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Have you ever used expired glucose strips in your meter?
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I was advised by my supplier, that Medicare would not cover blood test strips, since I am using the Control IQ system on my Tandem X2 pump. So, I am still using the left overs, which expired March 31, 2021. The next test strips that I buy are at full cost, at my expense. So, I use them sparingly.
I had a long talk with Medicare a few days ago when my strips which had been covered when I had a Medicare Advantage plan and were not now that I am on traditional Medicare. There is an obscure clause in their requirements that strips can be bundled with a CGM and pump if needed for calibration. You have to submit documentation which I have yet to do to see if they will actually get covered, but worth a try.
I was told by Walgreens when I first switched to the Dexcom G6 that they were no longer covered because G6 was so accurate. This statement is not true. Testing with your meter is still necessary occasionally because the sensor sometimes goes haywire.
Your doctor can prescribe the strip as medical necessity. My nurse practitioner, who is my pump manager, writes prescriptions for me and CVS puts them thru Medicare and my secondary. No cost to me, at least right now.
Things change all the time so I always try to accumulate them just in case.
I thought that, at least early on, that Dexcom required 2 calibrations daily. Currently, all cgm providers will recommend a cross-check with strips if there is any doubt about cgm readings or if a reading is unusual.
Sure back in the day when I used them. Long time ago
Yes. I have used expired strips due to the expense of new ones. I have compared expired strip readings with unexpired readings and they are always the same. I use a CGM now and still follow with the strips if the CGM reading seems questionable. So that is what works for me, even though I can not recommend it for everyone.
Just happy I am not expired.
🙂 LOL
With being on Medicare now and it’s limit of 3 test strips per day, I’m sure that will never be a problem!🙄😒
And the answers to the obvious follow up questions: why, and were they accurate? 1) After starting on the CGM years ago, I didn’t refill my RX for strips, and kept a few sitting around just in case. Some were very old. 2) Some strips were expired 16 months and were accurate when compared to unexpired strips. The expired strips had not been opened, however.
Yes I have. Some unopened containers expired more than 3 years ago. I’ve compared the readings and there was no significant difference. All of the strips are kept in their sealed containers until use.
They expire?!!!
The ones I am using now expired in 2019 but they work fine. The problem is I went from having to test every two hours to testing maybe once a month.
When I started using CGM, my use of straps slowed down, but I was still getting a 90 day supply for a while.
Before CGM, my strips didn’t stick around long enough to expire. But, now I could see it happening.
I did use expired strips once when my PDM died and it was my only way of testing BSes. I had an old meter with expired strips hanging around, so I used them. I have no idea if they were accurate or not… but, I made it through the incident! 🙂
Once, when all I had were some expired strips I had to use them until I could get a new order. They worked fine for quite a while. I kept using them, checking every couple of days with one of the new, unexpired strips and found that they are accurate for at least 1 month past the expiration date.
I’ve used many that were way past their expiration date, checking 1st with a strip that’s not expired, and found virtually no difference.
Choked laughter… use whatever I have/can afford!
Deliberately out of date no, but it could have happened if it’s all I had available
I have used expired strip when had a lab test and cgm reading….. the lab and strip were almost the same but the G6 was way off !!!!!
My strips can not be reused
I always use my strips to check my blood sugar because my dexcom has such a wide deviation from my blood sugar.
I have a huge supply of strips for my old meter that paired with old Medtronic pump (on a Tandem now). Even though expired, they test very close to the actual lab blood test every 4 months, so I can’t see why not to use them up.