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Is there a long lead time on insulin right now?

Bertyboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
215
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi. I put in an EPS request for Novorapid and Levemir (and needles) on Nov 8th as I was down to the last pen and vial of each. The surgery approved it next day, but I still haven't had the notification that my prescription has been made up. Last time I pre-empted the notification, I was told by Boots that they have a backlog of orders and it is a 5 working day wait at the moment. However, it's longer than that now and I'm concerned that I don't have quite enough NR to get through to Monday (by which time, I hope they have the stuff in!)

Is everyone else having these problems? How much reserve should I be keeping before putting in a request. It's 12 months since T1 diagnosis, and I haven't run out before.
 
I have never had to wait for insulin.

The worst I can remember is giving a prescription for 10 cartridges and being told they can only give me 2 now and the rest within 48 hours max.
 
Timostags said:
I have never had to wait for insulin.

The worst I can remember is giving a prescription for 10 cartridges and being told they can only give me 2 now and the rest within 48 hours max.
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Interesting. How long does it normally take from request to have you prescription made up? This local Boots just seems to betting slower and slower.
 
No problem getting my Novorapid. Can I suggest that you never allow your supply of any insulin to get as low as one vial. Put your prescriptions in earlier each time so that you have a good supply. I have enough in my fridge to last me a good three months.
 
Bertyboy said:
Interesting. How long does it normally take from request to have you prescription made up? This local Boots just seems to betting slower and slower.
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I put a request in online with my current GP, they ask for 48 hours (2 working days) to process the request it then gets sent to the pharmacy (Lloyds) as soon as they receive the electronic prescription I can collect it - although I don't get a notification.

I requested some blood test strips on Wednesday, went to collect them on Monday and the pharmacy said they hadn't received anything from the GP so I drove over to the GP (they are really difficult to get through to on the phone) and they wrote me a prescription then and there as they had lost my request. But that's the first time I've had an issue since it went electronic.
 
i order my prescription on line and soon as it says approved i go chemist 2 days later i dont get any messages to pick it up sometimes i just phone chemist just to make sure they have recieved it .plus i always have extra vials of insulin
 
Three months?? I suppose that way you won't have problems come Brexit!
I had really just made an assumption that they wouldn't really approve of keeping a big stock. A full vial should last me just over a week so I was thinking I was playing it safe. I guess not.
 
What did the pharmacy say the reason for the delay was?
 
karen8967 said:
i order my prescription on line and soon as it says approved i go chemist 2 days later i dont get any messages to pick it up sometimes i just phone chemist just to make sure they have recieved it .plus i always have extra vials of insulin
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Boots normally send a text message to say it is ready to pick up. Last time, it got to 5 working days so I popped in speculatively and they had everything anyway so they made it up there and then, but they did say that they were super busy making up prescriptions at the moment and I should normally wait until I get the message.
 
i would tell them that 5 days is not good enough especially if you had god forbid run out of insulin i would change chemist i use lloyds
 
I think I must be very fortunate. I order Meds on line at my surgery, they send request electronically to the pharmacy and the pharmacy deliver, often the next day. A super service from an old fashioned family pharmacist albeit one with several branches around the area.
 
I was advised about 30 years ago by my then doctor to make sure I had more than enough. This was after I misjudged and ran out on a Bank Holiday weekend. I ended up having to go to his home to pick up a prescription. I also try to have at least a month’s supply of other medication, as there have been problems in the past from the manufacturers.
 
Hi. You mentioned 'vials' rather than cartridges? I saw a post a few months back where vials had become long lead-time. My recent script for Levemir and NovoRapid cartridges was filled within a few days as normal. Unless you have a good reason to use vials I would swap over to pens and cartridges assuming you meant to use 'vials'?
 
Sorry. When I say vials, I do mean the penfill cartridges.
 
I pop my request into my local chemist and 3 days later I get a text message to say it’s in. Always order everything ahead of time. It is a village pharmacy, they know me well, and if I was desperate I know they would get things for me and sort out the prescription retrospectively.
 
Handily if you usually use the vials (10ml bottles) for filling a pump or syringe injections, you can use penfill cartridges and pens to get the insulin you need. I emptied a few pens into my pump when they were getting near their expiry date, rather than throw the insulin away.
 
I've had the same happen to me, ran out over Easter after dropping a cartridge and it cracking. after a lot of phoning around I was allowed to collect 2 cartridges from the local hospital pharmacy. Ever since I keep a box of basal and bolus in the fridge (5 cartridges each)
 
I use Lloyds Pharmacy in Sainsbury's. If I do a request online, I can pick it up the next day. I'd consider changing pharmacies if I were you, as I've never had to wait 5 days for repeat prescriptions. Sounds like they're a bit disorganised as I know pharmacies stock up on repeat prescription items before they're due. Plus these are very common items, that must be easily sourced
 
My clinic was low on Omnipod pods, I was only able to get two boxes, rather than the usual three this time.
 
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