I shouldn't have to choose between having money or healthcare

[elizabethc]

@katesierra I don't think you even need to lie; don't some state medicaid programs supplement your normal employer provided insurance if you have some sort of physical problem that require tons healthcare costs?

 

[shawn777]

@pawnshopguy Hi I have a couple suggestions about dealing with diabetes in general and trying to save; I don't know about the best insurance or more money making though.

Tip 1: Everyone's body is different but I've been able to cut back on my intake of short term insulin by switching to a low carb ("keto"- esque if you will) diet. This reduces the amount of short term I have to take at each meal. I don't buy "keto" products, I use the money I save by not having to re-up on the short term to buy more eggs, Quinoa instead of rice. Basically google the keto equivalent or best option of the food. I make my own keto buns, etc etc.

I've been able to save on two prescriptions worth of short term insulin by doing this , increasing vegetables and regular exercise to control blood sugar levels.

Tip 2: Manufacture programs. If you are taking a name brand sometimes the manufacturer will send you coupons in the mail if you sign up using a program online.
I can't be too specific about this as they are all differ and hard to find sometimes which brings me to...

Tip 3: Walmart. Recently Walmart has rolled out insulin and it's much cheaper there. For some versions you don't need a prescription which saves on doctor bills/copay.

Let's say fantastically: if your body accepts it well- you can buy a vial at $20 with no drs note at Walmart and if you eat very low carb you might be able to get away with no short term insulin if you time your meals right or only eat once a day.

This can be $20 -$40 month for insulin after you are able to know how your body reacts to insulin and certain foods.

Honestly without a doctor it does suck and I've done a lot of damage to my body having to experiment with different insulins and timings plus the expense of all the blood testing supplies but in my experience it came down to knowing what I can eat and when.

TLDR:
Vegetables + meat or plants - bread and carbs = less insulin consumed = less money spent

Brand name insulin? Check the site for deals and coupons

Walmart. Can get a vial for $20 bucks.

Find your balance between insulin, timing, and food as quickly as you can to maximize savings.

Ps: price compare cgm to blood testing materials. Cgm will help you out a lot. If the price monthly will be around same I suggest a cgm cause you can sometimes find tricks to help them go longer without spending more and they will help you find the balance MUCH more quickly.

Hope any of this helps.

 

[pawnshopguy]

@shawn777 Thanks for all the info. It's great stuff. Im on a keto diet it's just so expensive to get healthy. And what do you eat for lows? Thank for the info!!!! Are you type one or two? What insluin brand are u on? Do u find some work better than others? Have you ever been on a pump?

 

[shawn777]

@pawnshopguy It's definitely more expensive to the point where the frequency of eating probably decreases- although with diabetes being as consistent with meals and insulin times as possible. Fortunately this works out for me by eating once a day.

I'm type one. Typical shopping for me is lots of eggs, sometimes lentils don't spike my sugar and those are cheap, lots of frozen broccoli-
Very cheap dark meat/frozen meat/chicken.

With cutting out snacks the groceries come out to about even to what I would spend before but to make it last I eat less.

For lows I try to keep fruit on hand, raisins, a super old bag of brown sugar, chocolate chips.

I've tried most insulins at this point so I know generally how to dose whatever I land with . Like I said I've experimented a lot. And it will be different for you.

Some insulins just flat out didn't work for me .
Never had a pump by the time I had insurance to get one I had completed the process below enough to know what insulins I could survive on.

What I did was save up for one endo appt and have them script the insulins they thought would work best + grab all the free samples they could give me, and then figure out how to get those cheaper, experiment with eating and blood tests until I was somewhat controlled.

Name brand has always worked better for me but I couldn't afford it.
Tbh the Walmart vial can be made to work for me it just takes either more or less depending on what I eat and I definitely have to time it.

I wish I could help more but diabetes is such a personalized experience that is basically: Do what you can with the money and resources you have to control the blood sugars that you may or may not be able to test.

 

[resjudicata]

@pawnshopguy Check online for discount coupons from your drug manufacturers. Look the manufacturers up on the internet and see if they have low-income plans in your are, many do. If you didn't have insurance for your hospital stay, call the hospital financial division and ask if they have plans for low income people. If not, ask about lowering your bill to the selfpay level, usually quite a bit lower. Ask for an itemized bill then go through it and make sure they didn't double charge you.

 

[lagopus]

@pawnshopguy Wait did I read that correctly? Did you say you got diabetes because you went into a coma ?

 

[pawnshopguy]

@lagopus My body went into a comma because my pancreas stop working and my blood sugar went to 957. I was on life support.