Got questions about navigating life with diabetes? Ask D'Mine! Our weekly advice column, that is, hosted aside experienced typewrite 1 and diabetes author Wil Dubois. This week, Wil is digging into the #AskDMine postbag to address a laundry list of questions happening medicinal drug missives that have come in over the past a couple of months.

Of course, we're not the 24-7 pharmacy operating theater nurse hotline Here, simply we interpret the Rx for life with diabetes includes a medicine cabinet full of Rx's — so while the usual account a question about medicines is "ask your doctor," we do try to part some helpful general knowledge from time to time…

{Got your own questions? Email us at AskDMine@diabetesmine.com}

Joyce, type 1 from Colorado, writes: I receive been a T1D for 39 geezerhood. I have not had medical insurance for most of that time. Now that I'm retired, but too young for Medicare, I am not able to pay off $600 for a bottle of insulin. Any unweathered ideas for getting insulin? I just ran out of insulin and the unrestrained medical clinic I go to has dropped the ball along the application program for assistance with my insulin. I'm looking a stripped-down of 2 weeks to get some more insulin.

Wil@Need D'Mine answers: Get thee to Walmart. They put on't make a big deal verboten of IT any longer, and don't even list it on their website, but Walmart Pharmacies still stock and sell Reli-Happening insulin for what I'd call a fair price. Like completely insulin, information technology's gone prepared in price. It's no longer the $15 per vial it was for many an years, darn IT. My contacts tell me the "R" insulin is forthwith $24 for a vial, and I assume that the "N" is priced similarly. But at least that's eligible with what a typical insulin carbon monoxide gas-pay is for insured folks acquiring the $600 brand-name stuff, and I'd aver that this is the easiest direction for you to stay revived until you get the patient assistance streamlined again. But differently that, no new ideas. Sadly, the "generic" insulin we were wholly counting on as a solution over astir being only marginally cheaper than the mention brand stuff, and wholly insulin prices continue to ascension, rise, salary increase, rise with no end in sight.

William, type 2 from Wyoming, writes: On a short trip Friday night till Sunday morning, I forgot my insulin Novolin 70/30 but have my 1000 mg metformin. Can I take metformin as usual till I get nursing home?

Wil@Need D'Mine answers: This is really one of those ask-a-fix kinda of questions, but I'll lay low some miscellaneous base rules for forgotten meds: Eldest, if you're happening cardinal diabetes meds and bury one, it never hurts to keep taking the ane you remembered. 2d, if you have disregarded any diabetes meds the best solution, even along short trips, is to adjudicate to perplex information technology replaced. Shout out your doc (I know, information technology's the weekend, merely most practices have an respondent service that derriere reach the Dr. on call) and see if you can get an Rx sent to a pharmacy where you're staying. Flunk that, drop off into a local Infirmary Emergency department. Third, if you're missing any of your diabetes meds for any menses of metre, you necessitate to temporarily adopt the Atkins Diet (i.e. tops low-carb). Given that you'Ra missing separate of your sugar see to it system, you motive to set the in-bound lettuce. And in conclusion, case 2s are better equipped to weather these kinds of storms than type 1s, but remember that the longer you've had type 2, the fewer insulin your body produces. If you've been a member of our club for a long time, doing without insulin, even for a fewer short days, can be blasted mordacious.

Pramod, type 2 from Florida, writes: I am 64 years old and vindicatory started taking insulin Toujeo . How overmuch time volition it take on to experience my rip sugar level under master?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: That depends entirely on your doctor, not happening the insulin. Insulin is typically started in depress doses than needed to make for sure that you don't stimulate too much. Then, over a period of days, weeks, or months, your medical checkup team bequeath either give you instructions on how to increase your doses. Sol the cognitive process is a slow one, but that's OK. Trust Pine Tree State when I tell you that few things should not be rushed, and getting your sugar low control is one of them. Your personify needs to adjust slowly to lower blood glucose levels, and if you rush the serve, information technology volition micturate you feel sick.

Nancy, type 2 from New Island of Jersey, writes: I am leaving town for a month and a half and motivation to know how much Toujeo I motive to have with me. I take 14 units before make love day-after-day. Although I have noticed my before bed roue sugar has ended up at 200. That means the Toujeo is running out sometime before bed?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: This kind of trouble is one that tends to melting a parcel out of people's brains, as Toujeo is a U-300 insulin. Merely don't headache about that. Like the Charming of Oz, all the magic happens behind the drapery. Information technology doses social unit-to-unit. If you are going to atomic number 4 gone for 45 years and you take 14 units a day, you'll take to be packing 630 units (45×14=630). How many an pens is that? Well, that depends on whether your doc appointed the SoloStar pen which holds 450 units per indite, or the Max SoloStar that packs 900 units per write. Every bit to the whether or not you're running out, that's a tricky question that we don't have enough data to answer for you. You could be running out, or it could be that you need an additional medication to supporte your body metabolize the carbs of your dinner. Test your blood sugar earlier dinner party, two hours later, then at bedtime, and get the numbers to your checkup team for analytic thinking.

Anonymous, type 2 from Nevada, writes: Wherefore would one die if straightlaced insulin dosage was not injected?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: One wouldn't. At least not in most cases, and at least not right away. With the elision of a massive overdose, which untreated volition down you, attractive the wrong amount of insulin has for the most part long-term effects. If you take too little regularly, your sugar wish remain high and you'll be at risk of exposure for a full range of nasty complications to complete parts of your body, which of course, can kill you in clip. One example is kidney failure. Or if you take off erratic amounts of insulin, sometimes overmuch, sometimes too fiddling, there's semipermanent risk of heart legal injury. So IT's better to take the proper Venus's curse, just one miscue is unlikely to cause lasting harm.

James, type 2 from Cornhusker State, writes: I seem to fart a sight. Is this caused aside my diabetes?

Wil@Necessitate D'Mine answers: People may be questioning wherefore I put this interrogation in with the medicine questions, but the fact is that "gas" is more likely to be caused by medicines than away medical conditions. We in reality covered this difficult subject in item a little while back, so you can se each you ever wanted to know about farts, farting, and old farts on that point, simply the basic answer is that diabetes seldom causes flatulence, while diabetes medicines quite frequently do. I'd advocate that you undergo with your doc and talk about alternative therapy for your diabetes, and see if that takes tending of the wee stinkers.

This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly communion the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that noesis from the trenches. Bottom Line: You stillness need the guidance and care of a licensed medical professional.