Where everybody knows your name

I visit the pharmacy 3 to 4 times a week. We have numerous prescriptions on automatic refill, and it seems I get a daily call from the pharmacy alerting me to a refilled prescription, backordered item, or other issue. The kids think the voice of the automated message is hilarious and beg me to put it on speaker whenever a call comes through.

I’m on a first name basis with all the pharmacists and techs. They know our travel dates for leaving and returning each summer, and offer to communicate with our Maine pharmacy to ensure medications don’t lapse. I no longer have to give my last name when I step up to the window, and instead they say “Hi Ms.Aikman, who are you here for today?” They go above and beyond to fight for a prior authorization, and commiserate when a script is not covered by insurance. They’re definitely a crucial component to our Type 1 team.

I’m thankful the people at the pharmacy are so kind, because when I really stop to think about it all I could break down and cry. Without these medicines my family would die. Without the sensors, test strips, lancets, and ketone sticks my family would be unable to make accurate dosing decisions. Without insurance and pharmacy benefits my family would be paying out of pocket prices at a ridiculously inflated rate. It’s sickening the profit that is made off of their sweet lives.

I’ve had people ask what our monthly pharmacy bills total, including pump supplies (which we buy directly from the manufacturer rather than through our pharmacy). Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t know. Because what choice do we have? If I actually sat down and totaled what we pay, with 3 Type 1 family members, I might crumble at its magnitude. It’s a cost, much like grocery shopping and mortgage. A non-negotiable. I pick up insulin from the pharmacy as often as I buy milk and eggs, it’s a weekly staple. Without it they would die. I have to take each pharmacy visit and pump reorder as a stand alone line item in the budget for fear of emotional overwhelm.

The one bright spot of having so many pharmaceutical requirements in our family? We reach of pharmacy deductible by August, and for 4 glorious months our prescriptions have a copay of $0. This is the one time I look closely at the prescription cost on each item, and add up what it would all have cost without insurance. And then I’m disgusted once again by the greed of the pharmaceutical companies.