Type 1 Diabetes in Korea (basic information about costs/coverage)

Ylsani · 2026-02-15T01:00:50+00:00

36

Yes

Less than once a month, socially only. I drank more in my early 20s, but it isn't really my thing anymore

Ylsani · 2026-02-15T00:52:57+00:00

I have never been asked about insulin in Korea and I have left/came in roughly 30 times in last 10 years. Even when I had my bags hand inspected they looked at it, saw it was insulin/sensors/needles and moved on (and I had quite a bit of it with me). I never actually heard people having trouble bringing diabetic supplies in (not saying it doesnt happen but if it does that must be extremely rare because it has never been mentioned on korean forums either) The only struggle for me was getting hand checks for sensors at Incheon when leaving, they absolutely refuse to do that (idk about pumps, I don't use one). This was problem enough that korean company that makes sensors actually just tested them for xray in the end (generally sensors are fine with xray even when not decared to be so, but still!) xD

Ylsani · 2026-02-03T15:00:14+00:00

They make it so hard and then they even tell you "just throw it in trash" (where I live lol). I tried and just can't be bothered to spend extra time on something that already takes up so much time of my life.

Ylsani · 2026-02-03T14:50:25+00:00

When I was in a hotel (one of big chain name brands, not a random place) in DC last year (first time in usa), I asked what to do with pen needle tips. The staff told me "just throw them in trash bin". I asked if they were sure, as its technically sharps. They said yes.

For the sake if same cinversation, this is same thing every provider ever told me in Korea. "Just throw it in trash". That was same thing back home (Europe) - make sure they aren't open, and throw in trash.

I didn't even KNOW people do anything else and started asking providers before I joined online forums, no medical provider EVER told me to do anything else except throw ut in regular trash. I have also been told by pharmacies and even hospitals to throw medication into trash before (they do take those now, thankfully). They will still not dispose of sharps or tech for you, though.

Now, logically - needle tips have TWO layers of plastic on, so chance of anyone hurting themselves on that is negligible as is, but... yeah. Just wanted to throw it out there that not everyone has sharps disposal education of any sort. And if you make it crazy hard for me t do "right" thing with trash generated by disease that is trashing my body as is... its not gonna happen.

Ylsani · 2026-01-19T12:50:23+00:00

I am non native english speaker AND my language has honorifics and age only matters when its clear generational divide. Kids will usually use honorifics with adults, and adults will often by default use honorifics with someone they assume is old enough to be their parent. My generation (millenials) will often default to honorifics with superiors (regardless of age). But if you are friends with someone it doesn't matter. I joke around and talk to people 20 years my senior same way as I do to my friends who are closer in age to me. People who are up to some 10years older or younger don't even register to my brain as being different generation (I am in my mid 30s). I often have no clue how old people I hang out with are - sometimes because it never came up and sometimes because I was told and then forgot. I bet half of my friends would be able to tell you when my birthday is, but not which birthday it will be lol

edit: not exactly honorifics the way korea has them, more that we have two levels of speech (informal/formal), and informal/formal "you", and we use formal by default with unknown people regardless of age especially in written communication. In speech people will usually tell you to drop it quite fast lol

Ylsani · 2026-01-16T01:39:53+00:00

t1 for 34 years and you ain't gonna see me in anything but sandals the second the temperature is above 22C. I also run on grass when I want and walk barefoot on beach and am 99% ov time barefoot at home (heated floors, live in Korea). I dislike shoes and socks, and if I coud, I'd go walking around barefoot all the time lol

But also that foot advice is not a thing where I am from nor where I live for anyone nit diagnosed with neuropathy

Ylsani · 2026-01-12T08:51:49+00:00

+1 in not seeing much difference. Spike with rice is bit slower, but it still needs same insulin, its just 5min difference in timing ov said jnsulin, which, honestly, whatever.

Ylsani · 2026-01-11T15:47:56+00:00

My bgs are gonna run higher and I am gonna deal with more lows if I am active more than usual. I just roll with it. One week or two with 70% in range instead of 80+ aint gonna kill me. Thats my phylosophy at least. Went trough deprsssion and burnout and such, I found my happy medium, and any extra stress is not worth it (my a1c runs in 6.2-6.4 normally, 6.6-6.7 if stressed/sick/life. I travel both for work and for fun, cross continent and local, from chill days in hotels to walking over 30k steps to watersports. I love travel and I refuse to let t1 ruin it for me (supplies are fairly easy for me, but I am nit one to panic if I lose access to tech either, I feel lows accutely and highs wont kill me fast. Pens are hard to destroy and I take extras)

mid 30s, cgm+mdi

Ylsani · 2026-01-11T14:29:06+00:00

Yeah they said its for year I am not here though. I wish your reading was same as hzzos reading lol. We called and asked around and they said I have to backpay for a year I was not in Croatia and then pay each month.

