Diabetic Test Strips: Deciding What's Best for You

It can be very confusing when you need to buy diabetic test strips, especially when there are rows and rows of different brands from which to choose.

How can you possibly know which ones to buy? Price is a factor, but not all test strips will fit into your glucose monitor. Expensive brands cost more than $150 for 100 test strips, yet generic store brands cost as little as $4.

Why does diabetic testing need to be so confusing? Or does it? One good way to solve the mystery of which test strips to buy is to consult with the pharmacist at your pharmacy. This person has had extensive training in diabetes care and is familiar with which test strips work with your monitor. He or she also knows the price range of test strips that are sold at this particular store.

Are All Diabetic Test Strips the Same?

Manufacturers of store-brand diabetic test strips claim that their test strips do the same blood-sugar monitoring that more expensive strips do. The real
difference is that more expensive test strips are usually required for deluxe glucose monitors. If you buy a $4 box of test strips to put into your high-end monitor, they will not register properly. For this reason, it is important to buy a glucose monitor that has affordable test strips.

Some manufacturers sell their monitors at low prices but charge high prices for the test strips that you will need to use each day. If you test your glucose level three times each day and use strips that cost $1 each, this adds up to a hefty cost of almost $100 per month for test strips alone. This cost does not include medication and other supplies that you need for diabetes management.

Do You Need a High-End Glucose Monitor?

One way to decide which diabetes test strips you will buy for the next several years is by looking at the differences in glucose monitors. You can compare the features of mid-line monitors with deluxe, expensive ones.

More expensive brands have more advanced technology and functions that you may never use. They can store information, such as what your blood sugar level is before and after eating. Each brand has its own features and abilities, but in the end, you will probably only need a glucose monitor that tells you what your current blood sugar level is.

62 Million Test Strips Recalled in 2013

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to patients concerning 62 million test strips that were recalled in 2013. The strips were showing abnormally high blood sugar results, and some patients had their medications increased because of this.

According to nbcnews.com, the strips were sold in the U.S. and in many other countries, including Canada, Chile, Peru, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and in other spots around the world. The recall affected many thousands of diabetic patients.

Nova Diabetes Care is the company that produced the strips for their Nova Max Blood Glucose Test Strips and Nova Max Plus Glucose Meter Kits. According to the FDA, the test strips had been contaminated with a chemical that caused the strips to provide the wrong numbers to patients checking their glucose levels.

Source: NBC News