There are meds and then there are meds. Your doctor started you out with the tried and true ones that have been around for a long time an are generic. When you see the doctor again and have new tests run, you'll find out if these work well for you. Over time, you may move to other meds which are not generic and will be more expensive,

All's well now, but that doesn't mean that things will stay that way.

my insulin for 90 day supply is 1,800 ... my share. pharmacist sez, what do you expect, you got 10k of insulin for 90 days ... heartwarming.

Before I went on Medicare I was able to buy my Humira for about $60/year with their savings card. Now I'm paying $6,000/year.

You may find that the testing supplies are the most expensive part depending on how frequently you must test. About 8 years ago the doctor at that time wanted me to do periodic testing. I was shocked at how much I spent in the short period I did it. Some insurance's do pay for the supplies but others do not. I did have a pop up ad about a wearable testing monitor that sends a signal to your phone on FB. I could find the pads that keeps the monitor in place on Amazon but no price for the monitor shown in the pop up.

All's well now, but that doesn't mean that things will stay that way.

Truer words have never been spoken. For most of my life, if I got a tax return, the car would need new tires and an anticipated fun purchase wouldn't happen. If I planned a beach day, it would suddenly rain. It would be hubris to think that I could organize a plan for my newly diagnosed illness and expect smooth sailing from here on in. Life has taught me better.

Are you type 1 or 2? Totally different meds for each. DH was diagnosis with type 2 last year and drugs are pretty cheap for that. We do have insurance and not medicare.

On my Medicare Rx plan, my diabetes pills have $0.00 co-pay which is wonderful. However, I've "graduated" to once-per-week injection of Trulicity. The first month's co-pay was close to $500. Subsequent months are now $45. That's what I'm spending my stimulus money on.

Come January, I'll be shopping for a better Rx plan, if there is one.

For testing supplies, I recently discovered the WalMart brand Reli-on is 1/3 the cost of a prescribed testing supplies. Rather than paying up to $50 a month for a bottle of test strips, it's $15.

In Oklahoma, our Gov. recently signed a bill (effective Nov. 1) that the co-pay for insulin can cost no more than $30 per RX. I hope it counts towards ALL insulin, not just selected few.

Not all type 2 diabetes meds are inexpensive. Unfortunately, due to our obesity epidemic, type 2 diabetes is more common.

Do you think that pharmaceutical companies can give their products away for free? Someone is covering the low/free cost of your meds by paying higher prices.

and the guys who came up with insulin sold the patent for pennies ... to help the world ... and big pharma cashed in ...

yes, mere dollars. to sell it for more would have been 'unethical'

Bragu thank you for the link. I love your posts, so thought provoking.

Do you think that pharmaceutical companies can give their products away for free? Someone is covering the low/free cost of your meds by paying higher prices.

I'm not exactly sure how drug companies arrive at their prices. Most prices are governed by supply and demand.

Are you saying that the prices are artificially low because drug companies have voluntarily lowered prices, or who is it that is covering? The drugs prescribed to me were for older, common drugs.

Do you think that pharmaceutical companies can give their products away for free? Someone is covering the low/free cost of your meds by paying higher prices.

Nobody expects companies to give their products away for free. That should be obvious. But nor should they charge excessive prices just because they have a vulnerable captive market. Under a universal, not for profit, health system there is huge negotiating power, prices can be kept low and the final cost is fairly shared by everyone.

“One example of high prices in the USA compared to the UK is the cost of insulin. A report by the Rand Corporation published in November 2020 found that the cost of insulin in the USA was 8.9 times that of insulin in the UK.” “For a pharmaceutical company, the NHS in the UK is the country’s market; the private healthcare market is tiny in comparison to the NHS. If the NHS won’t buy your products then you have no real market share. Such centralised buying power gives the NHS the upper hand to a great extent in pricing negotiations and discounts based on volumes” https://lowdownnhs.info/drugs/billions-are-spent-by-the-nhs-on-drugs-every-year-but-how-does-it-work/

Which type were you diagnosed with? I ask this because Type 2 can be reversed if you change your diet. Low carb, medium protein, high fat. Generally, a ketogenic way of eating. Many MANY people who have had type 2 diabetes for years and spent a fortune on strips to test blood sugar, needles and prescription medication no longer need any of that simply by changing the way they eat, which is why they got diabetes in the first place. Type 1, no: don't do Keto with that. But Type 1? YES! Just change your lifestyle.

TONS OF LINKS TO FOLLOW HERE FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO NOT NEED MEDICATION

This is enlightening (scary), my husband is Type 1 and we are not on Medicare for almost 5 more years. With his current medical plan he pays $35 a month for insulin. Need to figure a huge increase in RX costs in our retirement budget. That said we are paying a fortune for our medical plan currently, based on all the quotes I have seen our cost for the medical plan will go down quite a bit.

Would NOT recommend high fat diet to someone with T2DM, especially someone >65, as it will increase their risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc.).

Americans are stupid and complacent. If not, we wouldn't be paying vast sums to Big Pharma and Insurance Companies while the rest of the First World laughs at us -- not only for our spendthrift ways but also for our low ranking on the health scale. COMPLAIN to your federal representatives. DO something to help yourself.

Lucille -- I'm sorry you haven't been feeling good and hope the meds will help you. Do look into changing your diet. I know two people who were able to reverse their diagnoses of Type 2.

mdln please do more research as many doctors recommend Keto to patients with Type2 diabetes and heart conditions. We've been lied to by the sugar industry about healthy fats for about 60 years.

Would NOT recommend high fat diet to someone with T2DM, especially someone >65, as it will increase their risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc.).

I think this is good advice with sound reasoning.

