We were just told by the specialty pharmacy that we know carries them in stock that they are on backorder at the wholesaler until March. Anyone know of a retail pharmacy (walgreens, riteaid, walmart, etc) who regularly keeps them in stock? We wound up at the specialty pharmacy after arguing with the cvs pharmacist about whether or not they even existed. Leaving Wednesday for a trip to Florida and I just know if we don't take them, we're going to need them. We do have the urine strips as a backup.
I just got the same response from my local pharmacy. Luckily, I've got a couple of boxes left, but they don't last long when he gets sick. Do you have a local hospital? Their pharmacy might carry them. My other suggestion is to check with your endo's office. Ours usually has some.
There are wholesalers who seem to regularly run out of the strips. We have bought them OTC at Target, but Iwould suggest calling some of the big box retailers who don't use a separate wholesaler.
I got them at a Walmart last month. They are in stock but got them in the next day. Talk to the manager who does the OTC pharmacy ordering at your local Walmart, see if they can scrounge up at least a couple boxes ASAP.
If you are desperate, you could buy one of the NovaMax meters. I understand they come with a couple of ketone test strips. The meter sells for $15 or less.
We get the ketone strips at Rite Aid, if they don't have them on hand they have them the next day. I just filled the rx 2 weeks ago with no problems.
i have the same issue. i found going to walmart or one of the supermarket pharmecys is better. walgreens and cvs are constantly telling me that the percision meter and strips are no longer manufactured, are recalled, etc. last time they told me this (about 2 weeks ago) i called the manufacturer and had the pharmacist tell them they were no longer being made. lol. needless to say i had the rx filled two days later.
I have never been able to find them at a local pharmacy, (walmart, cvs, etc)....but i have found them on ebay. Local pharmacy's can always order them, but they are REALLY expensive,and i just cant afford them! I know not everyone wants to go through ebay, but i have never had any issues. Just make sure you check expiration dates, etc! Good luck in your search!
They always say this. It's the wholesaler(Cardinal, used by CVS and most Walgreens) that has the problem with the ketone strips manufacturer. It seems that Cardinal and Abbott don't play well together, and after speaking to a rep at Abbott, they said Cardinal always makes it difficult for the pharmacies to carry this particular product. The pharmacy always tell me it's on backorder, then I get a call a few days later they are in. I've had to ask CVS many times to go through their other supplier to get them, they do, but grudingly. We are switching to mail order for the bulk of our supplies, this is one I had added to our list.
