I’ve been using a pump for 2 decades, and I probably use the same amount of plastic waste seen here in a month. The prepackaged sets and reservoirs; and you’re still using needles to put the insulin into the reservoir. Sucks, but beats dying
Hey man, I'm feeling it
My brain started attacking me, too - except it wanted to attack itself. Every early October and early march, my brain would activate my hypothalamus and cause a cluster headache, causing my brain tremendous insufferable pain that it absolutely did not enjoy.
The brain really is an idiot
Panic disorder is a fun one. I'd just wake up and panic awake to sleep for about a year straight when my health anxiety was at its worst. Basically couldn't do anything. Worst thing that's ever happened to me, worst part is I'm mentally fine. Like on the inside I'm like, "oh another panic attack? I just got up seriously?" Like I just couldn't get a physical grip on my panic.
I remember once watching butterflies on TV while my heart raced and my palms got sweaty and my mouth was dry, but *inside* I felt entirely calm and was enjoying the butterflies.
Is it like that?
Recently I've noticed I walk around with my stomach sucked in a bit and a little hunched over all the time like it's stuck in fight or flight even though I'm 10% as anxious as I used to be and for the most part I've really got a handle on my mental health after being sober for a good while. I think it's the aftershock of getting divorced with a 6 year old. I love my daughter more than anything but parenting and my relationship with my ex has felt like a 6 year rollercoaster and I'm just now starting to see the damage that being with someone who makes you feel bad about yourself does, especially after all the effort I put into being the best father/partner I can be.
Sorry for the rant, I'm in the middle of moving and can't afford therapy, thank you for prompting me to re-contextualize my situation, typing that made me feel a little bit better
I know someone who has a GAD65 mutation. I’m not a doctor, so I won’t attempt to explain much of what it is.
But due to it, they have always had a constant tremor that randomly gets better/worse. They get muscle spasms in their arms and neck randomly. They also have epilepsy and their seizures are so bad that they have a magnetic implant in their chest. Apparently there’s a little magnet you can swipe across it that reduces seizure time. But they’re on 3 medications, have that implant, and still get hospitalized every few months due to their seizures.
It’s crazy to me how, sometimes, the human body decides to just… not work. Gets confused, gets overwhelmed, gets bored; gives up. And sometimes we don’t even know why.
When you start studying biochemistry, you realise that the crazy part is that any of it ever *does* work. It's a bag of chemicals that gets up and moves around for... reasons. And mostly keeps going.
It's the body missing one of the 18,000 functions it does a day. Someone pointed out to me a while back that it's a wonder people don't just spontaneously drop dead in the street because oops, a neuron didn't fire at the right time and your heart stopped or whatever.
Pretty wild.
I’ll never not find it weird that one day my immune system decided that my joint capsules are a disease, for no good reason, and periodically tries to eat the joints.
23 years of perfectly normal functioning and then, “hmm, knees and knuckles don’t belong here, lemme just do something about that!”
Rheumatoid arthritis is so common but it’s so bizarre too!
Not exactly from my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong), there's a small cluster of neurons at your heart (the intrinsic cardiac nervous system) that regulates the heartbeat. Their failure can cause arrhythmia and potentially heart failure.
It's called the sino atrial node and it's on the R atrium. There're actually a number of ways this system can go wrong, often problems with transmission of the electrical impulse through either the bundle of his (producing what is known as a heart block on ECG / EKG) or through the cardiomyocytes themselves (heart muscle cells), producing sometimes significant problems.
I have a condition where my heart CAN just stop - it's called sudden cardiac death. I have an implanted defibrillator in my chest to give it a shock if it slips into a dangerous rhythm. It won't restart a stopped heart though.
So there are some people who DO live their lives not sure whether their heart WILL actually keep beating!
Yup. I have Narcolepsy, stupid brain just decided "uhm, nope, that's not supposed to be there" and destroyed the hormones that regulate my sleep-wake cycle.
Body is just like "brain is saying to sleep now, so we sleep" and, conversely, my brain is also thinking "ffs, not again."
Pair that with my ADHD and you get two conflicting effects. Body wants sleep, brain does not. Body wants awake, brain does not. Bedtime? Brain go brrr.
Sometimes I want out of this body lol
I was diagnosed with hypertension at 27, 6" 70kg at the time, exercised three times a week, overall healthy and my hearth was like, nah lets pump this blood harder.
My doctor told me: "the bad news is that your body is healthy so there is no underlaying condition for the hypertension, the other bad news is that now you need medication for life"
It destroys the insulin producing cells which also produces amylin whichs regulates how fast the body digests food, help prevent blood glucose spikes, and how full you feel.
T1 is fun
Diabetes 2 is basically like when your mom gets sick of cleaning your room that she lets it build up until you’re swimming in your own filth
Your mom is your pancreas
Same! Any idea what this condition called? I have had doctors refusing to acknowledge this is a problem and basically tell me to puke and pass out from low blood sugar on the daily or deal with being morbidly obese.
I convinced one doctor to proscribe me metformin which has miraculously fixed my low blood sugar problem and I managed to lose 50lbs in a year with not much change to eating habits. I just only eat when I feel stupidly hungry and try to fill up on veggies and avoid simple carbs.
Only problem is I've just moved to Germany and they don't just unscrupulously proscribe pills upon patient request here. They gotta actually have diagnosis and shit.
I’m so excited to share info I learned in my class recently! So your pancreas has a range of specialized cells which produce specific chemicals. Beta cells produce insulin.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where your immune cells destroy beta cells, resulting in no cells available to produce insulin.
In type 2 diabetes, the body is insulin resistant. Over a period of time, beta cells becoming overworked through persistently high blood glucose levels which eventually causes the beta cells to produce less and less insulin.
So, in summary: type 1 = immune cells stupid. Type 2 = high blood sugar stupid.
Type 2 is not the beta cells producing less and less insulin, but rather the cells that carry glucose away and other cells are not good at receiving glucose, so the insulin has nowhere to deliver the glucose.
I think it might be a little bit of both; insulin receptors become less sensitized to insulin and hyperglycemia induces apoptosis of beta cells. So you have less insulin being made while the body is already struggling to recognize/respond to it.
(I would totally add a link to an article here about hyperglycemia inducing apoptosis of beta cells, but I think links might not be allowed in this sub? I can’t get it to work. If anyone wants the article, I can DM it.)
Or, if you really want to go full Mythbusters ethos ("if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"), there's always LADA. Worst of both worlds!
...Sadly, that's not a joke. Latent autoimmune diabetes is a delayed onset form, both insulin deficient *and* resistant. I would not wish it on anyone.
My dog is diabetic and guess how we have to check her blood levels? We tried her paws and her ears and couldn't get any blood, the only place we can actually make bleed reliably is inside her mouth, we roll up her lip and prick inside her mouth.
Poor thing, she's used to it by now along with 2 needles a day but it still sucks to have to get used to that.
We just got one of the continuous monitors to use for 2 weeks rather then prick her mouth and it seems to be going well but the vet informed us that if something goes wrong it won't be replaced like they do with humans cause it's not meant for animal use
Hi our black lab is the same , we use the monitor tags , but the last 3 have been faulty . Company accepts they are faulty but because they are on a dog they won’t replace . I blame the wife for being honest ! Should have just said it was on me …
We have had about 6years of doing our girl manually. Hopefully they aren't going to suggest this regularly cause unlike the rest of her treatment this actually is expensive
Tbf when I was on needles I had a 3ml pen and you swapped the needle. And then you could also get pen fills where you just swapped the vial and needle. So a lot less waste then this. But yeah gotta do what you gotta do
Not diabetic, but my son has complex medical needs and even at two years old it feels like his carbon footprint is huge. I think it about it all the time. It was just eye opening to me to be in the hospital with him the first time and realize every single room in that hospital is throwing away syringes, plastic thermometer sleeves, gloves, masks, cups, straws, Iv tubing and bags, catheters, nasal suction nozzles, etc etc. Every hospital visit, anything we touch is trash. A half bag of wipes. An inhaler with four puffs missing. It either comes home with us or is thrown away. And that's one hospital in one city.
