# Insulin  costs



## Steff (Mar 18, 2017)

Just abit of  nosey question really . Is they any way of finding out how much it costs.  I got 5 pens pre filled bet it ain't cheap. I doubt you can find out can you don't think lilly would disuss that would they LOL. I only askip  out of curiosity I'm not planning  on selling mine on eBay.


----------



## Northerner (Mar 18, 2017)

It costs the NHS between about £40-£50 per 5 cartridges/pens  Depends on the type of insulin, but they are all pretty similar, I seem to remember. Illegal to sell it though!


----------



## Pumper_Sue (Mar 18, 2017)

Hi Steff if you put in your area (London) drug tariff, you will find the costings for your insulin.


----------



## Steff (Mar 18, 2017)

Northerner said:


> It costs the NHS between about £40-£50 per 5 cartridges/pens  Depends on the type of insulin, but they are all pretty similar, I seem to remember. Illegal to sell it though!



Thanks Alan.   Never would I like my freedom to much lol


----------



## Steff (Mar 18, 2017)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Hi Steff if you put in your area (London) drug tariff, you will find the costings for your insulin.


Ohhh I never realised.  Thanks Sue off to do a search now.


----------



## Pumper_Sue (Mar 18, 2017)

Humulin I Preloaded Pen
3 ml Disposable Pen (kwikpen) Pack of 5 £21.70


----------



## Copepod (Mar 18, 2017)

Last time I looked, Humalin I (which I use) was about half the cost of Lantus or Levemir. Usually cartridges cost the same as disposable pens, which is inexcusable in my opinion.


----------



## Steff (Mar 18, 2017)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Humulin I Preloaded Pen
> 3 ml Disposable Pen (kwikpen) Pack of 5 £21.70


It's humalin l  kwik pen 5 cartridges.  If I've done it right it says £21.70


----------



## Northerner (Mar 18, 2017)

Well, there you go - it's about half the price of lantus!


----------



## Pumper_Sue (Mar 18, 2017)

Steff said:


> It's humalin l  kwik pen 5 cartridges.  If I've done it right it says £21.70


Wow look at that the Cornish prices are the same as London's


----------



## Steff (Mar 18, 2017)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Wow look at that the Cornish prices are the same as London's


Hehe now there's a surprise . 
Really Alan what's the most expensive insulin do you know


----------



## Pumper_Sue (Mar 18, 2017)

Have a look here Steff, a lot of the prices are on this page you just have to scroll down https://www.eclipsesolutions.org/cornwall/info.aspx?chapterid=5


----------



## grovesy (Mar 18, 2017)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Have a look here Steff, a lot of the prices are on this page you just have to scroll down https://www.eclipsesolutions.org/cornwall/info.aspx?chapterid=5


Intresting read.


----------



## mikeyB (Mar 18, 2017)

About 15 years ago I worked out how much I was costing the country just to say alive, and it came to about £130 a month for all the various conditions. That's 15 years ago.  I didn't feel guilty, I was paying a sight more in tax, but it does make you think. If Theresa May didn't have diabetes, we'd be an easy target for one insulin fits all, that being the cheapest. The way things are going, I expect that in the next 5 years. Easy target


----------



## KookyCat (Mar 19, 2017)

Steff, Tresiba was the most expensive basal insulin, I know this because I'm told every single time I see a medical professional, and it's why they'll only prescribe one cartridge at a time.  I think it still is.


----------



## Northerner (Mar 19, 2017)

KookyCat said:


> Steff, Tresiba was the most expensive basal insulin, I know this because I'm told every single time I see a medical professional, and it's why they'll only prescribe one cartridge at a time.  I think it still is.


Goodness - are they still doing that to you? That cannot be making things any cheaper, since every prescription request and pharmacy visit will have an overhead, and this means they are paying out 5 times the overhead costs they need to - NOT very efficient!   I pointed this out to my surgery when they tried to reduce me to 100 strips per prescription, I'm not sure they always take it into account with their 'policy'.


