Over-the-Counter Insulin Available for Patients with Diabetes Who Cannot Afford Prescription

Although it is uncommon, patients with diabetes can legally purchase specific forms of insulin without a prescription, something many physicians are not even aware of.

According to Medscape, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk manufacture the 2 types of over-the-counter available to patients with diabetes. They are older versions of medicine created in the 1980s, taking longer to metabolize than newer, prescribed medications would. The prices for these over-the-counter insulin drugs can range from ≥$200 a vial, to as little as $25.
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When Carmen Smith, from Cleveland, OH, did not have health insurance or a primary care physician, she purchased her insulin with out a prescription from Wal-Mart. “It’s not like we go in our trench coat and a top hat, saying ‘Uh I need the insulin,’” said Ms Smith, in the Medscape report. “The clerks usually don’t know it’s a big secret. They’ll just go ‘Do we sell over-the-counter-insulin?’ “And you purchase it and go about your business.”

Ms Smith revealed that although purchasing her insulin over-the-counter was a way to survive, it is “no way to live.” Without proper guidance, health care, instructions, or a prescription from a physician there were instances when Ms Smith did not get the dose or the timing correctly, and she explains that her bodies reaction was horrible and she winded up in the emergency room several times over 6 years.  “It’s a quick high and then, it’s a down,” she told Medscape. “The down part is, you feel icky. You feel lifeless. You feel pain. And the cramps are so intense—till you can’t walk, you can’t sit, you can’t stand.”—Alessia D’Anna

Reference

Tribble SJ. Patients can buy insulin without a prescription, but should they? Medscape. December 15, 2015.