A Year of Insulin

Howdy, everyone! My name is Danny - I'm a small ball of anxiety in a vaguely human shape struggling to get by. Back in 2011, a multi-day ER stay, one broken hospital record for highest blood sugar levels, and a crash course in getting over my fear of needles resulted in my diagnosis with Type 2 Diabetes. Save the confetti.

For the most part, I've been uninsured for the entire duration of that time, paying out-of-pocket for doctor visits and all of my supplies. Even for the brief window when I was insured, my insurance dropped insulin coverage and I was stuck paying $200 a month for two vials.

The GOOD NEWS: I now use Novolin N and R, which is sold OTC at my local Walmart for $28-ish per vial (and rising sometimes), and I buy both types every month.

THE BAD NEWS: Sixty-ish bucks is worlds better than $200 but it's hit a point now where I'm barely managing to cover it + my other monthly medical supplies. I don't have insurance and I don't have a prescription anymore (can't afford a doctor), so I can't use any cost-saving cards or similar coupons, which require a prescription. I am at the lowest of the low prices I have access to already.

I don't have a normal nine to five, I'm a freelance artist that works from home due to my health (mental and physical), and that doesn't always bring in the bacon even in the good times.
For the past year and a half, my depression has been at what might politely be described as Critical Mass, and it's destroyed my ability to work regularly. I'm taking steps to get my life back in order and to handle my backlog of work, but this stress of always wondering if I'm going to have the medicine I need to survive is eating away at me.

When it comes down to the crunch and I just have a few units left in my vials and no cash, I skip doses, I halve doses, I skip eating, anything to buy a little time. This is... not good in any way, and it's having a disastrous impact on my well-being.

I'm not asking for the money to cover ALL of my monthly supplies - if I just have the room to breath, I can cover my syringes, alcohol pads, my test strips, and my lancets without panicking and trying to figure out what I can double-use or what I can skip.

My goal of $625 will ensure I have insulin for an entire year, with a bit of wiggle room to cover fees, taxes, and maybe some pricing changes. Even the smallest donation will positively impact my chances at survival for the following year.