Two years ago, Ang was juggling the busy life of a 23-year-old: working as a parent program supervisor in Las Vegas, studying for a graduate degree in social work, and balancing relationships and responsibilities. Amid all that, her body started sending signals — itchy skin she assumed was eczema, an insatiable thirst, and finally, chest pain that couldn’t be ignored. It wasn’t until she landed in the ICU with diabetic ketoacidosis in October 2023 that she received the diagnosis that would change everything: Type 1 diabetes.
Managing Type 1 diabetes is a full-time job in itself, both physically and financially. As Ang quickly learned, even with insurance, the cost of staying alive can soar to over $4,600 annually. Fortunately, platforms like GoodRx help make this burden a little more bearable. Over the course of just five days, Ang tracked her expenses — and thanks to GoodRx, she saved nearly $292 on essential medications and supplies. Here’s a glimpse into her life, her routine, and how she manages a condition that demands constant attention.
Day One: Getting Into the Groove
The day starts with a late wake-up and the realization she’s out of thyroid medication — a condition often linked to autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes. Without skipping a beat, she places a refill online, bringing the cost down from $23 to just $9.05 with GoodRx.
By afternoon, she’s navigating back-to-back meetings, managing her blood sugar with a new, fast-acting insulin. When her glucose dips dangerously low, she corrects it with gummies, a quick fix for a potentially life-threatening situation.
Dinner with friends includes carbs — chips, queso, and cheese soup — but with insulin on hand, Ang is able to enjoy it without issue. The day wraps with carb-guessing her way through unlabeled Mexican snacks from her mom’s trip. Her total spend: $16.72, with a key GoodRx save on her thyroid meds.
Day Two: Carb-Free Challenges
The day gets off to a rocky start when she forgets her insulin at home. With no way to regulate her blood sugar, she avoids carbs entirely — not an easy feat. Lunch is a salad, and although her office provides food, she opts out.
After work, she grabs her thyroid meds (saving $13.95 with GoodRx) and has dinner with her fiancé D — pizza and wings. That night, she snacks on popcorn while doom-scrolling, unable to sleep due to test prep stress, which, ironically, affects her blood sugar too.
Her total: $61.70, with another win from GoodRx.
Day Three: Embracing the Devices
Lunch is homemade tamales — a delicious taste of home — and she proudly sports her continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a small device on her body that reads her blood sugar levels in real time. While some might shy away from showing it off, Ang embraces it as part of her new normal — even calling it a cute accessory.
Later, her insulin refill rings up at $135, but thanks to GoodRx, she avoids a $300 monthly price tag. The evening ends with family, laughter, and birria around a too-small dining table, a familiar and comforting chaos.
Day Four: A Midnight Crash and Carb Caution
At 2 a.m., Ang wakes up sweating and disoriented — a blood sugar crash caused by miscalculating her insulin dose at dinner. With snacks stashed in every corner of her life, she reaches for juice in her nightstand drawer and waits for her levels to rise.
Lunch is pasta (tricky to dose for due to its delayed effect on blood sugar) and pomegranate with limón and salt — a combination that raises eyebrows at work but hits home for Ang. A sugar-free drink later turns out to be not so sugar-free, spiking her blood sugar and sending non-stop alerts to her phone.
Her grocery run includes staples for both her and D — low-carb for her, sugary drinks for emergencies — and all told, she spends $42.89.
Day Five: Big Costs, Bigger Perspective
The final day of the week starts off slow. Managing her glucose in the mornings is still a work in progress. She picks up a new batch of CGM sensors — originally $240, but with GoodRx, she pays $130. These sensors are vital, offering 24/7 monitoring and peace of mind.
Dinner prep includes rotisserie chicken, chipotle peppers, and sides for her friends, costing $47.36. It’s a reminder that despite her diagnosis, life goes on — full of food, friends, and last-minute pharmacy runs.
As the night ends, her CGM sensor expires — a small reminder that this routine never truly stops.
Diabetes and Dollars: The Ongoing Balancing Act
Living with Type 1 diabetes means being in a constant relationship with your body — interpreting its signals, responding quickly, and planning ahead. It’s exhausting, both mentally and financially. But for Ang, tools like GoodRx, supportive loved ones, and a growing sense of confidence in her ability to manage it all help make the journey a little easier.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get used to carb-counting or insulin injections,” she reflects. “But here I am, tracking my blood sugar like second nature. I’m not just surviving — I’m finding new ways to thrive.”
Over five days, Ang saved $291.95 on the medications and supplies that keep her healthy. While diabetes remains a lifelong challenge, financial tools, medical innovation, and personal resilience all play a part in helping her live a life that’s full, flavorful, and fiercely her own.
