I bought five of the Star Solo Pens of the Lantus insulin today; the cost was $227.30, but my insurance co-pay was only $45.00, saving me $182.30. I also bought five of the Humalog Kwik-Pens for a total cost of $346.99, with an insurance co-pay also of $45.00, thus saving me $301.99. I am retired and I live on a fixed income. What do people do who do not have insurance or help from family members? My blood glucose levels run in the 200 range and I test five times a day. I take 50 units of the Lantus insulin in the morning; and then I take the Humalog insulin on a sliding scale depending on my blood sugar levels. My biggest complaint is the constant, never-ending pain in both my feet from the diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
I’ve wondered the same thing. Those of us with good healthcare are so fortunate. I, for one, cannot imagine dealing with the costs of diabetes on my own - I would be broke. But there are non-profit charity care programs that qualifying diabetics can access. Also, some clinics will give out free insulin samples from the pharmaceutical (sp?) reps.
Are there any meds you can take to help with the peripheral neuropathy in your feet?
I am taking Gabapentin (the generic of Neurontin); I take six (6) 600-mg. tablets per day; two tablets at a time, three times a day; and I also take 1000 Units of vitamin E and 1000 units of vitamin D. It helps a little, but not very much. I was on Cymbalta at one time and then the doctor prescribed Ultracet; and the pharmacist caught the error - that combination can cause death as a side effect. I have also been on Hydrocodone but that did not help at all. I have tried topical ointments but nothing helps. I was on Lyrica at one time and that did not help. I am thinking of looking into electrical appliances as an alternative. I do not know what to do.
Gosh I’m sorry, Robert. I’ve had T1 diabetes since I was 15 and I’m now 33. I haven’t been the greatest diabetic, especially during my teenage years and early 20’s. I’m now starting to get even so slight tingly in my feet and I’m aware that none of it can be reversed once it starts. Knowing that I am doing my best to get my A1c down (it’s around 7.8) and hope to go on a pump soon.
Thank goodness your pharmacist was diligent and caught the combined prescription error. How scary! I’m so sorry you have to deal with the constant pain in your feet. How does it affect your ability to walk or excercise? I would imagine walking can be very painful. Have you gone to see a pain management specialist?
I’m also on Humalog (10 units at each meal) and Lantus (50 units at bedtime)
I’m on the Star Solo for the Lantus as well and just got my script filled yesterday at a cost of 116.89 (I do not have insurance to cover the cost so have to pay out of my own pocket). I can’t remember what the cost of the humalog was, but when I got it I got two boxes of the stuff (5 cartridges each), I’m on the pen for of humalog, but I use cartridges to put into the pen itself not a disposable pen like the lantus is.
Only thing I do know is that the Insulin has put me into CC debt something which I’ve not known till being out on the stuff, I can’t get it payed for because I do not qualify for it and I’ve looked into Trillium to help pay for it but for various reasons I don’t meet the requirements (I’m in ontario, canada), so you can say I’m the working poor I work to pay for my insulin but can’t live on what I make because of the cost of diabetic supplies (I test min of 6 times a day before and after meals, though really its upwards of 10 because I work out and tend to test before going to bed).
Its costly and I know if my folks where not able to get me my test strips at a senior discount I’d not be testing as often as I do since each 100 strips cost cost to 100 bucks, same goes for the needles for the insulin if it wasn’t for my folks getting them with a seniors discount I’d not be taking the insulin as I should because the 100 needles only lasts a max of 25 days, which means the closer to the end of the month it gets the less I inject and test because I’m running short on supplies (which means I will go without testing for a meal or two during the month, I’ll go without the dosage of meal time insulin so I have enough needles to last the month - I don’t like doing it and my endo doesn’t either but its a rock and a hard spot when one can’t afford to live and buy ones medication at the same time).
Hi Robert - Yes, I like you, am retired (at least semi-retired) and am grateful every day I have good insurance.
Just a suggestion: YOu might want to consider switching from a sliding scale for your mealtime insulin, which is pretty old school and not as effective as using an insulin:carb ratio. It’s a lot more effective way to dose your bolus, taking what you need for the food you are actually eating. Should help you get those numbers down a bit.
I use the Humalog Kwik-Pens; and I buy the BD Nano needles. I hate to admit it, but I use the same needle more than once. It is not like I am sharing needles with Tommy, the druggie down the street, or anything. I am the only one who uses that needle; and a box of needles (100 to a box) costs me $31.00 total; my insurance covers my diabetic testing supplies 100%; so I am lucky in that resort. Walking is precarious at best; I have to hold on to things and I use a walking cane. When I was taking Metformin I developed renal failure; my kidneys just shut down totally and I had to be hospitalized; this was reversed by medication. On Comcast cable there is a channel named “DLife” - in Houston it is Comcast cable channel # 45; and they have very informative shows; all about diabetes in one form or another. This is a horrible disease indeed.
THANKS. I will definitely try that.
Thanks again.
Rob
Has anyone ever tried the NEUROPATHY SUPPORT FORMULA that is advertised on the Internet. I am hesitant about buying it as it is a little pricey. There are so many ‘snake oil salesmen’ on the Internet that you have to be careful. The results for this Neuropathy Support Formula sound almost too good to be true. Just wondering.
