Abbott recall diabetes test strips in U.S.

I just had this link pointed out to me. Several brands (including a Relion type) are being recalled. This should probably be monitored in case more recalls are instated.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39332279

 

The Walmart meter Relion is made by abbott?
I am using Freestyle Lite and thinking about getting a Relion as a back up...

 

it says it includes the Relion Ultima model, which is the old Relion. The new ones are called the Confirm or the Micro and they are much like the lite in that they don't require any coding and they take the smallest blood sample, 0.3uL if i remember correctly. and the strips are cheap like the Ultima's strips were too. so as long as you get the Micro or the Confirm, you should be fine.

 

Yes, it is made by Abbott. It is basically the scaled down version of the Precision meter.

 

Here is the lot information for the strips that are recalled.

http://www.abbott.com/global/url/pressRelease/en_US/60.5:5/Press_Release_0932.htm

 

Thank you for posting this as Abbott lab recall.Many readers only know the meter they use by only the brand or style name.You are right in that recalls are often expanded later on. Besides Relion, users of Freestyle and Precision meters should also moniter this situation. My cat has had numbers that were much lower recently; since abnormally low numbers was the defect in the strips I am concerned. I am going to xompare his numbers tonight with my back up meter tonight made by a different company.

 

Precision meter strips are on the recall list. I just checked and at this time, the Freestyle strips are not included in the recall.

 

Here is the direct link to the Abbot list. abbott recall If you scroll down you will see the list of #'s and meters.
I use Relion and mine are on the list. So they will replace them. I haven't noticed anything yet but better safe than sorry.

 

Has anyone exchanged their box for a new box? I just called the number and was told I would receive a call back in 24-48 hours with a location to exchange my box at. I thought I had read they would just mail you a replacement, but instead I have to return it???

 

Kelly,

I went down to Walmart where I bought the relion strips. They didn't know what to do since normally these cannot be returned. The scanner would just reject the return. I called the # and he told me that I should have been able to return them there. I guess they would have to call Abbott themselves for that to happen. He told me the same thing, that somebody would be calling me back with in 24-48 hrs, and they would give me more information and than would mail me either a rebate or the strips.

Also if I needed them fast that if I had the dr. call they would mail soom sooner to tide me over. So I guess that means I would have to have the vet call, if I wanted to go that route.

Let me know how you make out.

jan and sara

 

I heard back from an Abbott rep yesterday and he told me I couldn't exchange my box at Walmart as well. He indicated all the Walmarts and Sam's Clubs pulled all the test strips off of their shelves not even bothing to check to see if they are affected or not. Since Walmart is the only place I can purchase the strips around here, Abbott is now sending me a replacement box. I guess since I told them I didn't have a back up meter they were trying to find a place where I could just exchange the box instead of wait on the new box to arrive in the mail. I told the guy to just mail me a replacement box. Since I haven't noticed a difference in my strips and since Milo has actually been running high lately, I don't think my strips were affected. I do have a back up Alpha Trak, but I don't have any test trips for it at the moment..... (I know, I am a bad mommy :sad: )

 

Hi Kelly,

I haven't heard back yet from Abbott but today [mid day] should be the 48hrs. I was in a Walmart in another town and yes they had pulled all the strips off the shelves. I was going to bring the list of affected strips and check it against the box but...

So I'm still waiting. I am going to have to break into the last box of 100 that I have. I don't really think her #'s were affected by the last box that I was using but I'll take a new one anyway. The guy on the phone told me if I had even 1 strip left over from the box they would replace the whole thing. Although this morning not thinking clearly I used the last strip of that box. Lesson learned, I should have put one away as soon as I heard about the recall.

Oh, and no your not a bad mommy.Far from it.

So I am still waiting....
jan and sara

 

You aren't bad mommies Abbott is being a bad company right now.When they issued the recall they should have had a plan in place where the strips are replaced immediately. BG testing is a medical necessity for both people and pets. It is especially hard for elderly or people on medicaid that can't buy repacements out of their own pocket. Right now some people and fur parents are left with a choice of using defective strips or not testing at all. Maybe Abbott should recall some of their executives. :-( ?

