ASK GINGER -- Managing your prescriptions

Ginger,

I'm starting college this winter, second semester, and I'm gonna have to keep track of all my own prescriptions because I'll be pretty far from my hometown. I'm nervous about running out of supplies or getting them refilled on time. How am I supposed to keep track of everything, insulin, test strips, syringes, etc.

-Anonymous

Hey there,

Basically, as a Type 1 diabetic you're going to have that recording at the pharmacy memorized soon if you don't already: "Press 1 to refill a prescription." "Press 2 if you'd like to pick up your prescription tomorrow." "Press 3 if you'd like to add another prescription."

Depending on how you manage your diabetes, the list of supplies to keep track of can be pretty long. Syringes. Test Strips. Lancets. Insulin. Infusion sets. Tubing. Alcohol Swabs. What am I forgetting?

Pump supplies make everything more complicated because the different supplies aren't boxed in the same quantities. While you may have a box full of infusion sets, you may have run out of a few other supplies.

And there's also the pump batteries...ahhh, the fear of realizing your pump batteries are dead and you have no backup. Panic-City. (It's unneeded panic -- a quick drive to CVS and you can pick up a pack -- but either way, it's a moment of panic).

In terms of managing pump supplies, I would carefully figure out how many supplies you're going to go through in a certain amount of time (let's say three months), and mark on your calendar or calendar when it's time to re-order everything.

What you really want to avoid, though, is running out of insulin and test strips. I hate the idea of running out of insulin. I've cut it pretty close to running out once or twice, and man-oh-man, I don't want that to happen again. While we can run out of pump supplies and use the old fashioned syringe if we have to, we can't substitute anything for insulin.

To prevent this, I try to always refill my insulin prescription when I am opening the last bottle in the fridge. You open the box...then you pick up the phone. This is not hard and definitely worth working into your list of diabetic habits.

And of course, the same goes for test strips and lancets and syringes. Keep your supplies organized so you can see everything you have. Keep everything in a large drawer or a large box, sectioned out appropriately, and believe me, I don't have this quite as organized as it should be either...but I've seen some pretty beautifully sorted supplies at a mutual-insulin-challenged friend's house, and it didn't look like a bad idea to me.

Above all, try to keep all your supplies for everything together in the same place (except for that extra insulin the fridge--marked clearly so your roommates leave it alone). If you can buy a large plastic storage container and keep all of your supplies inside, you can look at the end of each month, for example, and keep a close eye on what you need to refill. And of course, keep your doctor's contact information handy so you can call her easily to have a prescription refilled if it runs out during the semester.

-Ginger