So this morning my fiance was on the phone with his step mom (who we can’t really stand but try to be civil towards for his dad’s sake) and she told him that if I were to call the company that makes my insulin and “explain my situation” which is of course that it’s expensive and I can hardly afford it, that they will GIVE me my insulin. She knows this. She knows this because her “friend” doesn’t pay for her insulin. I told them that she must be mistaken, that insulin companies are running a business and do not shell out thier product for free beacuse somone tells them that they need it (everyone who uses it needs it!) and that she probably misunderstood her friend. They got mad at me for being ungrateful that they were trying to help. I know that they are just trying to help me out, but I get tired of people telling me that I can get such&such product for free if I only did ____.
I spend so much time researching grants and prescription aid programs or anything that may help me. I’ve been turned down by every state and local program we have except for the ones that I can’t afford! Sometimes I just don’t want to hear you when you see a commercial about “diabeetus” or you have a friend who said something that you probably didn’t understand! Sorry. Maybe I am just in a bad mood today. But I needed to vent. Thanks for listening.
Amanda,
I know what you mean… check out the Things that will not cure diabetes… thread. Maybe it will give you a giggle!
Scott
Scott:
Where the heck have you been? If you keep this up, I’m gonna think ou don’t love me anymore and have to call my lawyers!
Lois
No,you’re not the only one.My motherinlaw thinks she knows it all too.It gets quite annoying!
Hi Amanda! Sounds frustrating indeed.
Here is a discussion about living without insurance that might have some ideas that help!
remember it takes 41 muscles to form a smile, but only 4 to slap someone upside the head
Don’t hate me for this, but, she is SEMI correct! Yes, the makers of insulin will “give” you your insulin for free, IF, you meet their criteria. BUT, you cannot call them up on the phone and “tell them your situation”, and then they’ll just do it!
Instead, you must find thier patient assistance form (which aren’t always easy! They bury those damm links SO deep within the website, it’s utterly rediculous!!) fill it out, giving every bit of information about yourself, that has ever happened to you in your lifetime, as well as who you live with, and if you have a child, I"m pretty sure they require you to cut off thier right pinkie finger and left baby toe, and over night it to them, in order to “qualify” for their program!! Yes, I’m being sarcastic, but only slightly! (if you know about these programs, already, PLEASE forgive me!!! Dont hunt me down or nuthin! LOL)
My issue with them was that I don’t work, so I have no tax returns to send to them to “prove” my income amount (although, they require that you give up your SS#, so they COULD look up my income, themselves! DUH!). My other half provides for me, and THEY require the income amount of everyone in your household! Though he makes “decent” money, usually, we aren’t married, therefore he is NOT legally responsible for MY health care costs! (even though he DOES pay for that as well). NOR were my two GROWN (working) children who were living with us at the time!
Diabetes is MIGHTY EXPENSIVE when you don’t have any insurance!! So, I fully understand your issue!
Since I don’t have any insurance, and can’t afford to purchase insulins like Lantus, Levimir, Humalog, Novalog, etc., I instead, take Novolin N and Novolin R. Actually, I use the Walmart CO-branded version of those, ReliOn. They are [currently] about $23.95 a vial. (In the last two years, the price has risen $4!! UGH!) But, it’s still a LOT less expensive than the other’s mentioned! Like 25% of the cost! So, until (or IF) I ever get insurance, I’ll continue using it! I don’t have a choice, unfortunatley! Maybe I’ll win the Lotto or something! yea right!!!
Good Luck!
i take humalog and novalog and i get it for free from the company you have to fill out the paper work it all depends on
your income and house hold size. so it is true that you can get help.
Here’s some unsolicited advice not about fee insulin, but about dealing with your stepmom in law.
In my personal experience, it is much less aggravating to nod, smile and say ‘thank you’ in situations you describe than to simply tell people they are wrong. Nobody is going to win the battle of you’re wrong, I’m right. Even though it may irk you a little, it doesn’t hurt to say “Thanks, i’ll try that.” You don’t to actually ‘try that’ and when anyone asks you can say you either haven’t got around to it or say you tried it and it didn’t work for you.
Nobody, but nobody, not even you, likes to be told they’re wrong or they don’t know what they’re talking about. After all, there was SOME truth in what she said, it just might not be true for you. If you just want her to go away, smile and say you’ll try it. But if you want a continuing running battle, hurt feelings and needing to vent . . . you know what to do!!
Good luck with step mom in law.
Terry
Amanda, you are totally in the right. The people who are the most ready to offer you “sage wisdom” are the ones who know truly nothing about your situation. Oh sure, they mean well enough, but they also are the ones who are the most liable to try to take over your life if you do take their advice. I’ve been there too.
The best thing to do, I’ve found, is just smile and nod and let it go in one ear and out the other. When they ask you about it later, conveniently flake out and say you totally forgot. I call it Intentional Stupidity.
