Cost of Diabetes

Cost of diabetes, especially for T1DM, as follows:

1. Test strips

I can't afford to test my sugar for 8 times in a day ever since I was diagnosed. My mom who works as a home-based tailor strives hard to pay for my test strips. She knows testing sugar is essential for me. I always wanted to save money by using less test strips (I know it's bad, but I feel bad for using so much of my mom's blood sweat money).

2. Lancets

Honestly, I don't change my lancet often. Probably once in a blue moon (Okay, I know the recommendation is a new lancet for every pricks. But, I am the only one who is using the lancet only mah). I always change it when I feel it is no longer sharp.

3. Pen needles

     If I buy them individually, they will cost around 50 or 60 cents per needle. So, my mom always buys them in bulk like 10 boxes (Each box has 100 needles, so 10 boxes can last me for about 500 days if I were to use 2 needles/day).

4. Alcohol swabs

I am no longer using alcohol swabs nowadays. Okay, you may ask me no sanitation before you inject or before you prick your finger? Hmm. It is seriously not convenient for an MDI patient to swab alcohol every meal (Well T1DM is all about the inconvenience, or I am just lazy). But no worries, I always make sure my hands and injection sites are clean before I poke.

5. Insulin

I am getting all my short acting and long acting insulin supplies from Government Clinic, in which they charge only RM1 for each visit. Real cheap, but I have to wait for the whole morning to see a doctor and to wait wait wait and wait due to the long queue. And they are never ever going to get rapid acting insulin for me because according to the pharmacy, rapid acting insulin is much more expensive and very few patients are using them, so they will not order (Though I cannot accept this explanation, but due to economic constraints, I cannot afford to go to a private hospital, I have to accept the reality).

6. Blood test (HbA1c)

I check my HbA1c every 3 months which you can find my results on the right side of my blog. Now that I am working in a hospital, the lab person is charging me the staff price only! Very cheap!

7. Hypoglycemic agents

These agents are actually candies. Regretfully, I cannot find any pharmacy or supermarket selling Glucose Tablets or Glucose Gel in Malaysia. So, I am depending on the various types of sugar like Mentos, Skittles, Hard candies or Juice boxes. I used to take chocolate, but they melt too quickly and easily get over consumption LOL.

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I do not own any insurance before I was diagnosed. Anyhow, I heard some insurance company will not cover our diabetes supplies for long periods also *sighed

I have thought of changing from insulin pen to insulin pump. Have been seeing other T1D bloggers using pumps since decades ago. And they are receiving so much benefit from pumps and CGM! I am so tempted to buy one by installment payment. But, those infusion sets will cost a bomb for me every month, and it's currently hard to get rapid acting insulin from government hospitals. 

Anyway, to buy or not to buy a pump, I still have to wait when my pen needles are finishing. I still have like 600 or 700 needles more in stock. Hmm, let me finish those needles first.

Don't worry, insulin pump doesn't look a thing like that :p
(Picture from diabeteshealth.com)