Stockpiling Diabetes Supplies

https://www.diabetesdaily.com/blog/stockpiling-diabetes-supplies-344695/

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Great post, thank you for sharing. Do stock supplies too?

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I call it my diacrap. I have an excellent collection as well.

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when we had good insurance, I was able to do it. now it’s another area where I feel insecure. but there are others who are in much much worse shape than me. If you have extra supplies (esp insulin), here’s a worthy organization that donates them to PWDs in developing countries, Insulin 4 Life
http://ifl-usa.org/what-we-need/

@IFLAusandGlobal on Twitter

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I talked to IFL yesterday. They will take any supplies, but they won’t take expired insulin. I’m gonna use some of my old stuff I have, and send them the new stuff. I think that’s the only way I can do it.

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I had to chuckle thru this article. I am so frugal when it comes to my supplies and insulin. When I first began using my pump it was hard keeping supplies and I was constantly fighting with the MDE. After a while I started only changing things that absolutely needed changing. It even encouraged me to eat better so I could cut down on boluses. I probably have about 2 months supplies right now. Having extra supplies makes me feel safe. Especially with the hoopla going on with healthcare these days I dont know what the future brings. I use to joke and tell my family it was my zombie Apocalypse stash. Now I can call it surviving the Trump Apocalypse.

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Since our lives depend on it we are forced to keep a stash.

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I have visited a few 3rd world countries and I have no idea how they survive. They can barely get food a day so you can imagine that the life expectancy for diabetics in those countries are very low. God Bless them. I cant even imagine their fight.

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That sounds like a great idea Eddie. Just be careful to not hurt yourself in the process.

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I sure wish my stockpile looked like that lol

Sadly, I have about 4 months supply of insulin stacked up for my boys. In part bc one of my boys is still in a very kind honeymoon phase, so his insulin needs verses my other son is very low. Plus when they are out of school for the summer they tend to use more insulin. I think most diabetics have enough lancets :wink:. We only use our dexcoms when they are going through extreme BG changes, so that helps save sensors. I try to save as much as I can without denying them their needs. Trust me when I tell you though, I’m very tenacious about their care.

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You only use dexcoms when their readings are high? Not every day? I use my dexcom every day but your right I have a bunch of lancets and strips. Im lazy when it comes to BG. Even every 12 hours im straining to do and I am supposed to be BG testing 5 times a day in addition to the dexcom. I feel the day goes by so fast I never remember 5 times to do it.

I call it my “terrorists taking out the electrical grid” stash. Unfortunately, I’ve let my insulin supply get down to just an eight week supply. But I imagine if the electrical grid did go out, I wouldn’t be eating as much, so it should last a bit longer.

If the Donald takes your insulin, I got your back Reese…

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One of my boys is autistic so getting him to wear his dexcom everyday is hard. With his sensory issues he’s highly scared of the dexcom. Probably bc the first time we put it on, we were not aware of the numbing cream beforehand :persevere:. He’d rather just do the finger sticks. However, he’s got so many hormones right now it makes his BG’s crazy! It would help alot, especially my sanity.

My 13 year old refuses to wear one daily bc he’s in so many sports. It was ripped out once and since then he’s not on board. He’s in honeymoon so he’s bad to go low on me.

I only make them wear it if they are sick or if their BG’s seem to be changing out of their “norm”. It’s a battle though so I tread lightly. I try not to force them into “extra diabetes technology” like pumps, etc. bc they are only a couple months out of dx and still in a somewhat bitter/sad mood about it. I’m hopeful they will come to see that they can still have a love for life despite this.

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Thank you thank you lol

That makes a lot of sense. As the mom of diabetics you have your work cut out for you. I cant imagine what you have to go thru in a day. I have to do that stuff for myself and many of the time I am rebelling so with 2 kids it must be difficult.

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We started with an under-the-bed storage box for extra supplies. It worked well while my daughter was on MDI. When she started pumping, supplies moved to a shelf in the kitchen pantry. That worked for several months because with swimming & sports we rarely had more than 2 or 3 infusion sets left when the next shipment arrived. I finally got the endo to change the Rx to allow for extras. Now, 2 shelves in our linen closet house about a year’s worth of infusion sets & cartridges (& we just got a new shipment last week), along with about a 7 yr supply of lancets (I bought them by the case when I first heard the Multiclix device was being discontinued, as well as a dozen spare lancing devices.), & a case of Dex4 glucose tabs. When my husband’s employer decided to switch to a high-deductible plan with 50% DME coverage, we relied on the surplus supplies to get us through the year. We purchased a plan on the exchange for 2016, & we have been able to shore up our surplus once more. We had to start using our surplus of insulin a couple of months ago when her endo refused to renew her Rx until her next appt. Unfortunately, that appt is not until late March. I’m hoping to rebuild over the summer. She’s going to be spending 9 weeks working at a summer camp, where they’ll provide her insulin.

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It’s being discontinued??? I need to run out and buy a bunch of them and lancets, if that’s the case.

get the fastclix - it’s even better than the multiclix

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