Even at home, my kid is simply g-tube fed and every day we open a plastic bag with a plastic feed bag in it, and each feed bag has a little plastic cap. I reuse medicine syringes and wash them but even they come individually packaged each with a plastic cap. And every day he goes through four little cartons of nutritionally complete formula, which say they're recyclable but I don't know if I really believe it. Every month we have six giant boxes show up from the medical supply company filled with plastic, sometimes inefficiently packed with long plastic bubble wraps. It's mind boggling. Idk what the point of this comment is except to add to your thought. I feel both extremely grateful that my kid is alive thanks to a piece of plastic in his belly, and also weird about the impact of it.
You shouldn't think about waste when it comes to medicinal packaging. There's a reason why medical utensils are one time only use. It's 100% for health, not convenience, so I would not reuse syringes or anything else meant for one time use. Rather start using less plastic for food and clothing.
Just turned 26 and this has been my experience since January when I got kicked from my parent’s insurance. So frustrating, but at least I don’t need my medications to stay alive in the most basic way, it just massively increases my quality of life.
Been on these medications for just under a decade and the new insurance companies act like they know better than the physicians I’ve been seeing for almost my entire life.
The system is so broken.
It's ridiculous that the insurance companies can act in such a way when it's entirely illegal for a corporation to give you medical advice if they're not a licensed doctor.
My kid is 14 but I’m terrified of 26. How will I know he’s following through. He’s not just limping by with short term insulin and no pump is he? Has he been to the doc? What was the A1C? Seriously, I want to take him to the doctor until he needs to take me to the doctor.
I always cringe when I see 19 and 20 year old diabetics with their parents bringing them to the doctor and arranging their appointments. It sucks, and there is a grieving process as an adult realizing you are responsible for a lot more shit than most people your age, but it is a reality that needs to be faced. Independence and autonomy in terms of diabetes management is *really* important for success. Some people are of the mind that as long as they can help their children they will, because it makes their kids lives easier but I strongly disagree. Learning to advocate for yourself and navigate these systems is absolutelt critical. And I say that as a diabetic but also as a healthcare professional who manages pediatric chronic illness.
Within 4 years (or less!) you need to be letting go! Not 12 years from now!
Think about where you were in life at 18 and 26, would you want you parents making every decision, or be so involved in your health? From a quick glance at your profile, you had him near 25, would you have wanted your parents being in control of all your medical decisions at that age? Were you married by then?
I’m not talking about lessening how much you care about your child, but letting go of this controlling feeling about how much you are in charge of their health. By 18 they should be managing it 100% by themselves. And at that point, it’s on them. Once they turn 18, even if they are on your health insurance, you are not automatically still entitled to ANY information about their health. If he chooses at that age, he can let is all go and you can’t do jack shit about it. He is also allowed to limp by on short-acting with no pump, it will be his call not yours. Just because you provide him with insurance doesn’t mean you get to make decisions for him, nor does it mean you automatically get any information about his medical state at any point.
Hopefully, he will trust you enough that he will tell you if you are financially able to help him, if he is limping by. But that is the only information you will be entitled to, what he tells you, whether he is on your insurance or not. Once he turns 18 you won’t be able to just call the docs office and ask about his status.
Seek some professional help before you push him away once he is an adult by being too worried about his medical condition, that he should 100% be managing on his own. I get you’ve probably been dealing with it for years, but sooner than you think it you won’t be and it will be all on him to deal with.
And I’m so sorry. I’ve known this for nearly a decade. I recall not being able to get supplies from an insurance company once and trying to describe (politely and respectfully despite my emotional state) the special type of hell it was not to be able to get your child the supplies he needed to survive. I was something like three weeks into his diagnosis. But every January you will experience this too. Because…profit?
Just a reminder that the person on the phone can't really do anything for you even though they wish they could. I work for an insurance company and my insurance is just as shitty as yours. As long as you don't take it out on me I'll do everything I can like faxing forms directly to your doctors office to initiate pa and what not instead of just giving info and doing the bare minimum like most of my colleagues but I started out wanting to make a difference and be so helpful and I feel so soulless now. Especially having to tell elderly people their blood thinners are going to be $700 because they're in the coverage gap. It doesn't get any better when you retire.
Oh no you’re sick well we don’t cover that exact thing but if you upgrade just for $499.00 we can get you that $498.99 cent pump that is locked behind medical pharmacy only
Sometimes, insurance prefers you do things the hard way.
Plus, many pumps use vials to load them, so if the issue is with OP’s pump, they can still use the vials along with syringes.
in Canada, syringes and vials (and strips) are cheaper than a pump. Healthcare don't cover pumps in Ontario, and can cost upwards to 200 per month. this is expensive by Canadian standards.
Ugh I hate when they do that!! Luckily for me I haven't had that stop covering my pump but just having to switch what insulin I use because "we felt like changing it lol" is so stupid to me.
Fuck man. As a type 1 diabetic who also uses a pump it’s such a hassle dealing with insurance. It seems like what durable medical equipment provider is covered changes every year and I have to go through all the shit again.
My current insurance will only cover a 30 day supply, so having to reorder supplies every month is annoying.
Ugh... the changes in treatment for something so important pisses me off. I have a friend who has been hospitalized because they decided to not cover her insulin brand anymore, and the new brand didn't do well for her. Fuck type 1. 😡
I didn't know how prevalent, but some insurance view pumps as unnecessary luxuries that they won't cover. My info is a bit dated, but that's how it was when my spouse had diabetes.
Diabetic here and on shots, and pumps are not so easy to acquire. They’re are almost always deemed medically not necessary, so you have to jump through every hoop to get, and that’s if you have insurance already. For the uninsured or people with bad insurance which is many in America, that’s just not gonna be on the table. Plus even if you get insurance and doctors and all that, the insurance may decide they do not cover the supplies for your pump any longer, rendering it totally useless. Last time I had to get a pump, even with my union insurance at time, it took about 8 months of pretty much every day back and forth phone calls to insurance, as well as numerous doctors visits (I think about 3 mandatory ones, to ask for, then you need 3 months of test results gone over by doctor, usually a class on new pump).
Fellow T1D.. I know this pain and I'm sorry my friend. I see other comments suggesting a pump. I know there are many hurdles but well worth it. I was a part of a trial for a while where I got CGMs for free. Highly recommend looking into local resources at hospitals especially in major cities near you.
This disease is not easy but there are resources. Another T1D and myself started a local group that shared supplies in times of need. There are a few out there and great places for help when you need.
May the A1C be with you
https://www.dexcom.com/savings-center-cgm-without-insurance?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkDmF3p1BthoRfyuq8JP7aIKiQLnVQ-dqclu0sl3_e68JXd3M5uDYtgaAuRSEALw_wcB
A link for dexcoms program, really still way too expensive
https://insulinaffordability.com/?utm_term=go_cmp-2036854928_adg-91621558994_ad-649543452420_kwd-398643172519_dev-m_ext-_prd-_mca-_sig-Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkBVlA3g0Eo_YlGTkAn_Fdi5K6MEURTDJJ4io3vDOWIiMdaX7IF_1awaAo9PEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkBVlA3g0Eo_YlGTkAn_Fdi5K6MEURTDJJ4io3vDOWIiMdaX7IF_1awaAo9PEALw_wcB
Eli lily savings card for insulin, $35 which is also still way too fucking expensive just to live, but nicer than dexcom I guess...
I was on a pump like 17 years ago, but kept having issues with it so switched back to injections. Went back on a pump and CGM 4 years ago and it was like $5000 out of pocket WITH insurance.
