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What no insulin?

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Z

zoombapup

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Went to my local asda to pick up my monthly prescription and... they had none of the insulin I take. I'd gotten my previous dose via the hospital and had basically two months, so I'm probably ok for another few days. But what do you guys do if they can't supply?

Apparently it was down as MCS (manufacturer cannot supply) and there ARE alternatives they can give me, but I've got to go back on Monday and check if they'd had any supplies.

Is this common? seems like it'd be kind of bad for you type 1 guys to not be able to get your insulin, at least all I'll do is spike for a bit.

Never thought this kind of thing could happen, but I guess it can. Supply chains and all that.
 
R u in the USA?
 
Yes it is common as is the same with any other medication, you can choose to get your prescription and try another chemist though, I just waited on mine but then I order when I have at least 2 cartridges left to allow for any issues
 
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It happened to me about 3 weeks back when my normal pharmacy couldn't get supplies of the insulin I use. I rang around and a different pharmacy in town ordered the supplies for me. It is a worry when it happens but do ask elsewhere if the answer is the same on Monday.
 
It isn't usually an MCS at all - despite what the pharmacy tell you - it's usually because the shop's supplier has run out!

Something I used to have - they actually stopped making it cos it transpired that half the strength of it worked exactly as well as the larger dose hence only the half dose was available. That was definitely an MCS but wasn't commonly known at the time cos my latest Repeat scrip of it occurred at precisely the time the withdrawal of the larger dose was occurring - Pharmacist had contacted a dozen suppliers until the official notice of this arrived, hence he told me rather than the doctor, who got their official notice at exactly the same time as him! That was very much a 'one-off'.

Give your outlet a chance to get a delivery on Monday and then ring them to see what's happening. If they're still coming out with the same story, ring eg Boots or Lloyds before trekking around to find some.
 
zoombapup said:
Nope, I live in Lincoln in the UK, why is that normal in the US?
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No not that I know of. I just thought the word humour used in your other post was a US Colloquialism

probably what Kaylz suggest is a good option.
 
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zoombapup said:
But what do you guys do if they can't supply?

Sorry to hear this zoombapup - must be a bit worrying for you.

Apparently it was down as MCS (manufacturer cannot supply) and there ARE alternatives they can give me, but I've got to go back on Monday and check if they'd had any supplies.
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I would aim not to have an alternative - insulins aren’t entirely or easily interchangeable in my experience. Either request your script so that you can take it elsewhere to another pharmacy, or go back to your Dr for one that can be taken elsewhere.

Hopefully the warehouse/supplier will be able to supply in a couple of days.

I’ve found it’s usually prudent to try to get new supplies when you have at least a week’s worth in hand.
 
On yesterdays Woman's hour - I think it was - I had BBC radio 4 on - there was a piece about the reason for the lack of availability of some HRT and contraceptive pills - the NHS had set the price they were willing to pay too low. Despite warnings nothing was done - there seems to be no mechanism for correcting errors of that kind.
If the same thing has happened where insulin is concerned, then the supply chain simply is not there. What is manufactured is what can be sold for a price the maker thinks is worthwhile - always following the profit.
 
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What insulins do you use? There is no supply problem with Levemir and NovoRapid.
 
Drummer said:
What is manufactured is what can be sold for a price the maker thinks is worthwhile - always following the profit.
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The particular challenge where essential medications like insulin are concerned comes from observing what is happening in the US, where - because the system allows it - insulin manufacturers have continued to exponentially increase the cost of unchanged formulations of insulin over many years, so that the cost in the US is many many times the cost to the NHS of the same medication ($20 per vial in 1996, when Humalog entered the market, to about $275 per vial today, while the NHS price is still approx £25 per vial).

This is slightly what worries me about the reporting around those pre-trade-talk meetings with US representatives, and mentions of negotiating changes to drug pricing. If there is a way to lift caps on prices for existing medications it makes perfect sense for companies to try to do that - but with a finite NHS budget, you could find that we are burning through more than 10x the money for absolutely no benefit. Which means there will be less cash for other things.

Thankfully there are European companies involved in insulin manufacture too - but still I'm not sure how much any agreements made with the US might spill over to the likes of Novo Nordisk who are happy to charge far far more for their product in the US than they do in Europe.
 
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