I never thought I’d come to think of a nasal spray as a security blanket, or something that would provide me great ease of mind, but that’s exactly how I feel about my Baqsimi prescription.
I’m all stocked up on Baqsimi for the time being.
Baqsimi is a nasal glucagon that is a million times easier to use (or at least, understand how to use) in an emergency situation than those old red kits from the days of yore. In all my years of diabetes, I never could remember step-for-step what the process was like for using glucagon – in fact, I had an app downloaded on my phone just so I could practice it every so often as a refresher, but even with the app I felt ill-equipped to use glucagon on myself, or anyone else for that matter.
That’s why when I first heard about Baqsimi a few years ago, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was an option out there besides glucagon! The freedom to have choice, rather than be forced to stick with something, goes a long way in life with diabetes…in life, period. I was excited that I could choose to keep Baqsimi on hand just in case I ever did experience a severe hypo, a possibility that has always frightened me, especially when I started living alone a year and a half ago.
And when I was recently taking inventory of my diabetes supplies, only to discover that my Baqsimi was expired, I made it a priority to get it refilled as soon as I could because of just how much I’d reaped the benefits of peace of mind. So I made a point of calling my doctor and asking for fresh prescriptions for both Baqsimi and insulin, because it just so happened that I was running low on my Humalog stash.
A couple days later, I went to the CVS drive-thru, picked up the prescriptions, and drove home. While driving, I couldn’t help but feel so grateful that it was actually easy for once to do something for me and my diabetes that was necessary and would provide me comfort. If only it could be like that every time.
This post was originally published on Hugging the Cactus on December 6, 2019. I’m sharing it again today as a follow-up to Monday’s post, which explained how I was introduced to Metformin. This one covers why I decided to call it quits on my Metformin journey. Read on for the full scoop…
Well, well, well…looks like I’ve got another Metformin update for you all.
You’ve probably lost track of where I am in this long, twisting journey with the pill. (If you need a refresher, all you need to do is click here and read through my original posts.)
All caught up? Great. Now you really understand how complex my relationship with Metformin is.
There were times that I loved it. There were times that I hated it. And there were times when I simply couldn’t be sure if it was working for me the way that I’d hoped and needed it to.
I thought Metformin was right for me, but it turns out it definitely is not.
This last go-round represented the latter thought: Metformin simply wasn’t cutting it for me.
I’d been taking one pill daily for about a month when I decided to quit. The reason why I stopped taking it is simple: I wasn’t noticing a dramatic reduction in how much insulin I take each day. It was maybe a one or two unit drop, and that just doesn’t justify me taking a pill like this on a daily basis.
Now, you might be wondering why I didn’t amp up my dose. After all, it says right on the bottle that I can take up to four pills daily. Well, I chose not to take more for a few reasons: 1) I’m in between endocrinologists right now, and don’t really have anyone to consult regarding dosage, 2) At one point in time, I thought I noticed side effects of taking Metformin, and I’ve convinced myself that any possible side effects would intensify with a higher dose, 3) I wasn’t sure whether the higher blood sugars I was dealing with in the fall were due to stress or permanent changes that my body was experiencing.
So yeah, as you can see, it’s not a cut-and-dry answer when it comes to me increasing my Metformin dose.
I feel like I’m in a better place now with my blood sugars and daily insulin intake. Certainly, things have improved compared to how they were in September and much of October. Rather than fret over taking “too much” insulin every day, I’m going to focus on things that I have greater ability to control, such as the foods I choose to eat (that may or may not impact how much insulin I need) and the levels of exercise I get each week. I feel like that’s a healthier, better way to take care of myself.
So…farewell, Metformin. I won’t miss you. I know you do great things for other people with diabetes, but I’m not sure that you and I are a good match.
This blog post was originally published on Hugging the Cactus on February 25, 2019. I’m sharing it again today because when I initially started taking Metformin, I felt really alone because I didn’t know any other person with T1D who was also taking it. It is my hope that talking about my experience helps someone who mightfeel similarly or would like to hear from a fellow T1D what it was like to start Metformin. Read on for more…
You may have read the title to this post and said to yourself, “Met-WHAT?”
