Chemist delays

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sean123

sean123

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 3c
Hiya, every month my prescription is delayed, not all of it just some of it, this time for a week so far and counting, stll 4 pens owed to me.
I'm wondering if its just a my local area thing or is this happening accross the country? I asked the staff why it happens every month and they said its because the manufacturer struggles to source the materials, I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what they said.
I'm on Fiasp and Tresiba, its always the Fiasp which is delayed and annoyingly that's the most important one for me.
 
Have you asked if they have the same supply issues with cartridges rather than pens?
 
Lucyr said:
Have you asked if they have the same supply issues with cartridges rather than pens?
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They said today that its gone to the Meds Management Hub (something like that anyway) and that I may be getting cartridges now.
 
Hi. Do you use disposable (Flex-pens) or are yopu using a reusable pen (NovoPen or NovoPen Echo) and Fiasp Penfil cartridges? I use cartridges in my NovoPen Echo reusable pen and I have no problem getting Fiasp cartridges and it is better for the environment, plus the reuseable pens have a memory function so that I can check when my last injection was and how many units and the new pens and the Echo allows half unit adjustment and they can be scanned by the Librelink app so lots of benefits to getting reusable pens for your insulin and then just getting cartridges on prescription, which are available for Tresiba and Fiasp.
If you want to switch to using reusable pens and cartridges as oppose to disposable pens then you may need to speak to your DSN at he diabetes clinic to change your prescription or perhaps the DN at your GP practice may be able to change it, depending upon how well trained they are.

I think some of the shortage issues for Flexpens may be down to the huge surge in use of Ozempic and other injectable drugs for weight loss and perhaps production lines possibly being switched to that very profitable market.
 
rebrascora said:
Hi. Do you use disposable (Flex-pens) or are yopu using a reusable pen (NovoPen or NovoPen Echo) and Fiasp Penfil cartridges? I use cartridges in my NovoPen Echo reusable pen and I have no problem getting Fiasp cartridges and it is better for the environment, plus the reuseable pens have a memory function so that I can check when my last injection was and how many units and the new pens and the Echo allows half unit adjustment and they can be scanned by the Librelink app so lots of benefits to getting reusable pens for your insulin and then just getting cartridges on prescription, which are available for Tresiba and Fiasp.
If you want to switch to using reusable pens and cartridges as oppose to disposable pens then you may need to speak to your DSN at he diabetes clinic to change your prescription or perhaps the DN at your GP practice may be able to change it, depending upon how well trained they are.

I think some of the shortage issues for Flexpens may be down to the huge surge in use of Ozempic and other injectable drugs for weight loss and perhaps production lines possibly being switched to that very profitable market.
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If its down to the Ozempic craze I will not be a happy boy, mainly because I can't use it! :rofl: (already had pancreatitis and its increases the risk of pancreatitis by 900%, the pancreatits gave me diabetes and almost killed me so its a no from me).

I have disposables, never used a cartridge. But the chemist said I may be getting the cartridges now. I'd just like the security and stress free knowledge of regular insulin availability.
 
sean123 said:
I have disposables, never used a cartridge. But the chemist said I may be getting the cartridges now. I'd just like the security and stress free knowledge of regular insulin availability.
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If you get cartridges then you also need a reusable pen prescribed and a spare reusable pen, just in case of breakage. What sort of doses do you take? If just small doses then a half unit pen might be helpful, so you should request the NovoPen Echo. If you need larger doses then the NovoPen 6 I think would be the one to go for.
 
rebrascora said:
If you get cartridges then you also need a reusable pen prescribed and a spare reusable pen, just in case of breakage. What sort of doses do you take? If just small doses then a half unit pen might be helpful, so you should request the NovoPen Echo. If you need larger doses then the NovoPen 6 I think would be the one to go for.
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Oh ok, so its not really a problem solver, just potentially other problems to solve. Relatively high dose but lower than it used to be, I use about 5 Fiasp pens per month, not sure what that equals but day to day 10 units for no carb meal, 20 for a carb meal, and more if I want some chocolate, the last remaning vice.
 
