name tends to be unreliable.

Where are you located? If you are in the US and there is a WalMart accessible to you, look for the ReliOn meters. There are two - Confirm and something else - I *own* one and can't think of the name. Anyhow, they are quite inexpensive, both the meters and the strips. And reliable.
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

i can think of a couple people that have used it and haven't had any problems but more that have. inconsistency and unreliability of the numbers is the biggest complaint i've seen with them.
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

I am in Canada. We do not have relion meters or strips here. Only american walmarts carry those.

The next cheapest strips available to me are aviva, but they are almost twice the price.
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

In my opinion - tru track meters SUCK! Look at Maui's chart, and you will see the inconsistency in meters - tru track vs. one touch and no rhyme or reason why they were so far off.

I won't ever use it again nor recommend it.
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

In regards to Ebay...I've had a PayPal account for years with no problems. It's the same as authorizing any business to do a bank transfer or debit payment. They are also great for ebay purchases because if the seller disappears and doesn't send you the thing you purchased (this happened to me once), if you paid via PayPal they will refund your money and go after the seller themselves so that you're not stuck getting ripped off.
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

Julia & Bandit said:
In regards to Ebay...I've had a PayPal account for years with no problems. It's the same as authorizing any business to do a bank transfer or debit payment. They are also great for ebay purchases because if the seller disappears and doesn't send you the thing you purchased (this happened to me once), if you paid via PayPal they will refund your money and go after the seller themselves so that you're not stuck getting ripped off.
Click to expand...

But since I have no credit card, I would have to link it to my bank account, and I dont really understand how that works. They have access to my account. I dont know. Maybe I am just being silly, but it makes me nervous.
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

Hillary & Maui said:
In my opinion - tru track meters SUCK! Look at Maui's chart, and you will see the inconsistency in meters - tru track vs. one touch and no rhyme or reason why they were so far off.

I won't ever use it again nor recommend it.
Click to expand...


Darn. That is a major bummer. :cry:
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

Can you either start a new post or edit the subject of your first post ---- we have many members in Canada, so they should be able to advise regarding -- what is the best inexpensive glucometer in Canada

Also - what city/province are you in? We have members from NS to BC

you can edit your profile so that your location shows up over by your name to the right ====>
 
I am in Ontario. Updated my profile to show that.
I have called around everywhere here, I know all the options available in brick and mortar stores, and unfortunately true track is the only one even remotely affordable to me. but i had never heard of it, hence the posting.
there are lots of deals to be found online apparantly, but from Canada that is a whole other ball game.
 
There is no cheap option that is good.

I am in Toronto and prefer to use Bayer Contour or one of the OneTouch meters. That's it; that's all.
I get my supplies all at Shopper's drug mart so I get Optimum points. A couple times a year, I get my Levemir FREE because I use the points. Shoppers also has deals where you spend over $50, you get a $10 gift card. Get a couple of those, and add it to your points and it saves.

For the meter, you can get a meter FREE with the purchase of strips so do NOT buy the meter.
Just go to the pharmacist, I never mention I am using for a cat -I say I am a caregiver and there is that option on the form you fill out when you get a free meter.

I don't have a charge card and deal only with cash, but you can put some money into paypal I thought and it would cover your purchases, but others can help you with that.
 
Hello there!

I'm also in Ontario (London) and I've of the opinion that the true track is not necessary (and you may have fun trying to find strips on a saturday night in a pinch!). I used the accu-check aviva and have purchased strips at Shoppers and Costco (and possibly Walmart too). Nothing good is cheap really. You don't need to buy a meter because the meter comes free with your strips (just like Gayle said).

Strips for the accu-check ran $85 for 100 at Costco. It wasn't the cheapest, but that's my experience. I like the accuracy of that meter.

I hope it helps you.
 
yes, the accu-check is a good meter as well.
There is also the precision meter and you can get 2 kinds of strips for it, but I gave my meter away as I found it slower than others and needing more blood.

There really is no big diff in the price of strips.... $84 - $90 for 100 strips so you may as well pick the OneTouch as their strips are the cheapest. Bayer is a dollar more I think.
 
