If there’s one thing everybody knows about diabetics, it’s that we need insulin. I’m a type 2 diabetic, which means my body has trouble producing enough insulin to control my blood glucose. I’m a lot luckier than a type 1 diabetic, whose body doesn’t produce any insulin at all.
Dr. Google never went to medical school. Please visit an actual health care provider – a physician, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant – for any medical help.
As of this writing, I haven’t needed to inject insulin since November 2017. It takes effort, but I have some strong motivations: I hate needles, and insulin is expensive.
I’ve hated needles ever since I was a little girl and was getting the usual childhood injections (and yes, vaccinations save lives). I gained extra reasons to hate needles when I was in the ICU and on a drip that was saving my life. Aside from my childhood memories, I hate needles because I’m a difficult stick, thanks to veins that roll very easily, meaning it’s not uncommon for several techs or nurses to have a go at getting a line started or draw blood from me. If I could, I would have all needle-related activity handled by the guy who’d been Force Recon in the US Marines (and yes, I quoted “one shot, one kill” at him).
However, I’m a realist who knew that needles were a part of diabetic life, so when the diabetes educator came to my hospital room, I shoved my fears into a tiny box and crushed them into the back corner of my mind. It helps that insulin needles are so small; in fact, like a lot of other type 2 diabetics, I find the twice-daily fingersticks to be more painful. But a little bit of pain can be endured with sufficient motivation, and I’m motivated to stay healthy.
I’m fortunate in that I was able to get off the long-acting insulin a couple months after I was discharged from the hospital in 2016. I consider myself even more fortunate that as of this writing, I haven’t needed short-acting insulin since November 2017. Some of that luck is earned: I follow the advice of my dietician, I exercise every day, and I take my oral medications faithfully.
I’m not very lucky when it comes to the cost of insulin. My first two insulin prescriptions (long-acting and short-acting) retailed for over $800 back in 2016, and my insurance wouldn’t help. The cost of insulin has continued to climb. There’s a certain stigma out there that type 2 diabetics “deserve” to be “punished” because “of course” being a type 2 diabetic is “naturally” caused by being a lazy greedy pig who should’ve eaten right. Never mind that I have several generations of type 2 diabetics in my family tree. Never mind that I almost never ate fast food and tried to eat well. Nope! I obviously need incentive to keep myself healthy, right? A little financial punishment will keep me on the straight and narrow, right?
Yeah. Because facing the possibilties of diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, kidney failure requiring dialysis, loss of limb, etc., isn’t enough motivation to be a good diabetic.
I’m lucky. I don’t need much insulin … right now. I know my luck will not hold forever. I only hope that if I get to the point where I need insulin on a more regular basis, I’ll never have to choose between a mortgage payment and a drug that helps me stay alive.
Coincidentally, the same day I wrote this post, Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act latest episode focused on the high price of insulin. Watch it if you haven’t seen it. Try not to throw something at your screen.
Rachel
I'm a writer, a knitter/spinner/weaver, a young stroke survivor, and a type 2 diabetic.
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