I haven't seen a doctor in like 5 years due to no insurance and to be honest I don't even know if I'm taking the right amount of insulin what my A1C is and I would love to start using a pump. Does anyone know what I can do?
I think the best thing to do would be to get a copy of "Think Like a Pancreas" by Gary Scheiner. it's sort of an "owner's manual" but the writing style is pretty chatty and engaging, stuff like "when I play full-court basketball, I have to reduce my basal rate by 50% the next day..." sort of things but it also has formulas to estimate your doses and directions on how to adjust if your rates need adjustment from the weight/ age/ activity guesstimated amounts? I went several years w/o a doctor too and, while it can be done, I'd have done a lot better with that book to give me a good "foundation". I gained a lot of weight on my own, using insulin like something you'd buy in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert.
Hi, Chad. You're probably in Maricopa Co. Phone the public health dept. & ask if you can be treated at their clinic for homeless due to having no insurance. might try 602 372-2110 and explain. You may have to go thru a bunch of questions, but who knows, it may result in a connection. Even insulin costs money. You'll need to figure out a budget for what you can expend. A university sometimes can give cheaper care due to student involvement & sometimes they have pumps. But the cost of pumping is mucho without insurance. That seems like an unlikely start.
No insurance is a tough situation to be in especially for a T1 diabetic. But 5 years without a doctor visit is dangerous. You say you don't even know if you are taking the right amount of insulin. This tells me that your are not testing either and that thought scares me even more.
If there are financial problems I would consider seeking help from my local health department, clinics or charities. It would be hard to believe that someone would be allowed to go without basic care in this day and age.
I wish you luck in your quest for proper health care.
Gary S
Now it's the weekend and I'm back.
The weekend is a good time for early morning ER use. A first thing in the morning before eating visit. They can't turn you away. Your emergency is: unknown fasting BG level, unknown A1c level, known T1?
The weekend is not a good time for the local public health dept. They'd have their phone on answering machine. Monday-Fri is the time for them.
Now you have to choose which ER to go to: choose the biggest regional place possible. After you have found out your morning BG and hopefully, a fast A1c, scout out the diabetes teaching office. It'll be closed on weekends. But get its phone number.
Establish a phone relationship with the teaching office so that they will refer you to the physician/service they think most likely to take you on. They know the locals.
That is a path to knowing what your fasting BG is and what your fast A1c is, and a path to people who should be able to help you from there.