If you live in Ontario and are near a No Frills, Zehr's , Loblaws or Fortinos - inquire at the pharmacy there. I was getting my Lantus there and it was cheaper than Walmart and Shoppers - not sure about strips though ... can't remember. I am happy to call and find out what it is in this area, just to give you an idea.
 
There is a loblaws near me, not sure if it has a pharmacy or not. I will call in the morning. I cant imagine they would be cheaper than costco, but who knows.
It is frustrating that some strips are 44 cents (althoughb unreliable apparantly) and others twice as much.
When it is already crippling you financially to care for a sick pet, to have the cost double for a name brand meter is just cruel.
 
Re: Opinions on "True Track" meter and strips?

Julia & Bandit said:
In regards to Ebay...I've had a PayPal account for years with no problems. It's the same as authorizing any business to do a bank transfer or debit payment. They are also great for ebay purchases because if the seller disappears and doesn't send you the thing you purchased (this happened to me once), if you paid via PayPal they will refund your money and go after the seller themselves so that you're not stuck getting ripped off.
Click to expand...

I second this about Paypal. I don't know how long I've had it, both linked to my bank account and uploaded credit cards, so if I choose I can pay with a credit card. I understand you don't have a credit card. Do you have a debit card through your bank? That's what I use. Yes, it links to my bank account, but I have never had a problem and I feel it's safer than sending money through the mail or using credit cards online.
 
fwiw, i've used paypal for several years and never had a problem, until recently. and it was happening so often that i got fed up and got rid of my account a few months ago. it seems once you've been hacked, paypal's system isn't smart enough to keep you protected anymore. my account would get hacked at least 3-4 times a year for the last couple years. i would have to call them and go thru this whole procedure to make sure i was me and that i didn't sell that thing someone claimed they never got, etc.. to lift whatever restriction was on my account this time.....the worst being $100+ being taken out of my paypal account and $600 taken FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT! because i had my account linked to a bank account. paypal themselves were nice and quick to resolve things but seriously, i'm too busy to have to call them every few months and go thru the whole dang thing time and time again. so i got fed up and closed my account with them. plus i'm getting too damn old to remember all these dang passwords and crap that i have to remember, let alone remember a whole new set every time i got hacked and had to change them. ugh!

so while for the most part it's a cool option, i do agree that there's a bad side to it too

i have recently used them again a couple times but i just go in as a guest and pay with a credit card. no logging in and no stored info and all that. not sure it's any safer but at least it's not tied right to a bank account they can wipe out in minutes.

obviously if you don't have a credit card though that's not gonna work either. does anyone know if you can use a prepaid credit card type thing with paypal?
 
The info on the questions section of paypal made it seem like you cant use a prepaid the way you can a normal one with them. like you cant load several of thier values onto your paypal account and use it that way.
 
hi there,
I'm a little late to the meter party, but here's my two cents:

I'm in Ontario too and I've used the TT both on my cat and a friend's kitty.
It's a simple meter, easy to use, and handy in a pinch when you need strips asap.
I would recommend it as a back up meter, just because of the cheaper strips.

however, as your regular meter, as others have mentioned, it does read differently than the other big brands (we use One Touch)
when I was using the TT, it tended to read about 10-15 points higher and very often would have repeat numbers.
As a regular tester, and already having an idea of my cat's patterns if I felt something was off in the TT reading, I would retest with the One Touch, which is why it is a good idea also - to have a back up meter.

---> When you buy a TT, you should check first that you can get the meter for free, some drugstores don't offer it, so ask first.
You shouldn't be paying more than $70 for TT strips, if you do - you might as well use one of the other big name meters (their strips will run you $75 -$85 for 100 pack)

No Frills SuperStore (they usually have a drugstore in them) has the best price I've seen for TT strips at approx $55 - check you local independent drugstores too - sometimes their supplies are cheaper than their big chains like Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall.
If you shop at SDM get and use a Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum points card - you can get points for supplies and redeem them for strips too.

