Full time RV living as Type 1 Diabetic

[Hollis87]

Im looking to connect with Insulin Dependent Diabetics who full time RV. 

I’m a Type 1 Diabetic and will be living in my Chinook. My health care is in California under the ACA. My doctor is cool and will send me scripts to any CVS in the USA, (as long as I see her once a year) but I’m interested in hearing how people get their insulin as they travel. 

I know I’m not alone with this health issue! I’ve traveled internationally with it, lived in Cambodia for 7 years with it, kept insulin cold in a river while camping with it too!  
How do you guys handle it in your van or RV, especially how do you get it each month?

Thx!
?
Hollis

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

The easiest thing is to get a 12 v refrigerator and solar power. Good for keeping groceries fresh too.

 

[Hollis87]

The easiest thing is to get a 12 v refrigerator and solar power. Good for keeping groceries fresh too.

Thanx. I’m looking for more info about getting it while traveling. I have a fridge and solar but want to connect with other diabetics.

 

[VJG1977]

I use Walmart Pharmacy, I am only part time and type 2 diabetic.  I'm on insulin with GLYBURIDE and METFORMIN.  I can pick up meds from any Walmart Pharmacy.  East of the Mississippi it is hard to get more than twenty miles away from one.  I switched myself to the older insulin, Relion Humulin Insulin, Novolin R and Novolin N.  You can get these without a prescription for $24 with a Goodrx discount or $26 cash price.

 

[Hollis87]

Excellent idea to use Walmart! I usually try and not shop there for political reasons... 
but if I’m living in my Chinook, I might have to cave in and shop there. 
Thank you!

 

[saracatherine]

I’m not on the forum much but I am also a type 1 diabetic. Living in a condo now but trying to take longer and longer road trips. That may be the most I ever do, though I sometimes fantasize about full time.

In fact I came to the forum today to search for information about which chain pharmacies occur at most regular intervals on the road in the western united states - walmart, walgreens, CVS, target. I get my insulin at a local grocery store pharmacy now but want to move it to a chain so that I have backup if rx runs out on the road or my insulin spoils in weather or something. I am also on cheapest ACA insurance right now and can only get a one-month supply at a time. It’s scary when you know how close to hospitalization you are even if you end up going one day without. (My old better insurance let me get 3 months at a time, and I was on auto-refill and got more than I need so now I have a nice hoard of it, though every time the power goes out for a minute I’m holding my breath about that $3000 worth of insulin in the fridge! Oy.)

I have also wanted to connect with other t1ds who are living on the road part or full time. Even just t1ds who camp regularly! I spent the night in the Nevada desert last fall and it was 20 degrees at night and I had no heat source other than my body, and put my insulin in the sleeping bag with me! It does sometimes feel like the full or close to full time life for me would not be as much of an option as maybe for others, partly because insulin is so expensive in the U.S. (it enrages me) so I feel like I will always need steadier work and income than I might get on the road, and also just that x factor of a bad hypo and having people around you who know what to do.

I appreciate T2s who are managing on the road, but it’s not quite the same when you’re just a day or two from DKA if insulin isn’t available or goes bad.

Anyway, hi, I’m here too.
(And have you had any problem finding a CVS when you need it on the road?)

 

[saracatherine]

P.S. I have read up on the cheap walmart insulins so that I know how to use them if I have to, but I consider it a last resort as the kind of control I want is much more difficult to achieve vs on lantus and humalog/novolog. I want my next road trip to dip into canada so I can get some at their prices! Ugh it makes me so angry. There’s no reason for it to be more expensive here than in most other countries. Anyway I’ve gotten in trouble for being political here before so I’ll shut up.

 

[mpruet]

I'm type-2/part-time.  I'm on basal insulin (Toujeo) plus a bunch of pills (Metformin, Farxiga, etc...) 

Since you are type-1, you will have to have a fridge and maybe a freezer.  You have to control the carbs and most protein foods require refrigeration.  Also if you plan on being a boondocker, you will need a fridge for your insulin.  I don't know about you, but if I eat a slice of bread with 13 grams of carbs I see a rise in blood sugar for the rest of the day.  So I really have to stay away from most foods including fruits.  For me, that means a lot of chicken and fish. 

My rig has 200 watts of solar which keeps my batteries charged.  I do have a fridge/freezer which I keep running when I'm on the road. 

I don't know what kind of setup you have so can't make any other suggestions.  My doc does not mind as she has seen that my A1C numbers tend to drop when I spend time on the road.  I'm on mail order drugs and use Walmart as my pharmacy.

 

[mpruet]

(My old better insurance let me get 3 months at a time, and I was on auto-refill and got more than I need so now I have a nice hoard of it, though every time the power goes out for a minute I’m holding my breath about that $3000 worth of insulin in the fridge! Oy.)

One thing that you could consider if power failure is an issue is to get portable power pack (such as yeti 150) and a DC 12-volt fridge (such as dometic CF18).  That way you would be able to keep the insulin cool during a power outage and would also have stuff which could be moved into a van.  Just an FYI - this is what I used when I was car camping in my Prius last year and it worked fine.

 

[saracatherine]

One thing that you could consider if power failure is an issue is to get portable power pack (such as yeti 150) and a DC 12-volt fridge (such as dometic CF18).  That way you would be able to keep the insulin cool during a power outage and would also have stuff which could be moved into a van.  Just an FYI - this is what I used when I was car camping in my Prius last year and it worked fine.

Thanks - I don't worry too much about an outage while I'm actually at home, as there are a lot of ways I could handle that. I do worry about an outage happening at home while I'm on a trip and not realizing it until I get back, etc. It would not be the end of the world but all that insulin would be expensive to replace. My homeowners insurance might cover it...