Metformin is the new medication I’ve started taking (along with my typical insulin) to help regulate my blood sugars.
Maybe you didn’t make it all the way to that second sentence; instead, maybe you just Googled Metformin to learn more about it. And you probably immediately got confused, because the Google search results explained that Metformin is a medication normally prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes. You know that I have type 1, though, so what gives? Why am I taking this new pill?
You see, for about a year or so, my endocrinologist has been gently encouraging me to try Metformin. She expressed concerns over the fact that I’ve had diabetes for more than 20 years, and in that span of time, I’ve had to take a lot of insulin. Like, an incalculable amount. And while that insulin helps to keep me alive, there’s also risks associated with it. Namely, she explained to me that there’s research that indicates that people with type 1 who rely on large amounts of insulin have a higher risk of developing cancer later in life.
It took a long time for me to feel ready to try Metformin, but I’m glad I didn’t start it until I was comfortable doing so.
Whoa. The “c” word. Something I never thought I’d hear during a doctor’s appointment. If you know me personally at all, then I’m sure it’s not hard to imagine that I pretty much shutdown at the mention of “cancer”. Almost immediately, I panicked and asked why she thought this research was worth mentioning. She said that it was part of her reasoning for wanting me to start Metformin. The idea is that it would make my insulin more effective, and ultimately decrease the amount of insulin I need each day. She went into a little more detail, mentioning that the only side effects tend to be nausea/upset stomach – and that’s when I stopped listening. I politely told her that I didn’t think Metformin was a wise option for me at that time, and later that day, when I took to Twitter to ask other T1Ds what they thought, I gained swift validation that I’d made the right decision: Other T1Ds with Metformin experience told me that the stomach issues they had when taking it were miserable and that they wouldn’t recommend giving it a try. Plus, I consulted with my T1D pharmacist aunt, and her opinions matched those of the other T1Ds on Twitter. So that was all I needed to hear to feel at peace with my choice to not take Metformin.
In fact, it was enough for me to turn my endocrinologist’s offer down during our next two or three appointments. I was relieved that she never pushed me to try it, but there was a small part of me that wondered whether I should give it more serious consideration. Maybe I should let her talk me into a little, rather than brushing it away and using fear as my excuse.
So we did talk about, during my most recent visit with her earlier this month. She gave me some more compelling reasons to consider taking it. Not only could I reduce my insulin intake, but it might also help me with some preexisting digestive issues I’ve had since childhood. When I asked her about the negative side effects on the stomach that I’d read about online, she told me that she would only prescribe me the “extended release” version of Metformin, which had a much lower (if any) chance of inducing nausea or any less…desirable gastrointestinal disorders.
This news definitely perked me up. We discussed a plan for introducing Metformin to my body: Start by taking one pill daily after dinner. Increase by one pill each week until I’m at four pills per day, the limit. At any point in time, I could message her with questions if I started to notice low blood sugars in the evening.
I felt reassured by this logical plan, as well as her explanations of the benefits of Metformin. So I bit the bullet and I’m in my first week of incorporating it into my post-dinner routine. I can’t say that I’ve noticed even the slightest difference, which isn’t a bad thing. I imagine that will change as my dosage increases.
I intend to blog about this new journey with Metformin; not just for the sake of keeping track of how it affects me, but to also help inform other T1Ds who may have been or may be in the same situation that I was. We’ll just have to see how it goes, but for now, rest assured that I’ll be honest in my writings about my Metformin experience. At this moment in time, I can’t help but feel hopeful that down the road, I’ll be glad I made this decision when I felt ready for it, as opposed to when I was fearful of it.
Hi, my name is Molly and I have type 1 diabetes, and although I am extremely grateful for health insurance, I also hate every aspect of it.
When I aged out of my parents’ health insurance plan two years ago, I was completely lost and overwhelmed by choosing my new plan. How much would I have to pay for my supplies? Would everything be covered? Could I keep my doctors? How much money should I put into my FSA? The answers to these questions took me a good chunk of time to figure out, and I only started feeling good about my knowledge of my old job’s health insurance plan in the last year or so.
