Stockpiling insulin for no-deal: 'If I run out, I have no idea what to do'

[Northerner]

James Robson (not his real name), 44, has type 1 diabetes and since his teens has relied on medication from the NHS: a fast-acting insulin that he takes three times a day, a slow-acting one to work overnight, and multiple other drugs to help with his condition.

Four months ago, he began to stockpile his medication, ordering twice the amount he needs from the pharmacist. “The reason I started was the fear of a no-deal Brexit and the possibility of shortages in medicine,” he says.

“It was also the lack of any information from the government. If I run out of my meds, I have a matter of hours to get something sorted, but I have no idea what to do. Do I report to an A&E? Do I sit and wait? I don’t know.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...brexit-if-i-run-out-i-have-no-idea-what-to-do

 

[mikeyB]

The insulin manufacturers tell us there is plenty stored to cover any delays.

There won’t be if everyone stockpiles stuff. I don’t know what his doctor is doing - it’s madness giving double supplies of medication to someone with depression, bad practice.

 

[PhoebeC]

I wouldnt get away with ordering double, they have enough issues if I'm going away on holiday. I've got plenty of insulin, but its my needles and testing stuff I never seem to have enough of and they really watch what I order.

Thats the chemist and doctors.

 

[robert@fm]

The insulin manufacturers tell us there is plenty stored to cover any delays.

There won’t be if everyone stockpiles stuff. I don’t know what his doctor is doing - it’s madness giving double supplies of medication to someone with depression, bad practice.

Reminds me of the sugar shortage in the early '70s; someone on Radio 4 jokingly said "there will be a salt shortage next", and by that evening there was a salt shortage, simply because some people took him seriously. 😡 The salt shortage soon ended when its sole cause was exposed.

 

[Madeline]

I lost a work friend to an insulin overdose, we had no idea she was depressed, she hid it really well. His doctor is absolutely mad giving him extra.

 

[nonethewiser]

I wouldnt get away with ordering double, they have enough issues if I'm going away on holiday. I've got plenty of insulin, but its my needles and testing stuff I never seem to have enough of and they really watch what I order.

Thats the chemist and doctors.

Much the same here, chance would be a fine thing ordering over & above what is needed.

The threat of a no-deal Brexit has put fear in people who rely on medication to survive, this anxiety is heightened by the antics of the press and social media with all the scare stories that are abound everyday, little is mentioned that the drug companies have contingency plans in place in case of a no deal and supplies won't suddenly run out, so to read that article in the Guardian comes as no surprise, sure they'll be many more like him.