Good morning loves!

Today I just wanted to talk a little bit about some the different resources out there for T1 diabetics. Like I said in my first blog, I have been a T1 diabetic for well over 20 years. As a diabetic going through my teenage years I went through what we call the “rebellion stage”. I know imagine that, a teenager being rebellious! Hear me out, being a rebellious teenager is one thing but being a type 1 diabetic and teenager can be dangerous. Things get expensive, even 20 years ago they were expensive when it came to the things I needed to stay alive.

When I was 18, I was getting out on my own and like everyone else I had new bills to pay plus I also had to afford my medications and pump supplies. I got to the point where I no longer used my pump due to high cost of the supplies even with insurance. I ended up had a few scares with using my pump which made that choice all that much easier. I had two episodes when wearing my pump, I basically went comatose for 24+ hours. At first I just thought I had slept in but then I looked at my phone and it was a whole 24hrs later. I had slept through alarms, phone calls, people leaving my apt, and never woke up until my pump was out of insulin. My bosses were worried about me because I never missed a shift without calling in or giving some kind of update. So after 2 different occasions of this happening I stopped using my pump.

Now don’t get me wrong pumps have come a LONG way over the last 10-15 years. Buttons are harder to push while sleeping, CGMs link up with them now to prevent things like this, and a lot of them can be ran from your phone as well. I like insulin pumps but it kinda scared me into using them again. Not to mention they have not gotten any cheaper! So I went back to doing daily injections and knowing my luck I was trying to find my way and lost my insurance. Now in the early 2000s there were no caps for insulin cost. So when I went back to injections I was on two kinds of insulin, Basal Insulin ( AKA long acting) and Bolus Insulin ( AKA short acting). At the time I was on Humalog (short acting) and 1 month supply with out insurance was 400+ and then my Levemir (long acting) was 700+. Needless to say I was paying lots of money as a waitress for insulin to survive. I got to the point like some diabetics do where I had to choose which one to take in order to cut the cost. Doing this in a few short months back fired on me. I ended up so sick that it was like being diagnosed all over again. I got lucky though because there are several out there that do this and end up dying because of DKA. My family and boyfriend knew something was not right and made me go to the hospital. I spent a whole week in the hospital ( 3 days in ICU) due to drastic weight loss, abnormal labs, and getting my blood sugars back in range before they would release me.

After going through all this it lead me to “low income” clinics. This is where wonderful doctors and nurses volunteer to run cheaper clinics in areas where the population tends to have a lower income and they help get you the medications you need at a cheaper price. It was very helpful and eye opening to how wonderful and needed this resource actually is. I was finally able to have both of my insulin I needed to be able to live longer and healthier. Now as a nurse I have ran into so many new resources to help people cut the cost of the our CGMs, insulin, pumps, medications, and anything diabetes. There are things like patient assistance programs through the companies, prescription cards, or even several companies outside the companies that help cut or cover the costs. Below I will list some links to pages to help save money on diabetes care.

I really hope this helps those in need to be able to get what they truly need to survive. Thanks for coming by and learning about DM with me! Until then stay healthy and happy!

With Love,

T1Mama

Walmart.com – with walmart they have the option for a lot of their medications if you don’t have insurance where you can buy them at a cheaper rate. It’s the Walmart brand but hey insulin is insulin when you really need it: https://www.walmart.com/cp/relion-insulin

Diatribe has some great resources for learning about diabetes and saving money: https://diatribe.org/diabetes-management/10-ways-save-money-diabetes-care

Lily has a program called Lilly cares where you can find assistance for the meds they make:https://www.lillycares.com/

Novo Nordisk is the same, you can find assistance for the meds they make: https://www.novocare.com/diabetes/help-with-costs/pap.html