Buying Insulin Without a Prescription? Read This First
Buying Insulin Without a Prescription? Read This First I was I need help from like a medical professional or any other diabetics who might know the answer to this. So, I have type 1 diabetes and everybody knows insulin is freaking expensive in the US and it’s just really difficult to get because not only do you have to pay for the insulin, but you also have to pay for a doctor to write you a prescription.
And a lot of people have been recommending that I try the Relyon insulin from Walmart. It’s apparently $25 and you don’t need a prescription. It’s like over- thecounter insulin. But I have tried to do my research and I have heard so many scary horror stories about this type of insulin. Like apparently it’s an older insulin that diabetics don’t really use anymore.
And I guess in the ‘9s a ton of type 1 diabetics passed away in their sleep because this insulin does not work like normal insulin does. I just don’t know too much about this insulin. And my question is if anybody has used this rely on I think it’s called Arn Novalain. I think that’s what it’s called.
If anybody has used this insulin, how does it work? How does it compare to regular Humalogue insulin? Like basically, how do I use it? Hey, I’m Ethan. I’m a pharmacist and also certified diabetes outpatient educator. I’ll explain how the Walmart insulins work. The Walmart sells three types of insulin under their Relion brand.
It’s Novin R, Novolan N, and Novain 7030. Before we get into that, let’s go over the different types of insulin. So, you have your rapid acting, which is like your Humalog Novalog. That usually starts within 5 to 10 minutes. Then you have short acting, which is your regular insulin. So novel R which works in 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then intermediate acting.
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So this is going to be the novalin N or insulin NPH and this starts working in 1 to 3 hours. Then your longer acting which like you know is like maybe like Lantis traca that usually works within 1 to two hours. R is going to be our short acting insulin starts working within 30 minutes. And the greatest blood lowering effects are seen usually between 2 to 4 hours.
But the main thing is this does not work immediately and you need to take it 30 minutes before a meal. So it takes a while for it to start working. Then we have our intermediate acting which is novel and N starts working within 1 to two hours and usually the greatest blood lowering effects are seen between 4 to 12 hours.
The main difference between like your basil insulin is that it has a high peak meaning that it can lower your blood sugar more aggressively. This means you really want to try to plan your meals and snacks so that you avoid any lows cuz with your long acting insulins they don’t really have that high peak. So you’re not going to see as much as like that big drop and that’s why the longer acting ones are usually preferred especially like overnight.
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And then we have Novvelyn 730 which is a premixed insulin. So it’s 70% MH which is the intermediate acting and 30% regular insulin which is the short acting. It’s kind of like getting a two for one dose. Regular insulin covers your meals and the MH acts as your basil insulin. While the dosing may seem convenient, it does give you less flexibility when it comes to scheduling your meals because usually you’re going to be doing this twice a day and you need to make sure that you have your meals like separated by like 12 hours.
If you consider using these, I highly recommend if possible, at least trying to get a prescription for like a CGM, for example, like a freestyle Libre. Since this is a new insulin for you, it’s going to make sure that you’re dosing things correctly and you know if you’re giving too much or too little and also how meals are affecting your blood sugar.
But at $25 per vial, no prescription needed, I think, in like most states. This definitely is a lot easier for people who are having trouble with getting insulin. I will say that this is like a not a direct like onetoone substitute at all from what you’re taking. ideally should really be seeing an endocrinologist or at least a primary care doctor or if your retail pharmacist is willing to help you with that because depending on the dose that you’re currently on on other insulin, there are going to be adjustments.
