OT Wal-Mart is discontinuing Relion Confirm and Micro meters/strips--NEW INFO

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Chris & China (GA)

Chris & China (GA)

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After much leg pulling, I got the manager of my local WalMart to look into it and she said that they are discontinuing selling the Relion Confirm and Micro meters and strips.

She said they do that occasionally when there's a "newer model" but she doesn't know if they'll be replacing it with something similar yet.

I told her they recently started caring the new "Blue", but that meter takes twice as much blood to work :(..so it's no better than the Prime in that regard.

She said there's two slots open for something "new" to come in and they should know what it's going to be by Friday.

:arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:
 
H.M. Victor said:
*sigh* Thanks, Walmart, give me something else to stress about :arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:
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I know right? I bought mine off Amazon this time. *sigh* Still gonna stock up in the brick and mortar though if I get the chance, this is nuts. I mean hell if we're stressing out I can only imagine what human diabetics are feeling right now - the outrage must be MASSIVE, I hope it changes something, I really do.
 
Candy&Company said:
I know right? I bought mine off Amazon this time. *sigh* Still gonna stock up in the brick and mortar though if I get the chance, this is nuts. I mean hell if we're stressing out I can only imagine what human diabetics are feeling right now - the outrage must be MASSIVE, I hope it changes something, I really do.
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I couldn't agree more. I'm one of those people who doesn't like change very much, so after having gotten used to the Relion Confirm and how it's readings run, the thought of having to switch to a different meter makes me really anxious :nailbiting::(
 
I want to be sure I'm understanding correctly. Are they discontinuing the entire Relion Confirm brand or just not selling the pack of 100 strips anymore?
 
NEW INFO--The ARKRAY GLUCOCARDO1 SENSOR (which is the exact same meter as the Confirm) is NOT being discontinued (at this time). The Relion/Micro ARE......so if you own a Confirm/Micro, you can still get strips from ADW but you'll have to remember to order then in advance so you don't run out at the worst possible time!

These are the strips that will work in both the Relion Confirm and Micro https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/4047/arkray-glucocard-01-sensor-blood-glucose-test-strips

Make sure you order early enough that you don't run out at the worst possible time (like when your kitty decides to go deep sea diving at 2am on a Sunday morning!)
 
Thank you Chris. That's very helpful. I went to Walmart yesterday and checked on the supply of strips. There were only 3 boxes of 50 and 1 of 20 left. I have an adequate supply and will have no emergencies, so I didn't purchase. No notice of discontinuation or anything. I sure hope people are not going to get caught short when they go to buy strips and have no supply. Lousy customer service and marketing strategy. I have tried researching and seeing if Walmart issued a discontinued notice, but found nothing.
 
Only my opinion, but I would have at least 50 in reserve, and when I opened that bottle I would order another 50, if that's what you can do. With the ReliOn I bought 2 bottles of 100 at a time, to get the no shipping on my online Walmart order. You want to have plenty on hand in case of a hypo, as you test every 20-30 minutes until the crisis is passed. That can run into a lot of strips if you have an all nighter, as some have had. Better safe than sorry, especially if you have to order online to get strips for your meter, or if you have a hypo and no one to run to the all night pharmacy where you can get strips.
 
Idjit's mom said:
I have tried researching and seeing if Walmart issued a discontinued notice, but found nothing.
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Thanks to Jill and Alex for posting the list, god bless you! But honestly, I'm a bit flummoxed - I did a lot of thinking and researching before getting my Micro and now...I dunno what to think to move to...? Does anyone have any opinions, insight, etc?

Especially for us newer parents - I'd JUST gotten used to the Micro, I've had it so short a time... even if I gorge on strips for the future, it feels like a wasted investment. I know that's a silly thing to feel, but I try not to deny my emotions, just beat them with logic but struggling a bit here.

As of today I have an additional 500 strips coming my way and prices ARE slowly rising, I don't know if I'll be able to get anymore within my budget. So trying to max out what I have, plus trying to figure out something totally new from scratch (meter/strips/maybe lancets) is DAUNTING.

It would be a blessing to hear from users of other meters, ANY other meters. Thank you so much in advance.

PS - is it ONLY the Confirm and Micro? What about the Prime?
 
I am also looking at options and researching mainly for the cost of strips for the different meters, as well as the availability. I liked being able to get the ReliOn strips locally if needed, as well as the option to order online. My DH uses the Confirm also, so we absolutely need another meter, he can't use the AlphaTrak2! I am waiting to find out what Walmart is going to have to replace the Confirm/Micro.
 
I emailed customer service (CustomerService@arkrayusa.com) and they said:
"Thank you for your email. We are discontinuing the Micro and Confirm meter and will be replaced by our new Relion Premier Compact. Please contact ReliOn customer service at 1-855-776-0662 to have your meter swapped."

