Today’s question is from Misty:
Is there any way to save money on supplies for diabetics? My husband and I are both unemployed. He is doing his best to start a new business, but as you know, it takes time to create an income. We do not have any health insurance and he has diabetes. The cost of this disease is killing our budget!
It costs upwards of 15 dollars per day just to do the minimum amount of testing, insulin injections, and pump supply change outs. I’ve not been able to find any way to decrease the cost. Does anyone have resources, ideas, or suggestions for us? -Misty
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WOW!! You guys are amazing!! I have a booklet filled with your amazing ideas and am going to spend the day checking out each and every one! I will post my results here
Thank you to each and everyone of you who took the time give me advice, links and encouragement! Blessings ~ Misty
P.S. Crystal ~ Thank you so much for posting my question. I was shocked to see it posted so soon and I am grateful to you and your readers.
Misty I would love to see what you come up with. As a RN
I have tried to find resources to help my uninsured clients. What state do you live in?
Is he a veteran? They will give him everything that he needs for his diabetes. As a disabled vet they VA covers all of my medical needs. You sometimes have to wait even if you have an appointment, but there is no costs involved.
My cat is diabetic and I get his syringes from americandiabeteswholesale.com. I save a TON of money versus purchasing the syringes from a pharmacy. Plus I can usually get cash back through EBates, and sometimes I can find savings codes through retailmenot.com. Now if I could just save on the insulin which costs over $100….he’s lucky he’s cute!
Crystal and group what a blessing.
I am in tears as I read all these comments and help. What a great thing to take the time to help a person in need. My heart is overwhelmed as this is my sister. When she told me that Crystal posted this, I had to jump over here and read it. It’s been months since I have been here as I have given up the internet for the most part. But I am glad to check back in and see the overwhelming help you have given her and her husband. May you be blessed and touched for your generosity, by time & advice given.
I am diabetic. Years ago when I was in a real financial bind, I wrote the people who traditionally gave us Christmas gifts and asked them to buy me testing strips—I included a scan of the exact kind I needed. I received enough to take care of the entire next year!
Our churches have gotten together and formed an agency called Love, Inc. Anyone can ask for their help, and they have a specific fund just for medicines for the uninsured folks. COntact one of your local churches to see if you have something similar where you live.
Also, the doctor always has samples, so don’t be shy about asking. Also, my physician said that it is really okay to use the same syringe all day long, which reallly cut down the cost. I have been doing that for over a year now, with no ill effects.
Good luck. You are not alone.
Good luck, I know how expensive it is.
Hello, I buy supplies on Ebay. Buy only from great sellers with 100% positive feedback & ask questions when you are unsure. Buy only factory sealed supplies. Most of the time I save more than half off the Walmart price! Best of Luck to you, DD
I’m in Virginia and have found that Target offers the best deal on a meter, strips, and lancets. Their store brand UP & UP meter is about $10 and so are the lancets (100 ct). The strips are about $36 for 100. Walmart has the best deal here for Relion brand syringes, about $13.00 for 100 and Relion NPH and Regular insulin are about $26 per vial.
My husband recently changed pumps. We have quite a bit of extra supplies for a Medtronic Paradigm pump – 4 boxes of MMT-326A Paradigm reservoir, 1.8 ML (5XX only) and 4 boxes of MMT-396 Quick-set Paradigm infusion set 9MM – 43” (10/box). I would love to mail these supplies to someone who will use them. Email me at cmarcari at gmail dot com.
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