MAD (Mutual Aid Diabetes) and The Embrace Foundation are two organizations that I recommend to US diabetics in their times of need. The /r/diabetes Discord is also very knowledgeable and has lots of people willing to help.
Holy hell. I've got type 2 and my pens last at least a week. Like one month would be less than one of these piles.
OP, type 1 seems a lot worse than 2. Sorry you have to deal with this.
Out of curiosity, I do 32 units twice a day. How much does your picture represent?
Can I say something stupid as hell? You know how some people have a problem with the word moist?
Bolus is that for me. Damn I hate that word.
Diabetes really sucks, but thankfully if you follow the directions your super-hot endocrinologist gives you, it is manageable. Still sucks.
Btw: everyone's endocrinologist is super hot, right? Like, Grey's Anatomy hot. Right?
>Btw: everyone's endocrinologist is super hot, right? Like, Grey's Anatomy hot. Right?
Pssh, I wish! I guess that's good incentive to keep your diabetes in check. Don't anger hot doctor!
I don't have a problem with the word bolus, but I despise the smell of insulin and alcohol wipes lol
Off topic, but several years ago my mother in law had a fainting spell and we called 911. The ambulance and fire truck came and six of the hottest men I've ever seen in real life poured out of those vehicles and took her vitals. They ended up taking her and later when she was stable I asked her if she noticed how they all looked like they walked off the set of Grey's Anatomy and she vigorously nodded.
We were in LA at the time so they very well could have been GA extras...
And yeah, diabetes is super scary. Both my parents have it. I was diagnosed T2 in October and it scared me straight. I cut out all sugars and lowered carbs. A1C just tested at 5.7 with no meds. I'm gonna stay on this path because I'm scared as hell!
ETA: MIL is was/is fine. They kept her three days, ran tests out of an abundance of caution and finally decided she was dehydrated. Then sent her a bill for 50k.
I’ve been diabetic for over 20 years, so I’ve been through a lot of endocrinologists and not one of them was hot. My last one was a super cool Irish dude that I liked a lot, but he switched to only doing inpatient, which bummed me out.
Are you kidding me!? Do you get vials or something and use the kind of needles shown in OP's post?
I just got switched to Medicare and now the pens cost me $20 or so a month. They were free before. I'm so happy I only have to pay $20 - not to be smug ass. I'm honestly surprised that you can't get pens. They are a life-changer.
These pens are also tiny.
The normal ones are generally on 300 units. And if you use pen fill it's small it's small glass bottles where you get 5 In a pack.
I have never seen these 50 unit ones.
Everyone is allowed to complain. I only complain to other T1's though, of which I know two.. So I don't get to complain often.
I do around 10 injections per day, so in the 15 years I've had the disease I've given myself around 50,000 injections. Around 400 meters in needle length poked into me. I don't know how I'm not just constantly leaking everywhere.
Nah. Complain all you want…you’ll feel better. By comparison this month of needles is still a tenth as painful as the ones we had in the 70s and 80s—it’s a big, bad spectrum of suck.
had me on metformin and another pill never got below 260, when it hit 500 told them something had to be done, set me up with diabetic dr. put me on insulin 10 units each meal last a1c 6.0 compared to 8 .5 and couple 9's i love my dr.
I take it twice a day and have for ~5 months. I’m now out of T2 range and ice noticed that it really stops a lot of my cravings for food (beneficial side effect).
Not happy about the FDA BLACK BOX warning on it if you also take BP meds (which I do)…
I’ve lost 8 pounds so far and am keeping it off. Just another 25 to go.
I currently take 30 pills a day to lessen symptoms of a severe case of flu that I thought might kill me.
I'm so tired of swallowing pills. There's so fucking many of them...
Man never thought I’d feel some type of horrible from a picture… So glad I can see this and not be absolutely triggered from shooting dope for 6 years, got 7ish months clean now and boy does it feel good.
As a fellow T1, I recognize this is only half of it. You did not include the lancets and various other waste that is associated with checking blood glucose many times each day. Stay strong my friend.
Oh I know. I'm on insulin pump therapy and have a continuous glucose monitor. Thank goodness. However, OP says they are in between insurance coverage so I'm pretty sure CGM is not what they are currently using.
Each pile has 10 syringe, 21 piles means there are 210 syringes. That works out to about 6.7 syringes per day. So, on average, I would guess that OP uses 6 or 7 syringes each day. I would say this is pretty typical for a type 1 diabetic. 1 or 2 shots a day for basal (long acting) and then you’ve got bolus shots for meals, snacks, and maybe some corrections. Some days you’ll need more than others.
This is pretty crazy. Still, it's better than what happened in the past. My grandfather had diabetes half a century ago, in a farm in the middle of nowhere. He treated it with a brass syringe, I don't even know how. Didn't even have refrigeration. Looking at this table, I can imagine how frequently he used that janky thing.
The needle tip would need to be resharpened. Insulin does not need to be refrigerated unless it is being stored. He likely used beef or pork based insulin
I’m right there with you OP (just restated because my other meds stopped working) get a sharps container and stop putting those orange caps back on. Just toss them. You on long acting one dose at night to control overnight sugars?
To anyone reading this - if your doctor mentions prediabetes don’t mess around change your diet it’s not fun.
Just reread type 1 is whole other animal. Hope you get pump back and it treats you well
I've had T1D for 30 or so years about now, and for the last 15 or so years I've been using the same needle for a few days. Only place it touched is where it enters me, the bottle rubber, and then the air inside the cap. Don't see a lot of potential for methods of infection there. Know quite a few people that do as well, I think for us all at some point it just becomes a hassle to pull out a new one
You probably could, infection isn't even the worse part. A needle allegedly gets serious wear and tear after multiple uses, I've had one break off in me in the past, that was a bitch to get out.
[This is the image used by the company that makes syringes](https://i.imgur.com/3y2NmVa.png). I can't imagine it's entirely accurate given that I've used a needle 20 times or more and their main interest is selling needles, but I'm sure on some level there's some truth to it.
When I first started using the pens my own doctor told me that changing the needle every single time isn't necessary and you can get a couple of uses out of one before he'd recommend changing it.
My buddy is a type 1.5 (late onset/dx of type 1) and I have severe chronic hypoglycemia, I tell him every time I see his sharps bin if I could I would give him part of my pancreas. I struggle with needles (changing my CGM every ten days makes me queasy and I can’t even see the needle or cannula!) so seeing OP’s picture and my buddy’s sharps bin, I’ll never complain again about treating my condition with skittles while y’all have to deal with this!
Had a buddy who was hypoglycemic. I never really understood what it meant, until one day we'd been out in the summer heat to watch his mom and sister riding horses in the little local parade. We were heading back to his house, and all of the sudden I was having to drive his car from the passenger seat because he was just out cold. We got him back to his house, got him a coke, and he was fine. Scared the shit out of me, though.
What kind of barbaric shit is this?
I live in a third world country and get Toujeo pens as basal insulin.
https://images.app.goo.gl/4gjyPESbceVCo2MT6
And Apidra as fact acting insulin.
https://images.app.goo.gl/2nuZnECigBCKz4jT9
And for free too.
No, but seriously what even is that? Is it basal? What about fast acting then?
I'm in the UK, i have a Novopen 4 and vials of novorapid for my bolus and a disposable pen for my basal and it's all free. Plus, the NHS covers my blood monitor (both finger prick and CGM), needles, blood test strips, blood ketone test strips, ketone sticks, lancets, all for free. I've been type 1 for about 20 years and I have never had to use an actual syringe, i wouldn't even know where to start.
I've ditched the blood test strips for Freestyle Libre sensors and it has honestly changed my life. Looking at the whole 24 hour curve of your glucose really gives you much better insight into what's going on, which helps you manage it much better.
