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Emergency Supplies

A

Ali H

Well-Known Member
Messages
790
Location
Somerset
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Somewhat stupidly, I picked up my novopens this morning without realising I didn't have any needles in the zip up case. Went 50 miles away to shop and realised I was without any way to inject so consequently we didn't get to have lunch out. Nobody would help, neither Boots nor Superdrug pharmacists had a solution and despite the fact I could produce the Novopens, meter etc I couldn't get a needle or needles. I am amazed there is no small pack available as an emergency supply via a pharmacist. So over to you, have you been as stupid as me and if so, how did you resolve it?

Luckily I got back to the car, my levels were 8.7 so nothing drastic and safe to drive etc. Just meant another 1 1/2 hours until I got home and could eat.

Ali
 
I'd have just spent the tenner on a pack of 100 and carried on with the day out. I've never had a problem buying needles for pens, and going back to when I was first diagnosed, they weren't available on prescription with my health authority at the time , so it's almost second nature.
 
Would they not sell you the neeedles Ali, seems rather odd as I thought you'd be able to pay for them, considering you had a pen and no doubt a bg meter as evidence you have diabetes.

I've only ever been caught out once and that was soon after I was diagnosed, back then you would draw the insulin up into a glass syringe and they only give me one vial of each insulin until I had seen my gp, I went and dropped one the kitchen floor and it smashed to pieces, so I went along to the hospital ward where I was an in-patient and they give me some more to tide me over.
 
Superdrug would sell me 100 for £16, Boots didn't seem to want to entertain anything. Neither were forthcoming about being able to claim anything back with my exemption card etc. We just had a late lunch when we got home, I found out I didn't have a needle when we stopped for a coffee and sausage in a bun before we started shopping. Luckily I walked it off over the next 3 or 4 hours lol and I had long acting on board plus some short acting that was about half way through, that I had taken back at home so no harm done. I was just surprised there didn't seem to be a way to get a small pack of needles easily and that the pharmacies weren't very helpful.

Ali
 
Hi Ali, I now keep a couple of spare needles in my blood glucose test kit( which I take with me when I'm out and about and also a couple tucked away in the handbag.I am using. I was caught out this year after a diabetes clinic appointment. My daughter wanted to have lunch in the hospital restaurant, everything was fine until I opened up my Insulin holder and I had no needles in with the pen, so I dashed back to the diabetes clinic told the nurse of my needle problem and she opened her drawer and said I could help myself, I took two different ones and the first one fitted, phew !!! I was very lucky I was in the hospital at the time.

RRB
 
Yes I will now put some all over the place lol, lesson learnt, I was really just expressing my surprise at how nobody seemed to have a solution in a pharmacy nor be very willing to explain what I could or couldn't do with regard to reclaiming etc. One said go to the Walk In centre, yeah right, wait 5 hours in a room full of lurgy ridden people only to be told we can't help either!!! Was easier not to eat and have a late lunch.

Ali
 
Last I checked insulin pen needles are only available on prescription, so you can no more " spend a tenner" than you can go and buy a pack of insulin.
If no GPs are open, you might have to go to A&E for an emergency prescription
 
AlexMBrennan said:
Last I checked insulin pen needles are only available on prescription, so you can no more " spend a tenner" than you can go and buy a pack of insulin.
If no GPs are open, you might have to go to A&E for an emergency prescription
Click to expand...
Don't think so. You can buy them from the shop on this web site
 
Last edited by a moderator:
AlexMBrennan said:
Last I checked insulin pen needles are only available on prescription, so you can no more " spend a tenner" than you can go and buy a pack of insulin.
If no GPs are open, you might have to go to A&E for an emergency prescription
Click to expand...
Absolutely not true. They aren't pom just like testing strips.
 
Superdrug were seemingly offering me a box of 100 for £16. I wonder why it isn't possible to grab a small pack for emergencies, you would think pharmacies would cater for such a thing, I can't be the only person to have done this in the world surely?

Ali
 

Of course your not the only one..

You can also buy packs of disposable syringes, BD Micro-Fine do them in packs of 10's that would be OK to use in an emergency, and probably cheaper than paying £16 for a box of 100 needles at Superdrug.
 
You know Noblehead, I asked them about those but they shrugged their shoulders and looked confused. I showed them a Novopen and explained it was just a vial within a pen and I could see no reason not to use a normal syringe.

Ali
 
I think it depends on the pharmacy. Some are much better than others, and sometimes you have to be very precise and get them to check their system.
 
Well, the Boots pharmacist told me that they can't give me any needles without a prescription, and were not impressed with the "absolutely not true" argument.
 
Insane huh! Shouldn't be so difficult for just one or two needles.

Ali
 
Ali H said:
You know Noblehead, I asked them about those but they shrugged their shoulders and looked confused. I showed them a Novopen and explained it was just a vial within a pen and I could see no reason not to use a normal syringe.

Ali
Click to expand...

I'd be very surprised if none of the big pharmacy's stocked them Ali, when I use to use glass syringes I would regularly buy the disposable syringes.
 
Yup quite. I got home and put 2 needles in the case lol.

Ali
 
You were dealing with some pretty incompetent pharmacies. I'm fairly certain you can buy without a script (Google some online pharnacies) and any decent pharmacy will give you one or two anyway
 
I know Daibell, I was amazed too but I am telling it as it was. Really odd.

Ali
 
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