As a result, the only thing that made me less excited to start my new job was the burden of having to figure out a new health insurance plan. And for good reason, it turns out, because it has been a challenge to say the least. But there are a handful of things I’ve learned along the way that I don’t think I’ll ever forget so that I can have an better experience the next time I need to change health plans. Here are my tips for making the transition from one health insurance plan to another as easy as possible:
1.Take stock of ALL my supplies before starting the new job (and before losing my old job’s health coverage). This was, without a doubt, the best thing I could’ve done for myself before I started my new job. In my last few weeks with my former company, I looked through all of my diabetes supplies and inventoried them. I kept a running list of the most important items (things like insulin, Dexcom sensors/transmitters, and pods) and decided that even if I had plenty of those things, I would still place an order for them before losing my health insurance. This ended up being a fantastic idea because it took me a solid couple of weeks at my new job to figure out which health plan would work best for me, and in that span of time, my supply stash was dwindling. On top of that, it took several more weeks for me to get all my prescriptions straightened away (more on that in tip 3), so I was especially grateful that I had seriously stocked up before leaving my old job.
2.Compare plans extensively. Like I mentioned above, I spent a couple weeks reading through my plan options before I finally settled on one. It took me so long because I wanted to feel 100% comfortable with my new plan, and I knew that I had a 4-week period to complete my research before committing to a new plan. Plus, my new job uses a website that offers a health insurance plan comparison tool (a super cute one, to boot, that explains all things insurance in layman’s terms) that I was happy to take advantage of during the decision-making process.
What tips would you have for someone who is switching health insurance plans?
3. Send as many messages and make as many phone calls as it takes until everything about the new plan is crystal clear. For me, this including calling my local pharmacy and sending toooons of online messages to my doctor’s office, as well as my new health insurance provider. I honestly felt like I was playing a game of telephone – you know, that game that kids play where they have to whisper a message into each other’s ears as a test of listening and communicating effectively – because it seemed that nobody would take accountability for sending my prescriptions to the right place or understanding exactly how I needed help. So in the last few weeks of July (leading into the first few weeks of August, really, ‘cuz I’m still working on this), I made a vow to myself that I’d get to the bottom of everything and get my prescriptions fully straightened away. I’m happy to report I’ve made substantial progress, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t require a lot of my spare time and energy.
4. Talk to coworkers and ask for their feedback on plans. This might be unique to me because I work for a diabetes organization and my colleagues have an intimate knowledge of health insurance hurdles combined with a chronic illness, but even so, I remember asking coworkers at my previous job about their thoughts on the health insurance offerings and I got some solid feedback from that. So that’s why I decided to ask around at the new job, and of course I was met with helpful replies that made my transition a little smoother.
The biggest lesson I learned throughout this process? I realized I need to give myself a little grace. This stuff isn’t intuitive to anyone (unless you’re some sort of health insurance guru). I shouldn’t beat myself up because the system is more complicated than it needs to be. And bottom line is that I need to focus on the fact that I have choice when it comes to health insurance, period, because I know that there are too many people out there who can’t say the same.
So I guess in a way I am glad for the challenges presented to me by my health coverage.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post series about my experience with Metformin. As I was paging through my blog, looking for either an old post to republish or inspiration for a new post to write, I came across that series and got to thinking about how I felt on Metformin.
If you aren’t familiar with what Metformin is, it’s an oral medication that’s typically used to help stabilize blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes. This is where you might be thinking…I (Molly) have type 1 diabetes, so why was I prescribed this medication?
Well, my endocrinologist at the time wanted me to try taking Metformin in tandem with doses of insulin in an attempt to reduce my overall insulin needs. She expressed concerns that my daily insulin intake was high (something I disagree with now, as I think about it a couple of years later), and that she had some general awareness of studies that indicated it might not be good for my future health if I continued using so much insulin each day. (Note: I don’t know what study or studies she was referring to, and this is where I should’ve done more research before just taking her word for it and going on the pill. This is an example of poor patient advocacy on my part.)
I did not enjoy my time on Metformin.