----------



## Vicsetter (Mar 19, 2017)

According to the BNF (https://www.evidence.nhs.uk/formula...-short-acting-insulins/insulin/human-sequence) Humulin is £19.08 for 5 pens.
Tresiba is £72 for 5 3ml pens/cartridges
My Victoza is £78.48 for 2 pens! That lasts 1 month roughly.


----------



## Steff (Mar 19, 2017)

Vicsetter said:


> According to the BNF (https://www.evidence.nhs.uk/formula...-short-acting-insulins/insulin/human-sequence) Humulin is £19.08 for 5 pens.
> Tresiba is £72 for 5 3ml pens/cartridges
> My Victoza is £78.48 for 2 pens! That lasts 1 month roughly.


Wowzers so when I was on that I was costing them nearly £55 more then I am now. So proud lol 

Thanks guys for all your replies.


----------



## grovesy (Mar 19, 2017)

The other thing i noticed in the list Pummper_Sue linked is ordinary Metformin was around the pound mark and the sow release was nearer five!


----------



## Northerner (Mar 19, 2017)

All pales into insignificance when you hear of some of the price hikes the people in the US are getting for their insulin - often they have to struggle to pay even if they have good insurance


----------



## grovesy (Mar 19, 2017)

Northerner said:


> All pales into insignificance when you hear of some of the price hikes the people in the US are getting for their insulin - often they have to struggle to pay even if they have good insurance


Yeah we are far from perfect but what i have read on forum's that are US based the insurance limits can dictate every thing they use to treat their Diabetes.


----------



## trophywench (Mar 19, 2017)

I was astonished to see that 25mg Levothyroxine is more than twice the price of either 50 or 100 - 4 quid as against £1 something.  Not logical, Captain!

Novorapid Pumpcarts weren't on the list at all!


----------



## Kaylz (Mar 19, 2017)

Northerner said:


> Goodness - are they still doing that to you? That cannot be making things any cheaper, since every prescription request and pharmacy visit will have an overhead, and this means they are paying out 5 times the overhead costs they need to - NOT very efficient!   I pointed this out to my surgery when they tried to reduce me to 100 strips per prescription, I'm not sure they always take it into account with their 'policy'.


The past twice I've put in a repeat I've only got 100 test strips, first of all they were only giving me 50 at a time, 1 prescription I got 200 and now down to 100  x


----------



## Lucy Honeychurch (Mar 19, 2017)

I've had that too @Kaylz and the diabetic nurse I see at the surgery sorted it for me.
Looking at those prices my basal is £33 for 3 pens, a bargain compared to some others lol!


----------



## Kaylz (Mar 19, 2017)

Yeah I'm going to mention it to Paul on Tuesday as I can't be ordering every couple of weeks, as it takes a few days for prescriptions I usually order the day I open the last pot, it's getting to be a nuisance doing it so often, feels like I'm never away from the chemist, yet when I got my new pen the other week they gave me 20 cartridges of insulin x


----------



## Lucy Honeychurch (Mar 19, 2017)

Blimey, that's a lot lol!


----------



## Kaylz (Mar 19, 2017)

Lucy Honeychurch said:


> Blimey, that's a lot lol!


It's a good job it's got a long shelf life put it that way lol x


----------



## Lucy Honeychurch (Mar 19, 2017)

I've got loads of novorapid pens in my fridge


----------



## Kaylz (Mar 19, 2017)

Well I've plenty of cartridges now haha and I think about 4 Tresiba pens and a pack of leftover Novorapid pens x


----------



## Copepod (Mar 19, 2017)

Please consider donating any insulin you no longer need to IDDT (Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust) to be sent overseas to people who otherwise would go without.


----------



## Kaylz (Mar 19, 2017)

Copepod said:


> Please consider donating any insulin you no longer need to IDDT (Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust) to be sent overseas to people who otherwise would go without.


