Walmart diabetes supplies cover a huge variety of categories and offer affordable solutions for people looking to manage diabetes.
In this article we’ll provide a complete guide for anyone shopping at Walmart that’s living with diabetes, including many of my personal favorites as a dietitian living with diabetes myself. Walmart diabetes supplies can be found in the pharmacy, clothing department, electronics, skincare, and more.
*This article contains affiliate links as part of our participation in the Walmart Creator program. If you choose to purchase something through one of the links in this article, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.*
Shopping with diabetes at Walmart
Walmart offers so much more than groceries and medication when it comes to diabetes. We’ll cover medications below, as well as several other in-store categories where you can find some amazing deals on helpful products for diabetes.
Walmart diabetes supplies can be found in:
- Pharmacy supplies
- Blood sugar meters
- Diabetes test strips
- Diabetic needles
- Low blood sugar supplies
- Medications
- Supplements
- Electronics
- Skincare and foot care
- Clothing and accessories
- Shoes
Walmart diabetes supplies through the Walmart app
Before heading over to Walmart, I highly recommend downloading the Walmart app if you don’t already have it. The Walmart app has so many features that make getting everything we need when living with diabetes much simpler:
- Home delivery for groceries and other supplies
- Quick ordering for in store pickups
- Build and organize shopping lists
- Product finder by aisle
And you can search specifically for Walmart diabetes supplies and filter by brand, cost, and more.
The Walmart + membership is also an amazing deal that gets you free grocery delivery and free shipping on online orders.
1. Walmart diabetes supplies in the pharmacy
The Walmart health and pharmacy section offers many name brand resources, but they also offer their own brand, ReliOn for many different types of Walmart diabetes supplies that are likely more affordable depending on your situation.
- Blood sugar meters
- Blood sugar test strips
- Lancets
- Syringes (prescription needed)
- Low blood sugar supplies
The ReliOn brand at Walmart often gets a bad rap. People assume because it’s less ex[pensive that they’re lower quality. But, this just isn’t true. ReliOn products are held to the same industry standards as their brand name counterparts and provide an affordable option for diabetes products and supplies.
2. Blood sugar meters at Walmart
Walmart offers many name brand blood sugar meters which may or may not be covered by your health insurance. If you are looking for an alternative low cost (but equally effective and reliable) meter, the ReliOn brand has many different options. These can be a great option for people at any point in your diabetes journey.
ReliOn Blood Glucose Platinum Monitoring System
This system includes a meter, carrying case, lancing device, lancets, and 50 test strips. This system would be great for someone who needs to test one or more times per day.
ReliOn Blood Glucose Classic Monitor
This product is just the blood glucose meter and would be great for someone who wants an extra meter to keep at home, school, or work, in case your primary meter is lost or stops working. This is the meter I keep as a backup. It’s easy to use and the strips are inexpensive.
ReliOn Blood Glucose Compact Monitoring System
This system is similar to the platinum and includes the meter, carrying case, lancing device, lancets, and test strips… but with a much smaller meter and lower profile. This meter would be great for carrying around in a purse or on-the-go bag.
ReliOn Blood Glucose Blu Monitor
This meter is similar to the platinum and compact systems but also offers bluetooth pairing with the ReliOn diabetes app. The app makes it easy to track blood sugars, eliminating the need for a paper logbook. You can even share your results with your doctor via the app. This meter does not come with a lancing device or test strips though. Those need to be purchased separately.
ReliOn Blood Glucose Voice Monitor
This meter offers voice prompts for visually impaired people. It does not include a lancing device or test strips though.
ReliOn A1c Self-Test System
If you’re looking to get a rough idea of how your HgbA1c is running, this meter can be helpful at home. It should never replace having your A1c tested via blood draw though.
KetoSens Blood Ketone Monitor Kit
Anyone using insulin to treat their diabetes should have a ketone meter in their diabetes supply kit. Testing for ketones is especially important when blood sugars are running high and/or when you are sick. Urine ketone test strips have a place in diabetes care but at home blood ketone meters provide much more accurate results.
3. Diabetes test strips at Walmart
There are several different blood glucose test strip options at Walmart that may help you save money compared to name brands.
ReliOn Platinum Blood Glucose Test Strips
The ReliOn Platinum Blood Glucose Test Strips should be used with the ReliOn platinum meter.
ReliOn Premier Blood Glucose Test Strips
ReliOn Premier Blood Glucose Test Strips can be used with the ReliOn Classic, Voice, Blu, and Compact meters.