Even though I met her sentiments with skepticism, I trusted this endocrinologist, so I decided to give Metformin the old college try. And I hated it. Hated it! I tried taking it per my doctor’s instructions for two separate spans of time (each lasting a month or so) and made the decision to stop using it because I simply didn’t see that it was making any sort of difference. Actually, it was affecting something, just not my blood sugar levels or insulin intake – it was affecting my anxiety levels. I was afraid that Metformin, coupled with my insulin, would cause me to have low blood sugars all the time. While in reality, I didn’t experience many lows, I was still always paranoid about them and it was an unpleasant thing to have to deal with.
So now, about two years later as I think about these ineffective encounters with Metformin, I realize that I should have done a lot more before even considering taking it. I should’ve asked more questions. I should’ve done more research. I should’ve asked around the diabetes online community to see if anyone had advice for me. I should’ve pushed back more with my doctor to get to the bottom of the reason(s) why she wanted me to take Metformin. Going back to my point above…this was a big lesson in patient advocacy. It’s important to ask questions and gather all the facts, especially in situations like this where there was so much uncertainty, in order to receive the best care possible. And it’s important to remember that even the most trusted and well-liked doctors aren’t always right when it comes to the medical guidance they suggest or give. At the end of the day, I’ve got to keep in mind that nobody knows my body and brain better than I do, so it’s okay to challenge the authority of the experts (in a respectful, kind way of course).
Update, 10/10/21 – I wish I didn’t have to make this update, but I had quite possibly the WORST possible customer service experience with this company in the six months since I wrote this post. I’ve got the full scoop here.
Customer service experiences are usually not overly pleasant. They can be time-consuming, frustrating, and at times even unsolvable…but when they’re the opposite of that – quick, easy, and fixable – then that should be shared. So here’s a story about a particularly positive interaction I had regarding the shipment of my Dexcom supplies.
Back in January, I was dismayed to receive a phone call notifying me that Dexcom would no longer directly provide me with my CGM supplies. My account was going to be automatically transferred to a medical supply company that I’d never heard of called Byram.
I was unhappy about this because it was just so easy to order my supplies every 90 days or so from Dexcom, and I was reluctant to switch to a company that was totally foreign to me. So I asked the Dexcom customer support person who called to tell me this news if it would be possible for me to use Express Scripts to get my supplies. I already use Express Scripts for my insulin and a few other non-diabetes-related medications, so I figured I could try to get as many of my medications as possible through one provider for the sake of keeping it simple.
And I discovered that yes, I could get my Dexcom supplies from Express Scripts. Yay! A few weeks later, my sensors and transmitters arrived in the mail, and I soon forgot all about my near-experience with Byram…
…That is, until late April.
Byram gets top marks from me.
I was startled to see an email from Byram arrive in my inbox, thanking me for my order. What order?! The email also listed account information that I never set up, so I was immediately upset and under the assumption that I was going to have to jump through all sorts of hoops just to get this order cancelled and the account shut down.
Except that’s not what happened. In reality, all it took was an 8-minute phone call and a very pleasant exchange with a customer service provider.
When I first got on the phone with the Byram rep, I’m sure she could tell from my tone that I was stressed about the situation, so she assured me that it would be taken care of right away. I was skeptical, but remained on the line when she put me on hold so she could look into the issue further. Much to my surprise and delight, she rejoined the call moments later, telling me that I would have a shipping label emailed to me so I could return the supplies and that she would start the process of closing my account right then and there. No further questions asked, no additional information needed from me – that’s how quickly and easily she set about taking care of my issue.
I spent the last minute or so of our phone call thanking her profusely for her efficiency, and this time I could tell by her tone that she was really grateful for my compliments regarding her customer service. She wrapped up the call by telling me that if I ever decided to use Byram again in the future, it wouldn’t be a problem to re-establish my account. My response? I told her that my experience with her and the company over this error was so positive that I really will consider transferring to them if I ever become dissatisfied with my current provider: This representative left such a good impression that I actually meant it when I said it.
