Do you need a prescription for insulin in Canada? I think in Mexico you can get all insulins, including the newer ones, without a prescription
No prescription required
No prescription needed in Toronto Canada, just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for 1/10 the price you would pay in the US! Why would you need a prescription for insulin anyway? A life saving drug that nobody but diabetics need Healthcare in the US is totally broken, why are they charging so much money for this? There is no other reason than extorting people because they can.
I agree. Especially since Regular and NPH donāt require prescriptions. Iām actually quite concerned about this. My mom has excellent health insurance being a teacher in New York State but Iām only eligible to be on her insurance for another <2 years, until Iām 26. Iām weighing a few options right now such as Canadian pharmacies (we live in upstate NY, about ~4 hours from Canada). Medicaid and/or disability benefits. Or lastly using Regular and NPH. I refuse to watch my mom burn through her retirement and savings buying medicine that is a fraction of the price in other countries and that is necessary to live. Diabetes is surely the most stigmatized disease. Cancer and HIV for example get far more attention. Itās troubling
Iām surprised Fiasp is so much more expensive at $47 Cdn/vial in Alberta. Iāve bought it in BC or Ontario for $35 - $37 Cdn or around $27 US per vial.
Does anyone have occlusion problems with FIASP in a Tandem pump? It works fine for a few days then occludes on me and I have to change. FIASP is not recommended for Tandem but has anyone been successful? I much prefer it to Novolog.
I used a Tandem t:flex pump until Nov ā19. If I filled all the way (480 units) I had occlusions 100% of the time as soon as I got half done with the cartridge. So I only filled it halfway. No occlusions. With my new t:slim, only one occlusion so far. The limiting factor seems to be 48-60 hours on the cartridge.
I examined the cartridge/infusion set closely several times after an occlusion and found that the insulin came out of the tubing in a gelatinous mass. I suspect some chemical reaction between the FIASP additive (niacinimide, is ut?) and the tubing material.
In any case, I reported it as an adverse reaction to FDA. Naturally, not even an acknowledgement of the report.
USUAL CAVEAT APPLIES: I notice if I mix novolog with fiasp, the vasodialator (VD) in fiasp that accelerates its onset, will mix with the novolog and work quckly. Fiasp is novolog with VD in it.
What is your mix (%Fisap)? Iām mixing Fiasp with Humalog (75/25) to improve pump performance. I want to retain the faster adsorption neat Fiasp delivers, but at a sufficient dilution to overcome the pump issues.
My concern is whether the dilution is reducing the vitamin B3 level to the point where faster adsorption is reduced or eliminated. Novo doesnāt publish anything about B3 concentration in Fiasp or why they chose that concentration. Is there a critical amount necessary to deliver performance and how far above that concentration is the Fiasp formulation? Novo wonāt answer when my endo asks their rep.
Great questions! To be honest I donāt know (BUT KEEP READING). I also dont mix it (with other insulin ) generally, but I have mixed fiasp with novolog on ocassion and thatās what I noticed. I wouldnāt mind doing the experiment to find out at what point the fiasp no longer speeds up the onset of (plain) aspart.
Iām excited just thinking about mixing fiasp with humalog! Humalog is a powerful insulin
(I find it at least twice as strong as novolog per unit ) and of all the insulins works quickest with IM injections.
On another note, and more pertinent to your questions: I OFTEN use self diluted fiasp in a 3 parts to 1 (1/4) with plain saline solution (for more accurate dosing as I use MDI), and have noticed no slowing of its onset. I have also but donāt anymore, diluted fiasp 4 to 1 (1/5 ) with saline and it still is onset at the same time, this may continue on indefinitely with water, but of course would have a limit with using the VD in fiasp to speed the onset in any other insulin.
I suppose one way of finding the limit of fiasp/humalog mixes would be to bolus them in a syringe while having a straight basal with no fiasp in it also, in that there it would remove all external variables. I am interested in what you discover. I have found mixing and diluting insulins to thr single single most effective method of blood glucose control outside of BG measuring technology.
Good to know! That dilution ratio is exactly what Iām using but diluting with Humalog. For a time I was using Humalog diluent (available free from Lilly - but a pain in the butt to get it!). My rationale was eliminating two types of insulin in basal/boluses. I stopped doing it because of all the monkey business I had to go through with basal/bolus adjustments to account for the change. All the pump calculations are based on U-100 and as far as I can tell, thereās no accommodation for lower concentrations.