I was just diagnosed as a diabetic. I was prescribed insulin. I took the prescription to a pharmacy and they gave me a vial of insulin but no syringes to inject myself. Is that normal? Do I have to get the syringes separately? There’s no one I can call right now because it’s the weekend.
Go to any pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for insulin syringes. You don’t need a prescription to buy them, since they’re essential for the survival of type I diabetics. Same for insulin, you can buy that without prescription too, though most docs write them to make sure proper directions for its use are given out.
What I’m wondering is if you’re new to the whole idea of self-administering insulin, did anyone go over the process with you? How to administer the insulin, how to decide when you need it, etc.
Yes, they showed me how to do it in the hospital and I did it myself twice with the nurses watching me. All I need are the syringes. The prescription says twice a day, before breakfast and before dinner. I’m a type 2. I also was prescribed Metformin pills which I’m taking on the same schedule.
Thanks for the info.
Okay, you didn’t ask, and it’s none of my business, but taking insulin shots AND metformin for a type 2 diabetic is a recipe for disaster (without any other details). No need to reply to me, but get yourself into some kind of diabetes education program. I hope you’re testing your blood sugar 2 to 4 times a day, before meals and 2 hours after. I’m butting out, but make sure you’re on solid ground here. You could seriously hurt yourself. If I’m all wet and you’re extremely well-informed on this subject, I apologize, and just ignore me.
Might depend on where you are. I haven’t been on insulin myself, but I’ve had a dog on it fairly recently, and while I didn’t need a prescription for her insulin I did need one for the syringes.
Same in Illinois. The doctor should have either given you a prescription for syringes or told you if your state doesn’t require a prescription. Anyway, I hope you get this all worked out.
Also, get yourself a sharps container to properly dispose of the syringes. Or use a plastic laundry jug or bleach jug to collect them, then seal it with tape. Don’t just throw them into the trash.
And if you start having a lot of intestinal trouble, talk with your doc: it could be the metformin. Frequent secondary effect; per my mother’s internist too often docs ignore that it can be caused by the metformin and treat it symptomatically (i.e., they give the patient more pills) instead of switching to a different diabetes medication.
Why are you concerned about insulin and metformin together? It’s a very common regimen for type 2 diabetics. I agree with diabetes education classes. They are very useful for adjusting your diet and knowing how to recognize signs of hypo and hyperglycemia.
Because the OP is newly diagnosed and seems to be not very well-informed. More important than dietary advice, classes will teach how much insulin to take. Someone who is on metformin alone (I have been for 15 years) is not going to experience life threatening episodes of hypoglycemia, because the liver will kick in with glycogen if BG goes too low. Add insulin into that mix and there is real danger for someone inexperienced who isn’t testing often. Cf. Sunny von Bulow. There is a LOT to learn about diabetes.
or see if you have a needle exchange program … my cousin gives all hers to the sheriffs dept …
Just be glad you don’t have to take two different types of insulin in the same syringe, like I do, 3x a day. I have to be very careful to get the dosages correct.
And I really wish someone would re-design syringes, to be used by one hand. Instead of those two little “wings” on the sides, they need a collar that goes all the way around. Syringes can twist while they’re being handled, and it’s a real PitA.
I have many patients on both metformin and insulin. It’s standard procedure; metformin helps the body utilize the insulin present more effectively, no matter whether it’s naturally produced or injected. Combining them both means lower doses of insulin, for most type II patients. If a newly diagnosed diabetic has a high enough A1C, it’s pretty routine to start them both at the same time.
Of course, any patient on insulin needs to be aware of the risk of low blood sugar reactions, but that’s a risk on insulin alone, and isn’t necessarily increased by adding metformin. And of course, good patient education is essential.
I went to the pharmacy this morning and got the syringes with no problem. Went home and injected myself with no problem. Thanks to everyone who participated in the thread.
I agree with Qadgop. I’m not an internist any more but it was considered a safe and effective combo. Certainly insulin combined with other types of oral hypoglycemics can be dangerous if the patient doesn’t know what they’re doing. I won’t derail this further. I was just wondering what the concern was for that combination since it’s fairly stand practice. Thanks!
Did they change the law recently? I live in Illinois and bought a big box of insulin syringes last year at my local Walgreen’s. No prescription needed.
(The syringes are for administering arthritis medicine to my cats. I had been getting them from my vet, but they pointed out that I could save a boatload of money getting them from a drugstore.)
They’re also available on Amazon. You might as well stock up since you may be doing this a long time.