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

[Julee]

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.

Just went to Walmart and bought the last 3 boxes of Confirm 100 count for $17 each! This will last a little while before I have to find something else.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Just went to Walmart and bought the last 3 boxes of Confirm 100 count for $17 each! This will last a little while before I have to find something else.

You can use the Arkray strips from ADW and your meter. Just need to plN ahead as you will have the strips mailed to you.

 

[Catacular]

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.

Hi Candy, are you saying the Arkray folks are lying to protect Walmart re: their GlucoCard 01 strips? Just trying to understand...

 

[Catacular]

These strips from ADW will work in the Relion Confirm/Micro....you just have to remember to make sure you order in time to get them to you before you run out.

Thanks, Chris! Trying these out! I'm a fan of ADW.

 

[tobakett]

You can use the Arkray strips from ADW and your meter. Just need to plN ahead as you will have the strips mailed to you.

Well I bought a 100 pack along with 2 new boxes of syringes. I will do some side by side comparing from the same blood drop (assuming he cooperates). Its not ideal, and I hate not being able to make a middle of the night Walmart run if there is an emergency, but if the new meter is so inaccurate when I have a super bouncy cat, I just am scared to invest money into a new meter that could be dangerous

 

[Adrian and Chino]

I'm still waiting for the control solutions to arrive. In the meantime, I tested with the TrueMetrix meter and that one wasn't much better. I also have a Freestyle Precision Neo but the strips expired in 2017, so I've ordered a box and if it does any better than the other two, I'll post the results.

 

[tobakett]

I got those strips from ADW and now I'm worried because they are consistently reading many points lower, from the exact same blood drop. Tried it twice now

Relion- 294, ADW 242
Relion 293, ADW 257


I'm really frustrated now

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

they are consistently reading many points lower, from the exact same blood drop.

Those numbers are still within the 20% variance that's allowed by the FDA

At lower numbers, they'll be closer together....the higher the number, the more it looks like there's a bigger difference

 

[Adrian and Chino]

I'm down to a 2 week supply of RC test strips. Has anyone else tried the Relion Premier Compact? With no control solution, I might just buy a second one before I run out of strips. If I get lucky, the 1st meter will be off and the 2nd will give readings that are very close to the RC. Otherwise, I'll end up with 2 of the same useless meter. Will update with results either way.

 

[HereKittyKittyKitty]

For anyone that's having to watch costs, or want a cheap interim meter/back-up, or are stuck w only a local Wally World, FWIW, I'm still using Relion Prime and it works fine... After getting used to everything, no problems getting enough blood, even w 33 ga micro lancets (box is often cheaper, plus less pain/more precision). There are a lot of people, dogs, and cats that wouldn't be able to test at all w/o the cheapie line. The only positive thing I can say about the whole sucky situation is the cheapest wasn't discontinued (yet)

Has anyone checked with pet insurance to see what might be covered during the transition? I got kitty ins, after diagnosis, so it's pre existing and nothing covered for diabetes

 

[Adrian and Chino]

I was using a NovaMax Plus at the time that I started testing Chino's blood sugar and I took several readings on myself with both meters (fasting and after carbohydrates) before I started testing his BG. The two meters were within 5 of each other each time. About a year ago, I saw that my fasting BG was consistently over 100 and I got a Keto Mojo meter that gave readings that were much more in line with what I expected, being on a ketogenic diet. So I know that my NovaMax now reads higher than it should, but it requires the same amount of blood as the RC, and it was extremely reliable/accurate back when it was new. So I'm thinking of getting a new one and switching to that when I run out of RC test strips. Looks like a box of 50 strips goes for $10 on Ebay.

Today I've been comparing with the OLD meter that I know reads high, so don't be discouraged if you see that on Chino's spreadsheet. I'll compare with the new one as well when it arrives.

 

[Becky Young]

I totally missed this post and was at Walmart today to buy Relion Micro strips and was informed that I would have to get the Premier Compact or Prime instead. I bought the Premier Compact out of sheet necessity and it is definitely NOT going to work for us. Davis's ears don't bleed heavily, I usually just get a tiny little drop which the Micro was perfect for. There is a big difference between the .3 and .5 needed. A .5 drop of blood is huge! I'm sticking with my Micro and I just ordered strips from ADW. Super bummed about this!

 

[Adrian and Chino]

The new NovaMax Plus came today. I ran several tests on the old one and the new one using the control solution and a few using blood. The numbers were very similar on both. That makes me wonder if the Relion Confirm is the one that's off (reading lower than it did when I first got it), but I'm still waiting for the control solutions for the Relion meters.

I spent what was left of my FSA on test strips for the NMP, so if I run out of RC strips before I can get dual readings showing similar numbers in low ranges, I'm going to retest everything under 60 on the NMP with the AlphaTrak2 until I'm confident that 50 is still a safe cutoff.

 

[Adrian and Chino]

I've now compared the Relion Premier Compact, the NovaMax Plus (2 of them), and the True Metrix meter to the Relion Confirm. The True Metrix meter comes closest to the RC readings (see the row under 11/26 and the numbers in parentheses on 11/09), but it requires a 0.5 microliter sample size.

The NovaMax Plus meters (old and new) both gave very similar readings when I ran several tests with the control solution and with my own blood, but on both days that I compared the NMP to the RC, the readings were consistently higher. The major advantage of this meter is that it uses the same tiny sample size as the Relion Confirm, which is a big deal on cold mornings (or with an anemic cat, as Chino once was).

When I run out of RC test strips, I will probably switch to the True Metrix meter. If that doesn't work out for whatever reason, Plan B: use the NovaMax Plus and retest all values 70 or below on the AlphaTrak2 until 50 is confirmed to still be safe or a new safe reduction point is established.

 

[H.M. Victor (GA)]

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.

What exactly is considered the serial number on the strip containers? Is it the LOT number, Item No. or Product# ?

 

[Bama Kitty Mom (GA)]

Not any of those numbers. I don't remember exactly but I think it is the one that is about 14 numbers long or 16 if you count the numbers between the (). It's located under the lot # and expiration date. The rep I spoke with helped me locate the correct batch of numbers to give her. Maybe the one you speak with will do the same. If not, hang up the phone and try again later to see if you get a more helpful rep.

 

[Bama Kitty Mom (GA)]

After getting used to everything, no problems getting enough blood, even w 33 ga micro lancets (box is often cheaper, plus less pain/more precision).

I was thinking of trying the size 33 lancets since the 26 boxes were sold out last time I was at Walmart. I don't use the lancet device to prick and have all kinds of problems getting blood especially from his left ear even when I warm it and he always yelps. So, your experience is that the 33s work better for you than the other sizes?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I have problems getting blood with either the 31 or 33 gauge lancets. I like the 26 gauge ones.

 

[Tina and Boozle]

We went to get strips the other night and found out the Relion Micro was discontinued. We bought the Premier Compact and I am not all that impressed. Not only does it take more blood, it has been more difficult to get the strip to suck up the blood. We've gone through more strips via E04 errors (not enough blood) than testing. We never had that issue with the Micro. We ended up buying an Accu-Chek Guide from Walgreens because we underestimated the amount we would need (due to said errors) to get us through Christmas and Walmart is closed today. It takes more blood than the Premier. I guess we will have fun figuring out how those numbers compare. It is what it is, so I guess it does me no good to be salty about the inconvenience. Hopefully the issue will be fixed in a week or so. We ordered the Arkray Glucocard 01 Sensor strips from ADW, simply because we are used to and comfortable with that meter. And . . . I hate change.