I'm not sure about needing a prescription to buy a meter or strips.
BUT Roche won't sell to individual users - they will only provide meters THROUGH services - the services may send you a meter, they may send you strips, but they CHARGE the insurance a LOT more than it would cost just for meter or strips. They usually don't give dosing advice - afaik - this comes from the doctor who they transfer the results to.
You need a doctor to prescribe your warfarin and, in most cases, someone in the doctor's office gives you dosing instructions.
You CAN'T get your warfarin without a prescription (although I got some overseas when I didn't have a doctor to prescribe it). It makes sense to require a prescription for warfarin, just as it makes sense to require a prescription for insulin and other drugs that require careful dosing.
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Also - I'm not sure you can find a NEW XS -- for the price, it may make sense to pay a bit more for an InRange and assure a bit of future proofing.
As far as SelfCareDepot, Reliaston, and others - both are legitimate dealers of supplies, but only one at this point is in the sponsor directory. I know where MY business will go - because it's a sponsor - when I need new strips.
One more thing -- I didn't know WHERE to find the Sponsor directory. If you click the Forums tab at the top of each page, the sponsor directory, with selfcaredepot's listing is right at the top. This can direct people right to them. It may be more effective than burying the info into a thread that will probably become relatively inactive in a few weeks or months. If you need strips, just open the Forums tab, and there it is.