My challenge this week has been to try and buy more insulin and BSL test strips here in Galapagos. Since arriving in back Ecuador in September 2016 I have been using all of the diabetic supplies I brought with me from Australia.

Most of the time these supplies have an expiry date of 18 months in advance and as an Australian I am fortunate that all the diabetic products I need like insulin, test strips and pen needles are easily available and (mostly) affordable. So before leaving I stocked up with a 5 x 5 supply of both Humalog and Lantus insulins, as well as 9 boxes of test strips, the most available for purchase at one time.

Unfortunately both insulin and test strips either get used up, or have an expiry date which I have found insulin to be quite sensitive to. So I went on a pharmacy search this week to see how to obtain more.

A few months ago when I was in Guayaquil on mainland Ecuador I happened to be at a pharmacy and glimpsed a box a Humalog as the pharmacist opened the refrigerator. This confirmed my thoughts that the insulin I use was available in the country, I just had to work out how to get it and how much it would cost.

To my surprise it was easy, even here in Galapagos. The first pharmacy I visited told me that they had 3 vials of Lantus in stock and they would be able to order the Humalog, which I needed, and it would arrive in the islands 3 days later. Awesome! The price however, is a different story. In Australia thanks to insulin being on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) a box of 25 vials of insulin (5 vials in 5 boxes) costs approximately $46AUD. Usually this supply will last me anywhere from 8 – 10 months. So multiply that by 2 types of insulin, and the cost is approximately $100AUD for 8 months supply, which is very inexpensive.

Here in Ecuador, especially in Galapagos, insulin is not that cheap. A box of 5 vials of Humalog cost $65USD, which is approximately $80AUD for just 5 vials. But it’s here and I can get it easily. So this week as I am in need of Humalog and just ordered the 5 vials and will slowly order insulin as needed.

Humalog Insulin

BSL test strips however are something I am still searching for. I use an Accu-Chek Performa BSL machine and took a bottle of strips to the pharmacy with me. Unfortunately the pharmacist had never seen these strips before and said there was no way to order them. We also asked at another pharmacy chain but were met with the same blank look in regard to the strips. The good news however is that they have other strips and apparently the BSL machines to go with them. So since I have a couple bottles of strips left I will wait, use them up, then see how much a new machine and strips will cost to buy.

Accu-Chek Performa Strips

I am once again impressed with the Ecuador health system. I have never tried to buy insulin anywhere else in the world other than in Australia, and though I am now a resident of both Ecuador and Galapagos, it would not have mattered if I was a tourist. I did not need to visit a doctor for a script, as I do when I’m in Australia. I simply went to the pharmacy with the insulin vials I needed, and had no problems ordering. Yes the price is more expensive than I’m used to, but I had anticipated it would be. But it is here, easily accessible and allows me to continue to my amazing life here in Galapagos.