Mom has Diabetes but we don't have full insurance....any ideas what we can do??

I hope America wakes from the corporate slumber, your mom could be anyones mom,
but people are stupefied by the degree of separation, the magical luxury of healthcare,
such a greedy decadence.

I don't know what to say man, I would try Canada where the folks have some sense,
$7,000 is some serious coin for me...Maybe you can write a generic letter and send it to
all the local religious places of worship nearby? Just ask the Leader of each institution if
they would read your plea to the flock 1 time, make it easy for him to facilitate the
request for you...

Britain's 2.5 million people with Type 2 diabetes are offered new hope today as scientists show the disease can be reversed in as little as seven days by going on a crash-course diet.

www.telegraph.co.uk...
www.guardian.co.uk...

Reversing Diabetes: This Is What A 600-Calorie Diet Looks Like
by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

Yesterday, I posted about recent research findings on weight-loss and diabetes done by researchers at Britain’s Newcastle University. In the study, 11 patients who had developed Type 2 diabetes later in life were put on a doctor-supervised 600-calorie-per-day diet, which included “a special diet drink” and non-starch vegetables. After eight weeks on the diet, the patients showed no signs of diabetes, and three months after returning to a normal diet, seven remained completely free of the disease. Not surprisingly, all of this has led to questions about whether 600 calories a day is really safe and, if so, what the diet would look like.

Obviously, there are safe and unsafe ways to restrict calories. Consuming nothing but sugar-free jello and chicken broth isn’t a good idea. And embarking on a massively restricted diet (no matter how nutritionally sound) for any length of time without consulting a doctor or nutritionist could be dangerous. But when supervised by a doctor or qualified professional, and sticking to a nutritionally-balanced diet made up mostly of low-cal vegetables, severe calorie restriction can be done safely (in fact, there’s some evidence that a degree of calorie restriction can improve longevity).

In the British study, patients consumed:

A liquid diet formula called Optifast. It’s a product of Nestlé Nutrition that’s made up of 46.4 percent carbohydrate, 32.5 percent protein and 20.1 percent fat, along with other vitamins and minerals.

www.amazon.co.uk...

Non-starchy vegetables. The diet drink was supplemented with three portions per day of non-starchy vegetables (common non-starchy veggies include beets, broccoli, bean sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, mushrooms, peas, salad greens, summer squash, Swiss chard and zucchini).

Patients were also encouraged to drink at least two liters of water each day, and “maintain their habitual level of physical activity.”

Gordon Parmley, 67, was one of the patients involved. Parmley was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes six years ago. “When my doctor mentioned the trial I thought I would give it a go as it might help me and other diabetics,” he said in a Newcastle University press release. When my doctor mentioned the trial I thought I would give it a go as it might help me and other diabetics.

I came off my tablets and had three diet shakes a day and some salad or vegetables but it was very, very difficult and I’m not sure I’d have done it without the support of my wife who went on a diet alongside me. At first the hunger was quite severe and I had to distract myself with something else – walking the dog, playing golf – or doing anything to occupy myself and take my mind off food, but I lost an astounding amount of weight in a short space of time.

At the end of the trial, I was told my insulin levels were normal and after six years, I no longer needed my diabetes tablets. Still today, 18 months on, I don’t take them. It’s astonishing really that a diet – hard as it was – could change my health so drastically. Would you be willing to go on diet shakes and vegetables to rid yourself of diabetes or any other disease?

blisstree.com...
www.amazon.co.uk...

VARIOUS NATURAL HEALTH FOODS...
(1) Get your mum ONLY below "100% Organic non-sulfured blackstrap mollases".
www.meridianfoods.co.uk...
www.naturalnews.com...

(2) Avoid ALL harmful artificial sweeteners use instead ONLY products containing STEVIA. www.stevia.com...

(3) Get your mum ONLY the below MAGNESIUM TABLETS &/OR SPRAY.
Magnesium Deficiency Linked to Type 2 Diabetes.
www.amazon.co.uk...=sr_1_1?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1323045465&sr=1-1
www.amazon.co.uk...=sr_1_cc_1?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1323040401&sr=1-1-catcorr

(4) CATARACT CURE MIRACLE EYE DROPS!
www.amazon.com...

Can I just say how horrified I am that in a 'civilized' society and country, sick people would be allowed to deteriorate and maybe die, just because they don't have enough money for life-saving meds. It's shocking that this is a reality.

