[Ronman]

Just wondering if anyone can tell me the difference in cost that comes with using different types on Lantus. I am currently using the Solostar Pen and injecting 20 units every night. I suspect that I will be increasing my dosage soon and am wondering if using a regular syringe might be cheaper. I read about some of you injecting up to 70 units daily and that means the Solostar pen would only last 4+ days. Pretty pricey!
Can someone shed some financial light on this subject for me?

[Hammer]

Well for me, I use the Solostar pen and if I had to pay for it, the syringes and vial would be cheaper. If you shop online, I can find the 10ml vials for $75. The 3ml pens come in a five pack (15ml total) and sell for $155. That means that the pens average out to about $7.50 per ml, whereas the vials average out to $10.33 per ml.

You have to buy the needles for the syringe (I don't know what they cost) and you need to buy the needle tips for the pens.(about 19¢ each). It is weird.....you can buy the insulin over the counter yet the insurance companies cover it, yet you need a prescription for the needles but the insurance companies don't pay for it.

[Jill-O]

My insurance company, Anthem (Blue Cross) does pay for the pen needles. I guess some will cover it and some won't?

[Ronman]

Yes, mine did as well. I was just wondering if there is some sort of "breakeven" point as the dosage goes up. I am not squimish about needles and even though I like the convenience of the pen, I will be willing to switch if it save everyone some cash.

[Shadow2k1]

Hi roman, It is pricey, and well i was wondering...... have you tried talking to your doctor, diabetes doctor about it? I have no insurance, and i take vials of insuling daily, and he has me fill out a form, and sends it to the company, and i get a voucher, which helps me get my insulin, without this voucher, i would prolly be dead, or in the hospital...

[Ronman]

Shadow, I do have an excellent insurance plan but that doesn't mean I am not trying to use whatever might be the most economical. The pen was rather pricey and the final daily dose I might be taking has not been established at this point so I was just wondering if there was a breakeven point or perhaps the pen is always going to cost more in the long run. I was hoping there was someone that has tried both methods and could compare costs for me.

[cadcon]

Shadow, I go to Walgreens, have to pay for All my meds, 100
needles costs about $17.00 US and the lantus is about $100.00 per month. I just spike once a night so the pen
serves no purpose for me.

Regards,

Jim

[cadcon]

Sorry, maybe I should have directed my reply to Roman.

[Hammer]

Originally Posted by Hammer

Well for me, I use the Solostar pen and if I had to pay for it, the syringes and vial would be cheaper. If you shop online, I can find the 10ml vials for $75. The 3ml pens come in a five pack (15ml total) and sell for $155. That means that the pens average out to about $7.50 per ml, whereas the vials average out to $10.33 per ml.

I got that backwards....the vials are $7.50 per ml and the pens are $10.33 per ml. The dosage size doesn't matter since the cost will always be the same per ml.

As I've never used the vials, I can't comment on the day to day use of them. I would think that it would be a little more of a hassle using the vials, but not enough of a bigger hassle to make that much of a difference. The pens are more convenient to transport (in a pocket or purse, but since you only take it once a day, you usually don't need to transport them very often.)

My biggest concern is ordering insulin. My insurance company forces me to use the mail order pharmacies, so I get a three month's supply in the mail. That's 25 pens that need to be refrigerated and sent overnight delivery. They send them with ice packs to keep them cold, but where I live, the packages come late in the day. They've been in a hot truck all night and day and the ice packs have melted. I guess if it goes bad and kills me, Fed-Ex will refund my money.

[Ronman]

Thanks for all the responses. I do like the convenience of the pen. Mine cost me a bit more than your's did Hammer. I think I paid $138 for mine at CVS so maybe I will have to shop around.