Denied Insulin for over a week

I cant get it 5-7 days in advance because on the box there is a certain date that you have to wait before they will let you refill it.

my insurance works like this too. They do it with all my meds, my advair and my zyrtec, and my bc. At least I know I’ll have to take extra precautions to have an emergency stash when they finally put me on insulin. Thanks for sharing your expereince. I’m glad you are still with us.

Tee
That’s the way my insurance works too or they won’t help you pay for it at all so what I did was I saved enough money to get a refill before the date on the box the insurance payed for then when the date came back around I got it refilled again so now I always have a extra around here,done that with my daughter’s to when she was on the insulin pens. Now she is living on her own and is doing the samething!

That’s one of my biggest nightmares. I’ve only had this disease for 6 years, but ever since then I’ve been afraid some dip is going to take my insulin away in some form or other. I get a tinge of fear anytime I see security searches (“Is this going to be the jerk who says I can’t bring my meter or insulin with me?”) or am near to a demonstration/protest, where anyone nearby could conceivably get arrested (“If I were arrested, would they take my pump? How could I check my blood sugar?”, for example.) I’ve had close calls with prescriptions, too, when something was called in but the pharmacy said they didn’t get it or the stupid insurance company didn’t allow it to be filled for some technical goof-up reason. Part of the problem is insurance companies not allowing for more than a set supply (like 30 days). We’re always told to have backup supplies in case of emergency, but what if your insurer won’t pay for backup insulin? Technically we should not be running down to the last drop each time before a refill!!

One other thing… if I were you I’d have gone to the hospital. (Well, easy for me to say, right?) I’ve had my infusion set go bad before overnight and awakened with a blood sugar already at 500 with large ketones and that horrid headache/puke/dried out feeling. You can go into DKA very quickly and if your meter said “HI”, you can pretty much be sure you already were in it. It was very dangerous to go without insulin. Maybe you could complain a LOT about this at your next appointment (plus, being that high for days will increase your next a1c!) and see if your doc can give you any vials or pens as a sample. Many diabetes docs have samples of insulin. Even a sample of long-acting, like Lantus or Levemir, just so you can keep it on hand for an emergency.

I wonder how that works here in Germany. I know that an ER visit here is not something to fear because of finances. In the US when I’d go low I was always terrified someone would call 911 and I’d get stuck with some huge bill when all I needed was some candy. Here if I ran out of insulin I’d just go straight to the hospital or call an emergency 24-hour doctor. They may not have my medical history or know my doc, but when your blood sugar is 700 it’s pretty obvious what the problem is!

I live in Danbury, CT. Insulin doesn’t require a prescription here. You can purchase it over the counter. (You have to have a prescription for insurance to pay for it though) But there were times in the past when I needed insulin and had no cash. I asked my doctors office for it. Does your doctors office keep some insulin on hand in case of emergencies? Or you could go to your local emergency room. They will test your blood and see how high your sugar is. I’m sure they would give you some insulin.

I'm probably going to sound like an alien, but that's why for the longest time I've been a firm believer in socialized medicine. If we don't ever take the profit motive out of this game, this kind of stuff is going to keep happening. What happened to you is practically criminal, as far as I'm concered.
Eric

Strangely enough but I know of a medical case where a non-diabetic was injecting insulin and having multiple admissions to the hospital for hypoglycemic (LOL go figure) episodes. The individual slipped through the cracks on multiple levels. While probably not common, def don't think its not possible for some people out there to do totally strange and irrational things.

I get around it by asking my doctor to write the prescription for a little MORE than what I typically use. I get a 3 month supply of Humalog for my pump, and in 3 month's I probably go through at most 4 vials, but my prescription is written for 5. That way I always have some on hand, and even if I still have some on hand, I go get it filled as soon as I can.

Hi Tee,

I'm glad that you are ok now. See if you can get your new doctor to write a prescription for an extra bottle per month so you can get a supply of extra insulin. You shouldn't have to go through this. If your doc writes the script correctly your insurance should cover it.

On a side note, I was in Portland on vacation two weeks ago. It was good to be back. I grew up in Scarborough.

I’m so shocked reading this post!!! I live in Ireland and have had diabetes since 1990!! Not once have I ever been in a situation like that!! Even when I was in another part of the country and ran out of insulin I was able to go to a local pharmacy, get my insulin and my doctor faxed them a prescription there and then!! It’s disgusting that in 2013 an individual would be treated in such a way and not given insulin when it is so obviously required.