Medical profession my arse - more like Mercenary profession.

I know people who moved to Mexico because medicine is really cheap down there. The people I know said their medicine was around $700 per month in the US but around a $100 in Mexico. If Canada is not an option then South of the border maybe. It is cheap to live down there also. Rent the house here and head South.

I can't believe not one poster knew about this....

ALL STATES HAVE A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION INSURANCE FUND. This is a bridge program until National health care goes into effect.

In the State I'm in there is a $1,000 deductible. The rates per month depend on your age but are around $300.00. This covers medication and doctor's visits.

You should also find out why your mother was rejected - learn the rules and the method to appeal.
If there is stress in the marriage, then consider a divorce. She might be able to get insurance at that point.
If she has a child under 18, she will be able to get State insurance.

Read the medical, medicare, and pre-existing condition rules. No one is going to tell you about special programs or loopholes. This is something you have to find out on your own.

I became pre diabetic for a period of time. I decided to start drinking 3-5cups of coffee a day, running a mile each day, and eating huge sums of cinnamon (has similar molecule to insulin), and within a week my blood sugar went from abnormally high to something like 75.

Bare in mind I was young. And it's not a good thing to be drinking so much coffee if you are, like, 45 years old or something.

Just understand that there is a slight chance to fix it in the gray area, and that there are ways to cope with it.

Look for what foods have naturally occurring insulin parallels, and start consuming huge levels of them, so long they do not cause other problems in high dosage.

It DOES mean a diet change. Though that doesn't mean it has to suck.

Do research on your own. Join a board dedicated to diabetes/health issues. DO NOT SOLICIT MEDICAL ADVICE FROM CONSPIRACY THEORISTS. There are a ton of smart people here, but I have seen so many of these threads filled to the brim with awful advice I can no longer advocate taking anyone seriously. It's your Mom and her health is of the greatest importance. Educate yourself as much as you can, then start branching out into communities where people actually have a clue. I wish you and your Mother the absolute best.

I lowered my own blood sugar from a 300 down to around 140 after reading the book, "Eat to Live", by Joel Fuhrman. I did this without taking any of the medications my Dr. recommended. I am not saying that it will work for everyone, but it worked for me. I also lost about 30 lbs.

reply to post by computerwiz32


computerwiz32, I dont know what kind of insulin your mom is on but i have a few up to date bottles of humalog u-100 inj she can have just msg me Im also a diabetic and there always swiching me around on insulins so i have some extra..peace,sugarcookie1

This is really sad, i hope the lady is ok. Come on America, why oh why cant you provide free health care for your masses like most other developed nations. I know everyone is skint right now but this is a basic human need for gods sake! Even if my dog gets diabetes the PDSA here in the UK provide free medical care for her in the event that i cannot pay. How sad is that, we treat animals better here than America treats its own people!?

reply to post by computerwiz32


Win the lottery and stop posting here.

Thanks for the help. This weekend I will read most of your posts. Since I am in college and have finals need to focus on those first.

My sister is a doctor and my brother in law is a doctor. Both, tried to help us. We did go thru the route where the drug company has that program it's not reduced but they give you one year supply for free. Yet, we sent the forums 2 weeks ago. So far no response. I just hope they approve her but my sister told us that she might not get qualified.

The problem is that we do have insurance yet we don't have it. My dad retired from GM, So Started last year we had to pay $7,000 out of pocket to just kick in the insurance and then pay a monthly fee after that. My dad dosen't have that kind of money. So last year my mom was on our county insurance which we paid like $400 or $500 a month. Yet, just recently they denied my mom. They told us many different stories one was that they don't have the budget and then the last time we heard from them. They said that we have insurance which they found out GM gave us insurance and it shows in the computer as we have it. Yet, we don't technically have it unless we dish our $7,000 which we don't have.

She is type 2 diabetes, She needs or uses 10ml 100 units and Levemir 100 units 10ml.

Then she uses Short Needle Monoject 100 units. 30 Gauge 5/16"(8mm)Short needle.

She uses a sliding scale to figure out how much to give herself.

We have a good pharmacy that my dad knows the owner. So right now my mom is getting the meds still even though we don't have the insurance but he told us to figure out about our insurance issue. They still expect us to pay. The meds cost around $200. My dad said we can pay for it for not just for a few. Yet, he said he can't afford paying this every time.

I found some in Canada for $45 for the same insulin. Via online pharmacies.

