Does everyone here go through A service?

[Boomanchu]

I'm about 14 weeks post op and my INR is extremely consistent at 2.3 to 2.5 so I mentioned home testing to my cardio, he was all for it and "got the process started". I guess that means a service. After reading these posts Im pretty sure I don't want to be a part of that scam and would rather buy my own. It amazes me that strips aren't readily available in pharmacy's with a prescription. I also will not call my results in to a service so they can possibly make a mistake in relaying it to my cardiologist....... WHY add a layer of error? Only in the US

 

[tom in MO]

Not everyone uses a service, it depends upon your insurance plan. Don't throw away the baby with the bath water : ) Home testing has been shown to be the best way to maintain your INR within range. I had trouble initially, but now I understand the system and worked it in my favor. It's not "fair" but then neither is life.

 

[dick0236]

I also now use a service that I am very comfortable with at a cost that is about the same as I paid buying off ebay.....and without buying a meter. The only service I would definitely not use is Alere. I used them for about one year and was totally unhappy with their service. Service thru ebay was OK until the strip problem with the INRatio2 meter.

 

[Boomanchu]

I don't get it, how can one service charge $500 for 12 strips and some services charge $250 for 48 which is what I'm finding on EBAY? I guess I just have to wait to be contacted by whatever service my cardiologist sets me up with. It's just that most of the posts seemed to indicate that the services try to control things and that usually doesn't work out well for the consumer. I would prefer to have a service provide the strips as long as they're reasonably priced but I hate the thought of calling a number into the service so they can call it in to an office 2 minutes from my house.

 

[marc_kowal]

I wouldn't get too concerned about having to call in your results. I used to call in to Alere with my results and it literally was just a 90 second phone call, it's not that big of a hassel to do. Now that I use a Coaguchek, I enter my result on-line and it's an even faster process.

 

[Boomanchu]

I'm not concerned with the phone call and the time to make it, it's the second layer added to the transfer. I just feel it adds a chance of error in reporting. I want to test and become proficient at managing my own INR........it would just make me feel safer and in control of my own health. I know the phone call is probably another $50 or so for the service but I would rather call my own in and they can call to order a pizza. If they mean to order onions and mushrooms but mistakenly order onions and peppers no one gets hurt. Myself, I like onions and tomato slices but that's for another forum. :- )

 

[Bugsy]

Hmmm... I haven't checked this post in quite some time. For me it is what Boomanchu said. I feel more in control of my health. Not to mention I don't like that its basically a scam. They've set it up so the meter and strip manufacturer can make more money. Seems ridiculous to me that I cant buy the strips at a pharmacy. I still call my results directly in to my Cardio but buying the strips continues to be a bit of a struggle. BTW I eventually gave of with the FDA. They were very interested at first but then when they started digging around I believe someone told them to leave it alone. I'm not a big conspiracy theorist but all I got was the major run around.

 

[Protimenow]

It's been a long time since I've visited this thread. One thing that I've seen asked is 'why can't my pharmacy sell the strips?' It's a good question -- but the answer should be fairly obvious. I don't think that there are enough people self-testing to make it worthwhile for every pharmacy to stock the strips. This is even riskier for the pharmacies because they would probably sell a box of 24 or 48 strips - which means that you may not be returning to buy another box for a year or so.
Compared to blood glucose testing, which is done by orders of magnitude more people, who may test two or three times a day, the risk of carrying these considerably more expensive strips, and having to keep a fresh stock of strips available for far fewer customers, makes carrying these supplies much more of a losing proposition.
OTOH - it shouldn't be THAT hard for pharmacies to take orders for the strips, and then delivering them in a few days (after their supply from an eBay vendor arrives).