dagster1, Wow! 1975! If I don’t eat my bs lowers to 55-65. As long as there’s no insulin on board it lowers to 55-65 and stays low until I eat or exercise. Exercise raises it a bit then it lowers after a couple of hours.
DDrumminMan - I will look up Casey Johnson’s story. thank you for commenting. I’ve found that w/o insulin on board, my bs lowers and stays low until I eat again. I’m not saying that is a way to sustain life. Just an observation for me.
Elizita - I, too, was thinking that’d I’d start with 0 carbs and exercise, to prolong stable bgs for as long as possible.
Ethanstrong - Thank you for the links and stories.
mikelabau - thank you for sharing those options. I know the inevitability is death. I was wondering what you guys would do if you were in that situation for whatever reason. I appreciate your replies.
morseyami - Yes! positive thinking is a must! thanks for replying.
What I post here is NOT for the feint-of-heart; it is a direct, very direct, response to the posted topic, the question posed.
Even with the most pro-active diet, and with intense medical care, life expectancy for a person with autoimmune diabetes [aka through the years as: Child-onset, Juvenile, Type A, Type 1, TypeOne, etc.] would have a very short life expectancy. Read the very particular writings published through the years; for my presentations, I’ve read articles covering diabetes mellitus over the most recent 3,560 years.
Insulin, as most of us know, became commercially available in 1923; following is information published in the opening of a study published in The Boston Medical & Surgical Journal on June 22. 1922 by Dr. Elliot Joslin:
The average known duration of the fatal cases of diabetes in the City of Boston:
between 1895 and 1913 was 3.8 years;
during 1915 was 4.3 years, and;
in 1920 was 5.3 years
As many here know, Dr. Joslin began specializing in the treatment of diabetes in the late 1800’s and in 1910 opened the Joslin Diabetes Clinic intensively managing diabetes without insulin - and these were the best results achieved.
My OP asked "If you ran out of insulin and/or were unable to get it, ‘what would you do?’, ‘what should we do?’, ‘how should we eat, or supplement?’ " I realize type 1s die without insulin, but my op was to get feedback on what should or could we do in the interim. Of course, positive thinking and all, but I was just asking how others would handle it if that worse-case scenario occurred. 
Joy, I know that my most recent posting was negative, very negative, presenting the horrible reality if insulin was unavailable for a prolonged period, and really didn’t answer your question.
My immediate if insulin was absent would for me to revert to a somewhat reduced version of the “starvation diet” I was placed on in the 1950 era and engage in very moderate activity. I would by all means, avoid any strenuous activities because they would speed up the onset of DKA. My diet would depend mostly on “no-starch” vegetables - those on the “A” Exchange list" - for my vitamins and nutrients; in addition to these vegetables, I would eat lean chicken and pork for strength and energy. Hope for a new supply of insulin would be my main staple.
Dennis, I ALWAYS appreciate anything you longtimers have to say and share. And I appreciate your posts on this thread. I just wanted to make sure you guys didn’t think I don’t know that w/o insulin, I’ll die…lol (or not really lol, no laughing matter…lol) And your reminders aren’t falling on deaf ears. I was in denial a long time when I received the Dx last year. So I appreciate frank speech about the T1 Dx. For the record, I would hate to have to subsist on a very low carb diet, but in the event of… not easy prospects if type 1s encounter a shtf scenario for sure… thanks for sharing
Hi @TiJoy,
Greetings for the day!
I am new here …so, Would love to answer your query. I hope my answer you will find useful.
insulin is vital to the health of people with Type 1 diabetes, it is imperative to have access 24/7. If you run out of insulin or if your prescription happens to be expired, you’ll need to have a backup plan. High blood glucose levels from lack of insulin can lead very quickly to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially deadly condition.
Here are some suggestions for what to do:
If you run out of insulin due to prescription lapse, the pharmacy can typically call your physician to get that prescription updated within the same day as long as you call during business hours. Also, a few states have passed laws allowing pharmacists to dispense insulin on an emergency basis from an expired prescription. Make sure you stress to the pharmacist the urgency of the situation, as some aren’t as well trained as others in matters of Type 1 diabetes care.
If you have run out and it’s a holiday or weekend, or you can’t get ahold of the doctor, the best option is to have a backup plan for use of over-the-counter NPH and R insulin which can be purchased over the counter at Walmart as part of its ReliOn Brand. This option is available in all states save for Indiana.
If there is no way to get insulin due to the time of day or cost, go to an Urgent Care clinic or an Emergency Room. While the medical team there may not know much about your diabetes history, they will understand that a person with diabetes dependent on insulin therapy is in danger without insulin. If you find yourself there, ask for an Endocrine consult and/or to speak with a Diabetes Educator as well as a Case Management Nurse to get the best care and find some assistance to ensure you maintain access to your insulin.
Cheer’s,
Alana
Hello @alanaalison welcome to TypeOneNation and the forum. Where are you from? Cheers!
Thank you so much for the info, Alana
I would be in serious trouble in only one to two days. My infusion sets have popped out when sleeping and it didn’t take long before having to urinate and drink half a gallon of water. My glucose hit 400 from a normal range in only a few hours. I’ve also forgotten to complete my infusion set change because of a work-related interruption. After an hour or so, I didn’t feel right and I knew right away what the problem was. By that time my glucose spiked to 350 and I had to knock it down via an injection. I just bypassed the pump.
Welcome @JV127 sorry I’m just seeing your post. Thanks for replying
No problem. I like the forum and open discussions presented here. I’ve experienced quite a few things in 43 years with this condition, but it’s always good to hear how more experienced individuals have managed their Type 1 and how they’ve dealt with challenging situations.
I became very ill and was diagnosed in the hospital with DKA/Type 1 (at age 49). I was not diabetic and hadn’t heard of DKA or Type 1D. So needless to say, I was grasping for everything I could get my hands on to learn. Very glad to have found this forum.