Well, I just joined tudiabetes and am new to the online blogging community.
I started my blog (http://amyliagrace.blogspot.com) as a way to connect to my family and friends and share my new life as an English instructor and teacher here in Taipei, Taiwan, and as a result of joining the online blogging community, I started thinking there must be diabetes blogs out there, as well. I stumbled across sixuntilme.com and that linked me to so many other t1 diabetes blogs, and found myself filled with such inspiration and a sense of normalcy, belonging and understanding that can scarcely be found elsewhere.
While my blog is not dedicated to my diabetes, it is about my life and I do discuss my diabetes and struggles on it. I'm finding it very cathartic and lovely to talk about such things with the blogging community.
I look forward to many more connections!
I get my insulin prescribed by a doctor here who I don’t like or trust, but he gets me the insulin. Test strips are not covered, so I have to pay out of pocket (about $40 for a box of 50 strips). I don’t speak Chinese well, but they have National Health Insurance in Taiwan, and I live in Taipei, so there are English speaking doctors, and I have local Taiwanese friends to help me navigate through the health care system. I’ve been here since January and brought enough supplies to last me 6 months. We’re now at the 6 month mark. I am surprised test strips are not covered, especially since they’re so expensive and most Taiwanese people don’t make that high of a salary, but c’est la vie. Humalog only costs $15 a bottle WITHOUT insurance and you can buy it at the pharmacy WITHOUT a prescription. And doctor visits cost about $3 with insurance and about $10 without the national health insurance.
I’m still learning the ropes, but since this is a disease that is mostly about self-care and self-management, I’ve been doing okay thus far. I have the email of my CDE in Maine that I can use when I need more support.
I use Humalog (sliding scale, about 25-30 units a day) and Lantus (32 units at bedtime).
He IS like my dealer. Seriously. It’s a means to an end. Originally I thought he would help me manage my diabetes, but the info is SO outdated in his office and he just berated me about my A1C being too high and told me my goal should be 60-90, which I have NEVER had and never will. I told him 60 is too low of a target for me and that I will worry about going low if I’m hovering around 60, but he brushed me off by telling me that my information is OLD (I told him I never haed a doctor in the States tell me to shoot for a goal of 60 and said we usually decide such goals together).
They don’t sell Humalog in anything other than the pen, so I have switched to the pen. Same with Lantus. I had to go to 2 doctors and even the best hospital in Taiwan didn’t have Humalog. Apparently, it’s under investigation and still being researched in TW, even though it’s been in use for many years in the States and other countries.
