I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m scared about the corona virus. My biggest fear? Running out of insulin and not being able to get more. I currently have about a five month supply in my fridge.
I’m wondering what kind of reserve other Type 1s have on hand and if any one else is concerned about the situation.
I think a 5 month reserve is real strong! I have 4-6 months worth, but some of it is old expired Lantus, etc. It’s a real hidgepodge of mostly old insulin. I’m guessing most people don’t have 5 months worth of TP stockpiled, so it’s nice to know we’ll be OK while they are using bark or leaves. Ha!
I too am quite worried and decided the best approach to stay sane was basically self isolate (with my wife) until things settle down. I started 7 days ago and have done my best to avoid being within 6 feet of anybody. Trying to do all the usual things to stay healthy, and isolating myself to not catch the virus. I have no idea how long this mayhem can possibly go but it helps ease my mind to not have to worry about “do I have it?”.
I usually have too much insulin, probably at least 6 months of supply, of Lantus and even more of Humalog. We even recently gave some away, only to take it back, for fear of illegality and potential harm to the intended recipient, since we didn’t know if they knew enough to use it correctly.
That said, I’ve started to consider what other medication are absolutely necessary, in case there is a shortage. The only one that I consider the loss of as life-threatening would be blood pressure medication. I take a statin, but I can generally get good numbers without it, if necessary, and its loss would not be dangerous. Other items are non-prescription, and only the B-12 , for neuropathy, would I consider important but not likely to be in short supply.
A related article:
I have around 3 months on hand and am hoping I can one last refill this month (just got it on March 3rd). I lost my job on Monday and will lose my insurance at the end of the month. I did accounts payable for a small independent retail store with 4 locations and they shut down completely. Even if they were offering COBRA I can’t afford it.
My sister is also Type 1 and I think if I get really desperate for insulin she’ll have some to spare.
5 months is more than enough, I agree. More than that and it might just go bad or the fridge will freeze it. Insulin is manufactured all over the world. We wont let you run out and die, lol. No worries. I was almost down to nothing, but was able to get refill today.
I have a one year supply of expired (but known to have been always refrigerated) insulin and another one year supply of unexpired insulin.
Now if we lose electricity and it’s 105F for a few days, not sure how much good my stash is going to be. I would probably start figuring out how to get ice.
If you live in the US, you can always apply to patient assistance from the drug manufacturer’s. Also, Novo Nordisk has a program My$99insulin. You can get up to 3 vials or 2 boxes of pens per 30 days for $99.00. If you aren’t all large doses this can also be a good option.