I checked and the replacement takes 0.5 microliters. The strips are only $9 for 50 though. I'm not sure how the swap would work as I haven't called yet. And I'm not sure I'll do it since you can still, for now it seems, get the Arkray version of the strips online (thanks for the link in the post above!). But if anyone did want to get a new meter for free, that seems to be the implication here.
 
This whole situation sucks, pardon my french but I do have a mouth, donkey balls. *sigh*

Hell anyone from overseas - UK, Australia, etc...? I don't mind buying overseas - course I'm feeling reactionary, but still, am curious?
 
Bubby & Ash said:
I emailed customer service (CustomerService@arkrayusa.com) and they said:
"Thank you for your email. We are discontinuing the Micro and Confirm meter and will be replaced by our new Relion Premier Compact. Please contact ReliOn customer service at 1-855-776-0662 to have your meter swapped."

I checked and the replacement takes 0.5 microliters. The strips are only $9 for 50 though. I'm not sure how the swap would work as I haven't called yet. And I'm not sure I'll do it since you can still, for now it seems, get the Arkray version of the strips online (thanks for the link in the post above!). But if anyone did want to get a new meter for free, that seems to be the implication here.
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I'll do it, I'll call and order - why not! I'll report back after the grilling.
 
Bubby & Ash said:
I emailed customer service (CustomerService@arkrayusa.com) and they said:
"Thank you for your email. We are discontinuing the Micro and Confirm meter and will be replaced by our new Relion Premier Compact. Please contact ReliOn customer service at 1-855-776-0662 to have your meter swapped."

I checked and the replacement takes 0.5 microliters. The strips are only $9 for 50 though. I'm not sure how the swap would work as I haven't called yet. And I'm not sure I'll do it since you can still, for now it seems, get the Arkray version of the strips online (thanks for the link in the post above!). But if anyone did want to get a new meter for free, that seems to be the implication here.
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Thank you for sharing the information. I am curious about the "swap". I sure don't want to be w/o a meter if they want Confirm sent in for a replacement Premier. The 0.5 isn't such a huge difference perhaps, I haven't had to try for that, but I know some use the Prime and that's how much it takes.
 
No problem, new thread posted here in main and in Prozinc, spread the word if you need to - have a call with management for in depth questions soon!
 
If you want to continue to use your Confirm/Micro, you can get strips directly from ADW ….their Arkray Glucocard01 Sensor is the exact same meter and the strips work fine in the Confirm/Micro

Good Morning Chris,

Thank you for contacting ARKRAY USA Technical Customer Service. I just want to inform you and hopefully you can pass this along to others because we have had a few people contacting us regarding the same issue. There are no plans at time to discontinue the Glucocard 01 the meter and supplies will continue to be available. If the rumors are based off the discontinuation of the Relion Micro and Confirm meters they are not related. Relion meters are exclusive to Walmart and not to the Glucocard meters which is the ARKRAY brand. Please let people know that the Relion Confirm/Micro plus strips may not be available in the Walmart stores but they are available to order online at Walmart.com. I’m very happy that there are a lot of people out there that do like our products and I completely understand that the smaller blood sample is very important especially when dealing with Cat/Dog diabetes. Hopefully this answers your concerns and the concerns of others out there. Again thank you for contacting us and please share with others that may have the same concerns.



Kind Regards,





Charles Trebbensee

Technical Customer Service Representative

ARKRAY
 
Chris & China said:
If you want to continue to use your Confirm/Micro, you can get strips directly from ADW ….their Arkray Glucocard01 Sensor is the exact same meter and the strips work fine in the Confirm/Micro

Good Morning Chris,

Thank you for contacting ARKRAY USA Technical Customer Service. I just want to inform you and hopefully you can pass this along to others because we have had a few people contacting us regarding the same issue. There are no plans at time to discontinue the Glucocard 01 the meter and supplies will continue to be available. If the rumors are based off the discontinuation of the Relion Micro and Confirm meters they are not related. Relion meters are exclusive to Walmart and not to the Glucocard meters which is the ARKRAY brand. Please let people know that the Relion Confirm/Micro plus strips may not be available in the Walmart stores but they are available to order online at Walmart.com. I’m very happy that there are a lot of people out there that do like our products and I completely understand that the smaller blood sample is very important especially when dealing with Cat/Dog diabetes. Hopefully this answers your concerns and the concerns of others out there. Again thank you for contacting us and please share with others that may have the same concerns.