I will be Copepod but I was busy at the start of the week so didn't have time to go to the post office and when the guy from the charity got back to me he said it would be best to send it at the start of a week so it's not left sitting in the post office over a weekend x


----------



## Copepod (Mar 19, 2017)

Great news, Kaylz. Very wise to avoid an extra day in the postal system.


----------



## Ljc (Mar 19, 2017)

Kaylz said:


> Yeah I'm going to mention it to Paul on Tuesday as I can't be ordering every couple of weeks, as it takes a few days for prescriptions I usually order the day I open the last pot, it's getting to be a nuisance doing it so often, feels like I'm never away from the chemist, yet when I got my new pen the other week they gave me 20 cartridges of insulin x


Have you got enough room in your fridge for that lt lol


----------



## Kaylz (Mar 19, 2017)

Eeerm actually we have a fridge freezer, and a fridge so the insulin and a few cans of juice are in the fridge and everthing else in the other one haha, this wasn't the purpose of having 2 btw just so everyone knows I'm not completely weird and thinks I went and bought a 2nd fridge for it lol  x


----------



## Vicsetter (Mar 19, 2017)

I may well be wrong, this topic of donating has occurred previously, but I thought it was illegal to donate you old prescription items.
Even if you can I am disturbed that a charity organisation  thinks it is all right to put insulin in a jiffy bag and post it to them (and acknowledges the problem by advising that you post it at the start of the week to avoid it sitting in the sorting/post office over the weekend).
They do not know what state the insulin is in, but it is going to children in Africa so that is OK is it?


----------



## Steff (Mar 19, 2017)

From what I was aware things like sending off insulin to third world countries etc etc  could only  be sent by or requested by a qualified medical practitioner .shouldn't surplus insulin be going  back to the chemist.


----------



## Robin (Mar 19, 2017)

Steff said:


> From what I was aware things like sending off insulin to third world countries etc etc  could only  be sent by or requested by a qualified medical practitioner .shouldn't surplus insulin be going  back to the chemist.


If you return it to the chemist, they just have to destroy it. Surely it's better to try and put it to good use.


----------



## Steff (Mar 19, 2017)

Robin said:


> If you return it to the chemist, they just have to destroy it. Surely it's better to try and put it to good use.


I personally don't disagree Robin if there's a use for the less fortunate then why not give it to them but also as vicsetter mentioned it can't be allowed/legal for one of us mere mortals to just post a potentially dangerous liquid such as insulin in the post not knowing if it's safe or not


----------



## trophywench (Mar 19, 2017)

How is it not safe in the post?  If the pens break you lose the insulin, it may stink - and taste - odd - but unless you inject it into someone it can't harm anyone.  You could drink a gallon of it (well, figuratively speaking not literally LOL) and come to no harm - apart from the VERY distinctive pong!  You could wash in it and ditto.


----------



## Steff (Mar 19, 2017)

Prohibited substance isn't it.?Isn't it just the same as if a work colleague asked me at work for a headache pill I gave them it and they dropped down dead (I know dramatic scenario but even so).even though they told me oh it's the pill I take,then why am I going to give  it to you and not your doctor/chemist which is the correct procedure.


----------



## Pumper_Sue (Mar 19, 2017)

trophywench said:


> How is it not safe in the post?  If the pens break you lose the insulin, it may stink - and taste - odd - but unless you inject it into someone it can't harm anyone.  You could drink a gallon of it (well, figuratively speaking not literally LOL) and come to no harm - apart from the VERY distinctive pong!  You could wash in it and ditto.


It probably has a lot to do with shelf life as that length of time it can only be kept a month so they say if out of the fridge.


----------



## Robin (Mar 19, 2017)

Royal Mail rules state that you can only post prescription items with the authorisation of a doctor, nurse, or recognised institution. So I suppose it depends whether the collecting body has the necessary status to authorise people to send them their stuff. If they are a recognised charitable body, they may well have got the requisite status. but I wouldn't know.


----------

