Tomorrow, we’re headed back to the endo to see where Eric is at in terms of his Hba1c again. I’m not sure what we’ll get this time, as we’ve been all over the map these last few weeks. Many lows that we initially ascribed to increased activity, but eventually traced to an ear infection, then highs when the antibiotic kicked in at the same time the insulin seemed to be losing its ooomph (I mixed up a new batch and viola, the numbers went back down again). So who the heck knows what his number will be? The rollercoaster ride continues.
How did it go?
It went pretty well. We made some more adjustments to his ratios because we’re still getting highs in the late afternoon. I forgot to ask what his HbA1c was!
I think that your feelings from measuring the blood sugar are often more important than the A1c anyway! Hope that the adjustments will help his numbers!
You said it. Another benefit was that the NP there changed our insulin script when we pointed out that we throw away 80% of each bottle of Humalog we open—Eric is on diluted insulin because the amounts he requires are so miniscule, and we never use more than 1 mL in two weeks’ time. So she decided that it made better sense to give us a script for Humalog cartridges that they use in an insulin pen, which contain only 3 mL per cartridge (instead of the 10 mL vials). We can still withdraw 1 mL each time we mix up his diluted insulin, but that way we only wind up throwing away about a mL every month. Hopefully that will save us some money too. She gave us 3 vials she had on hand that were set to expire in July, which means we can go without actually buying any for the next three months, and by then, he’ll be on my insurance—so it offered us some financial relief too. Always a good thing!
I also use pen cartridges when filling my insulin pump. It’s actually the only way to buy insulin in Hungary.
I hope that this is actually cheaper. I always wondered if they charge extra for the pen cartridges because of the special packaging.
That’s great that he will be on your insurance. I can imagine what a relief that will be!
Keep us posted on how you are doing!!!
Even if they charge a little extra, it can’t be THAT much extra or they wouldn’t be able to convince people to use the pen. I’m just happy not to be wasting insulin. Although I suppose if it came down to it, I could hook up with a diabetic in the area who uses undiluted Humalog and offer that person the remains of the vial after we’d mixed up what we needed from it. I mean, 8 mL of Humalog goes a whole lot faster for a grownup than it does for a little guy!
That’s true. You will surely save money this way! As you don’t have to pay for insulin that you throw away!!!
That’s the best part about it. I HATE wasting insulin, especially since I’m sure there are diabetics who short themselves on their insulin dose to save money–if they can’t afford to get another bottle, they’ll stretch the bottle they have and accept the long term consequences. I know that my throwing less away probably won’t change that, but it at least makes me feel better about the fact that the insulin someone desperately needs and can’t get because of our f***d up healthcare system isn’t sitting in the bottom of my trash barrel!