This is not diabetes related, but may be of use to others with some kinds of medical conditions.
The background is I had surgery on my right shoulder in 1980. It was very necessary, and it was successful. It keeps my shoulder from dislocating, I got it fixed when it reached the point that it dislocated in my sleep. I am now paying a common price for that surgery, osteoarthritis.
I take the maximum celebrex I can take for swelling. This means the only oral pain reliever I am allowed to take is tylenol. I take large timed release versions of that. My shoulder hurts when in use, that is usually quite brief. It aches badly when a storm front comes through. It’s not the humidity, it is the lower air pressure. From what I have read, the lower pressure causes fluid to leak from your joints. An even bigger problem is all the sleep I miss. You’d think laying on the other shoulder would solve the problem, but it doesn’t. Laying on my back usually does not work out, I have apnea and insomnia.
In about December or so, I mentioned this to Pup. I was stuck, at the limit of what I could take in the way of OTC pain reliever. She suggested a topical cream, Penetrex. I tried it, it did not seem to do much for me, but gave me the idea that maybe something else topical would.
I talked to my doctor about it, she had a sheet put out by a compounding pharmacy. They make things in the pharmacy by adding ingredients. She called in the prescription. What I got had lidocane and 2 other ingredients (long names). I was sent a free sample.
It worked like a charm. It gave me back the use of my arm without pain, and I had no problem laying on it. Happy ending? Not quite.
Insurance would not pay for it. My doctor said the cash price for the prescription was $3000.
I looked on the label, the pharmacy was in Beverly Hills, CA. I don’t blame my insurance for not covering it.
So, I searched the internet for a compounding pharmacy here in South Dakota. I found one 90 miles from here. My Dr faxed in the prescription, and I got a call back today. They can do it. They called in insurance while I was on the phone, it will be covered with $5 co-pay. The cash price would be $35, by the way. There is no charge for shipping. It should be here Saturday. 
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