new, and slightly lost...

[vecca]

My boyfriend has recently become type 1 and has no insurance, and is too stubborn to apply for government aid, so Im trying to do a little research of my own; he tests his blood once a week, and only uses the slow release insulin once a day ... I know this is not healthy but I dont know what I can do to help. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[princesslinda]

Hi Vecca, welcome to the forums. I'm sure you're worried to death about the situation he's in right now. If you're in the states, i'd encourage him to go to the local health department, where he could receive free or greatly reduced treatment. Also, check the Eli Lilly website and see if they offer some type of prescription assistance for insulin.

You can also get a generic meter and strips from Walmart or your local pharmacy for much less than the cost of regular strips.

Stubbornness and pride can be positive attributes, but not when they can potentially kill you.

[Cassini]

Hi there vecca,
So sorry to hear about your boyfriends recent dx but it is great that you found this place!

First I would recommend that you try to get him to come here and do some reading, if you can. There are so many people here with such good advice, it really is a gold mine! So welcome to you, too, and for trying to educate yourself about things.:)

I myself am a Type2 so there is a lot I don't know about (although I read posts from everywhere in here) so I am not totally naive.

It is hard when there is no insurance to cover supplies, because testing testing testing is the way to go. Perhaps a bit more nudging on your part might change his mind about state aid.

I am sure there will be plenty more info from more knowledgeable here than myself, but I wanted to say Welcome and good on you for taking the time to learn along with him!

Take care,

Helen:T

[IrishJoe]

My boyfriend has recently become type 1 and has no insurance, and is too stubborn to apply for government aid, so Im trying to do a little research of my own; he tests his blood once a week, and only uses the slow release insulin once a day ... I know this is not healthy but I dont know what I can do to help. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

if he's T1 then he *NEEDS* treatment. Unless america really is as backwards its parodied on TV then there should be some way of him getting it. Also ignore his stubborness... until he is being treated properly he may not have full mental acuity

[patricia52]

So sorry to hear about your problems. It sounds like he is in denial. He need a diabetes education class. In our town a pharmacy does this for free. Diabetes is very serious. If he controls his blood sugar he will feel much better. You could check the Diabetes Freebies post to find meter manufactors giving away meters and strips to help with that cost short term. If you call AccuCheck and request a meter they will send a meter with 60strips. Check with the doctor. Sometime they participate in a program to get medications at a reduced rate for patients that have no insurance. He may be able to provide samples also. Good luck.

[Subby]

Good replies here. Since this is new to you too, I thought I'd give a checklist of some ideas and information that could be of use to you to get a grasp on the situation and what are the real issues for the out of control type 1 diabetic. If anything is too dense or you're not interested, not to worry, hopefully some of it may provide some clues.

- He HAS to take rapid acting before each meal as well as long acting. He is in a completely unsustainable situation at the moment. Short/rapid acting is almost as esential as food, for him.

- Insulin doses need to be worked on (long and rapid acting), diet needs to be worked on, lifestyle needs to be worked on, things need to be tried, modified, and if still not working, modified again, in order to see good BGs as much of the time as possible.. This should be a type 1's mantra, and it is the thing that matters above all else, for their health and chance at a healthy life. Docs may help find good doses and help tweak things. Certainly a doc needs to start him off on rapid acting doses and review doses for a while. At the same time, most of the work does need to come from the diabetic, in many cases.

- Testing his blood sugar at least 4 times a day. More is good. As much as is needed to have a handle on fluctuations. Before and after meals most days, and in the habit of checking when he feels off and sick, so that he is informed to make the right action at that time and keep BG in check. The tester MUST become the friend a diabetic turns to regularly for guidance. Once a week is a recipe for hospital visits, massive damage over the years, major health issues starting not so far away, and possible a shortened and painful life. Any impression that this is scaremongering or not needed because he generally thinks he feels fine, or anything of the sort, is pure fantasy. Bad BGs all the time WILL lead to horrific complications.

- Through awareness of his BG (blood glucose) level through testing, working to keep it as normalised as possible. The idea of how "normalised" is up to each individual. There are two things to keep in mind: one is that different people have varying difficulty doing this because of how stable their body likes to be and such things as diet and lifestyle choices, the other thing is that it is also dependent on being involved, making a daily effort, and working on fixing doses and issues if things are not quite going smoothly.

- Seeing a doctor proficient in diabetes hopefully every 3 but at least every 6 months, is simply required. It is well worth finding one whom you get along with and whom might help you with your condition. But, whether docs are liked or disliked, diabetics NEED to be medically checked periodically. Getting blood tests such as A1c, kidney function, cholesterol, at least every 6 months, getting eyes checked every year or so, getting basic physical checkups to test for nerve damage, are all essential.