Kind Regards,





Charles Trebbensee

Technical Customer Service Representative

ARKRAY
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Yeah that's pretty and all, and it'll last weeks - don't get me wrong, but it's NOT what's coming out of Walmart. There's an internal fight, and it's not pretty - this is the "lala happy times" spread - I've worked customer service for almost 30 years, and this is crap.

Grab all you can for the next 9-12 weeks, seriously. Watch close and don't trust - this is to placate the public.
 
I've already tried to order them from walmart.com and can't even find them- they just don't come up
 
What I list below is a little confusing, but Walmart.com is one of the worst websites I have ever used, so I am not really surprised it is so difficult. I am sorry that their website sucks. To be clear, I have absolutely nothing to do with Walmart.com, but as a former software developer, I feel like _someone_ should apologize for it!

First, I don't know if this link will work, but try it:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-C...hguid=beaa72ed-b12-166a93da22b7d1&athena=true

If not, go to Walmart.com, let it access your location information if prompted, or set your local store manually, and then search for this phrase exactly:
Relion confirm blood glucose meter

Then select the Confirm meter from the list. At the bottom of the page for the meter, it hopefully says "Custoners also considered", and the 100 ct strips are listed there, FINALLY, and can be selected that way (BTW, they are currently $17 for the 100 count). Why you can't search and find them directly, I do not know.

However, it tells me that they *cannot* be shipped, but it will tell you if your specified store has any in stock. Also, you can click "options" next to the address for your store, and it will tell you whether they are in or out of stock at a handful of the nearest Walmarts to the one you set.

Doing it this way, setting and resetting my current location around the county, I was able to find 6 Walmarts this padt weekend that had stock, and I was able to buy enough for about a year, which is basically when the last box will expire. I am not averse to change, but since I found the strips at a better price than I have been paying all along, I figured why not stick with them for awhile.

Sandi.
 
Careful ordering these online.
I snagged a few 20 pks from walmart.com before they sold out, and they all expire in ONE month! 11/18. I ordered 3 boxes of 100ct. from jet.com, they expire in 2 months!! 12/18.
Jet.com will accept returns, but that still leaves me without strips. Normally when I bought them at walmart, the expiration dates would be a year away. So why does walmart.com and jet.com have such old strips? Why weren't they sold and shipped long ago. Grrrrrrrrrrrr......
 
Darn, that really sucks @katiesmom ! I was able to order 4 online last week (the website actually gave me that option at that time -- again, horrible horrible website), but mine expire 6/30/2019. I guess this might mean that they are pretty well scraping up the very last of what they have.
 
Idjit's mom said:
Thank you for sharing the information. I am curious about the "swap". I sure don't want to be w/o a meter if they want Confirm sent in for a replacement Premier. The 0.5 isn't such a huge difference perhaps, I haven't had to try for that, but I know some use the Prime and that's how much it takes.
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When Relion has replaced my meter in the past, they send the replacement meter first and then I send the old meter back after you receive it.
 
I was stunned when the clerk told me this yesterday! I was about to run out of test strips and I didn’t know what I was going to do. Luckily I found one last 50-pack on the shelf afterward, perfectly hidden behind a pillar. Hopefully nobody was trying to save that pack.

The new meter they recommended — and the test strips that go with them — were much less expensive than the Micro, and switching over to those would save me a lot of money per month. I’ll have to think about it.
 
Natalie and Ziggy said:
The new meter they recommended — and the test strips that go with them — were much less expensive than the Micro, and switching over to those would save me a lot of money per month. I’ll have to think about it
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I suspect that the recommended meter/strips requires more blood than the Micro.
 
You all are right I ran out of strips went to Wal-Mart, bought the Prime because they were out of strips. They had one box of 50, but I let this human buy it because he was diabetic. The prime requires much more blood. I liked the comfirm because it just zipped ip that little bit of blood. Will be ordering from ADW
What`s that old saying: if it isn't broke-don't fix it.
 
katiesmom said:
Normally when I bought them at walmart, the expiration dates would be a year away. So why does walmart.com and jet.com have such old strips?...
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I buy a fair bit from Walmart online, but only if Walmart is the actual seller. There are a lot of vendors who sell through the Walmart site, like Amazon's Marketplace. And they sometimes seem less reputable than the third-party sellers on Amazon.
 
