I don’t know if this will work for you, but I ended up taking manual injection of basal twice per day so that I could have a much higher dose during the day and a much lower dose at night. That never ended up being quite good enough, so I got back on a pump. But, it got me through for a while.
You could take a very low dose basal before bed, get that set correctly, and then bump up your morning basal until it fits.
Thanks for the tip! Going to try to take a clear log of my BG to my appointment so we come up with a realistic starting dose
Well, my new HMO will not pay for the Echo pen and therefore I am going to have to use the one unit flex pen or syringe (which I really do not want to use). I have to use Novolog, due to Humalog allergy. So, I guess I am stuck…no pun intended. I dont think you can get anything else as far as pens go. They wanted $180 per refill on the Echo pens.
Hey @Laura_S
I’m on another pump vacation and am loving it. I’m using Tresiba (fantastic btw) and I have the NovoPen Echo. I’m not sure what you mean by “They wanted $180 per refill on the Echo pens.” Do you mean they wanted that for the cartridges you stick into the Echo Pen?
Stupid me. I forgot it was a cartridge pen. But they want $184 for it and I dont have it. Novo says they have no help for people who cannot afford it. My head is still spinning from goin gover everything yesterday, including the meter. I have Lantus, or Tujeo to try, plus one unit flex pens. If anyone sells echo pens for a good rate, someone let me know.
I refill cartridges on insulin pens all the time. Vials of insulin are much cheaper per ml than the pen cartridges. If you feel comfortable doing this, it could be a workaround for you. You’d have to buy a few cartridges, but not a new one every time.
I dont know how much the cartridges are, it’s the 1/2 unit echo pen I can’t find and/or afford. I’ve seen a site mention the Echo pen is $54, but my HMO wants $184.
@Laura_S There is also a kids version of the NovoPen 4 that has 1/2 unit increments. My son is using one for levemir (he got it free with his T1 diagnosis).
Perhaps the echo pen is more money for the cool reminder feature. (I wish I had one…)
I have never paid for a pen. My pharmacy ( and the local diabetes clinic) just give them away. Have you tried asking for one for free at a pharmacy?
I’m sorry, I thought you were talking about the cartridges because they are a reoccurring cost.
You can buy the 1/2 unit Luxura HD, which is Lilly’s version of the fancy pen, for only $10 from a Canadian pharmacy. It’s not a prescription item since it doesn’t include the insulin. I can find the name of the pharmacy I used. I bought several.
If you are not using the Lilly insulin (Humalog), you would have to put your insulin into the cartridges. I do that all the time.
But if you want the Echo, with the remind feature, the best price I found is about $50. But it’s a European distributor, and it’s not currently in stock.
Your google fu is better than mine - I can only find it for about $35.
But - @Laura_S, my endo clinic gives me all the pens and meters I need for free. They told me, I quote: “never buy a pen or a meter”. I am almost sure it is the same for you. That includes Echo pens.
OK, thanks. Dumb that they dont have a Novolog 1/2 unit pen readily available for people who need it!
No, haven’t tried. But the Roche rep was standing right there yesterday when I asked my nurse for a half unit pen and she made no effort to offer me anything. for some reason she acted like cartridge pens are old school or something.
They might have it, but I was just mentioning the Lilly one as cheap. I’ve never bought a NovoLog pen, so I don’t know.
But the Lilly pen cost $80 here, and was $10 from Canada!