Customer Reviews

Lifestream LSP3200 Cholesterol Test Strips for Lifestream Cholesterol Monitors

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I decided to order some of the test stripes despite the bad reviews since I've such good luck with Amazon. I received them yesterday and they had an expiration date of May 2006. This is much better than I have received from other sources.

Although I love the Lifestream cholesterol monitor, I've had two instances of buying the strips where the expiration dates were unreasonable. The latest was the set I bought here in April which arrived April 20, 2004, with an expiration date of May 1, 2004!!! Hello? Since they weren't in stock until two weeks ago, I can only presume the supplier was trying to unload old stock. There's no way that I know of to check the date unless you go to the Lifestream web site and order there--for $6.95 shipping.

I received 2 packages of test strips on April 26, 2004 and they expired on May 1st, 2004. I immediately returned them and requested replacements. However, they gave me a refund instead so I would assume they have a boatload of these sitting around in a warehouse which they are trying to get rid of.

I got screwed with 2 test packets that expired 10 days after I got them $35 bucks down the drain. Amazon sucks !!! Big Waste of my time and money.

Okay this works for me and do not recommend it for you. The strips will never register outdated if the meter is re-programmed for an earlier date!! My strips were a month or two older than the expiration so I re-programmed the date one year earlier. This company, Lifestream, I've found to be extremely dishonest!!. I sent in a $30.00 rebate and although it was approved they refused to send the money!. Finally I prepared a Court Summons and faxed it to them, and received my rebate within a week!! Beware big time with these people

I have a Lifestream monitor which I bought 3 or 4 years ago. My family and I have have had no problems using the monitor. None of us have high cholesterol, but we have changed our lifestyle (better diet, more exercise)and wanted to see if our cholesterol levels improved over this period. As other reviewers have noted, you do have to use strips before they expire, and yes, you can waste a couple of strips learning to get just the right amount of blood on it. Out of interest, I repeated a few tests immediately to see if the results were reproducible. They generally came back within 5% of the first value.

However, there are some problems with the latest package of test strips I received. They have been redesigned. There is nothing on the package that tells you in advance they have been re-designed. It looks exactly like the old packages.

Firstly, my monitor would not accept the new calibration chip - the chip fits and appears to be identical to the older chips, but the monitor rejects the code as an invalid number and will not initialize. The date is valid.

In addition, the package contained a new type of red plastic testing strips, which are wider than the older strips. The new strips come with instructions to remove the small plastic insert from the monitor (the part where you slide in the test strip), and replace it with the new insert included in this package. It was easy to remove the original insert but guess what - the new insert simply does not fit. It is made a fraction too wide. The new test strips will fit okay into the new plastic insert - but as the insert won't fit into my monitor, I have ended up paying for a box of strips I cannot use.

I phoned LifeStream customer service several times, and each time I only get their voice mail, even though it is during office hours. To date they have not phoned me back.

It annoys me that you spend so much money on an item, and then within a couple of years it has become obsolete. Although the tests themselves are only a few dollars each, if you factor in the purchase price of the monitor, each test becomes quite expensive. In my case, it would have been cheaper and more informative for me to go to the doctor annually, pay the co-pay and get not only a total cholesterol level, but also my HDL, LDL and trigylceride levels.

I ended up wasting a couple of these expensive strips as well. Was my fault though. Warm water is essential in getting the blood flowing in the hand. Squeezing the finger to be "pricked" expands the blood vessels for good drop. After pricking finger, squeeze the finger as if pumping a drop of blood from the finger. Works better and was not mentioned in booklet. They tell you to squeeze, and that is not enough. The strips have a barcode on the back. Once you pass it pass the red diode, it is seen as a new strip, pull it out to reposition it and it is no longer seen as new, you just wasted $4. Push it in good and it snaps into place... requires a bit of focused effort. Get a big drop of blood and cover the whole yellow square and it works fine. All the other complaints are user errors, nothing wrong with the product. My strips were good for two years... so the expiration issue must have been limited. I performed tests for all my family members and they were delighted with the results. Most had never had a cholesteral test.

I have purchased, stupidly, two boxes of test strips, one after the other. Hardly any have worked. The monitor either says the strips' expiration date has passed (which it has not), or the monitor simply will not accept the lot number, which you must dial in before the test. I emailed the company's "customer service" department, and eventually received a refund on the second box of strips.

Do not mess with this pricy product.

The Lifestream LSP3200 Cholesterol Test Strips were delivered quickly and the expiration date was very fresh with over 1 year before expiration. The price was best I could find.

Yes, these are expensive, but it does the job. You just got to make sure you bleed enough.. OUch!