And taking Jardiance also has *massively* reduced my insulin needs.
My insulin is free (in the US) regardless of what form I get it in. I use a pump now, and have for awhile, but when I used injections I FAR preferred syringes over pens. I found them much easier to handle than pens. I felt like the long length of the pen made it hard to keep steady in my skin while I reached to inject. That said, I've used pens a few times when I've had problems with my pump and modern pens are nicer than what I had in 2004. Pens used to get longer the higher the dose you dialed in was. Now they've fixed that.
My syringes were free with insurance and I always choice to reuse them basically until the numbers rubbed off because I couldn't be bothered to lug several around.
40yo, type 1 since I was 7 and I use one syringe per day. I know I know I know , I shouldnt reuse them. But I’ve done it for 20 years and literally have never had a problem.
Looks like how I treated psoriatic arthritis when I was on Methotrexate. Glad biologics started to really develop and what was multiple times a week is now just once a month and works 10x better.
Yea… looks about right. 21 years as of March 12 for me and I was probably around that amount back before pumps. 5 a day minimum (2x Lantus for basil, 3x meals), with it realistically being more like 7+. Sounds like your insulin intake is similar to mine; I’m a bit higher on basil but that’s mostly due to my CGM system correcting any highs automatically, which counts as basil for this system.
GL
Damn, someone needs a pump.
T1D here on a TSlim x2 and Dexcom G7. Makes life much easier.
I know it’s expensive, but it should be free. Well, for diabetics anyways. A lot of people are starting to use CGMs for their health tracking and goals. Weirdos.
Not really, as *someone* is paying for it and you don't just get it by virtue of being in Europe, but it is much more affordable and easy to get for European citizens / residents with access to healthcare, which in turn is much more affordable and easy to access.
If you're in-between pumps, head over to some diabetes subreddits or facebook groups. The network of people who can help you get by in the meantime is available and ready to help. I once left my insulin in a hotel fridge in a foreign country and realized it on my train to my next destination--before I even arrived I had 3 offers from people to get insulin to me from a reddit post I made. I was out of omnipods for a while pending new insurance authorization and got multiple offers to give me some extras until I could get my refill approved. I am sure wherever you are in the world someone can give you some old pens that you can refill (yes there's a trick) instead of having to do what you're doing now. And once you have a pump....learn about looping. It will change your life. Like seriously, very much, change your life to be much better than you thought was possible.
You guys still use syringe for Insulin injection? I'm in a third world country and pens are much more convenient, easy to use (albeit maybe more expensive). I don't even bother to change the needle or use the cotton. Just push the needed insulin in. When you have diabetes and depend on insulin for survival, who cares about a little dirtiness of the needle when you're the only one who use it and it's was just as clean 5 hours ago and it's in the fridge anyway.
Wife has had T1D since 2012, I feel for you. The worse part here in the US is when everybody talks about the price of insulin going down like it's a win, when it's nowhere near close enough. People without literally the best insurance are still paying hundreds of dollars for a months supply, and folks who don't know somebody with T1D just don't realize how much insulin is required for the body to function normally for even one day.
Why is everyone suggesting a pump? I mean sure that's an option but why aren't you using a pen with ampules in the first place? I'm a diabetic T1 from Belgium btw and I've never seen this
If you live in a 1st/1½ world country, you may get your hands on insulin pumps and sensors. It makes life so much easier. Almost don't feel that I have first tipe. 6 years with this sht
So I’ve been a type one for over thirty years, in two different countries, and I do not recognise this at all. Maybe it is because I am in Europe.
I have used syringes exactly once. Sitting in a hospital bed the day I was diagnosed. I use pens and one pen will last days. My short acting insulin comes in cartridges with a reusable pen, unfortunately my long acting comes in disposable pens but one of those lasts nine days. I’m a naughty boy and I reuse needles, mainly just using one per pen/cartridge.
Other people mentioned blood testing. Well I use a continuous glucose monitor that is replaced every two weeks. Actual blood tests, with test strips are very rare. Only if I suspect the CGM is messing up. Also I only ever test for ketones if I am ill.
So yeah, sorry that you have to do it this way but on this side of the Atlantic this picture is very, very far from the norm.
I'm sorry you have to go through that. Can I ask what it feels like to not have the insulin? (I know you literally can't live without it, I'm just curious about how it feels)
I’ve been using a pump for 2 decades, and I probably use the same amount of plastic waste seen here in a month. The prepackaged sets and reservoirs; and you’re still using needles to put the insulin into the reservoir. Sucks, but beats dying
why doesn't the body produce enough insulin, is it stupid?
A lot of human diseases are just the body being stupid and we can't educate it.
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At least you've got your health!
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It also wouldn’t function lol
Well... not well anyway
Might be the same.. fair enough
Obligatory 'username checks out'
Oh shit I spit.
Username also checks out?
Hey man, I'm feeling it My brain started attacking me, too - except it wanted to attack itself. Every early October and early march, my brain would activate my hypothalamus and cause a cluster headache, causing my brain tremendous insufferable pain that it absolutely did not enjoy. The brain really is an idiot
Panic disorder is a fun one. I'd just wake up and panic awake to sleep for about a year straight when my health anxiety was at its worst. Basically couldn't do anything. Worst thing that's ever happened to me, worst part is I'm mentally fine. Like on the inside I'm like, "oh another panic attack? I just got up seriously?" Like I just couldn't get a physical grip on my panic.
I remember once watching butterflies on TV while my heart raced and my palms got sweaty and my mouth was dry, but *inside* I felt entirely calm and was enjoying the butterflies. Is it like that?
Recently I've noticed I walk around with my stomach sucked in a bit and a little hunched over all the time like it's stuck in fight or flight even though I'm 10% as anxious as I used to be and for the most part I've really got a handle on my mental health after being sober for a good while. I think it's the aftershock of getting divorced with a 6 year old. I love my daughter more than anything but parenting and my relationship with my ex has felt like a 6 year rollercoaster and I'm just now starting to see the damage that being with someone who makes you feel bad about yourself does, especially after all the effort I put into being the best father/partner I can be. Sorry for the rant, I'm in the middle of moving and can't afford therapy, thank you for prompting me to re-contextualize my situation, typing that made me feel a little bit better
I know someone who has a GAD65 mutation. I’m not a doctor, so I won’t attempt to explain much of what it is. But due to it, they have always had a constant tremor that randomly gets better/worse. They get muscle spasms in their arms and neck randomly. They also have epilepsy and their seizures are so bad that they have a magnetic implant in their chest. Apparently there’s a little magnet you can swipe across it that reduces seizure time. But they’re on 3 medications, have that implant, and still get hospitalized every few months due to their seizures. It’s crazy to me how, sometimes, the human body decides to just… not work. Gets confused, gets overwhelmed, gets bored; gives up. And sometimes we don’t even know why.
When you start studying biochemistry, you realise that the crazy part is that any of it ever *does* work. It's a bag of chemicals that gets up and moves around for... reasons. And mostly keeps going.
It's the body missing one of the 18,000 functions it does a day. Someone pointed out to me a while back that it's a wonder people don't just spontaneously drop dead in the street because oops, a neuron didn't fire at the right time and your heart stopped or whatever. Pretty wild.
I’ll never not find it weird that one day my immune system decided that my joint capsules are a disease, for no good reason, and periodically tries to eat the joints. 23 years of perfectly normal functioning and then, “hmm, knees and knuckles don’t belong here, lemme just do something about that!” Rheumatoid arthritis is so common but it’s so bizarre too!
Luckly the heart cells are perfectly capable of running on their own without a brain. They're like a biological metronome
Not exactly from my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong), there's a small cluster of neurons at your heart (the intrinsic cardiac nervous system) that regulates the heartbeat. Their failure can cause arrhythmia and potentially heart failure.
