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I'm not up on my insulin prices, as I'm not a diabetic, but I thought I'd check GoodRx for prices in Ramsey, MN. The ZIP Code is 55303, in case you want to do it.
For the Humulins, it's $96.75 per vial. For Novolog, $448 for 5 pens, $232 for a vial. Humalog 50/50 or 75/25 is $327.44 for 5 pens, $178 for a vial. Lantus is $199 a vial.
You might be able to get an older insulin cheaply at Walmart, but that doesn't mean it will be appropriate for your diabetes. It's what we used to get for our diabetic cat, actually. If I recall correctly, it was Humulin, and it was really cheap.
Maybe I'm just cheap (genetically -- I'm the grandson of a Midwest farmer) but I have to wonder why mainstream pharmacies charge twice to four times as much as Walmart for exactly the same medicine, from the same supplier. Humulin is Eli Lilly's brand; Novolin, Novo Nordisk. They use different processes but the result is exactly the same. It has to be, to pass FDA standards. There is no "cheap" version sold at Walmart. If your doctor prescribes Novolin N, for example, it doesn't matter where you buy it. In fact, it shouldn't matter if you use Humulin N, instead.
Lantus is a lot more expensive, but I seriously doubt it costs any more to produce.
If you are getting high and low blood sugar symptoms, the first thing to adjust is your food intake. Yes, you can eat a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream, but you'd better take a shot of Humalog first.
My country cousins used to get their penicillin from Tractor Supply. If it was good enough for their cows, it was good enough for them.
Disclaimer: I am not a physician. My advice is worth exactly what you pay for it.
Maybe I'm just cheap (genetically -- I'm the grandson of a Midwest farmer) but I have to wonder why mainstream pharmacies charge twice to four times as much as Walmart for exactly the same medicine, from the same supplier. Humulin is Eli Lilly's brand; Novolin, Novo Nordisk. They use different processes but the result is exactly the same. It has to be, to pass FDA standards. There is no "cheap" version sold at Walmart. If your doctor prescribes Novolin N, for example, it doesn't matter where you buy it. In fact, it shouldn't matter if you use Humulin N, instead.
Lantus is a lot more expensive, but I seriously doubt it costs any more to produce.
If you are getting high and low blood sugar symptoms, the first thing to adjust is your food intake. Yes, you can eat a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream, but you'd better take a shot of Humalog first.
My country cousins used to get their penicillin from Tractor Supply. If it was good enough for their cows, it was good enough for them.
Disclaimer: I am not a physician. My advice is worth exactly what you pay for it.
Walmart gets meds cheaper because they have a ton of pharmacies and can set the price accordingly. My meds are different prices depending on where I go and how much product runs thru their store
Maybe I'm just cheap (genetically -- I'm the grandson of a Midwest farmer) but I have to wonder why mainstream pharmacies charge twice to four times as much as Walmart for exactly the same medicine, from the same supplier. Humulin is Eli Lilly's brand; Novolin, Novo Nordisk. They use different processes but the result is exactly the same. It has to be, to pass FDA standards. There is no "cheap" version sold at Walmart. If your doctor prescribes Novolin N, for example, it doesn't matter where you buy it. In fact, it shouldn't matter if you use Humulin N, instead.
Lantus is a lot more expensive, but I seriously doubt it costs any more to produce.
If you are getting high and low blood sugar symptoms, the first thing to adjust is your food intake. Yes, you can eat a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream, but you'd better take a shot of Humalog first.
My country cousins used to get their penicillin from Tractor Supply. If it was good enough for their cows, it was good enough for them.
Disclaimer: I am not a physician. My advice is worth exactly what you pay for it.
Price differences are really all about negotiating power. As an enormous retailer, Walmart has a lot of power over vendor pricing. Insulin is CHEAP to produce; the high prices are nothing more than profiteering at the cost of people's lives and health.
As a non-diabetic, I'm glad this is one thing I don't have to worry about, though I do watch my carb intake. Getting older, and I do much better on fewer carbs, and virtually no grains.
Walmart gets meds cheaper because they have a ton of pharmacies and can set the price accordingly. My meds are different prices depending on where I go and how much product runs thru their store
Actually, pharmacy chains tend to charge more than independent pharmacies. They generally base their prices on AWP (a made up price used to determine insurance reimbursements) while independents use acquisition plus.
Pharmacies, in general, don't buy drugs from manufacturers but from wholesalers. You can get a discount but it's based on the entire order.
There is a good, cheaper alternative to Lantus, its biosimilar, Basaglar, which is the same active drug as Lantus but cheaper. However, there will be no price collapse until there are interchangeable biosimilars and at least 2 of them.