 

On 27 December I received an e mail from Walmart.com.Recalls <wmrecalls@walmart.com>
It advised me that Abbott is voluntarily recalling sone of its ReliOn Ultima test strips, listed the lot numbers, and included the following:
"If you believe you are affected by this recall, you should discontinue using the test strips immediately and return them to any Walmart store for a full refund. For more information, please contact Abbott Diabetes Care customer service at 1-800-448-5234. . ."

Note that they did not say that Walmart would replace the strips upon return, only that a full refund would be given. In any event, I plan to return 5 boxes tomorrow--taking their e mail message along!-- and will report on what happens. (I no longer use my Ultima meter because the ReliOn Micro requires a smaller blood drop, and that is important for Rusty. [I used the Ultima with Stu, who crossed the Bridge in September; it is interesting that his bg levels were much lower in the last 2 months of his life, even though he was so sick (with diseases other than diabetes). The low readings may have been caused by the faulty test strips]).

Ella & Rusty

 

That is intresting that Stu's bg's were lower then and now they are recalling a lot of strips.

I was ahead of the game when I went to Walmart to return my strips. They hadn't even pulled the defective boxes off the shelves yet. So they didn't know what to do. Gave me a # to call instead.

Well I had to call twice. They are sending me 2 boxes of 100. I don't even have to send anything back.

Good luck to anybody that has strips to bring back. You shouldn't have any problem. Abbott finally got their @*#@ together. :smile:

jan and sara

 

HA! I called Abbott about this very thing about a month ago. Because it was taking forever for the strips to read the blood and they hadn't heard of it yet! I got two free boxes of 100 that are working fine now!

Now I have to call them again!

 

Hi again,
I went to Walmart (in Plattsburgh, NY) today to return the 5 boxes of Ultima strips. The pharmacist, who hadn't heard anything about the recall, sent me to Customer Service, where I showed them the e mail I got from Walmart (see my previous post). They were skeptical, but checked on their own computer and found the lot numbers of the recalled strips. Then they didn't know how to do a refund, because strips are normally not returnable and the computer refused to issue the refund. But they finally figured it out and I got my refund in CASH!! (It was worth the half hour I spent there!)

I wonder if this particular store has pulled the defective lots off the shelves??

Ella

 

Shakes head.

 

I am still monitering the A!bbott site a few times a week to make sure they don't add Freestyle. I also wanted to let everyone know CVS has four of Bayer's meters on sale for 9.99 and also some of the test strips on sale. This may be a good time to get a second back up meter from a different company. You never know when something might get recalled, dropped or lost.

 

We monitor Bob's blood sugar and Dude's with ReliOn - we have three meters and use a lot of the test strips.

When I was getting low on strips, we went to WalMart mid-week and were told that there had been a recall and they had NO strips. I came home, went on-line and called Abbott's listed number for the recall - gave them (a recording) the lot number I was using and was told that was NOT a lot that had problems.

I then called the number on the back of my meter (one listed in my manual) and spoke with a lady (very nice). They don't acknowledge that "animals" use the meter because it's not guaranteed for that use (HA) but since my husband uses it daily to monitor his sugar, they took the number of one of our meters. She said she didn't know when Abbott would be replenishing the supply but she said she would FedEx 100 strips to me free (they can do this one time) - I haven't received them yet but they were going out yesterday from Kentucky and with the snows - well, I probably won't get them until Monday.

Meanwhile, I kept calling WalMart and yesterday, they received a big supply of strips and DH went down and bought 100. So, they're being replaced - in the meantime, you can call the ReliOn number but it has to be a meter used by a person - not an animal.

Hope this helps and eases the worries - I was almost frantic - was ready to go down and get another meter.

Emmy & Dude (& Mittsi too)