Life with diabetes is hard enough. Unfortunately, getting necessary medical equipment to help manage it can make it even harder. So when something like this happens, I take comfort in knowing that not every customer service interaction will feel like getting a tooth pulled. Shout-out to Byram for restoring my faith in that and demonstrating that they deliver on their promise to” deliver convenience, affordability, and choice, working every day to ensure you have the best care experience and simplify the complexities of healthcare reimbursement and insurance.”
For anyone who may be unfamiliar with Baqsimi, it’s a relatively new form of glucagon that comes as a nasal spray. I haven’t had to use it yet (and I hope that I don’t ever have to, really), but there’s a lot of pros to Baqsimi when comparing it to a traditional glucagon kit:
It’s shelf-stable – it doesn’t have to be refrigerated.
It doesn’t expire until 2.5 years from now.
It’s completely ready to go as-is, no mixing or measuring needed.
It’s compact and totally portable.
It’s easy to use (and understand how to use!).
Baqsimi is incredibly easy to use: remove shrink wrap, insert into nostril, and push plunger all the way in to dose. That’s it!
All of those factors contributed to my decision to finally pull the trigger and ask my endocrinologist about writing a prescription for me. It’s not that I’m suddenly worried that I’ll need Baqsimi; for me, it’s more of a peace-of-mind situation. I always thought that my glucagon kit was next to impossible. Sure, I know how to use it, but I have to refresh my memory every so often because there are so many steps involved in the process: inject the syringe into the vial, mix the contents, wait for the glucagon to turn clear, stick the syringe back into the vial, withdraw the liquid, and then finally do the injection…there’s a lot going on there. And if I actually did need glucagon one day due to a severe hypo, I wouldn’t exactly be able to easily walk whoever I was with through the process because I’m sure I’d be totally incapable of doing so (depending on how bad my symptoms were).
It’s just a lot to ask of every single one of my family members and friends to know exactly how to inject glucagon into me in the event I ever needed one of them to do that, so having Baqsimi on hand takes so much of that fear and anxiety away.
And the icing on top of the cake is that it was super easy for me to get Baqsimi…like, it only took a few hours, which is amazing. All I did was reach out to my endocrinologist’s office using their online messaging system, ask my doctor for a script, and…bam. It was sent into my local pharmacy, and before long, I was cruising through the drive-thru with my dog to pick it up. I’m lucky, too, because all I had to pay was $25, thanks to my insurance (sometimes, it’s not as bad as I think it is).
Twenty-five bucks for peace of mind and a life-saving medication…that’s something I can get behind. I’m glad Baqsimi has finally joined my diabetes toolkit.
As soon as I opened the package, I knew something was wrong.
The contents of said package were five vials of insulin – my regular 90-day supply. On the surface, nothing seemed wrong. They arrived in their usual styrofoam cooler that was taped shut. After removing the tape, I saw four ice packs next to the plastic packaging containing the insulin vials; again, this was all expected.
When I picked up the plastic package and used scissors to cut it open, though, a pungent odor greeted my nose.
A medicinal, harsh, familiar scent…the smell of insulin.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that one of the five cardboard boxes encasing the vials was totally damp to the touch. Gingerly, I opened it from the bottom flap, which was sticking out slightly due to the wetness. That’s when I saw the shattered insulin vial: Somehow, the bottom part of the vial had broken, spilling and wasting all of its contents.
I wish that smell-o-vision was a thing, because OMG…the smell coming from this was STRONG.
I was shocked. In all my years of diabetes, nothing like this had ever happened to me before!
I didn’t really give my next step a second thought: Immediately, I jumped on the phone with Express Scripts, which is the mail order pharmacy that I use for my insulin and some other medications. I spoke with and explained the issue to a customer service representative, who connected me with a technician that promised a replacement vial would be mailed to me at no additional cost to make up for the broken one. I asked if they needed me to send the broken one back to them, but I was reassured that it wouldn’t be necessary because I had called them so they could document the incident.
My issue was resolved, just like that, in fewer than 15 minutes. While it was annoying to have to take time out of my day to figure that out, I’m very happy that I got a replacement quickly and easily. But really, where was quality control on this one?!