All the insulin manufacturers have some sort of charity programs. If you have financial problems, there is almost always an alternative. You just need to discuss it with your provider or pharmacist. I have never dealt with a provider who won't change to something more affordable if you bring it up.
I take it you mean 15 units, not cc's. A vial is 10 cc. Still, 30 units a day for a 25-pound dog is hard to believe. I suspect it's really 1.5 units.
The largest human dose I've heard of is 60 units a day. At 1000 units in a vial, the vial would last 16 days and the patient would require two vials a month, 24 a year, $600 a year buying at Walmart.
I've never heard that Novolin is unstable. I keep it on my bathroom sink during the month I'm using it and have no problems. They distribute and keep Lantus under refrigeration, just like Novolin.
Lantus supposedly gives a more even drug level throughout the day. If you eat big meals, you would have to inject Type R or even Humalog just before eating if you're using Novolin. I find it more convenient to eat less. It is standard to have the patient take insulin twice a day. (In fact, that was one of the Golden Rules of a well-respected Berkeley physician, the other being "Kill as few patients as possible -- dead men pay no bills.")
My dog takes Novolin N 100 units/ml - 10ml
It is $25 per vial. The syringes are .33 cc - I fill it to the 15th mark twice a day.
It is unstable because the shelf life is so short.
It must be refrigerated before opening. After opening, if it's not refrigerated, it has to be used with 28 days. We keep ours refrigerated period (which creates crisis when we lose electricity).
It has to be kept away from light including indoor lights.
It breaks down so fast unlike pills which last for years without special care.
Actually, pharmacy chains tend to charge more than independent pharmacies. They generally base their prices on AWP (a made up price used to determine insurance reimbursements) while independents use acquisition plus.
Pharmacies, in general, don't buy drugs from manufacturers but from wholesalers. You can get a discount but it's based on the entire order.
There is a good, cheaper alternative to Lantus, its biosimilar, Basaglar, which is the same active drug as Lantus but cheaper. However, there will be no price collapse until there are interchangeable biosimilars and at least 2 of them.
All the insulin manufacturers have some sort of charity programs. If you have financial problems, there is almost always an alternative. You just need to discuss it with your provider or pharmacist. I have never dealt with a provider who won't change to something more affordable if you bring it up.
A relative works at a national pharmacy chain. He said it is worse job ever. Customers yell all day long about the price of their drugs. The worse are senior citizens who have raising medicare prices. There is nothing he can do or offer these customers.
Pharmacies can't change a prescription, only doctors can. If the doctor can't take the pharmacist's call immediately, it means a delay in getting a medication.
Insulin isn't a drug that can be switched out with another brand easily. It isn't taking aspirin instead of Aleve or Advil.
Actually, pharmacy chains tend to charge more than independent pharmacies. They generally base their prices on AWP (a made up price used to determine insurance reimbursements) while independents use acquisition plus.
Pharmacies, in general, don't buy drugs from manufacturers but from wholesalers. You can get a discount but it's based on the entire order.
There is a good, cheaper alternative to Lantus, its biosimilar, Basaglar, which is the same active drug as Lantus but cheaper. However, there will be no price collapse until there are interchangeable biosimilars and at least 2 of them.
All the insulin manufacturers have some sort of charity programs. If you have financial problems, there is almost always an alternative. You just need to discuss it with your provider or pharmacist. I have never dealt with a provider who won't change to something more affordable if you bring it up.
Even with insurance, there's a lot of self-sabotage going on with many type-2 diabetics. Working in healthcare, I've seen patients with poorly controlled dm who have basically "worn out" their endocrinologists. The doc basically gives up & prescribes a baseline dosage of long-acting insulin daily because the patient pretty much refuses to check their sugars consistently.
Add in some "freestyle" adjustments by the patient (adding or subtracting insulin based on guesswork as far as sugar levels), and it's very easy to see how a 30-day supply is exhausted in 27 days, before a refill is authorized..
And (best case), the patient is in the hospital on the 28th or 29th day after being "denied" a refill.
It's easy to blame the insurance or the doc or the drug-maker or the patient for those kinds of situations, but everyone involved has a little piece of responsibility. Even if the patient shot themselves in the foot, they still need someone to step up and help them - I think that's the real intention behind the push for legislation.
Everyone involved needs to understand that DM2 is often just as much of a psychological disorder as a physical disorder- and saying that isn't dumping the issue on the patient, it's just facing facts. There are lots of people who never progress to insulin dependence because they change diets, lose weight, increase physical activity. They're not "better" people because they do that, they're just psychologically able to do things that not everyone can do.