Equate Blood Glucose Test Strips
Equate Blood Glucose Test Strips can be used with name brand OneTouch meters and only cost about 1/3 of the name brand price. If you currently use a One Touch meter, the Equate brand strips may be able to help you save some money.
ReliOn Ketone Urine Test Strips
If you prefer to test ketones via urine test strips instead of a meter, the ReliOn Ketone Urine Test Strips offer a low cost solution. I recommend having both a blood ketone meter (with strips) and urine test strips on hand.
4. Diabetic needles at Walmart: Syringes and lancets
Ask anyone living with diabetes how often they change the lancet in their lancing device and you may be met with a long awkward pause. It’s a running joke that most of us rarely change them at all. 🙂 But regardless, you *should* be changing your lancet after each time you use it and Walmart has a number of more affordable options when compared to name brands.
ReliOn Lancing Device
The ReliOn lancing device is small and sleek and can be used with any meter.
ReliOn Ultra-thin and Thin Lancets
The lancets for the ReliOn lancing device come in Ultra-Thin and Thin options and are significantly cheaper than other name brand options.
ReliOn Single Use Lancing Devices
If you’re on-the-go or traveling and need a quick way to test your blood sugar, I love these ReliOn Single Use Lancing Devices. Use once, and dispose of them in a sharps container.
ReliOn Sharps Container
If you want an official sharps container, try the ReliOn Sharps Container. (Note: You can also make your own sharps container at home with an empty detergent bottle.)
5. Low blood sugar supplies at Walmart
There are many different ways to treat low blood sugars, and you can read more about that here. Personally, I prefer to treat my lows with fruit snacks or honey. But, if you prefer a dextrose option, ReliOn has several different forms.
ReliOn Glucose Shots
These glucose shots have 15g of sugar per 2fl oz bottle. I’ve not tried these personally, so please leave a comment below if you have. I’d love to know what the flavors are like! Liquid low blood sugar treatments are especially helpful if your blood sugar is so low that it becomes difficult to chew.
ReliOn Glucose Tablets
Walmart ReliOn Glucose Tablets have 4g sugar/tablet. (If you grew up with diabetes in the 1980s or 90s you for sure remember the taste of these glucose tablets! I know I do!)
ReliOn Glucose Gummies
ReliOn Glucose Gummies are very similar to a fruit snack or other gummy candy. Each gummy has 3g sugar.
6. Medications for Walmart diabetes supplies
Walmart pharmacy offers several different low cost generic diabetes medications. The following generic meds, when covered by your insurance, are available for $4 (30 day supply) or $10 (90 day supply):
- Glimepride
- Glipizide
- Glipizide ER
- Metformin
- Metformin ER
- Glyburide/Metformin combo
OTC insulin at Walmart
Walmart offers their own privately branded synthetic human insulin under their ReliOn brand. ReliOn insulin is produced by Novo Nordisk and is available over the counter without a prescription. It comes in the following formulations:
- R (Regular)
- N (Novolin or NPH)
- NPH/R (70/30)
ReliOn R and N cost about $25/vial for most people. Always consult your doctor before purchasing insulins though. These particular insulins have been around for quite some time and there may be more appropriate insulins for you to consider.
Generic Novolog insulin at Walmart
As of 2021, Walmart also offers an analog insulin that can save people with diabetes up to 75% compared to name brand analog insulin.
Analog insulins are newer insulins typically referred to as “fast acting” or “rapid acting” insulins and are typically sold under the brand names Humalog or Novolog.
This announcement form Walmart in 2021 was huge for the diabetes community. While it certainly does not solve the insulin cost crisis here in the US, it was a big step in the right direction. Ensuring more people have affordable access to the most current and effective insulins is crucial to treating diabetes properly.
7. Diabetes supplements at Walmart
There’s a lot of supplements marketed towards people with diabetes, but not all of them are everything they’re advertised to be. Most of them don’t have enough research to support taking them. Always speak with your doctor before starting a supplement, and check out this post on the most commonly recommended diabetes supplements and whether or not they’re worth a conversation with your doctor.
Just like other grocery stores, Walmart offers many name brand supplement options. And, typically, Walmart has better prices than other stores. Walmart carries their own line of supplements under the Spring Valley label and while these may be less expensive, they do not provide data on any 3rd party testing. Because of this, I do not recommend purchasing this brand from Walmart.
Some common supplements that DO have research supporting their effectiveness and/or appropriateness for people with diabetes and are available at Walmart include:
- Multivitamin
- Probiotics
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin D
- Fish Oil
- Magnesium
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Berberine
8. Electronics for Walmart diabetes supplies
Typically, we think of blood glucose meters, CGMs, or insulin pumps when we talk about diabetes electronics, but there’s lots of other supplies to consider when we think about diabetes electronics.
