For other diabetics:

I was wondering how much medicine you think my husband will need, as he is a diabetic?

Thank you.

-- walter's wife (sassynsonny@webtv.net), July 30, 1999

Answers

It depends on if and how long you think there might be supply problems. The answer is the number of days you think there might be problems times the number of pills/vials of insulin your husband uses per day.

Nobody knows if there will be problems with the supply of drugs. You have to decide for yourself. Your first step is to check on the country of origin of your husband's deiabetes drug. If it's overseas (e.g., Glucophage is made in France), then you might want to have extra on hand.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), July 30, 1999.

Walter's Wife,

If your husband is type I, insulin-dependent you will need refrigeration which, obviously, requires power. If this is the case, buy solar panels, deep cycle batteries and a small 110 volt Coleman igloo portable frig. These are the dorm-style units. Mine was approx. $80 rebuilt in the Damark catalog, I believe, and I bought an inverter(converts DC solar power to AC) to run it off our household AC currrent. I installed a high power alternative energy system, so the implications of this unique problem have subsided in my mind. I'm thinking back-up now. Then, BUY....BUY...BUY....BUY that insulin by wherever means possible... Don't let his doctor deter you from this task. My doctor is one of the best in MI and he's a DGI. Are you surprised?

If he's type 2, requiring medication, again BUY..BUY even if insurance won't cover it. I don't advocate lying, but this is survival, so make-up excuses to get extra prescriptions. Don't feel odd for asking for what you need. Your husband's life hangs in the balance.

I think of the potential deaths in this population daily if a small percentage of what could go awry does. Remember 80% of pharmeucutical materials come form outside the U.S.!

Good Luck and act now...

-- PJC (paulchri@msn.com), July 30, 1999.

I have a friend who is on kidney dialysis as well as being a diabetic. He has a couple of spare bottles of Insulin in his fridge and a partial box of syringes for his day-to-day use. He is aware of Y2K, but is in denial. I am not a diabetic, but I feel safe in saying that this is inadequate for something like Y2K. I am also aware that diabetic supplies are expensive. Do you know, or can you (as his wife/companion) ask his doctor (or the Pharmacist for that matter) about the "shelf-life" of whichever medication he takes? Another thing-ask about getting copies of his prescription(s) and PROOF that he is a diabetic (like a signed letter from his personal physician) and (as in the case of injectable insulin) not a drug user. My friend has been hassled more than once by overzealous gendarmes when he was "caught in the act". If you don't already have one, you might want to obtain a secure, portable waterproof holder for his supplies. My friend has a zippered cordura kit that even has a slot for his blood glucose monitor and a HD plastic "pencil bag" for holding a few days worth of disposable syringes. Government assurances to the contrary regarding availability,circa November, I would want my friend to have a minimum of 6 months supply of Insulin. A year's worth would be even better. The same for all of the accessories. My friend also has an old fashioned glass syringe with a few packages of needles, but he prefers the disposables for obvious reasons. Consider what your best guess is regarding the state of our power grid in March or April. As you know, if Insulin is not refrigerated, it deteriorates. You might consider purchasing a battery powered ice chest. I will take it for granted that you have already started planning appropriate food storage. My friend is fond of gum drops for those times when he is in need of a little boost in his blood sugar level and they store well if not exposed to heat.

-- Greg Lawrence (greg@speakeasy.org), July 30, 1999.

Some thoughts have been floating around that the grid will go out early due to such things as chips and solar flares. Buy your meds now, if possible.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 30, 1999.

Before you start worrying about stockpiling insulin (which only has a 6 month shelf life, I understand) buy the book "Protein Power" by Dr. Eades and Dr. Eades (husband and wife team) Available from Amazon.com for about $5.00. Shows how you can treat type II (adult onset)diabetes through diet rather than drugs. Fascinating reading. Also a great weight-loss program. I loss 15 pounds with it. It's completely counter-intuitive to all of the diet propaganda floating around today. You ought to at least read it. Won't hurt anything and it might save your life.

-- rob minor (rbminor@hotmail.com), July 30, 1999.

Aside from the above, on diet, I've heard that jerusalem artichokes (which are tubers) are the natural equivalent of insulin. They are very easy to grow and can be left in the ground over the winter until you want them. If you don't use them, they simply multiply in the spring. (You don't put them in your regular garden area, or they take over.) You can make them into a flour-like substance and make pasta out of them--De Boles makes a jerusalem artichoke pasta. You might look into this and consider either planting a few of these or stocking up on the pasta as a "just in case". If it came down to having used up my supply of insulin and dying or trying this stuff, I'd rather have it on hand and try it. (BTW, the pasta tastes no different than any other. It *is* slightly green, however.)