Amanda,
My mother-in-law, a know-it-all beyond compare, has a magnet on her fridge that says: “People who think they know it all really upset those of us who really do.” Pretty much sums up her attitude! I can relate to your annoyance. I’ve been wanting to bop her over the head for 25 years. I cultivate a bored expression, stare off into space & give a nod whenever she tells be what I “should” do. Better than arguing with her & a lot more effective in getting the message across that I don’t care for her constant advice.
I don’t know about you but the “I know it all, despite not having a lot of experience with this particular situation” mentality always gets to me. My mom does it sometimes when it comes to my diabetes and depending on the day I’ll either take it with a grain of salt or just get flat out annoyed. Maybe having a talk with them about how their well meaning advice can be a bit too much sometimes would help? The difference between good/positive advice and bad/negative advice in regards to this? 
That being said…I’m not sure what kind of insulin you’re taking but Wal-Mart sells their own brand (ReliOn) of N, R and 70/30 for about $20. It’s not free, but it is cheaper then $80+ that’s for sure!
lol, I won’t stone you or anything. Truth is, I’m not shocked that there is some sort of program like this. My problem is that I DO have insurance through the state, it just costs me an arm and a leg. My insurance costs rival all my other monthly bills.
I get so exhausted with forms like these, because I have filled out 20+ and always been denied. ( I have a stack of denial letters in my desk) I know that she meant well, and usually I do just smile and nod. I’ve been sick this week with a chest cold and really just didn’t have the patience to deal with her. She’s one of those people who’s always looking down her nose at you and giving unsolicited advice. Plus her mom is a type 2, so she thinks she knows everything about everything regarding my diabetes. Thanks everyone for your replies, it felt good to vent.
Actually most of the drug companies do have a program where they will send you medications for free. Eli Lilly does I know for a fact so I would check into it. I used to get my Humalog through them until I got prescription insurance. I am not sure about the other ones.
Ok, glad you’re not gonna stone me or nuthin! LOL
yea, if you have insurance already (even it if is expensive, and crappy!!) they’ll usually deny you! Which, I think is STUPID! Co-pays aren’t what they used to be, back when I did have insurance! Back then, it was like $10 for doc visit, $7 for generic meds and $10 for name brand meds. None of this teir crap they have now! AND the insurance its self wasn’t out rageously priced, either! I think we paid like $150 a month for a family of five!! And, it was good insurance! (I only had to fight them one time, over an ER bill, and they did pay it) Try getting it at that price in this day and age. Ain’t gonna happen!! Sad thing, this wasn’t that long ago! Less than 15 years ago!
Tell me about it! this tier stuff is crap! My monthy premiums are twice what you said you had paid for the whole family! just for little old me. Then you’ve got deductables and co-pays, and after the deductable is finally payed, there’s the co-insurance charges. It’s definitely better than paying for everything out of pocket, but not by alot. I tell my mom that I go to work just to pay for my diabetes.
I’m glad that someone said the “evil and hated” step mom was “kinda right” and why. There are programs out there that are supposed to help. But like the poster said it is almost impossible to qualify for them. The problem I see with these programs is the “hearth” mentality. In other words they believe that all people in the household should contribue equally to the household. That is not always the case.
I am the evil and hated step-mom in home… the kids are grown now. But they reallly made it hard for me to care about them over the years. Their prejudcies and out and out defiance of my authority in my own home nearly had me leaving my husband at one point. Sit down with her… tell her how you feel… what you need from her and why you need it. Be firm,… but Be fair. After all she cares enough to tell you about that “tid bit” of information she heard second hand.
I suggest that you joing my new “Strategic Savers” group… I can show you how to get supplies for free without insurance or some weird program.
I feel I must mention that I never called her “evil” or “hated”. (though I did say we find her hard to stand) I know that she meant well when she told me about her friend.
But there is a HUGE backstory to my dislike for this woman based on how she treated my fiance as a kid and how she continues to manipulate him and his dad. Not all step parents are bad, I love mine and think that alot of the time that “evil step-parent” stigma is undeserved.
we have previously tried to talk to her, we have also talked to her husband (fiance’s dad), and nothing has come of it. I usually am able to smile and ignore her, but like Lauren said, that “I know it all, despite not having a lot of experience with this particular situation” mentality really gets to me after a while. And oh, does she think she knows it all! I don’t want to come off as such a brat, I know that I kind of did in my post. I’m just so tired of people not understanding that I AM doing everything I should be, (half the time I’ve already applied and been denied for a program that someone suggests) and I guess I’m a little angry that they don’t understand what amount of effort goes in to applying for those programs either. I’ve gotten to a point that I feel a little jaded and assume that I will be denied anyway, so I don’t want to hear it anymore.
I know you guys are right though, and I should cut people more slack. I was probably more defensive than I would normally be because she had just gotten through saying something rude about our upcoming wedding. I’m so glad I am able to get this all out to you guys. Thanks for the support.
which of walmart’s brands are like lantus is humalog? How much are they without insurance. Hit me back on my page. Thanks.