Stock up on batteries for various diabetes electronics like meters and insulin pumps.
Depending on the type of devices you use to manage your diabetes, they may need to be recharged frequently. Consider stocking up on extra chargers. Most devices require a USB-A or USB-C charging cord.
Other things to keep an eye out for sales and lower prices on at Walmart include: Apple watches (for Dexcom users), step counters, and fitness trackers.
9. Diabetes skincare and foot care products at Walmart
People with diabetes, need to protect their skin and do regular skin and foot checks. While you can look specifically for diabetic lotion at Walmart, it’s often not necessary and just a marketing tactic to raise the cost of a product.
Walmart offers many other regular skincare products that are good for people with diabetes but about half the price. My favorite skincare products for dry or irritated skin for people with diabetes include:
- Vaseline
- Aquaphor
- CeraVe Healing Ointment
I use any of these to help calm irritated skin after removing my CGM or insulin pump pod/site. We go into more detail on these products in this post.
People with diabetes also tend to suffer from cracked heels or peeling skin on their feet. Walmart offers some of my favorite products for foot care. *Check with your podiatrist or endocrinologist before starting a new product regimen.*
GoldBond Healing Hydrating Foot Cream
GoldBond Healing Hydrating Foot Cream is great for everyday use. Apply a thin layer to the bottoms of your feet and then put socks on.
Flexitol Heel Balm
Flexitol Heel Balm can be especially helpful for people with cracked heels.
Magnilife DB Pain Relieving Foot Cream
Magnilife DB Pain Relieving Foot Cream may be helpful for people with neuropathy related foot pain. This includes tingling (that pins and needles feeling), numbness, and sharp pains.
10. Clothing and accessories: Walmart diabetes supplies
People with diabetes don’t necessarily need different types of clothing, but looking for affordable pieces with pockets can be especially helpful for carrying things like low blood sugar treatments and diabetes devices. This is especially true for activewear.
No Boundaries Women’s Neoprene Fanny Pack
If you’re looking for an easy way to carry around your phone or insulin pump PDM, Walmart has a great price onthe No Boundaries Women’s Neoprene Fanny Pack. These are great for kids with diabetes who need to carry around or wear the receiver for their continuous glucose monitor.
Universal Waterproof Phone Bag Pouch
Anytime we go on vacation that involves water, it gets tricky because I need to have my phone and pump PDM with me, but I’m usually worried about getting them wet. I bought this Universal Waterproof Phone Bag Pouch (Clear Water Resistant Case, Compatible with iPhone/LG) two summers ago and it works great for protecting my devices.
Diabetes socks at Walmart
Compression socks help improve circulation and blood flow, especially for people with diabetes. Two affordable options at Walmart include:
Dr Scholl’s Graduated Compression Knee Socks
Dr Scholl’s Graduated Compression Knee Socks are not only a good deal, but also perfect for general use and come in some fun designs. And for people who have sensitive foot pain, there’s no seam at the toe. This means they’re less likely to cause additional irritation.
11. Diabetes shoes at Walmart
Walmart offers hundreds of different in-store shoe options that are helpful for people with diabetes. Two of my favorites I found at my local store are below.When looking for diabetes-friendly shoes, remember to look for shoes that have a closed toe and a back, and have rubber bottoms.
Avia Women’s Fashion Sneakers
I love these sneakers I found at Walmart! They have a memory foam sole which makes them super comfortable and a sturdy bottom. They come in several different prints and happened to be marked all the way down to $7 recently! I grabbed a pair in the print in the photo below.
Time and Tru Sneakers
These sneakers offer another affordable brand of sneakers at Walmart. They check all our boxes for diabetes shoes AND offer several different styles and colors.
Walmart diabetes supplies: Groceries and food
Walmart offers one of the largest and most affordable grocery selections in the country. And, in the last 10 years, Walmart has started to carry more and more blood sugar friendly brands and diabetes products. Make sure you check out my Guide to Diabetes Foods at Walmart!
Walmart diabetes supplies: So many options!
As you can tell, Walmart has a ton of helpful resources affordable products across the entire store for people with diabetes. It’s worth making a trip and taking some time to peruse the store and find options that work for you!
Do you have any favorite Walmart diabetes supplies you like to purchase? Please tell us in the comments of this post!
Download the complete Diabetes Walmart Guide
Want a printable version of this post + all of my favorite diabetes groceries available at Walmart? Download my Walmart Diabetes Shopping List: Recommended Supplies, Food, Skincare, and Clothes from aDiabetes Dietitian.
