Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Manager of Marketing at T1D Exchange.
Sarah and her husband live in NYC with their cat Gracie. In her spare time, she enjoys doing comedy, taking dance classes, visiting art museums, and exploring different neighborhoods in NYC.
I was diagnosed at age 19. I was a full time student working 2 part time jobs. I paid for my own insulin & syringes (NPH & R at the time). Test strips were incredibly expensive, much much more than they are now, so I rarely tested for 10+ years.
My mother would occasionally buy a bottle of insulin and one year for my birthday she bought me a case of syringes. It was maybe 10 boxes, lasted forever!
I was diagnosed when 57 years old
48 when first diagnosed.
It’s complicated. I was diagnosed when I was 18 and in college in the 1970’s. Costs were manageable back then. My parents helped for many years because they wanted to. My daughter was 23 when diagnosed and they helped her also.
I was 28, so it was all on me. I was in grad school, so covered by the University health plan, basically an HMO and not especially generous with things like hospital stays and specialist referrals. This was back in ’83, so insulin (R and NPH) and supplies (syringes, chemstrips) weren’t too expensive even OTC, though they were covered (with a deductible). Didn’t have glucometers yet, let alone CGMs, pumps and all the rest, not to mention insanely overpriced analog insuiins. So it wasn’t too rough economically. Be a lot harder now.
I was diagnosed while in the USAF, at age 22, and became responsible after my discharge that same year. However, because I was diagnosed while on active duty I was eligible for free T1D care through the Veterans Administration, which has continued since 1970.
I was diagnosed in 1960, graduated from college in 1973. Back then, we had no glucometers, no CGM, no pumps. It was pee in a cup, fill a syringe with Lente or NPH, trust how you felt to determine what you did with your insulin. And it was affordable. I don’t recall filing insurance claims for anything. I just paid for it, even right out of college.
Same situation here. My bottle of NPH cost about $2 and it would last a month. No other supplies to speak of. I was no longer legible for my parents’ insurance around the time I graduated college, 1974. Dx in 1962.
for me it was 1952 at age 20… even less $$$..
I was 12 when diagnosed. after high school and started working with my own insurance. I do remember using syringes 2x to save.
My parents insurance cut me off at 19
I answered “After I/they got established in a career between ages 23-25” I was 23 yrs old in 1977, when I was diagnosed T1D. At the time, I had graduated college, was married, and working full-time with health insurance. I have maintained some form of health insurance ever since. I did go back to college in 1978 for a graduate degree. But, I kept working throughout, and I was able to purchase health insurance.
At the end of the month of graduating HS bc I got married to the love of my life!
I was barely 11 when diagnosed. I left that out. Lol
I was diagnosed at age 32 and have always taken on the expense of having the disease, fortunately always having excellent insurance.
When I got married at 18 yrs old
As soon as I turned 18. I am 54 now. I was not lucky, as soon as I was 18 I was a legal adult and everything was on me. Made me and my husband way more kind and supportive to our 3 daughters. Supportive and kept them on insurance and in school as long as possible. I feel most stress over our youngest, 23 and moving out, my husband has to take medical retirement and the insurance does not cover a chosen medical treatment. She said she is ok with it. She will work with an insurance when she gets a job after she has moved in with her best friend. She just graduated college!!
I was 13 when I was diagnosed. Sorry I missed that part.
I was diagnosed when I was 14 years old, and I married at age 21. I went onto my husband’s insurance at that time.
It’s not really clear. I was financially responsible for my insulin and needles while in college (when insulin was inexpensive and they were no cgms and pumps were just starting out), but in my fathers insurance until I got my first “real” job out of college and was able to get my own insurance.
Even as an adult, my mother still helps me with the cost of T1D supplies. Very grateful!
I was dx at the age of 8. Was on my parents’ insurance until getting married during semester break as a college junior, age 21. Very fortunately insulin, syringes and urine test supplies were still around $10/no Rx needed in 1969.
Ah yes, I remember those non-RX days for insulin and syringes. Could just go to any Rexall or Lane’s Drugs and get what was needed. Usually paid cash.
Janis and Connie….. For me it was agge 20 in 1962, so the cost was about $1.25 per vial that I used for at least 45 days until it was empty!!!!
I was financially responsible for my own survival, in general more than 5 years prior to my T1D diagnosis which happened when I was 24 years young.
However, during my first year post diagnosis, my income was low enough that State medical assistance covered all including my hospital bills incurred at time of diagnosis and that State funded medical assistance remained in effect until I was able to find employment with insurance benefits.
When I entered college at age 18. My divorced custodial parent (mother) cut me loose and I was on my own. Don’t remember all details of how I managed back then, but somehow I did and survived. Now 60+ years with T1D and still going strong.
Diagnosed at age 8 in 1962.
I had adult onset. T1D
I was on my own from age 18 ,,T1D at age 20 in 1952… way before big pharma was able to jack up the price of insulin!!!
Diagnosed at age 11 in 1961. Was on my father’s insurance until getting married age 23 and using my husband’s health insurance. I had trouble getting a job due to discrimination against my diabetes, until I finally went into business for myself. During my dietetic internship at the University of California medical school at San Francisco students use the student health service, and everything was usually paid for. The big problem in those first years was that each time my husband change jobs, there was a waiting period for pre-existing conditions of anywhere from six months to 18 months where we had to pay for things, but as people have said, it was all cheaper back then. I remember when blood testing first came out in the early 1980s I had to fight with my insurance company for a very long time before they would cover any of that and then of course there were always the fights about how many test strips you would be allowed which were never enough.
I was diagnosed at age 19 while in college. There was a health center there, so the doctor and labs were covered there. But we never had help with supplies in those days. I purchased my own out of my own money. So I bought insulin and syringes. My husband had health insurance when we got married in 1972, which also covered doctor visits, but we still paid out of pocket for syringes and insulin. By the late 80’s I was reading about insulin pumps, but insurance did not cover those. We moved to England in 1991 where everything was covered by the National Health system, and my husband had premiums for that deducted from his pay, just like with the health insurance in the U.S., but syringes and insulin were free for diabetics, as were all prescriptions. We returned to the U.S. in 2006, by which time drug plans covered insulin and health insurance now included syringes and even pumps. So I immediately went on a pump. Everything has been covered since.
I married in my senior year of high school and had a severely disabled child. I was caring for her full time so I was unemployed. My husband paid for my supplies which in 1979 was animal sourced NPH, Regular insulin and syringes. It wasn’t expensive as it is today.
There was not an option back then to remain on their insurance. I have been responsible for the bills since I was 22
I was diagnosed at age of 15 (63 years ago) but I had never to finance the cost of diabetes supplies until today because in my country (Greece) is totally free of charge by the State Health System. At the first 10-15 years (1970-1985) there was a small contribution from my part around 10-15%.
In the initial days of managing diabetes, you did whatever was required to get the supplies you needed. Often this meant sharing supplies with diabetics outside your family (both my sister and I had Type 1) because there was no insurance available for at least 20 years after Rx.
The entire family and other relatives as well contributed to buying diabetic supplies.
As soon as you could work to contribute to the family budget. For myself at age 13 I had 2 paper routes (morning and late afternoon) plus part-time construction work on weekends, evenings, summer holidays, xmas etc. Both my parents worked, as well as my siblings when they were able to. Besides medical supplies, both my sister and I also were able to attend a Diabetes Camp in 1967 after our family gifted us the airfare.
I answered 23-25 because that was when I finally received insurance from an employer and started paying for my own copays and deductible.