With those doses I would suggest a NovoPen 6.
The cartridges are of course useless without a pen to dispense the insulin, so it is very important that you get that sorted too. The reusable Novopens are really nice quality and considered by many users to be the best reusable pens on the market and usually provide reliable use for several years but it is important to have a back up just in case one does get damaged or break, otherwise you have no means of getting the insulin from the cartridge into your body.
 
rebrascora said:
With those doses I would suggest a NovoPen 6.
The cartridges are of course useless without a pen to dispense the insulin, so it is very important that you get that sorted too. The reusable Novopens are really nice quality and considered by many users to be the best reusable pens on the market and usually provide reliable use for several years but it is important to have a back up just in case one does get damaged or break, otherwise you have no means of getting the insulin from the cartridge into your body.
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Thank you, will bear that in mind.
 
@sean123, in my opinion chocolate is not a vice! You are on Multiple Daily Injections and if you want chocolate count the carbs and take some insulin.

Over time I've naturally reduced my desire for chocolate, it's more a matter of too much faff to take insulin separately or remembering to add its carb count to the meal bolus. But I have always liked dark chocolate and both Aldi and Lidl sell 72% or 85% chocolate and a square or 2 can be manageable for me without insulin from time to time.
 
My delays seem to be at the GP rather than the pharmacy as Patient Access often shows delays in authorising!
 
MikeyBikey said:
My delays seem to be at the GP rather than the pharmacy as Patient Access often shows delays in authorising!
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Alas, Creon is a genuine source supply problem, for the larger 25k capsules; the smaller 10k capsules so far have been fine. There are 3 alternatives for PERT (Pancrease, Nutrizym and one other which escapes me just now!). Each is a little different in chemical composition and Creon capsules are I think slightly smaller, which helps me swallow lots daily.
 
Proud to be erratic said:
@sean123, in my opinion chocolate is not a vice! You are on Multiple Daily Injections and if you want chocolate count the carbs and take some insulin.

Over time I've naturally reduced my desire for chocolate, it's more a matter of too much faff to take insulin separately or remembering to add its carb count to the meal bolus. But I have always liked dark chocolate and both Aldi and Lidl sell 72% or 85% chocolate and a square or 2 can be manageable for me without insulin from time to time.
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It's a vice in my mind, it gives me some enjoyment but I have to factor it in.
But either way, we're both right 🙂
 
sean123 said:
Oh ok, so its not really a problem solver, just potentially other problems to solve.
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Except that the shortage I provided the link to earlier is for the Flexipens not Fiasp insulin.
So, if you have the reusable Novopens, you can get the cartridges of which there is no shortage.
Plus all the other benefits of reusable pens.
 
Yup Prefilled Fiasp pens seem to have had intermittent supply issues for a while.

There was another insulin (Humalog I think) where it was the vials that were in short supply, and the pens/cartridges were fine.

In all my years of living with diabetes I’ve never known a time like this for ongoing long-term shortages for such a huge number and variety of prescription items. No idea what’s happened. It seems to stretch far wider than the UK too, so it isn’t all connected to the B word (though I gather that didn’t help!)
 
The pen shortages are probably because of ramped-up production for Ozempic. The NY Times had a story yesterday about the South African medical system — Novo Nordisk didn't renew their contract with the country, because they're too busy making Ozempic and Wegovy, and now patients in the South African system have to go back to syringes and vials of insulin, and must try and calculate doses manually. Terrible situation.
 
The world seems to be on a slow grind to a halt these last few years, nothing works as it should.
I get that weight loss is good for individuals and society, but profit shouldn't be allowed over treating those in genuine need of insulin to keep them alive.
 
To the Danes, it is probably great - "NovoNordisk is responsible for half of Denmark's private-sector job growth outside the agricultural industry since the beginning of 2023".
 
sean123 said:
Update - the Fiasp pens are going to be out of stock until at least December!
I'm being switched to cartridges...
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Great news, worth having cartridges anyway even if there wasn’t a shortage.
 
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