Robert there is no shame in admitting using the needles more then once. I have been doing it for the past 28 years without any issues.
a) the most important thing is to improve your level of glucose control. With numbers in the 200 range nothing will stop the progression of your neuropathy. On Lantus alone you should be in the normal range of blood glucose. The Humalog is just needed to cover additional carbohydrates. So try to do some shifted fasting to see if your Lantus is sufficient to cover your basal needs (1/2 day without food => are your blood glucose numbers then stable and good?)
b) learn to count carbs and to calculate your dosage of Humalog according to the carbs you are about to eat. Try to find a book like “Think like a Pancreas” in the public library.
c) you can take alpha-lipoic acid to treat your neuropathy. It should be available in your pharmacy. If possible choose the R-ala form but if you get the mixed one it is also okay.
Holger has given you some really good advice. High blood sugars can really accelerate neuropathy and many of us try to keep our blood sugars below 140 mg/dl after meals to manage these sorts of complictions. Your blood sugar is just too high. In addition to the great comments already recieved, I would like to offer four more suggestions:
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Take personal responsibility for your diabetes. Set your own targets, make your decisions about treatment and learn to make specific choices about diet, exercise and most importantly insulin dosing.
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Learn how to properly adjust your insulin to meet your blood sugar goals. The books, “Using Insulin” by Walsh or the book Holder recomments"Think Like a Pancreas" by Scheiner will pay you back many times over their price.
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Consider a low carb diet, many people have had outstanding success with low carb diets. Consider the “Atkin” or Dr. Bernsteins “Diabetes Solution.”
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This is the most important thing. Become an active member of this community. There are many people here who understand what you are going through, they can really help you
You can safely increase your gabapentin dose. Most of my problem is at night and I take 1200mg at about 7 pm for that. During the day, if I have issues, I take 600 - 900 mg dose - but my needs during the day are seldom. I suggest you take with your doctor about possibly increasing your dose.
I agree with you - I will speak to my doctor. However, I did take 1200 mg. about an hour or two before my bedtime; that makes 4800 mg. this day of Gabapentin.
Rob
I take Lantus and Apredra and started counting carbs in Jan. By March my A1C dropped from 9 to 6. My bs have been dropping in the afternoon and evening ( 77 to 87) because I forget to eat and I get freaked out. My BS this morning was 115.
I to reuse my needles, I have insurance and I pay $75.00 for 12 viles of insulin, a 3 month supply. I adjust my morning dose of Lantus to reflect my morining bs, so a bs of 115 I took 90 units. The Apredra I use only on high carb meals or if my bs is high before I eat. My feet and ankles swell and are tingling but no real pain. I do have big bloated stomach and learned I have a diabetic stomach, not passing food through the stomach fast enough. (I don’t get hungry very often, therefore I forget to eat.)
I have problems with my eyes, blurred and double vision, enlarged spleen and a growth on my left adrenal gland. Both are still functioning and we are on a wait and see for both. I am changing Dr., my is not working with me, took me 10 years to get my bs under control and I did it with carb counting.
I am going to have to do that also; how do you count carbs? Do you have a chart or a book, or what? Like - one slice of bread is 15 carbs ? (? ? ?). Only three times in my life has my blood sugar been below 100; and I was ecstatic.
Counting carbs is like this: 1 carb serving is 15 grams of carbs. So 2 carb serving would be 30 grams of carbs and so on. With your insulin your carb ratio would be(this is an example and not your carb ratio) 1:6 so for every 6 grams of carbe you would use 1 unit of insulin so for the 30 grams of carbs you would inject 5 units of rapid insulin. So to count carbs you just look on the items label for ther serving size get the carb number, and then figure out how much you want. Hope that helps!
“Exchanges” (15 unit servings) is an outdated method of counting carbs. The listings on packages list individual units of carbs, not exchanges. That makes it easier to do insulin carb ratios. You have to first figure out your own insulin to carb ratio (I:C). One suggestion is to start with 1:15 (one unit covers 15 carbs) and then to work up or down depending on your results to see what works for you. So if you do 1 unit for 15 carbs and end up high, try one unit for 14 or 13 carbs; if you end up low, try 1 unit for 16 or 17 carbs until you reach the ratio that works well for you to be in target two hours after eating. Many of us have different ratios for different times of day. For example mine are 1:6, 1:7 and 1:18 for the three meals. It takes a while to figure out but then you can use your ratio to bolus more accurately for what you are actually eating.
There are lots of carb listings for foods that don’t have labels, both online, in books and in phone apps. I use calorieking.com and another printed one I got from a book. Calorieking.com is a bit heavy on chain restaurants for my taste, but you can also find raw ingredients.
Although it may be outdated it does work. They aren’t really exchanges either zoe. Like 2 slices of bread would be 30 carbs…depending on the bread, which would be 2 servings of carbs. It is how I have done it and it works. I may have not explained that the best but I tried. Yes the labels are for 1 serving like cereal is 1 cup and 27 carbs plus 11 carbs for one cup of milk…again depending on cereal and milk used. so 27 plus 11 is 38 which would be divided by whatever his carb factor is. He was just asking how to count carbs and that is how. so that would be 2.5 servings of carbs. It’s just a different way because we should aim for 30 carbs or less per meal. Just wanted to be a little more clear. Myfintnesspal is another one for nutritional info. The book Zoe got I got and she is correct it is a great book!
If it works for you, that’s great. I just wanted to give a newcomer the current way of counting carbs. People don’t really talk in terms of carb “servings” much anymore, so I didn’t want him to be confused. Also you say “we should aim for 30 carbs or less per meal”. I think people on here eat a wide range of carbs, from 30 carbs per day which is what Richard Bernstein recommends to 75 carbs or more per meal. Everyone needs to find what works for them.