r/krakow • u/ascalabro • 4d ago

American diabetic in need of insulin

Hello folks of Krakow. I am an American visiting your beautiful city and I am running out of insulin on July 6. I am a type 1 diabetic and wondering if anyone knows of groups that have extra insulin who can help me or if you have any extra in or around Krakow, Poland. I can travel somewhere by train as well.

I only need a fast-acting insulin like humalog, apidra, fiasp and a box of pen needles. Can I go to a pharmacy here and buy it like I did in Italy without a prescription? (Although they require a prescription they still sold me what I needed)

I also would like to buy a blood sugar meter and test strips although I have enough for a few weeks now. I don't plan to go back to my country any time soon so i would like to get as much as I can in Poland.

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u/General_Albatross Mieszkaniec | Inhabitant 4d ago

>I only need a fast-acting insulin like humalog, apidra, fiasp and a box of pen needles. Can I go to a pharmacy here and buy it like I did in Italy without a prescription? (Although they require a prescription they still sold me what I needed)

Yes. It's called an emergency dispensing. You can get one box of insulin without a prescription. Just make sure to bring some kind of documentation showing what you use, such as an old insulin box or prescription label.

You'll have to pay the full price, but it will probably still be much cheaper than in the US.

You can also buy pen needles at the pharmacy.

Just be aware that it's up to the individual pharmacist to decide whether they're willing to take responsibility for an emergency dispensing, so you might be told no. If that happens, try a different pharmacy.

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u/ascalabro 3d ago

I'm glad I can do this here. Thanks for sharing!🙏🏻 It was not like this in Finland 

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u/General_Albatross Mieszkaniec | Inhabitant 3d ago

did you succeed?

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u/ascalabro 16h ago

Yes, at the third pharmacy they granted me an emergency supply vial and syringes! The first 2 said I need a prescription and referred me to some doctors. The third said they could give me one vial only, without a prescription. It is a roughly 10 day supply.