- Another test that needs to be through the doctor is the hbA1c test. It reveals the average kind of BG levels over the last 3 months, so is a convenient bird eye view and test of general control. The A1c does not actually correlate to an average BG number, though. An example of an A1c likely leading to problems, is 11. An example of a reasonable A1c with a lot of room for improvement, is 8. An example of a good A1c to be comfortable with is 6. Different people do have different targets and standards. The ones I mention here are probably somewhere between more old fashioned, loose standards, and newer, tighter standards.

The A1c does not reveal the whole picture though. How much BGs stay up or go down in the course of the day is also an essential thing, which A1c does not inform of. Fluctuation, going up and down a lot, can not only cause long term issues, but severely compromise day to day health. Two things are needed: good levels, and reasonable stability. The way to work out what those things really mean in the real world, is to be involved with your BGs through testing, and get a feel for it through experience.

- Catching complications through medical checks and being aware of your body, early can be the difference between a healthy life for many many years to come, and severely reduced health and mobility, all in the space of a few years. Being aware of complications early on, can often mean halting or even reversing the issues, especially if they are caused by poor BG control and control is then improved. Not getting checked and letting your BG cause damage in your body unchecked, can mean a kidney transplant or dialysis machine or amputation, is in the not so distant future.

- In other words, a positive attitude and putting work in is required. However, it needs to be remembered that goals have to be individual, and part of the positive attitude must also be to be kind and not too perfectionist about things. If there was one disease that demands maturity and responsibility from the candidate, with the main cost of ignoring, denying, rejecting, treatment being to themselves and their loved ones, this is the one. It is in his hands.

- As a last point, you'll find people have different ways to approach the psychological and moticational aspect of this disease. Something has to be kept in mind: without an innately positive, proactive, non depressed nature or outlook, this disease is HARD to psychologically deal with. It is isolating, the sufferer is in a daily struggle or mission with keeping control, that most people around them do not have a hope of understanding. It is relatively invisible, yet can have all the hallmarks of a chronic, incapacitating condition, both times when control is hard, and when complications have progressed to make life hard. The point of me saying this is, the psychological struggle may be long, it may be tricky, it is intensely personal, it is not often fixed by simple means. Support and space and a positive outlook are 3 wonderful things a close one can give. (forgiveness for stuffing up is another - diabetes can be an incredibly hard taskmaster). The motivation and drive must ultimately come from the diabetic, and any efforts to help by others, need to be in the aim of supporting self sufficiency, positivity, and inner strength.

What is lucky for that, is that with todays better insulins (and pumps, if that becomes an option in the future) with knowledge that is out there, in books, on the web (this forum is great), with a proactive approach that gets results, a long, healthy life stretching towards normality is more and more likely. A positive Type 1 who is proactive and working towards their best control, even as a long term project, is not fooling themselves... there really can be cause for optimism and a good life. The better the BG's, the more likely this is.

Feel free to ask any questions at all. I didn't mention the kinds of results to reasonably expect from the BG tester through the day, which is of prime importance in deciding how well control is going, or whether this event or that time of the day is a problem, and what to do about it. if you want some ideas on that, ask. I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with all this. It's not meant to, just trying to lay a lot of relevant stuff out on the table for you to consider if you wish.

[Subby]

I have no wish to confuse or make things seem too much, so here's the abridged version of my post above, the kind of things that might go into your list of things to keep in mind over the coming months.

- short acting required, ASAP
- needs doctor to help with this, and hopefully guidance from doc in general
- testing at least a few times each day and keeping an eye on BG level required
- Need to stay in contact with doc and get blood tests and physicals done regularly, even (especially) if control is not the best over time.
- positive attitude and proactive action required, to take responsibility, put effort into maintaining good BGs. If so, long health likely. If not, possibly lots of bad news down the track.
- Best actions from close and loved ones: support, positivity, help toward self sufficiency and self strength.
- Psychologically is hard. Denial common, can be hard to solve this. Many diabetics lost in the woods for years. Never to late to start taking better care. for some it's easy enough from the start, for others pieces slowly fall in place over years. For myself, judgment and fear of complications helped create my denial. Remembering not all is lost and learning to appreciate life, was essential. Diabetics cannot afford to be bitter in my book.

One last thing, this sub forum might not get as much traffic as the diabetes or type 1 forums. Post there if you don't seem to get many responses for questions.

[EeyoreButterfly]

I know one person on here who was able to get a free Freestyle Lite and a yar's supply of strips from the makers of Freestyle (Abbott) as part of their prescription assistance program. If he doesn't qualify for that he can get the Freestyle Promise program. They pay up to $50 a month for your strips (you pay the rest) so it can greatly reduce cost. I agree with going to hte health department and seeing if there are area programs that can help him.

[vecca]

To everyone who took the time to to read and respond I really appreciate ii. Everyones advice has helped point me in the right direction at least! Which is a much needed start.