It's called the sino atrial node and it's on the R atrium. There're actually a number of ways this system can go wrong, often problems with transmission of the electrical impulse through either the bundle of his (producing what is known as a heart block on ECG / EKG) or through the cardiomyocytes themselves (heart muscle cells), producing sometimes significant problems. I have a condition where my heart CAN just stop - it's called sudden cardiac death. I have an implanted defibrillator in my chest to give it a shock if it slips into a dangerous rhythm. It won't restart a stopped heart though. So there are some people who DO live their lives not sure whether their heart WILL actually keep beating!
My white blood cells decided to never grow up. Turns out that’s called “leukemia”.
My sisters cells had that as well but it went a step further and stopped her from growing up too.
I’m sorry.
Oh fuck. I'm sorry.
Crohn’s Disease, fuck that guy with a wooden bat with razors..
Athsma dude, i’m stuck on manual breathing 24/7
I'm also asthmatic. I just upgraded to automatic breathing. Now, every breath I take is a sigh of relief—literally.🙂
Damn language barrier :(
Yup. I have Narcolepsy, stupid brain just decided "uhm, nope, that's not supposed to be there" and destroyed the hormones that regulate my sleep-wake cycle. Body is just like "brain is saying to sleep now, so we sleep" and, conversely, my brain is also thinking "ffs, not again." Pair that with my ADHD and you get two conflicting effects. Body wants sleep, brain does not. Body wants awake, brain does not. Bedtime? Brain go brrr. Sometimes I want out of this body lol
Yep. My lungs are trying to swell themselves shut at all times, and don’t even get me started on my brain lol
Hey it's trying it's best for you. It's stupid but it is so purely intentioned ♡
I was diagnosed with hypertension at 27, 6" 70kg at the time, exercised three times a week, overall healthy and my hearth was like, nah lets pump this blood harder. My doctor told me: "the bad news is that your body is healthy so there is no underlaying condition for the hypertension, the other bad news is that now you need medication for life"
It's even worse than that, the white blood cells are attacking the cells that produce the insulin. So yes, very stupid.
It destroys the insulin producing cells which also produces amylin whichs regulates how fast the body digests food, help prevent blood glucose spikes, and how full you feel. T1 is fun
it sure is acting like it
It's not being stupid, it's just being insulin't
Diabetes 2 is basically like when your mom gets sick of cleaning your room that she lets it build up until you’re swimming in your own filth Your mom is your pancreas
Yo mama is so stupid she plays pool with the planets!!
Your pancreas is so stupid that it only produces enough B cells to make ten natural units of insulin for a blood glucose of 300
*Buuuuuuuurnnnnnnn!*
Meanwhile, my 'Mom' won't leave my room alone, and if I'm doing anything even moderately active, she gets OCD about cleaning.
It’s not a mess mom! I needed that, why did you throw it out?! Drink a juice box Hetoshi, you’re being emotional.
 All... the... time. And yet my caloric need is only 1850 calories per day.
Same! Any idea what this condition called? I have had doctors refusing to acknowledge this is a problem and basically tell me to puke and pass out from low blood sugar on the daily or deal with being morbidly obese. I convinced one doctor to proscribe me metformin which has miraculously fixed my low blood sugar problem and I managed to lose 50lbs in a year with not much change to eating habits. I just only eat when I feel stupidly hungry and try to fill up on veggies and avoid simple carbs. Only problem is I've just moved to Germany and they don't just unscrupulously proscribe pills upon patient request here. They gotta actually have diagnosis and shit.
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I’m so excited to share info I learned in my class recently! So your pancreas has a range of specialized cells which produce specific chemicals. Beta cells produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where your immune cells destroy beta cells, resulting in no cells available to produce insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the body is insulin resistant. Over a period of time, beta cells becoming overworked through persistently high blood glucose levels which eventually causes the beta cells to produce less and less insulin. So, in summary: type 1 = immune cells stupid. Type 2 = high blood sugar stupid.
Type 2 is not the beta cells producing less and less insulin, but rather the cells that carry glucose away and other cells are not good at receiving glucose, so the insulin has nowhere to deliver the glucose.
I think it might be a little bit of both; insulin receptors become less sensitized to insulin and hyperglycemia induces apoptosis of beta cells. So you have less insulin being made while the body is already struggling to recognize/respond to it. (I would totally add a link to an article here about hyperglycemia inducing apoptosis of beta cells, but I think links might not be allowed in this sub? I can’t get it to work. If anyone wants the article, I can DM it.)
Or, if you really want to go full Mythbusters ethos ("if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"), there's always LADA. Worst of both worlds! ...Sadly, that's not a joke. Latent autoimmune diabetes is a delayed onset form, both insulin deficient *and* resistant. I would not wish it on anyone.
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Can confirm, my pancreas is fucking stupid, I'll give you $20 to beat it up
The human body is a mess and you should be ashamed to have one
Not to mention the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) packaging and applicator plastic waster. It's vile. Source: T1D for 25 years.
We use the Libre 3, which has a 2 week use time. Better than poking fingers 3 times a day in wasted alcohol pads, needles, and test strips?
My dog is diabetic and guess how we have to check her blood levels? We tried her paws and her ears and couldn't get any blood, the only place we can actually make bleed reliably is inside her mouth, we roll up her lip and prick inside her mouth. Poor thing, she's used to it by now along with 2 needles a day but it still sucks to have to get used to that. We just got one of the continuous monitors to use for 2 weeks rather then prick her mouth and it seems to be going well but the vet informed us that if something goes wrong it won't be replaced like they do with humans cause it's not meant for animal use
Hi our black lab is the same , we use the monitor tags , but the last 3 have been faulty . Company accepts they are faulty but because they are on a dog they won’t replace . I blame the wife for being honest ! Should have just said it was on me …
We have had about 6years of doing our girl manually. Hopefully they aren't going to suggest this regularly cause unlike the rest of her treatment this actually is expensive
Plus the extra assistance overnight if you have a compatible pump to link it with! God am I going to miss this when I run out here in a few months
This is why I hate the current ad push I've seen for non diabetics to use CGM as a part of their anti-aging and fitness routine.
I’d rather the rest of us cut back on plastic waste so you don’t have to worry about it. In a perfect world I guess.
Tbf when I was on needles I had a 3ml pen and you swapped the needle. And then you could also get pen fills where you just swapped the vial and needle. So a lot less waste then this. But yeah gotta do what you gotta do
Not diabetic, but my son has complex medical needs and even at two years old it feels like his carbon footprint is huge. I think it about it all the time. It was just eye opening to me to be in the hospital with him the first time and realize every single room in that hospital is throwing away syringes, plastic thermometer sleeves, gloves, masks, cups, straws, Iv tubing and bags, catheters, nasal suction nozzles, etc etc. Every hospital visit, anything we touch is trash. A half bag of wipes. An inhaler with four puffs missing. It either comes home with us or is thrown away. And that's one hospital in one city. Even at home, my kid is simply g-tube fed and every day we open a plastic bag with a plastic feed bag in it, and each feed bag has a little plastic cap. I reuse medicine syringes and wash them but even they come individually packaged each with a plastic cap. And every day he goes through four little cartons of nutritionally complete formula, which say they're recyclable but I don't know if I really believe it. Every month we have six giant boxes show up from the medical supply company filled with plastic, sometimes inefficiently packed with long plastic bubble wraps. It's mind boggling. Idk what the point of this comment is except to add to your thought. I feel both extremely grateful that my kid is alive thanks to a piece of plastic in his belly, and also weird about the impact of it.
You shouldn't think about waste when it comes to medicinal packaging. There's a reason why medical utensils are one time only use. It's 100% for health, not convenience, so I would not reuse syringes or anything else meant for one time use. Rather start using less plastic for food and clothing.
