Blog Entries With Tag: pharmacist

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Have you ever had a heart to heart talk with your pharmacist who delivers your “legal” drugs? I know that a few of my American D-mates only deal with online pharmacies – and I’ve always wondered about that – other than them telling you you’re not covered by your insurance – do you ever have a chat with someone who is wondering why you take the meds you do to maintain your health and knows what your talking about?

While I find the right dose with Synthroid for my thyroid aka Hashimoto disease  (hi yaaaa - karate chop to the head!!!!).  I’ve been requesting my GP to increase my dosage to get myself to a level of TSH that makes me feel happy – and she’s willing to go along with me as I experiment <lol> - which was my reason for my pharmacy visit at Costco today). I decided at the same time to order up some fast acting insulin since I was getting low on my current bottle (I only order up 1 at a time). I use NovoRapid, which I’ve been using for as long as I can remember, whenever it came onto the market (remember – I’ve been thru’ many vials since ’67 – I don’t have the memory to retain all the various types over those years – there’s better things to remember than … which one was I using back in 1984 – and who knows – some of you will remember what you used – me … nope … I just remember my fav bevy … Brador beer from across the river in Hull in the disco days – “ I want action – I got so much to give – I love the night life – I got to boogie “ .....

I paid up for all my goodies (of course – who doesn’t want to throw in a few bottles of test strips – let’s get the party going – whoot! whoot! long live the punctured fingertip). Then the cashier told me that the pharmacist wanted to talk to me before they handed over what I'd just paid for. Hmmm, only time they’ve done that is for a new med. What could it be?

Apparently, the pharmacist couldn’t understand why I had long lasting insulin on my file. I explained the story of George Michael – my Animas 2020 pump – being out of warranty – dying on Dec 31/15  - no longer using him when I went on airline trips with no warranty, etc. and having to resort to using the old – bend over –throw the dart aka needle into your behind like a pro dart player!!! Bull’s eye!!!  Along with my trial with Levemir insulin for my long lasting regime - which I didn't do so well with due to allergic reactions (that was new to her - and she was very interested).

All over, it was a very interesting discussion for us both - I learned a few things about her trade - and she too about what I do within the diabetic community aka DOC. She said she only knows what she learned at school about Type 1 diabetes – and talking to me – made her appreciate what we go through – and what works for each of us (no one system works for another person – we are all different with our control of our health).

And with this short little blog – I bid you adieu for the evening – while I prepare to head to Jenna’s Journey tomorrow – to put her to sleep for the winter months on her comfy little cradle that will keep her upright out of the water. It’s been a busy past few weeks getting her prepared for the winter. I am not looking forward to the next 8 months on dry land as you can tell. Sigh – dreaming already of next year’s adventures on her.

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Yes, I’m going on a sailing holiday again in the winter – I swore after the one I did with my DH back in February – I would never EVER do this again.  I became very sick during that holiday – stress with one of  the Admirals on board due to their demand of use of water / food.   Not good for any person – diabetic or not.  This time, the gang we’re with – they’ve either read my blog I wrote OR we’ve talked – and I’ve been up front with them – and they’ve all said – WE ARE ON HOLIDAY – IF WE SPEND $100 MORE ON YADDA, YADDA, YADDA – WE ALL SHALL WALK THE PLANK TOGETHER.  Okay, the plank bit they didn’t say – but I’m sure with abit of rum in them – we be doing double flip swan dives off the plank.

Last year on the charter we were on in the Bahamas, one of the couples on board is an RN.  She swears that she feels  due to taking COLD FX prior/during the holidays this is why they didn’t get ill like they had the previous year.   I figured, as an RN, who knows abit about diabetes, that it should be alright to take.  I went into the FAQ area to find out more – and it seemed to be alright for “diabetics” –but it did state that you should speak to your GP or pharmacist prior to taking. 

So, armed with this info – I spoke with my pharmacist yesterday – who told me NOT to take it due to my having Type 1 diabetes – where our autoimmune system has been compromised (this is what causes us to become insulin dependent ).  She said with Type 2 diabetics – its fine to take – as their diabetes is not the same (no kidding).  She said in taking this supplement (its main ingredient is North American ginsing) – that my autoimmune system would become abit whacky – and I’d be MORE prone to getting ill.  Phew – saved myself some $$$’s and potential harm.

What did she recommend instead? 

• Get a flu shot (I did a few weeks ago);
• Make sure I tried to avoid places where people are hacking away (this will be hard on the airplane);
• Start taking a teaspoon of honey every day (local she said was best);
• Wash your hands (soap / water are fine);
• Avoid putting hands in eyes and/or mouth. 

Oh, and on the honey advise .... my Mum takes it – but mainly for seasonal allergies I believe.  She doesn’t even get a flu shot due to severe allergic reaction to it many years ago (and she’s never had the flu since I was a little girl – she’s very lucky).  Though when researching for this blog post I’ve come to the conclusion that due to mixed opinions (they say it doesn't work) -  I’ll just give it a go. Plus it does taste good on toast in the morning - right?

So, I’ll be looking to see when I arrive at my sunny destination – for local honey – to aid in my plan to not get sick like I did last year and pray I’m not sitting in the airplane with a person about to hack up their lungs (can you tell I love flying the friendly skies?).