My mom is age 60 and my dad is 65 my dad has medicare.

my dad does have a social number in UK and does have citizenship in Canada well documents. He used to live in UK and Canada before coming to the U.S

My dad really wants to go to UK.

I know we qualify for our own counties health insurance but that GM insurance is causing the problem. In the computer it shows as if we do have insurance. So this is why we lost qualification for the county insurance.
Yet, we know that we don't have insurance not unless we pay out of pocket $7,000 and then make the monthly payments. This be for every year so we would have to pay $7,000 out of pocket every year to just kick in the insurance and then make monthly payments. I don't know exactly what the monthly payments are but I could ask my dad.

My mom always gets up at 6am in the morning and does go to a fitness center. She don't drink pop. I even told her to stop drinking diet soda too. she makes her own green tea and drinks it without sugar or even any sweetener. She been working out for 3 years. She payed like 3 years ago $1,000 for the gym fee. They recently went under and my mom now goes to a new place paying $13 a month.

She is doing more exercise then me. I myself have astma and don't have insurance lost the coverage 2 years ago. I don't mind about me. I have mint and other methods to help if I get an attack it's not that serious unlike my mom. So I am more worried for my mom since she can't go without her insulin. My sister is also pre- diabetic and she also gave some insulin to my mom.

I mean right now we are not in a bad situation well not yet. We are just getting by right now but don't know how in the coming months we can keep this up.

My mom dosen't have any other health issues. Just diabetic.

reply to post by computerwiz32


If Canada isn't an option she will have to make some serious lifestyle changes. I'm sure that there are some meds she can get cheap enough. I mean she can go to a doctor and find out. There are a lot of clinics that charge based on income. In the mean time. Excercise, lose weight if she is overweight (very important) stop eating fast food completely, try to cut bread out of the diet, start cooking at home. Get a cook book for people with diabetes.

well.. before doing anything else, I would try an alternative cure for diabetes.



I tell you it does work , a friend of mine gave it a try and she is ok now!

Hey, my mom has had Diabetes for most of her life. Currently we have insurance from GM however it's that crooked way kinda insurance.

I do not believe that at all. I think that an $8k deductible claim is bogus. Being this is a union, I can not see it. I have many friends in trade unions. Most I know have better coverage than myself.

Originally posted by mugger

Hey, my mom has had Diabetes for most of her life. Currently we have insurance from GM however it's that crooked way kinda insurance.

I do not believe that at all. I think that an $8k deductible claim is bogus. Being this is a union, I can not see it. I have many friends in trade unions. Most I know have better coverage than myself.

I have Blue Cross Blue Shield and my deductible is $3000. $7000 seems very high but it is not unheard of. I know some who opt for a high deductible to keep their monthly payments down. It's a gamble that can pay off if you are only concerned about a catastrophic event like a heart attack or a cancer diagnosis.

Originally posted by mugger

Hey, my mom has had Diabetes for most of her life. Currently we have insurance from GM however it's that crooked way kinda insurance.

I do not believe that at all. I think that an $8k deductible claim is bogus. Being this is a union, I can not see it. I have many friends in trade unions. Most I know have better coverage than myself.

I have Blue Cross Blue Shield and my deductible is $3000. $7000 seems very high but it is not unheard of. I know some who opt for a high deductible to keep their monthly payments down. It's a gamble that can pay off if you are only concerned about a catastrophic event like a heart attack or a cancer diagnosis.

Originally posted by computerwiz32


My mom dosen't have any other health issues. Just diabetic.

edit on 5-12-2011 by computerwiz32 because: (no reason given)

I strongly suggest you to look with her into a low carbohydrate fat/protein based diet. Her insulin needs will go down dramatically. Once you done with your school I suggest you to read into this through google search. Its abig change regarding her food intake and espacially in the start a little bit hard(you need to drink much) but certainly not as hard as going to another country.

a low carbohydrate diet is a bit more expensive then anormal diet but the reduced costs for the meds will make it up.

If you try this diet be advised that you need to be very cautios with the insulin as the needs for it will be drasticly reduced. I myself am down from 20-40 units per meal to 8-14 units and feel very healthy and fit. combined with exercise this diet is great. ITs the diet our ancesstors eat naturally before we started flushing our systemw ith cheap carbohydrates.
Humanity survived 50 000 years + without one slice of bread or pasta and today we see all sorts of illness due to this unnatural social eating habit.