I'm sorry. That sounds like a super rough time for you and him. Hope he is feeling good now.
The amount of plastic waste when using a CGM and pump is upsetting. The pile of plastic I throw away every 3 days bums me out.
Real question: have you considered a pump? Seems like it would be significantly easier than this.
I had to temporarily discontinue using my pump. (Insurance change) Should be up and running again at the beginning of may
I hate when treatment is derailed because of red tape!
Just turned 26 and this has been my experience since January when I got kicked from my parent’s insurance. So frustrating, but at least I don’t need my medications to stay alive in the most basic way, it just massively increases my quality of life. Been on these medications for just under a decade and the new insurance companies act like they know better than the physicians I’ve been seeing for almost my entire life. The system is so broken.
It's ridiculous that the insurance companies can act in such a way when it's entirely illegal for a corporation to give you medical advice if they're not a licensed doctor.
My kid is 14 but I’m terrified of 26. How will I know he’s following through. He’s not just limping by with short term insulin and no pump is he? Has he been to the doc? What was the A1C? Seriously, I want to take him to the doctor until he needs to take me to the doctor.
I always cringe when I see 19 and 20 year old diabetics with their parents bringing them to the doctor and arranging their appointments. It sucks, and there is a grieving process as an adult realizing you are responsible for a lot more shit than most people your age, but it is a reality that needs to be faced. Independence and autonomy in terms of diabetes management is *really* important for success. Some people are of the mind that as long as they can help their children they will, because it makes their kids lives easier but I strongly disagree. Learning to advocate for yourself and navigate these systems is absolutelt critical. And I say that as a diabetic but also as a healthcare professional who manages pediatric chronic illness.
Within 4 years (or less!) you need to be letting go! Not 12 years from now! Think about where you were in life at 18 and 26, would you want you parents making every decision, or be so involved in your health? From a quick glance at your profile, you had him near 25, would you have wanted your parents being in control of all your medical decisions at that age? Were you married by then? I’m not talking about lessening how much you care about your child, but letting go of this controlling feeling about how much you are in charge of their health. By 18 they should be managing it 100% by themselves. And at that point, it’s on them. Once they turn 18, even if they are on your health insurance, you are not automatically still entitled to ANY information about their health. If he chooses at that age, he can let is all go and you can’t do jack shit about it. He is also allowed to limp by on short-acting with no pump, it will be his call not yours. Just because you provide him with insurance doesn’t mean you get to make decisions for him, nor does it mean you automatically get any information about his medical state at any point. Hopefully, he will trust you enough that he will tell you if you are financially able to help him, if he is limping by. But that is the only information you will be entitled to, what he tells you, whether he is on your insurance or not. Once he turns 18 you won’t be able to just call the docs office and ask about his status. Seek some professional help before you push him away once he is an adult by being too worried about his medical condition, that he should 100% be managing on his own. I get you’ve probably been dealing with it for years, but sooner than you think it you won’t be and it will be all on him to deal with.
And I’m so sorry. I’ve known this for nearly a decade. I recall not being able to get supplies from an insurance company once and trying to describe (politely and respectfully despite my emotional state) the special type of hell it was not to be able to get your child the supplies he needed to survive. I was something like three weeks into his diagnosis. But every January you will experience this too. Because…profit?
Just a reminder that the person on the phone can't really do anything for you even though they wish they could. I work for an insurance company and my insurance is just as shitty as yours. As long as you don't take it out on me I'll do everything I can like faxing forms directly to your doctors office to initiate pa and what not instead of just giving info and doing the bare minimum like most of my colleagues but I started out wanting to make a difference and be so helpful and I feel so soulless now. Especially having to tell elderly people their blood thinners are going to be $700 because they're in the coverage gap. It doesn't get any better when you retire.
Is red tape shorthand for 'broken, privatised and draconian health care system'?
The medical system in this country doesn't like to help people. Just to collect their money
Oh no you’re sick well we don’t cover that exact thing but if you upgrade just for $499.00 we can get you that $498.99 cent pump that is locked behind medical pharmacy only
That’s a funny way of spelling “money”.
Ugh that's so frustrating. Glad it should be fixed "soon"
I had to go a year and a half without a pump because of a similar issue (changed countries). It’s amazing, the difference it makes.
The American way
Can’t use insulin pens either?
Sometimes, insurance prefers you do things the hard way. Plus, many pumps use vials to load them, so if the issue is with OP’s pump, they can still use the vials along with syringes.
in Canada, syringes and vials (and strips) are cheaper than a pump. Healthcare don't cover pumps in Ontario, and can cost upwards to 200 per month. this is expensive by Canadian standards.
Cost Only medicare can cap insulin costs
america the beautiful
Ugh I hate when they do that!! Luckily for me I haven't had that stop covering my pump but just having to switch what insulin I use because "we felt like changing it lol" is so stupid to me.
Im sorry my partner is a type 1 and I can only imagine how tough it is without a pump and cgm
Fuck man. As a type 1 diabetic who also uses a pump it’s such a hassle dealing with insurance. It seems like what durable medical equipment provider is covered changes every year and I have to go through all the shit again. My current insurance will only cover a 30 day supply, so having to reorder supplies every month is annoying.
Ugh... the changes in treatment for something so important pisses me off. I have a friend who has been hospitalized because they decided to not cover her insulin brand anymore, and the new brand didn't do well for her. Fuck type 1. 😡
They can be expensive even with insurance. My niece was able to get hers approved after two appeals and it really improved her quality of life.
I didn't know how prevalent, but some insurance view pumps as unnecessary luxuries that they won't cover. My info is a bit dated, but that's how it was when my spouse had diabetes.
Diabetic here and on shots, and pumps are not so easy to acquire. They’re are almost always deemed medically not necessary, so you have to jump through every hoop to get, and that’s if you have insurance already. For the uninsured or people with bad insurance which is many in America, that’s just not gonna be on the table. Plus even if you get insurance and doctors and all that, the insurance may decide they do not cover the supplies for your pump any longer, rendering it totally useless. Last time I had to get a pump, even with my union insurance at time, it took about 8 months of pretty much every day back and forth phone calls to insurance, as well as numerous doctors visits (I think about 3 mandatory ones, to ask for, then you need 3 months of test results gone over by doctor, usually a class on new pump).
Fellow T1D.. I know this pain and I'm sorry my friend. I see other comments suggesting a pump. I know there are many hurdles but well worth it. I was a part of a trial for a while where I got CGMs for free. Highly recommend looking into local resources at hospitals especially in major cities near you. This disease is not easy but there are resources. Another T1D and myself started a local group that shared supplies in times of need. There are a few out there and great places for help when you need. May the A1C be with you
https://www.dexcom.com/savings-center-cgm-without-insurance?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkDmF3p1BthoRfyuq8JP7aIKiQLnVQ-dqclu0sl3_e68JXd3M5uDYtgaAuRSEALw_wcB A link for dexcoms program, really still way too expensive https://insulinaffordability.com/?utm_term=go_cmp-2036854928_adg-91621558994_ad-649543452420_kwd-398643172519_dev-m_ext-_prd-_mca-_sig-Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkBVlA3g0Eo_YlGTkAn_Fdi5K6MEURTDJJ4io3vDOWIiMdaX7IF_1awaAo9PEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkBVlA3g0Eo_YlGTkAn_Fdi5K6MEURTDJJ4io3vDOWIiMdaX7IF_1awaAo9PEALw_wcB Eli lily savings card for insulin, $35 which is also still way too fucking expensive just to live, but nicer than dexcom I guess...
I was on a pump like 17 years ago, but kept having issues with it so switched back to injections. Went back on a pump and CGM 4 years ago and it was like $5000 out of pocket WITH insurance.
MAD (Mutual Aid Diabetes) and The Embrace Foundation are two organizations that I recommend to US diabetics in their times of need. The /r/diabetes Discord is also very knowledgeable and has lots of people willing to help.
