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Cost of testing strips

Prem51

Prem51

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@SaskiaKC asked how much people paid for testing strips in another thread. I thought it might help to open a specific thread about this.
I used to use Accu Chek Mobile bg monitor. The test cassettes (50 tests) cost around £22-23, but could cost £14.83 (Boots) to £29.45 (Lloyds Pharmacy).
Now I use the TEE2+. 50 test strips cost £7.75 from the manufacturer, but can cost up to £12 from pharmacies.

What do you pay for 50 test strips?
 
I use an Accu Chek mobile exclusively. The replacement test cartridges are around £25 retail for 50 strips. I now unashamedly buy them on eBay for around £13 for 50.
 
My Abbott Freestyle Lite strips and my Accu-Chek Performa strips cost $60.00 over the counter. The new Contour Next One strips are around the same price, but I do not like the meter as it is reading way higher than the other two meters readings I trust.

As I am a member of the NDSS and hold a PBS concession card, I get the strips for $1.20 for a 100 strip box.
 
Tipetoo said:
My Abbott Freestyle Lite strips and my Accu-Chek Performa strips cost $60.00 over the counter. The new Contour Next One strips are around the same price, but I do not like the meter as it is reading way higher than the other two meters readings I trust.

As I am a member of the NDSS and hold a PBS concession card, I get the strips for $1.20 for a 100 strip box.
Click to expand...

Just wondering if you know the most cost effective strips in Australia for a pre-diabetic? A friend has just been told she's pre-diabetic so I assume she can't join the NDSS??? $60 for a box of 50 seems very expensive.

I now live in NZ and a box of 50 is approximately NZ$20, but I rarely need to buy them as my doctor is happy to prescribe the 50 a week that I use. Mind you, I hate the meter that all NZ diabetics use, but the strips are cheap.
 
EllieM said:
Just wondering if you know the most cost effective strips in Australia for a pre-diabetic? A friend has just been told she's pre-diabetic so I assume she can't join the NDSS??? $60 for a box of 50 seems very expensive.
Click to expand...
As I said in my earlier post that they are around $60.00 from my pharmacy. The discount chemists are probably cheaper but I have not gone in and checked as they are mostly in the middle of town, which I steer clear of as it's hard to get a carpark space.

As for joining the NDSS it does not actually say anything about pre diabetics.

Getting the GP to sign off on it may be a problem though.

Who should fill out this form
You can use this form if you:

• live in Australia, and
• have a current Medicare Card, Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Gold Card, DVA White Card specific to diabetes, or
• are a resident of a country with which Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (and not visiting on a student visa, if a resident of Finland, Malta, Norway or the Republic of Ireland) and
• have been diagnosed with type 1, type 2 or gestational diabetes, or
• have been diagnosed with diabetes caused by a genetic defect, pancreatic disease, hormonal abnormality or exposure to certain drugs and chemicals.

A primary guardian or carer needs to fill out part of this form if the person with diabetes: • is under 15 years old, or

• is 15 or over and receives ongoing care. After those details are complete, the form must be certified by a registered medical practitioner such as your doctor, endocrinologist or obstetrician, a nurse practitioner, or a credentialled diabetes educator.
Click to expand...

https://static.diabetesaustralia.co...alia/f973794b-69d8-4cca-b9c5-23b55cde2f62.pdf
https://static.diabetesaustralia.co...alia/14bee3f6-6933-45bc-8853-c7ef030586d2.pdf
 
Tipetoo said:
Getting the GP to sign off on it may be a problem though.
Click to expand...

Agreed, though it may not do any harm to ask. I suspect she may be better off just buying them from ebay ! (Looks like $30 per hundred is about the going rate for freestyle lite). Is your $60 for 100 strips, or 50?
 
I used to use the Code Free which I believe are the cheapest strips you can get in the U.K. But personally I started finding them to be less and less accurate. I was getting more and more unexpected results so felt the need to retest a lot of the time, hence negating any saving over more expensive strips. I currently use the Caresens Dual from Spirit Health which claim accuracy of 99.6%. Since swapping I haven’t felt the need to double check a reading at all. The strips are £9.95 for 50 (with the VAT deducted). Spirit also do the Tee2 which are a bit cheaper and advertise 99% accuracy.

Edit typo
 
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