-- Natural (Not@right.now), July 30, 1999.

Rob,

By the way, I have insulin with an expiration date of May 2001! Don't guess. Six month expiration?

-- PJC (paulchri@msn.com), July 30, 1999.

species die-back is almost upon us.

-- apokoliptik (apokoliptik@large.com), July 30, 1999.

Rob:

Diet is the most crucial component of both type of diabetes control. Unfortunately, for juvenile diabetes sufferers, diet alone will not work. For Type II diabetics, control by diet alone is possible in only a small percentage of patients.

Diabetes occurs when the pancreas stops providing sufficient (or any) insulin to process the sugar produced by the liver. An insulin shot, of course, provides the missing amount (which can vary considerably from patient to patient.) For Type II diabetics, there are two classes of oral drugs available, one which helps the pancreas produce more insulin, and another which helps the liver produce less sugar. There is also a new drug on the market which, in combination with one of these drugs, provides even better control. Many Type II diabetics have to resort to insulin 10-15 years after the onset of the disease.

Controlling the level of sugar so that there are no "spikes" is the reason why diabetics must eat a carefully balanced meal or snack every couple of hours. The reason "spikes" are to ba avoided is because they damage all the vital organs in the body (which is why kidney failure is a not uncommon diabetic side-effect). In addition, nerves are destroyed and numb spots can (and do) develop in the extremities. Infection of the feet becomes a real possibility and amputation due to gangrene sometimes results.

Stockpiling of diabetes medicine is the only real solution to the problem of what to do about any supply interruptions. The oral anti-diabetic medications have a shelf-life of from 2-4 years, and patients should ask their pharmacist about the date on the box from which their supply was dispensed.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), July 30, 1999.

With regard to artichokes:

http://extension-horticulture.tamu.edu/PLANTanswers/vegetables/jerusar t.html

In reference to the question about Jerusalem artichoke as a source of insulin, I believe the carbohydrate in Jerusalem artichoke is INULIN. Insulin is the (protein) hormone that controls glucose absorption by animal cells. If eaten, insulin is broken down to its component amino acids, which is why insulin is injected intradermally by dependent diabetics.

Inulin is a carbohydrate which breaks down to fructose. Fructose is not used to treat diabetes, but is considered a better sugar for most diabetics because it must be converted to glucose before being absorbed by cells.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), July 30, 1999.

Dear Walter's wife,

Haven't read all the responses to your question, but agree that diet is an important issue. About refrigeration - call your pharmacist. You may be surprised to find that refrigeration is not required for unopened insulin as long as it is not kept too warm or too hot. Pharmacist can give you a range. I believe that if the bottle is used within 30 days after opening it doesn't need refrigerating either. You can also reuse the same syringe for as much as 30 days - just don't let the needle touch anything but the injection site. You can buy insulin over the counter (this was shocking news to me) without a prescription, of course don't expect your insurance to pay for it. You do need a prescription for the needles, but as I said, you can safely reuse those if not contaminated.

Best wishes and good health.

-- lilsparky (anotherGI@home.com), July 30, 1999.

Dear Walters Wife : I have Type 2- Diabetes and have it controlled with glyburibe and diet. My pharmacist is a G.I. and assures me he will have a years worth of fresh meds for me on the first of december. I'll have to pay for it out of pocket because my insurance will only spring for 2 months at a time. Oh well, small price for my health...Good luck..

-- Capt. Dennis (capden@hotmail.com), July 30, 1999.

I'll probably be troll-bait for saying this, but since Diabetes is the most damaging patient-controllable disease known to man, folsk that are insulin-dependant will be totally screwed if Y2K is a 5+.

Personally, although I don't expect things to be that bad, if they are there will be a lot of dead and dying diabetics in the world. Heaven help them all...

Botom line: You've heard it before but it bears repeating... If you don't prepare to at least SOME degree for Y2K, even if you expect nothing bad, you are a fool and could very well suffer accordingly. No excuses, no BS, it's just that simple.

(Side note: I have a LOT of diabetic relatives and a masive family history of Diabetes. I'm hypoglycemic myself and monitor closely for signs of a flip to the other extreme. I'm NOT looking forward to the next several months...)

A somewhat worried...

-- OddOne (mocklamer_1999@yahoo.com), July 30, 1999.