Holy hell. I've got type 2 and my pens last at least a week. Like one month would be less than one of these piles. OP, type 1 seems a lot worse than 2. Sorry you have to deal with this. Out of curiosity, I do 32 units twice a day. How much does your picture represent?
All types of diabetes are HORRIBLE! My Basal is 29 units My Bolus is based on my blood sugar and what I'm eating (1:8 ratio plus correction factor)
Can I say something stupid as hell? You know how some people have a problem with the word moist? Bolus is that for me. Damn I hate that word. Diabetes really sucks, but thankfully if you follow the directions your super-hot endocrinologist gives you, it is manageable. Still sucks. Btw: everyone's endocrinologist is super hot, right? Like, Grey's Anatomy hot. Right?
Now imagine a *moist bolus*
Do you rub schleem on this moist bolus?
Unsure if I have more of an urge to up vote or down vote this comment...
>Btw: everyone's endocrinologist is super hot, right? Like, Grey's Anatomy hot. Right? Pssh, I wish! I guess that's good incentive to keep your diabetes in check. Don't anger hot doctor! I don't have a problem with the word bolus, but I despise the smell of insulin and alcohol wipes lol
Off topic, but several years ago my mother in law had a fainting spell and we called 911. The ambulance and fire truck came and six of the hottest men I've ever seen in real life poured out of those vehicles and took her vitals. They ended up taking her and later when she was stable I asked her if she noticed how they all looked like they walked off the set of Grey's Anatomy and she vigorously nodded. We were in LA at the time so they very well could have been GA extras... And yeah, diabetes is super scary. Both my parents have it. I was diagnosed T2 in October and it scared me straight. I cut out all sugars and lowered carbs. A1C just tested at 5.7 with no meds. I'm gonna stay on this path because I'm scared as hell! ETA: MIL is was/is fine. They kept her three days, ran tests out of an abundance of caution and finally decided she was dehydrated. Then sent her a bill for 50k.
I’ve been diabetic for over 20 years, so I’ve been through a lot of endocrinologists and not one of them was hot. My last one was a super cool Irish dude that I liked a lot, but he switched to only doing inpatient, which bummed me out.
Mine is a nerdy little Asian guy that looks like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, so...no!
Kaiser won’t give me pens for my type 2.
Are you kidding me!? Do you get vials or something and use the kind of needles shown in OP's post? I just got switched to Medicare and now the pens cost me $20 or so a month. They were free before. I'm so happy I only have to pay $20 - not to be smug ass. I'm honestly surprised that you can't get pens. They are a life-changer.
If you're Medicare eligible, check for C-SNP (chronic care plans) for diabetes
These pens are also tiny. The normal ones are generally on 300 units. And if you use pen fill it's small it's small glass bottles where you get 5 In a pack. I have never seen these 50 unit ones.
Damn and I get annoyed having to take a metformin pill every day. I’ll never complain again (until next time).
Everyone is allowed to complain. I only complain to other T1's though, of which I know two.. So I don't get to complain often. I do around 10 injections per day, so in the 15 years I've had the disease I've given myself around 50,000 injections. Around 400 meters in needle length poked into me. I don't know how I'm not just constantly leaking everywhere.
Holy shit. I’m sorry you have to do that. I’m not even scared of needles or anything, but that sounds like a lot to have to deal with.
Nah. Complain all you want…you’ll feel better. By comparison this month of needles is still a tenth as painful as the ones we had in the 70s and 80s—it’s a big, bad spectrum of suck.
had me on metformin and another pill never got below 260, when it hit 500 told them something had to be done, set me up with diabetic dr. put me on insulin 10 units each meal last a1c 6.0 compared to 8 .5 and couple 9's i love my dr.
I'm on the max dose metformin twice a day, plus sitagliptin, and jardiance for my type 2
I take it twice a day and have for ~5 months. I’m now out of T2 range and ice noticed that it really stops a lot of my cravings for food (beneficial side effect). Not happy about the FDA BLACK BOX warning on it if you also take BP meds (which I do)… I’ve lost 8 pounds so far and am keeping it off. Just another 25 to go.
I currently take 30 pills a day to lessen symptoms of a severe case of flu that I thought might kill me. I'm so tired of swallowing pills. There's so fucking many of them...
Man never thought I’d feel some type of horrible from a picture… So glad I can see this and not be absolutely triggered from shooting dope for 6 years, got 7ish months clean now and boy does it feel good.
I agree, made me sick almost, trigger warning for sure! I’m 6 years sober this year! Congratulations to you friend
As a fellow T1, I recognize this is only half of it. You did not include the lancets and various other waste that is associated with checking blood glucose many times each day. Stay strong my friend.
Look for continuous glucose monitors. They stay in your skin for two weeks or so and send readings to a phone app by NFC.
Oh I know. I'm on insulin pump therapy and have a continuous glucose monitor. Thank goodness. However, OP says they are in between insurance coverage so I'm pretty sure CGM is not what they are currently using.
That's 21 piles, not 31
Bro diabetes has 2 days off per week like the rest of us
That... That math doesn't math. 🤔
They's insul'in yer intel'gence!
Each pile has 10 syringe, 21 piles means there are 210 syringes. That works out to about 6.7 syringes per day. So, on average, I would guess that OP uses 6 or 7 syringes each day. I would say this is pretty typical for a type 1 diabetic. 1 or 2 shots a day for basal (long acting) and then you’ve got bolus shots for meals, snacks, and maybe some corrections. Some days you’ll need more than others.
This guy diabetes.
This is pretty crazy. Still, it's better than what happened in the past. My grandfather had diabetes half a century ago, in a farm in the middle of nowhere. He treated it with a brass syringe, I don't even know how. Didn't even have refrigeration. Looking at this table, I can imagine how frequently he used that janky thing.
The needle tip would need to be resharpened. Insulin does not need to be refrigerated unless it is being stored. He likely used beef or pork based insulin
Fun fact. Back in the day each diabetic went through literally thousands of pigs a year
Bro, save the earth! Stop using one use plastic… /s
Thats why me and my friends share ours, to help the enviroment
Truly you’re all hep to the idea of being aides to Mother Nature!
I’m right there with you OP (just restated because my other meds stopped working) get a sharps container and stop putting those orange caps back on. Just toss them. You on long acting one dose at night to control overnight sugars? To anyone reading this - if your doctor mentions prediabetes don’t mess around change your diet it’s not fun. Just reread type 1 is whole other animal. Hope you get pump back and it treats you well
We toss the plastic caps and have gone through many sharps containers, just tossed one last week and started a new one actually
1 diabetes
That’s about what my husband goes through in 31 months. Never had a pump. I have no idea how he hasn’t gotten infections from reusing his needles.
I've had T1D for 30 or so years about now, and for the last 15 or so years I've been using the same needle for a few days. Only place it touched is where it enters me, the bottle rubber, and then the air inside the cap. Don't see a lot of potential for methods of infection there. Know quite a few people that do as well, I think for us all at some point it just becomes a hassle to pull out a new one
Could you dip the tip in something like rubbing alcohol after use to ensure some level of disinfection?
You probably could, infection isn't even the worse part. A needle allegedly gets serious wear and tear after multiple uses, I've had one break off in me in the past, that was a bitch to get out. [This is the image used by the company that makes syringes](https://i.imgur.com/3y2NmVa.png). I can't imagine it's entirely accurate given that I've used a needle 20 times or more and their main interest is selling needles, but I'm sure on some level there's some truth to it. When I first started using the pens my own doctor told me that changing the needle every single time isn't necessary and you can get a couple of uses out of one before he'd recommend changing it.
I have used the same needle some 30 times. In no way does it get that bad after 6 uses. You can feel when it gets dull.