Count me in as someone else here who was taken by surprise when I went into Walmart tonight to grab some test strips for the Micro, only to find the shelves restocked with new meters/strips. I just went ahead and bought the new meter (about $20), Premier Compact (I wasn't aware the company would send out one as a replacement to the Micro - that's good to know but a little too late now! Oh well!). Looks like it takes 0.5 micro units of blood (forget what the Micro was - 0.3 or 0.5), but on the upside the test strips are cheaper - about $18 for a box of 100; the Micro's strips were closer to $35 for 100. So, over the long run it will be cheaper to use. Luckily I still have about 50 strips left of the Micro so I'll compare and see what results I get from each. Still, like others, I'm a bit miffed about the change .....:woot:
 
Saw the new ReliOn PremierBLU, which also has a "mini" meter, that has taken the place of the confirm/micro at my stores. No option left to purchase confirm/micro strips online here either :(. New meter does take same amount of blood as Chris () said, as the ReliOn Prime, of 0.5µ. The confirm/micro and AT2 only need 0.3µ.

For anyone that has an Alpha Trak 2 (AT2) meter, you can use the FreeStyle Lite test strips ($67 on walmart/amazon-can fluxuate) or FreeStyle Insulinx strips, which are $30 for 100ct on Amazon, at least. They're $27.95/100ct on Walmart's site but I did not see any in my local stores. Comparable price to the confirm/micro strips. As with any interchangeable strips for your meter, do your own side by side comparisons to see how they differ. There's no standard :)
 
sassycatlady said:
Count me in as someone else here who was taken by surprise when I went into Walmart tonight to grab some test strips for the Micro, only to find the shelves restocked with new meters/strips. I just went ahead and bought the new meter (about $20), Premier Compact (I wasn't aware the company would send out one as a replacement to the Micro - that's good to know but a little too late now! Oh well!). Looks like it takes 0.5 micro units of blood (forget what the Micro was - 0.3 or 0.5), but on the upside the test strips are cheaper - about $18 for a box of 100; the Micro's strips were closer to $35 for 100. So, over the long run it will be cheaper to use. Luckily I still have about 50 strips left of the Micro so I'll compare and see what results I get from each. Still, like others, I'm a bit miffed about the change .....:woot:
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Call their 800 number on the back of the meter and give them the serial number and also the serial number of any strips you have on hand. They will take down your name and address and send you a Walmart gift card as a kind of refund or "sorry we suck" consolation prize. :p
 
Oh and don't think the rep will volunteer any refund info when you call. I was told twice that the confirm/micro strips would continue to be available online. It wasn't until I politely said I knew they were offering a refund that the rep took my address for the gift card. Since I'll need to make a meter change soon, I'm considering an Alpha Trak 2.
 
Coco’s Momma said:
Oh and don't think the rep will volunteer any refund info when you call. I was told twice that the confirm/micro strips would continue to be available online. It wasn't until I politely said I knew they were offering a refund that the rep took my address for the gift card. Since I'll need to make a meter change soon, I'm considering an Alpha Trak 2.
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Yeah, I think I started out the call telling the rep I knew they were offering a gift card so, yes!! do mention that when you call.
 
I just called - and the lady was really evasive about the gift card, even though I mentioned it several times. She offered a refund for my recently purchased Relion Confirm - and I just said "ok" even though I wasn't going to give it up (love the low blood volume required to test BG)

She then took my information and said she would be sending me a $15 gift card so I can purchase the new glucose meter....just FYI.

Bama Kitty Mom (AL) said:
Yeah, I think I started out the call telling the rep I knew they were offering a gift card so, yes!! do mention that when you call.
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I've been buying my test strips on Ebay whenever I can find them at a discount. I started wondering what was going on when the lowest prices were $10 above what WalMart charges...

For those who have switched to the Relion Premier Compact, how does yours compare with the Relion Confirm? I picked it up today and got 3 side-by-side readings. Both dropped by ~100 over 3 hours, then both dropped by ~20 over the next 2 hours, but all 3 readings on the Compact were 20-25 higher than the Confirm. Probably not a huge deal, since higher numbers would be closer to his true numbers, but I don't know how these higher values compare to the AlphaTrak2. (I've done enough comparison with low values on the Confirm to know when I need to worry.)

ETA: It's actually a BFD... When the RC showed him in the 30s (31-37) on 9/02, the AT2 showed him at 55 and 68. On the RPC, both of those values would've been above 50.

When I called the support line, they arranged to send the control solutions for both meters for free (even though the serial # is completely worn off from the Confirm) and refund the Compact if it tests out of range. I will post an update in 7-14 business days if it fails either control check.

Confirm_vs_Compact_2018-11-08.png
 
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Well . I had a sinking feeling when I went to buy a new 100 pack and the pharmacist had to really hunt for the box, it rang up half price and my employee discount card didnt work that something was wrong. Drove another half hour away to buy the last box in my nearby area. So I have 200 strips to last me and to give time to see of this new meter is safe. The post above me scares me like crazy :(

Needless to say they are gonna get an earful. I literally just took my checking account down to single digit dollars, I can't just go buy a new meter. And this "we will have supply for 9 weeks is obviously baloney.
 
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