Comment by amgreg | Hacker News Reader

Comment by amgreg | Hacker News Reader

Luckily I never had to take insulin, as I am not diabetic. I had a dog, however, who needed it. She was prescribed Humulin-N, which is not generic. The generic insulin would not be adequate for her, according to the vet.

When I got to the pharmacy, I was amazed to learn that it would cost us ~200 USD each time I needed a vial, which I would not be able to afford; I had pet insurance, but it wasn't any help.

I have family in Brazil. Identical medication is sold there for around 10 USD. By "identical" I mean exactly the same -- including brand name (Eli Lilly). Thus, every time a family member was coming to the USA, they'd bring me a few vials purchased from a local pharmacy that honored our US-issued prescription.

The price difference is shocking. I can only imagine the despair of many Americans who cannot afford the insulin they need and have no access to alternative markets such as I had.

You can get novolin-n at Walmart for about $26 a vial without a prescription. I’m a type 1 diabetic and fallback to this when I’m unable to get a prescription.

We ended up finding Novolin N at Walmart, before the Brazil solution, but our Dr. dissuaded us from switching.

You probably know this better than I, but the doctor advised us that Humulin N and Novolin N are not interchangeable; while they are the “same” insulin (NPH), the manufacturing process is different, affecting dosage.

In our pet’s case, the Dr. had conducted a series of exams to determine Humulin N dosages — which he advised us we would have needed to redo if we switched her to Novolin.

I think in humans it is easier to get blood readings, but in the dog’s case the Dr. needed to keep her in hospital to do a series of “curves;” this was expensive, so we did not want to redo.

Interesting, for me (and your dog's mileage may vary), humulin and novolin are interchangeable. I bought humulin at walmart before they switched to novolin but I rarely use NPH. I only need it when either I don't have insurance or I need a new prescription because my insurance decided to switch to another preferred basal insulin. It's easy for me to see any changes since I can monitor my blood sugars but for a dog, that could be a challenge and probably requires a stay at the vet to run tests.

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