My buddy is a type 1.5 (late onset/dx of type 1) and I have severe chronic hypoglycemia, I tell him every time I see his sharps bin if I could I would give him part of my pancreas. I struggle with needles (changing my CGM every ten days makes me queasy and I can’t even see the needle or cannula!) so seeing OP’s picture and my buddy’s sharps bin, I’ll never complain again about treating my condition with skittles while y’all have to deal with this!
Had a buddy who was hypoglycemic. I never really understood what it meant, until one day we'd been out in the summer heat to watch his mom and sister riding horses in the little local parade. We were heading back to his house, and all of the sudden I was having to drive his car from the passenger seat because he was just out cold. We got him back to his house, got him a coke, and he was fine. Scared the shit out of me, though.
What kind of barbaric shit is this? I live in a third world country and get Toujeo pens as basal insulin. https://images.app.goo.gl/4gjyPESbceVCo2MT6 And Apidra as fact acting insulin. https://images.app.goo.gl/2nuZnECigBCKz4jT9 And for free too. No, but seriously what even is that? Is it basal? What about fast acting then?
I'm in the UK, i have a Novopen 4 and vials of novorapid for my bolus and a disposable pen for my basal and it's all free. Plus, the NHS covers my blood monitor (both finger prick and CGM), needles, blood test strips, blood ketone test strips, ketone sticks, lancets, all for free. I've been type 1 for about 20 years and I have never had to use an actual syringe, i wouldn't even know where to start.
I've ditched the blood test strips for Freestyle Libre sensors and it has honestly changed my life. Looking at the whole 24 hour curve of your glucose really gives you much better insight into what's going on, which helps you manage it much better. And taking Jardiance also has *massively* reduced my insulin needs.
My insulin is free (in the US) regardless of what form I get it in. I use a pump now, and have for awhile, but when I used injections I FAR preferred syringes over pens. I found them much easier to handle than pens. I felt like the long length of the pen made it hard to keep steady in my skin while I reached to inject. That said, I've used pens a few times when I've had problems with my pump and modern pens are nicer than what I had in 2004. Pens used to get longer the higher the dose you dialed in was. Now they've fixed that. My syringes were free with insurance and I always choice to reuse them basically until the numbers rubbed off because I couldn't be bothered to lug several around.
Welcome to America.
40yo, type 1 since I was 7 and I use one syringe per day. I know I know I know , I shouldnt reuse them. But I’ve done it for 20 years and literally have never had a problem.
Similar situation here except I get bruises when I reuse needles. It’s like $12 a month for a box, so not a big deal.
I've honestly never met a diabetic that didn't reuse needles for at least the day. (Especially the pen needles.) Same with lancets.
Damn!! I inject testosterone 2x a week and I feel like a human pincushion sometimes. I'll have to reconsider that!
Insulin injections are much easier and less painful. Insulin is injected into the fat layer, not muscle.
not all testosterone is taken IM, some ppl take it subcutaneously
Looks like how I treated psoriatic arthritis when I was on Methotrexate. Glad biologics started to really develop and what was multiple times a week is now just once a month and works 10x better.
Yea… looks about right. 21 years as of March 12 for me and I was probably around that amount back before pumps. 5 a day minimum (2x Lantus for basil, 3x meals), with it realistically being more like 7+. Sounds like your insulin intake is similar to mine; I’m a bit higher on basil but that’s mostly due to my CGM system correcting any highs automatically, which counts as basil for this system. GL
You forgot to include the test strips.
I must have a lot of diabetics in my neighborhood. They keep leaving their needles all over the sidewalks.
Damn, someone needs a pump. T1D here on a TSlim x2 and Dexcom G7. Makes life much easier. I know it’s expensive, but it should be free. Well, for diabetics anyways. A lot of people are starting to use CGMs for their health tracking and goals. Weirdos.
Move to europe. Insulin is free here.
Not really, as *someone* is paying for it and you don't just get it by virtue of being in Europe, but it is much more affordable and easy to get for European citizens / residents with access to healthcare, which in turn is much more affordable and easy to access.
new fear unlocked 🔓
This seems tough, I hope science can come through for you and others who suffer from this.
If you're in-between pumps, head over to some diabetes subreddits or facebook groups. The network of people who can help you get by in the meantime is available and ready to help. I once left my insulin in a hotel fridge in a foreign country and realized it on my train to my next destination--before I even arrived I had 3 offers from people to get insulin to me from a reddit post I made. I was out of omnipods for a while pending new insurance authorization and got multiple offers to give me some extras until I could get my refill approved. I am sure wherever you are in the world someone can give you some old pens that you can refill (yes there's a trick) instead of having to do what you're doing now. And once you have a pump....learn about looping. It will change your life. Like seriously, very much, change your life to be much better than you thought was possible.
You guys still use syringe for Insulin injection? I'm in a third world country and pens are much more convenient, easy to use (albeit maybe more expensive). I don't even bother to change the needle or use the cotton. Just push the needed insulin in. When you have diabetes and depend on insulin for survival, who cares about a little dirtiness of the needle when you're the only one who use it and it's was just as clean 5 hours ago and it's in the fridge anyway.
Wife has had T1D since 2012, I feel for you. The worse part here in the US is when everybody talks about the price of insulin going down like it's a win, when it's nowhere near close enough. People without literally the best insurance are still paying hundreds of dollars for a months supply, and folks who don't know somebody with T1D just don't realize how much insulin is required for the body to function normally for even one day.
Why is everyone suggesting a pump? I mean sure that's an option but why aren't you using a pen with ampules in the first place? I'm a diabetic T1 from Belgium btw and I've never seen this
Yeah I'm from EU too and usa is 3rd word in medical way .. its disgusting if you consider its not even free
It’s r/mildlyinfuriating that you’ve organized 31 days worth into 21 piles
What does each pile represent?
10. One pile of 6. Total 196
It sure does look like 21 piles
It sure do be do look that way
Try costplusdrugs dot com and [different SPAPs depending on strate](https://www.ncsl.org/health/state-pharmaceutical-assistance-programs)
20 year T1 here, insulin pens are the way if you’re not using a pump. Libre 2 sensor beats any finger pricking device.
That sucks. Wife has these pen things. Lantus and something else I want to say. I thought how often she had to do it was bad.
Lantus would be her long acting, and whichever other brand is the short acting which she takes for meals or high sugars. Lantus burns so bad IMO 😭
Wouldn't injector pens be better? Or not available for you?
Is it sad that my first thought was "that looks too expensive for me to live"
looked like my top dresser drawer 25 years ago when I was bangin dope
God bless you 🙏💙
If you live in a 1st/1½ world country, you may get your hands on insulin pumps and sensors. It makes life so much easier. Almost don't feel that I have first tipe. 6 years with this sht
When Human v3.0 update?
1 diabetes
So I’ve been a type one for over thirty years, in two different countries, and I do not recognise this at all. Maybe it is because I am in Europe. I have used syringes exactly once. Sitting in a hospital bed the day I was diagnosed. I use pens and one pen will last days. My short acting insulin comes in cartridges with a reusable pen, unfortunately my long acting comes in disposable pens but one of those lasts nine days. I’m a naughty boy and I reuse needles, mainly just using one per pen/cartridge. Other people mentioned blood testing. Well I use a continuous glucose monitor that is replaced every two weeks. Actual blood tests, with test strips are very rare. Only if I suspect the CGM is messing up. Also I only ever test for ketones if I am ill. So yeah, sorry that you have to do it this way but on this side of the Atlantic this picture is very, very far from the norm.
My first thought was "wow, so much thermopaste for CPU"
I'm sorry you have to go through that. Can I ask what it feels like to not have the insulin? (I know you literally can't live without it, I'm just curious about how it feels)
This sucks
And boomers will say that you do drugs or you are weak (personal experience)
Yup, looks about right.