I do appreciate the advice directed my way by everyone, but more, those who provide links and reasons make this a thread that can serve as a learning opportunity for everyone. I am a nurse and have some knowledge but in the 10 years since I have retired there is a lot of new knowledge and technology.

I do have a competent person who I trust, with many years of experience, affiliated with a large local medical center, who is handling my case and am letting her handle it, as I am currently feeling very ill, a bit foggy, and very grateful to have her.

Lucille, Glad to hear you have support!

Your insurance should cover consultation(s) with a registered dietitian, please consider taking advantage of that benefit.

Also most large medical centers have certified diabetes educator nurses, they can bring you up-to-date and answer questions. (Am sure they'd love meeting with a retired nurse.)

T2DM is caused by two interrelated problems: (1) cells become resistant to insulin and (2) pancreas does not produce enough insulin.

It is NOT just "the way they eat, which is why they got diabetes in the first place."

T2DM has no cure, but losing weight, eating well, and exercising can control the disease and may prevent the need for medications.

Exercise is beneficial, not just for weight loss, it helps make the cells more sensitive to insulin.

For my type 2 diabetes I am on that victoza injection which is very expensive! Over a thousand a box. Plus I am taking Repatha injection for my genetic type cholesterol one injection every other week. It is even more expensive than the Victoza! Then throw in the meds for my rheumatoid arthritis which are definitely not cheap! Thyroid which should be reasonable but unfortunately the Armour thyroid is not covered by any Medicare provider. The synthroid is cheap but I can't take it since I have a T3 problem. The rest of my meds are fairly reasonable. Certain things are covered by part B like my inhalers but I still have to pay some, my diabetes testing supplies are also covered by part B in case you didn't know that. Very reasonable. My nebulizer and supplies are also covered by Part B. Believe me it gets extremely expensive! But the victoza and Repatha are working so well that they are most definitely worth it. The blood pressure and heart meds are not very expensive.

Currently my A1C is 5.5 and all cholesterol levels and triglycerides are in the normal range.

I'm sorry you aren't feeling well, Lucille. I hope you feel much better soon.

For those who have been prescribed the super pricey meds, I have a few suggestions. One thing is to always ask if your doctor has any samples. They often do and you can at least get a few weeks or months worth free. Also, there are some programs with different pharmaceutical companies. You need to search the company for your drug and see either on the internet, or with your insurance, or calling the company , if they have any reduced rate programs. It is not based on your income level. I know someone who did this and has been paying very reduced rates with insurance ( medicare advantage). It's all very vague, but if you are dealing with the costly diabetes drugs, give it a try.

As a nurse, I would hope you would reconsider new research. That saying "you are what you eat" is true. Most people would not be on any medication (not all, some people really do need meds), if they would just change the way they eat. Poor diet makes us sick. Fixing that diet can correct so many things. But if you prefer to take expensive drugs over changing a lifestyle, then so be it. I worked in a pharmacy and they filled over 800 prescription PER DAY. And most of the pharmacists and techs all agree that simple life style changes could prevent most of those prescriptions from being filled.

Debby, I do consider everything. I'm not sure where you got the idea otherwise.

As Mdln said :

T2DM has no cure, but losing weight, eating well, and exercising can control the disease and may prevent the need for medications.

Exercise is beneficial, not just for weight loss, it helps make the cells more sensitive to insulin.

I assure you that the prescriptions are needed now. If the forthcoming lifestyle changes make them less necessary, I am sure that changes will be made to my care plan.

If you are saying that newly diagnosed uncontrolled diabetes with severe symptoms does not need medication at all ever, I do not share that outlook and neither do many in the medical field.

Fixing that diet

No doubt that the diet needs to be fixed. I just ordered Dr. Jason Fung's 2 book Code series. I am for now dropping carbs to around 45. As much as I loved all the new breads I was starting to learn to bake, I'm just going to shut the bread baking down for now.

O the pain, the pain.

Did a major fridge/pantry overhaul and got rid of sugary/starchy foods. That was OK, because I did keto for a while a few years back and acquired a repertoire of healthy tasty recipes.

But there was pain involved in giving away my stash of good chocolate. I just feel that not having it around is better for now, my future health depends on the choices I make now.

Diabetes drugs are less expensive in Canada. I know before the pandemic many border cities were experiencing "Pharmacy Tourism" with bus loads of people coming over to fill their diabetes prescriptions. The news reported that a lot of Canadian diabetics were concerned with this in case it depleted the Canadian supply or if their cost for insulin and strips would go up. https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/when-the-borders-are-closed-but-insulin-remains-unaffordble

Lucille, I hope you are feeling better.

PS Is a small square of dark chocolate an acceptible treat occasionally?

Thank you. I still have a ways to go but I was very ill when I went for my appointment I'm better than that.

About the 'small square' I'm sure for many people it would be acceptable. For me it would be a disaster because it would be a gateway to further indiscretions, so I guess each person must decide for themselves because they know themselves.

Insulin is cheaper, often much, much less expensive about every where in the world outside of the US. To the point of it being not unusual for it to be worth it to buy a plane ticket to get there, depending on how pricey the med is here in the States. You don't have to think of it as just a long trip to the store, either. But as a side benefit of having a getaway trip. With insulin, you do need to have a plan as to how to keep it cool for the duration. Also, I think that insulin is an OTC item most of the world over. Having a RX isn't a bad idea though to avoid any possible problems with border crossings.

WalMart sells 2-3 kinds of older types of insulin OTC and at reasonable cost. Regular, NPH and a 70/30 blend of the two (fast acting & intermediate acting.)

https://diabetesstrong.com/walmart-insulin/

There may be other low cost vendors of OTC insulin. I'm familiar w/ WMT's because my vet sent me there after our Lab was diagnosed w/ diabetes. (Rather than using much more expensive canine insulin.)