Lastly, I don't really like the TT myself, but like I mentioned, it is ok to have as a back up meter, and if you're really in a bind with funds, then the TT is the better choice for strips pricing up here.

Here is a link - totally outdated by now, but will give you a general idea of meter comparisons and it includes the TT.

https://docs.google.com/View?docID=dd5c ... on=_latest


.
 
Cindy + Mousie said:
fwiw, i've used paypal for several years and never had a problem, until recently. and it was happening so often that i got fed up and got rid of my account a few months ago. it seems once you've been hacked, paypal's system isn't smart enough to keep you protected anymore. my account would get hacked at least 3-4 times a year for the last couple years. i would have to call them and go thru this whole procedure to make sure i was me and that i didn't sell that thing someone claimed they never got, etc.. to lift whatever restriction was on my account this time.....the worst being $100+ being taken out of my paypal account and $600 taken FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT! because i had my account linked to a bank account. paypal themselves were nice and quick to resolve things but seriously, i'm too busy to have to call them every few months and go thru the whole dang thing time and time again. so i got fed up and closed my account with them. plus i'm getting too damn old to remember all these dang passwords and crap that i have to remember, let alone remember a whole new set every time i got hacked and had to change them. ugh!

so while for the most part it's a cool option, i do agree that there's a bad side to it too

i have recently used them again a couple times but i just go in as a guest and pay with a credit card. no logging in and no stored info and all that. not sure it's any safer but at least it's not tied right to a bank account they can wipe out in minutes.

obviously if you don't have a credit card though that's not gonna work either. does anyone know if you can use a prepaid credit card type thing with paypal?
Click to expand...

It sounds to me like your Ebay account got hacked, not your PayPal account? Because the two companies are affiliated, if someone hacks into your Ebay account and sells things under your name, PayPal will refund the people's money and go after you to recover it. Did you ever change your passwords after you got hacked? It's very important that whenever an email or a web page prompts you to enter your personal information, always check the url at the top of the page. A legitimate page will always have "ebay.com" or "paypal.com" in the url, and it will always start with https:// instead of http:// . Also, if your page isn't hacked because a fake web site got you to enter your info, then most likely someone you know in real life hacked your page, so always make sure your passwords for sites like that are not something someone could guess. This is true for any website that might contain personal information.

I've had my bank account and my credit card linked to paypal for well over 10 years now, and never once had a problem.
 
Ronnie & Luna said:
hi there,
I'm a little late to the meter party, but here's my two cents:

I'm in Ontario too and I've used the TT both on my cat and a friend's kitty.
It's a simple meter, easy to use, and handy in a pinch when you need strips asap.
I would recommend it as a back up meter, just because of the cheaper strips.

however, as your regular meter, as others have mentioned, it does read differently than the other big brands (we use One Touch)
when I was using the TT, it tended to read about 10-15 points higher and very often would have repeat numbers.
As a regular tester, and already having an idea of my cat's patterns if I felt something was off in the TT reading, I would retest with the One Touch, which is why it is a good idea also - to have a back up meter.

---> When you buy a TT, you should check first that you can get the meter for free, some drugstores don't offer it, so ask first.
You shouldn't be paying more than $70 for TT strips, if you do - you might as well use one of the other big name meters (their strips will run you $75 -$85 for 100 pack)

No Frills SuperStore (they usually have a drugstore in them) has the best price I've seen for TT strips at approx $55 - check you local independent drugstores too - sometimes their supplies are cheaper than their big chains like Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall.
If you shop at SDM get and use a Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum points card - you can get points for supplies and redeem them for strips too.

Lastly, I don't really like the TT myself, but like I mentioned, it is ok to have as a back up meter, and if you're really in a bind with funds, then the TT is the better choice for strips pricing up here.

Here is a link - totally outdated by now, but will give you a general idea of meter comparisons and it includes the TT.

https://docs.google.com/View?docID=dd5c ... on=_latest


.
Click to expand...

FYI costco here in Ontario has TT strips for 44 cents each, which is why i was interested, they are half the price of the next cheapest. and you dont need a membership to buy.
 
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