Almost Gone

Having insulin in the butter compartment (where else?) is like having a security blanket, something to keep me reassured that all will be OK if something goes wrong.

Say, if my insulin bottle is left in the direct sunlight, slips from my hand and shatters on the floor, or just happens to evaporate without my knowing. I'm reassured that there's more in the fridge.

Not at the moment.

Somehow, I forgot to call in a refill in late July. I noticed in early August, but somehow managed to forget
again to call in my refill. By the time I did last week, I was down to half a bottle.

I'm a little nervous, especially since there's been some wire-crossing between my endo and the pharmacy in restocking my supply -- no refills, so the endo has to sign and forward a new Rx, which hasn't happened despite my calls to his office and the pharmacy.

So, after a pump refill over the weekend, I am now down to probably about one more 300-unit amount (or a quarter of a vial). My sugars have been running higher these past several days and I have been correcting more and snacking more, and so it seems my insulin consumption has been even higher lately. And as I'm writing this post, my pump has started giving me the "Low Reservoir" vibration...

Better call the pharmacy to see if the script is filled yet...

I get that some people in the world have little to no access to insulin, and I've already sucked up my #FirstWorldProblem guilt and reconciled my guilty feelings with a donation to Life For a Child to help those who need it most. But in the context of where I live and how my world goes without having the entire global insulin delimma weighing on me, I feel exposed. It's like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, and that any wrong move could put me over the edge, falling without a lifeline.

If my stock gets filled today, I am a little worried that I'll have to get more just before I head off to vacation out of state, and want to make sure I have enough insulin for that get-away to parts where a local pharmacy isn't right around the corner.

There's nothing at fault here other than my own ineptitude in ordering insulin and making sure I'm stocked up. It's just one more task in the never-ending roster of things to do, when it comes to life with diabetes.

Maybe I needed this lessson, to remember what it feels like to have that butter compartment unstocked -- at least for a bit.


Comments

StephenS said…
Mike... everyone does this at one time or another. And it seems like the time we're closest to running out is when we're going away (mine was right before I left for Ireland).

This is what auto-refill programs are for, though not every plan offers them. If you need a little extra to tide you over, let me know. Hope it all works out.
Mike Hoskins said…
Thanks for that Stephen. Yep, I normally do auto-refill -- just let it slide this time and didn't realize I had no refills left. By the time I got around to refilling, I'd tossed the box and had to call pharmacy to check, and so here we are. Haven't done this in YEARS, since pre-DOC days. Anyhow, thanks for the offer. I'm good, but very much appreciate it.
Scott E said…
Ah, I'm with Stephen, though on the "doing it yourself" side. (I'd hate for insulin to be auto-shipped to my front door to bake while I'm on a week's vacation). I'll try to refill my prescriptions (all of them: pump stuff, insulin stuff, meter stuff, thyroid stuff) every three months, no matter what, whether I need it or not. That way, I don't run short and I can develop a bit of a stockpile in case of emergencies.

Actually, the Synthroid is usually my cue, since it's an easily measurable one-pill-a-day Rx. When the 90-day supply goes empty, it's time to re-order EVERYTHING.

Good luck with everything -- it sounds like you're finding a way to work it all out.

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