Depending upon your location during the Y2K onset, I would suggest that you call your local Red Cross and ask where the nearest shelter would be in the case of severe weather or Y2K. One of the first questions asked of incoming shelter residents is their need for Rx meds. Red Cross has an extensive network in place to help get emergency meds to those in immediate need. This network includes hospital emergency rooms and local/regional/national government agencies so I hope that once you make an actual need known to them they will be successful in assuring an adequate supply during an emergency.

If Y2K is longer in term, you may want to back track and investigate your local supply chain. Chances are your local pharmacy gets their meds on a regular delivery schedule from a nearby distributor. In an emergency, you may be able to deal directly with the distributor.

Best of luck to both of you.

-- Bill P (porterwn@one.net), July 30, 1999.

Walter's Wife...A long time ago I copied information on NON- refrigerated insulin for a friend, (who never called to get it because she doesn't belief y2k will affect her.) I've kept it on file all this time and pass it on to you now. I don't know if it is true or not, but it is worth a check/see. Good luck to you both. LuLou

There are designated clinical trial sites in San Francisco, Burlingame and Walnut Creek. If you or your friend contact me, I can provide you with the necessary information to reach the clinic directly. Additionally, because we are partnered with Pfizer in the insulin project, and Pfizer is responsible for the management of the clinical trials, any interested patients can register with Pfizer by calling 1-800-438-1985. thanks for your interest in inhaled insulin and please contact me if you have additional questions.

Lance Dawson

650-631-3318

-- LuLou (luana@walkon.net), July 31, 1999.

Insulin has a fairly long shelf life, check the expiration date. It is correct that it do not require refrigeration. Try an insulated cooler type bag and keep it in a relatively cool spot. You do not need a prescription. Pay cash and go to several pharmacies. Don't forget plenty of disposable syringes, alcohol pads, testing strips and lancets etc. I have been pleading with all diabetics that I know to stock up. There is no gray area when you are dependent on insulin. Diet control will not cut it for Type I. If you have late onset, work with a doctor now to see what you can do. Lose weight. Use weight machines. They have been proven to be particularly beneficial to diabetics. It's a dreadful thought to think of insulin supplies being disrupted.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), July 31, 1999.

I'm very happy to see al this interest in diabetes. It's important becasue there are an estimated 8 million people in this country who have diabetes and don't know it yet (but they will, it doesn't go away). Another 8 million have diabetes and know it all too well. The poster who wrote that diabetes is the most damaging, patient-controllable disease known is probably correct. BEcause I confused the initial sympmtoms with chronic fatigue sydrome, a family trait (I actually do have a mild form), neuropathy occurred before control began. I now have numb spots at the end of each big toe and there's some pain associated with it at times. Worse, I have some neuropathy in my right hand, which makes it difficult to do "fiddly" things, like turning a tiny knob or small screwdriver, knitting, hand-sewing--and writing.

A healthy diet, well-balanced, low in refined sugar, will actually slow or prevent the onset of the disease. If there are serious food supply problems, those on healthy diets will be forced to eat what's available--and may develop diabetes. It's been described as an epidemic by better minds than mine.

Type II diabetes hits around what used to be called middle-age. You don't HAVE to be overweight to develop the disease but it helps. Look around you--who's over 40 and overweight? There's a good chance they could be diabetes candidates.

A self-monitor is available with all the accoutrements for about $70-100, depending on which kind you get and what's on sale. Extra test strips and "stickers" (lancets) are available in boxes of 100 or so. Sticking the finger is hardly noticeable any more with the new sticker devices.

It might be worth adding a test kit to your medical supplies. Don't say there's no history of diabetes in my family. There's none in mine, going back several generations. My Dad was born in 1917 and remembers none of his extended family dying in middle age or ever developing diabetes. Far as he can remember, my late mother (one of 13 children) had no relatives who wualified either. Complete surprise to me when I was diagnosed last fall.

What are the symptoms? Fatigue for no good reason, sometimes weight loss. Later symptoms (the ones that tipped me off something serious was wrong), incredible thirst, frequent urination, dizziness, horrible disorientation.

See the American Diabetes Assoc. page for more. Sorry, can't look it up in my file, maybe someone has the URL, got to go and load up on more supplies!

Please take this seriously, y'all, it's no fun. If I forget a tablet, or a designated snack, I know within two hours--start feeling AWFUL. Happened last weekend, forgot a mid-morning snack, got to lunch late, got disoriented, didn't even occur to me it could be my diabetes, left it a bit long, almost had to call the paramedics. Took a good 24 hours to recover enough to function near normal.

(Sorry for any typos, The Hungarian is due any moment and she's PUNCTUAL! More Austro than Hungarian, I think.)

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), July 31, 1999.