Think yourself lucky you're not Greek

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Is this reported correctly? {quote}But a spokesman for Novo Nordisk said this issue was not about killing people. By way of compensation, he said the company would make available an insulin product called glucagen, free of charge. {end quote}

What use to a diabetic without insulin is glucagen (unless they don't eat I suppose).

Can you get Insulin on ebay?🙄
 
Yeah, free glucogon, that'll help combat the disabling hypos brought on by the....erm...insulin? When they discovered insulin there was quite a concerted drive by the discoverers to make it freely available and free from patent, because morally it is a life-saving drug. This is akin to some of the US horror stories I hear where people run out of insurance so they can't get insulin. Putting big business profit before people :(

p.s. no - not reported correctly = as far as I know glucagon isn't an 'insulin' product.
 
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Does anyone know any more details. The BBC and others repeat the UPI press release. I found a bit more here:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100529/ts_afp/greecefinanceeconomyhealth_20100529150531

Which says it's temporary and I suspect it's only pulling supplies to the state health service. Greece has one of the worst health services in europe and it looks like it's about to get much worse, it's not just Insulin it will affect. How long before the foreign office advises people not to go there because of the health risk.

Perhaps we can petition Cliff to take a London bus load:D
 
It's enough to give you nightmares? Are there any alternatives on the market that those of you on insulin could ask for as a replacement, so that there could be a boycott of their product?
 
Vicsetter said:
...Perhaps we can petition Cliff to take a London bus load:D
Click to expand...

We?re all going on a sugar holiday,
No injections for a week or two,
Beer and chocolate on our sugar holiday.
No diabetes for me or you,
For a week or two?

We?re going where our pancreas works correctly,
We?re going where each beta cell?s new!
We?ve seen it on a website,
Now let?s see if it?s true!

Everybody needs a sugar holiday,
Eating things they always wanted to,
Cured and happy on our sugar holiday,
For Type 1 or Type 2.

We?re going to eat pizza twice nightly,
We?re going to drink a tipple or two!
And it won?t affect our levels,
The non-diabetic crew!

I hope one day we get a sugar holiday,
No more testing for me or you,
Come back cured from our sugar holiday,
If only it could be true..
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm?
:D
 
Northerner said:
p.s. no - not reported correctly = as far as I know glucagon isn't an 'insulin' product.
Click to expand...

Novo Nordisk are supposed to be pulling 17 products from Greece.

Talking of marketing and making a profit, have you looked at NNs page on glucagen: http://www.novonordisk.com/diabetes/public/hypokit/glucagenhypokit/default.asp

'Every diabetic should have a kit' - why? ,so we can make even more profit.

Just seen the poem, apart from the fact that I now have the bloody tune going round my head, great stuff!
 
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omg! thats a cull of diabetics in greece and using money as an excuse!...just hope david cameron doesnt get the same idea! and glucagon what help is that when your blood sugar is 30 due to lack of insulin! what about the other companie?! does the one that makes lantus make short acting or mixed insulins i wonder
 
Sanofi-aventis Make Lantus and Apidra (rapid acting) and as far as i can tell are French. They also make Amaryl (glimepiride) and Aproval (irbesartan). I suspect Novo Nordisk are the only ones firing a shot over the greek bows. Other companies will follow suit.
 
Northerner said:
We?re all going on a sugar holiday,
No injections for a week or two,
Beer and chocolate on our sugar holiday.
No diabetes for me or you,
For a week or two?

We?re going where our pancreas works correctly,
We?re going where each beta cell?s new!
We?ve seen it on a website,
Now let?s see if it?s true!

Everybody needs a sugar holiday,
Eating things they always wanted to,
Cured and happy on our sugar holiday,
For Type 1 or Type 2.

We?re going to eat pizza twice nightly,
We?re going to drink a tipple or two!
And it won?t affect our levels,
The non-diabetic crew!

I hope one day we get a sugar holiday,
No more testing for me or you,
Come back cured from our sugar holiday,
If only it could be true..
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm?
:D
Click to expand...