Insulin is expensive, as we all know. And to see that a perfectly good vial full of it was rendered useless due to defective packaging was a major punch to the gut, indeed.
But this reminded me of the importance of being proactive whenever I suspect something is wrong with any of my diabetes supplies…when in doubt, do something about it.
It’s kind of crazy, right? But besides knowing that insulin is priced outrageously, there’s actually a few other things that I think the world should know about insulin.
Not all insulin is created equal. Just like diabetes, insulin exists in various forms. Besides liquid insulin, there’s also inhaled insulin (Afrezza). And some people with diabetes may even take oral medications that are designed to help increase the effectiveness of insulin that they either receive via injection or produce on their own. There’s brand-name insulin produced by several drug manufacturers (the big three being Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi) as well as generic versions of the drug…but that doesn’t mean that generic insulin works just the same as brand-name insulin for all people with diabetes. Insulin is complicated and different types work better for different people.
Insulin is incredibly sensitive. Take one look at the vial in the above photo and tell me that the insulin inside it is safe at all times. Nope, it sure isn’t! Besides the packaging being super fragile, people who rely on insulin must also be careful to keep it at the proper temperature at all times. All it takes is dropping the vial once or leaving it in an unstable environment for the insulin to be rendered useless, potentially wasting a few hundred dollars. It’s as volatile as it sounds.’
Taking too much or too little insulin is dangerous and life-threatening. For some people, there can literally be a life-or-death difference between one unit of insulin. Too much can cause blood sugar to plummet and a person can experience severe hypoglycemia that may result in shock. Too little insulin has the opposite effect: A person will experience hyperglycemia that can have ranging consequences, some that are minimal/temporary, others that are very serious. That’s why precision is so important when dosing for insulin; on top of that, nobody wants to waste a single drop of the stuff because it is so expensive. But this is what many people with diabetes need in order to survive.
So when you see the hashtag #Insulin4All or hear someone talking about how overpriced it is, you’ll know some of the basic characteristics about insulin that make it invaluable to people with diabetes. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to join the fight to make insulin affordable and available to all – as it should’ve been to begin with.
Well, well, well…looks like I’ve got another Metformin update for you all.
You’ve probably lost track of where I am in this long, twisting journey with the pill. (If you need a refresher, all you need to do is click here, here, here, here, and here.)
All caught up? Great. Now you really understand how complex my relationship with Metformin is.
There were times that I loved it. There were times that I hated it. And there were times when I simply couldn’t be sure if it was working for me the way that I’d hoped and needed it to.
I thought Metformin was right for me, but it turns out it definitely is not.
This last go-round represented the latter thought: Metformin simply wasn’t cutting it for me.
I’d been taking one pill daily for about a month when I decided to quit. The reason why I stopped taking it is simple: I wasn’t noticing a dramatic reduction in how much insulin I take each day. It was maybe a one or two unit drop, and that just doesn’t justify me taking a pill like this on a daily basis.
Now, you might be wondering why I didn’t amp up my dose. After all, it says right on the bottle that I can take up to four pills daily. Well, I chose not to take more for a few reasons: 1) I’m in between endocrinologists right now, and don’t really have anyone to consult regarding dosage, 2) At one point in time, I thought I noticed side effects of taking Metformin, and I’ve convinced myself that any possible side effects would intensify with a higher dose, 3) I wasn’t sure whether the higher blood sugars I was dealing with in the fall were due to stress or permanent changes that my body was experiencing.
So yeah, as you can see, it’s not a cut-and-dry answer when it comes to me increasing my Metformin dose.
I feel like I’m in a better place now with my blood sugars and daily insulin intake. Certainly, things have improved compared to how they were in September and much of October. Rather than fret over taking “too much” insulin every day, I’m going to focus on things that I have greater ability to control, such as the foods I choose to eat (that may or may not impact how much insulin I need) and the levels of exercise I get each week. I feel like that’s a healthier, better way to take care of myself.
So…farewell, Metformin. I won’t miss you. I know you do great things for other people with diabetes, but I’m not sure that you and I are a good match.
Hugging the Cactus 