Take away the blame game & the "rules" imposed by insurance - then go back and look for ways to encourage & help people stay healthy. The situations we have now aren't tenable and they aren't acceptable from a human perspective or from a financial one. It's a lot cheaper to give someone a bottle of insulin "early" (even a $500 bottle of insulin) than it is to pick them up in an ambulance or to bury them.
While a few pre-diabetic type 2 people can lose weight, change diet and exercise more to stop full onset of diabetes. Type 1 diabetics have genetic factor which has nothing to do with lifestyle.
"Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. It occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. This type often appears during adolescence, but a person can develop it at any age.
In the past, doctors believed that type 1 diabetes was wholly genetic. However, not everyone with type 1 diabetes has a family history of it.
Genetics Home Reference suggests that some genetic features may make type 1 diabetes more likely to develop under certain circumstances.
In people with this type of diabetes, scientists have found changes in the genes that produce certain proteins. These proteins play a key role in the immune system.
These genetic features make a person susceptible to developing type 1 diabetes, and certain factors can trigger the condition. Once a person develops type 1 diabetes, they will have it for life.
According to the American Diabetes Association, possible risk factors include:
Cold weather: Type 1 diabetes is more likely to appear in winter than in summer. It is also more common in cooler climates.
Viruses: Researchers think that some viruses might activate type 1 diabetes in people who are susceptible. Among these viruses are measles, mumps, Coxsackie B, and rotavirus.
People with type 1 diabetes may have autoimmune antibodies in their blood for many years before showing symptoms.
The condition may develop over time, or something may have to activate the autoimmune antibodies before symptoms appear. After this triggering, symptoms tend to appear quickly, within days or weeks."
Even with insurance, there's a lot of self-sabotage going on with many type-2 diabetics. Working in healthcare, I've seen patients with poorly controlled dm who have basically "worn out" their endocrinologists. The doc basically gives up & prescribes a baseline dosage of long-acting insulin daily because the patient pretty much refuses to check their sugars consistently.
Add in some "freestyle" adjustments by the patient (adding or subtracting insulin based on guesswork as far as sugar levels), and it's very easy to see how a 30-day supply is exhausted in 27 days, before a refill is authorized..
And (best case), the patient is in the hospital on the 28th or 29th day after being "denied" a refill.
It's easy to blame the insurance or the doc or the drug-maker or the patient for those kinds of situations, but everyone involved has a little piece of responsibility. Even if the patient shot themselves in the foot, they still need someone to step up and help them - I think that's the real intention behind the push for legislation.
Everyone involved needs to understand that DM2 is often just as much of a psychological disorder as a physical disorder- and saying that isn't dumping the issue on the patient, it's just facing facts. There are lots of people who never progress to insulin dependence because they change diets, lose weight, increase physical activity. They're not "better" people because they do that, they're just psychologically able to do things that not everyone can do.
Take away the blame game & the "rules" imposed by insurance - then go back and look for ways to encourage & help people stay healthy. The situations we have now aren't tenable and they aren't acceptable from a human perspective or from a financial one. It's a lot cheaper to give someone a bottle of insulin "early" (even a $500 bottle of insulin) than it is to pick them up in an ambulance or to bury them.
I also work with a lot of type two diabetics in nursing home rehab. One of the problems however I find in the medical community is a lack of education. I think every new diagnosis of diabetes should come with a free consult with a nutritionist. Many people do not understand what they should eat and what they don’t. They know basic things such as cookies are bad and vegetables are good, but they often don’t understand that even bread labeled whole wheat can be bad and that orange juice and things like that are bad. Sometimes when we get patience with diabetic amputations, I ask them what their doctors told them about changes to their lifestyle when they were diagnosed. Often the answer is nothing. This is especially true in poor communities when people are on Medicaid and going to doctors who see 50 patients a day.
I think every new diagnosis of diabetes should come with a free consult with a nutritionist. Many people do not understand what they should eat and what they don’t. They know basic things such as cookies are bad and vegetables are good, but they often don’t understand that even bread labeled whole wheat can be bad and that orange juice and things like that are bad. Many are often also poor, and as we all know cheap food is generally unhealthy.
This young man in the story however was type I diabetic. Often very difficult to control regardless of overall health.
In my line of work, I’ve listened to more than one parent who says their child is rationing insulin. The ones who go off to college cause the greatest constant worry, already being found unconscious, saved, warned, helped, and on the verge of doing it again. It’s such an overwhelmingly hopeless and helpless feeling to listen to these stories.
What can we do? Ideas?
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