Oh goodness this made me laugh so much - loved it :D
 
Vicsetter said:
Does anyone know any more details. The BBC and others repeat the UPI press release. I found a bit more here:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100529/ts_afp/greecefinanceeconomyhealth_20100529150531

Which says it's temporary and I suspect it's only pulling supplies to the state health service. Greece has one of the worst health services in europe and it looks like it's about to get much worse, it's not just Insulin it will affect. How long before the foreign office advises people not to go there because of the health risk.

Perhaps we can petition Cliff to take a London bus load:D
Click to expand...


HOLY SMOKE! 😱 Im going to Greece on Wednesday 😱 Any advice????:confused:
 
Sugarbum,

I would pack about two or three times of the stuff more than you would need to get you through your time there. That's my standard rule when going away. Double up on sets and reservoirs too.

Tom
 
Its actually quite scary.....:(

My mum was just on the phone saying they weigh your hand luggage for Greece and its a max of 3kg. Well, I carry all my diabetes in my handluggage so that has made me a bit anxious also....

It could be worse, I feel a little 'unsettled' by this.....but as Northeners title suggest, at least Im not Greek and diabetic. It just doesnt bear thinking about....
 
I thought this might amuse people, herewith the e-mail I sent to the beeb about that article:

Dear Sir/Madame,

I would like to highlight the innacuracy in the article relating the the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk pulling sales of insulin from Greece. It states at the end of the article that by way of compensation an insulin product "glucagen" has been available free of charge. As a type one diabetic myself I feel obliged to point out that the product glucagen is the brand name for the hormone glucagon. This is not an insuling product. It does however work in conjunction with insulin in blood glucose homeostasis. Glucagon (referred to byt he brand name glucagen in the article) is a hormone that stimulate the liver to break down glycogen (the storage molecule of glucose) by the process of glycogenolysis and release glucose into the blood stream thus raising blood glucose. It's actions are in no way similar to the actions of insulin which causes glycogen to be formed in the cells of the liver and muscles by the process of glycogenesis. Insulin in essence, removes glucose from the blood stream and glucagon releases it from its storage form into the blood stream.

What I find most irritating is that a simple search online would have pointed that out to the journalist who wrote the article. Perhaps even if the online search were not to make it clear what the hormone glucagon does then it perhaps is beyond me to expect the aforementioned journalist to delve into the world of biochemistry and look it up in a text book (the fourth edition of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by WH Elliot and DC Elliot provides a rather good potted version of blood glucose regualtion)

I ask then that your journalist be mor diligent in their research and spend that extra five minutes reading prior to writing. I suppose pigs might fly one day.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Hreben
 
Not a problem Northerner, someone has to re educate these verminous things known as journalists. If would offer yout he use of my biochemistry text book but at the moment it seems to be a bit of a necessity.

Tom
 
fantasic poem northe ...and Tom how elequently you write x please let us know if you get a reply 🙂
re the insulin and greece ...its beyond belief
 
Ah eloquence, something that's not normally associated with me! I will put any reply that I get up on here for all to see and deride. Hopefully the journo responsible for such a shoddy article will be given a little education!
 
TomH said:
Ah eloquence, something that's not normally associated with me! I will put any reply that I get up on here for all to see and deride. Hopefully the journo responsible for such a shoddy article will be given a little education!
Click to expand...

hahhaaa me and my spelling !!
 
Northerner said:
We?re all going on a sugar holiday,
No injections for a week or two,
Beer and chocolate on our sugar holiday.
No diabetes for me or you,
For a week or two?

We?re going where our pancreas works correctly,
We?re going where each beta cell?s new!
We?ve seen it on a website,
Now let?s see if it?s true!

Everybody needs a sugar holiday,
Eating things they always wanted to,
Cured and happy on our sugar holiday,
For Type 1 or Type 2.

We?re going to eat pizza twice nightly,
We?re going to drink a tipple or two!
And it won?t affect our levels,
The non-diabetic crew!

I hope one day we get a sugar holiday,
No more testing for me or you,
Come back cured from our sugar holiday,
If only it could be true..
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm?
:D
Click to expand...

Oh, clever!
 
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