Hi My name is Chaz and I'm a diabetic.I'm 36 and have been a diabetic for over thirty years. I started out with NPH and Regular insulin that was made from animals like cows and pigs. Then they came out with synthisised insulins that were created with different chemicals in labs that would work like real insulin from animals like humulin insulin. All injected by using a typical syring. Now I use novalog and lantis both of which I inject using pen injectors. They are much easier to use when my vision is blurred because instead of having to line up the plunger w/ a syring I can just listen to the amount of clicks the pen injector makes as each unit clicks as I turn the dial. Anyway the newer insulin that I am on makes me feel so much better and works better as well. I am financially strapped as well. I am legally blind in my right eye and have had eight minor and major eye surgeries all relating to my diabeties. I've gone some years without medical insurance and also without really adhearing to my medical needs. Now I do all that religiously. I can not afford not to. I was at one point completely blind and would not of been able to give my own insulin if I didn't have a device that I could hear make a clicking sound. I got my pen injector from my endocrinologist. Make sure you are being seen by an expert in diabeties and not just a regular M.D. If money is tight then make sure your money is going to a specialist and not just a regular doctor, not to knock them but get all you can for your money. After all this is your life that we are talking about. Make sure your endocrinologist is well established and can advise you on where to get assistance if need be. The American Diabetic Association is connected to most major hospitals in the U.S. and they have a lot of free classes to help train diabetics in handling diabeties so they can live a healthier life. There is a great deal to know. I would advise you look into applying for disability thru the government. By the way when you apply if you do you will be most likely denied the first time around. Its their job to deny the first time around. Apply again, and again if need be. Do not be discouraged by being denied. Its their job to do this and its your job to fight as hard as you can. The government can spend billions of dollars to assist other countries but make us have to fight tooth and nail to get some of that help. If you think you can't do the fighting alone find a good lawyer that specialises in disabilities cases and does not get paid unless you win your case. They usually get your first check or two from disability. So look at it this way it was money that you were not gettiing in the first place so there is no loose. I'm not saying that you will definitly get disability, but why not try. Diabeties is in the top ten of largest killers of Americans. So go to the closest Social Security Office to you and get your claim started. My dad had to apply three time before they granted him approval and he had a whole slue of problems that they should not of denied him the first time round. As far as making money go as far as possible we have to coupon shop to survive. If not for my wife's awsome knowhow we would be walking around by candlelight. Not to mention if money is tight and you have a light fixture that takes 4 bulbs, then take two out. If you have a light fixture that takes two bulbs then take one out. Make whatever cutbacks you need to, to get your medical supplies. Also if you need to speak to a medical proffesional for free go to your local pharmacy and speak with the head pharmacist. I don't know what you have around you, but I live in an area that has so many Walgreens,CVS,RiteAids,Walmarts,and so on. Find one where there is a pharmacist that is also schooled as a doctor. There is a lot of free help and good free advice out there. If you need to limit even your computer time at home because of electricity then go to the local public library and get a library card and use their computers. Also with public assistance apply for everything. They may deny you medical assistance, but they may not deny your children assistance, you may also get some financial help with utilities and foodstamps. Also do not allow pride to stand in the way of you doing something to get some help or get your family help. Also there are some tricks to get more for your money when you do have insurance. My insulin I have to get from a pharmacy so I have to pay the co-pay charge, I have my perscription say that I take more than I really do so that I will have a bigger supply for the same co-pay and it will last longer before I have to get it refilled and have to pay another co-pay fee. Also I get my testing supplies like test strips,alcohol swabs,and needle tips for my pen injectors from a medical supply company with no co-pays from me. My medical insurance company covers it. As I have found out that they get most medical insurance companies to foot the whole bill. I also bump up with my doctor as to how many times I test to increase my supply of test strips and such to help me out with costs. You never know when you will be without. Also the shelf life for test strips is a lot longer than the vials will say. The good old FDA regulates all that and the drug companies and medical supply companies have to follow a lot of the guidelines of the FDA. So anyway the medical supply company I use is Sterling Medical Services 1 (***) 220-5010. I would not be able to test without using this company. I called them up and they took all my information and verified my insurance,verified things with my doctor, and within a couple of days I had a three month supply of strips and other med. supplies delivered to my door. Also if you can not get situated with some kind of insurance try getting your test strips from ****. In stores the strips go for a lot of money as you know, but on **** you can wind up getting them for what some peoples co-pay prices are and even lower. If that is still a price you can handle then you have to use a calorie counting method to match the amount of insulin you need to take. There is a method of breaking food down into carbs,fats,calories,proteins. These four things really contribute to high blood sugars and or not. If you know how much sugar you are putting into your body then you will know how much insulin to take. Weather changes can have some variences on your diabeties as well,but that is another subject. So carbs are converted by the body into sugar and can be a lot worse than some things that have straight sugar in them. You wouldn't think that a glass of mike could be harmful or a slice or two of bread, well they can be. Most people think that the big worries are candy and straight sugar while they are not good for a diabetic and can be harmful its a lot of regular foods that we eat so readily and think nothing of it. Diabetics either produce no insulin or some or very little. Insulin breaks down the sugar in the body so it can be eavenly distributed to all parts of the body. If it does not get broken down in the body it winds up in the bloodstream and stays there until you give yourself an insulin injection to break it down. Diabetes is very complicated and you need a lot of help and guidence. It can take your life like a thief in the night. Your public library should have some good books that you could read up on the subject of. Also hospitals usually have free literature available to take with you. Some government run public libraries have a book exchange program that they exchange books from one library to another in a region or specific area so that if the one library you go to does not have the book they can usually get it for you. Diabetics should keep their blood sugars between 90 and 130 mg/dl (milagrams per desaliter). Also as a diabetic you should keep away from candies and sugary drinks like soda, but they do not have to be totally off limits. If you are going to indulge in sugary sweets then you just need to adjust your insulin regimin as such and take more insulin accordingly. Tracking what all the carbs,fats,calories, and proteins is a lot of work, but it means staying alive. I have a One Touch Ultra Smart Blood Glucose Testing Meter that allows me to enter every meal and the breakdown of the proteins,fats,carbs,and calories, = I can add in any exercise I do by amount based on by length of time. Also with this meter I can enter and examinations and test like Ac1 tests. All this info helps me and my doctor to better tracks issues or problems that I may need to address differently. I know that I have written a lot of stuff, but I just hope that some of it helps you. Also keep an eye on the coupons that pop up in the Weekend papers, they usually from time to time pop up with coupons for testing meters for say a $20.00 coupon and then places like CVS, and Walgreens will wind up having a sale for the meter at $19.99. If they argue that the coupon is a cent more just talk to them about price modifiying the coupon,or give them a penny, or buy a pack of gum with the meter and a lot of times it goes right thru and the 1 cent is taken off of the pack of gum. Anyway remeber that exercise is very important to your health and maintaining your diabetes. Look at your body as if it were a car. You can put gas in it but if you dont drive it around then the gas will just go flat the air in tires will start to seep out, the oil with eventually seperate its consistancy,rubber hoses and belts will crack and deterierate,batteries will go dead,paint will fade,and coating will wear out,rust will begin, and so on. Also you need to take you car to the shop and have it serviced from time to time, well your body is the same. You need to take her out every once in a while for a spin. Oh yeah if you do use Sterling Medical for supplies at any point in time tell them you need a new meter and they will ship that for free depending on the insurance you wind up with. Well that is all I have for now. I really hope your helth inproves and you conqure your diabetes.
Sincerely Chaz