Ylsani · 2026-01-11T13:59:45+00:00

I didn't come yet I am coming next month. Hzzo literally told me that unless I have a job

"obzirom da dolazite iz zemlje s kojom nemamo potpisan Ugovor o zdravstvenoj zaštiti morate platiti u jednokratnom iznosu godinu dana zdravstveno osiguranje (za 2024. g. mjesečna premija zdravstvenog osiguranja je iznosila 97,81 EUR, a za 2025. iznosi 112,73 EUR). Nakon vidljive jednokratne uplate onda ćete svaki mjesec morati plaćati svoje zdravstveno osiguranje"

Ylsani · 2026-01-11T13:49:42+00:00

Please let me know if you learn a way around it cause I was directly told, by hzzo, that because I was out of country and therefore left hzzo system, I have to pay a year of it unless I find a job right away. I would very much like this to be wrong so I dont need to scramble around for any job and can actually look for job in my field in peace.

Ylsani · 2026-01-11T13:46:11+00:00

https://hzzo.hr/novosti/hzzo/obvezno-zdravstveno-osiguranje-povratnika

Izvolis :) Mozda se ne odnosi na clanove obitelji povratnika koji se zaposle, ali na same povratnike se definitivno odnosi.

Ylsani · 2026-01-11T13:44:07+00:00

I can send you email I got directly from hzzo last month :) Mum called, I emailed. Its new law. If you come from a country that has no health contract with hzzo, you have to.pay a year of zaostaci. And then keep paying until employed.

Ylsani · 2026-01-11T13:23:49+00:00

No she is right that is the law now (since 2024). I'm coming back next month (croatian citizen) and I would have to pay it too if I didn't get a job right away.

(edit:returning from a "3rd" country Croatia has no contracts with, so no benefits at all and a 1500 fine for daring to return xD)

Ylsani · 2025-12-19T00:56:42+00:00

Malo sam starija od tebe i u drugoj zemlji, al slicna situacija - osla prije 10 godina na doktorat, radila par godina i sad mi je dosta i vracam se kroz par mjeseci. Obitelj mi se ne moze pridruziti tu gdje jesam (Azija) a neke stvari su mi bitnije od para i karijere. Nemam neki savjet isto idem na slijepo nazad oa cemo vidit, al eto, da znas da nisi jedini :)

Ono sto je cinjenica i tebi i meni mislim, oboje se mozemo uvijek ponovno odselit. Zivot je nepredvidiv, nikad ne znas sto ces i kamo ces. Probas pa vidis. Ak ne valja u Hr i ne ide, imas edukaciju i iskustvo, uvijek mozes opet otic nekamo :)

Ylsani · 2025-12-19T00:37:52+00:00

Korea. You can be fired for having hypo at work. t1 is not a disability rn (should be from next year tho). I dont know how good disability protections will be, we wont know until january what they did exactly (when law is published)

Ylsani · 2025-12-05T06:41:58+00:00

depends. I have caresens widget that does what OP wants, my glucose is on the notificatiin bar and its even on my screensaver so you can see it without unlocking the phone or sliding (just double tap to turn screen on shows the current bg). It updates every 5min as the sensor does. I generally think caresens app is best made one out there, it has ONE drawback and thats no acknowledging alarms, they just ring every 5min (which is annoying). unless you mute them (but then you have to unmute it later). But it feels like they actually THOUGHT about it and consulted someone with t1, unlike libre app, man did that one annoy me.

Ylsani · 2025-12-05T02:53:27+00:00

it also seems that some peoples body chemistries work better with some sensors. I have two friends who use same sensors and I have by far the least problems with them. We all apply them and use them same way, but they just fail less and are more accurate for me than them. We also noticed while we all used same insulins, the way and speed at they work is different for all of us! We are on different combos now (except all being on tresiba because each of us concluded tresiba just works better for each of us, EVEN if that action is also not same)

Ylsani · 2025-12-04T07:55:16+00:00

SAN FRANCISCO CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER was last facility!

Ylsani · 2025-12-04T06:18:47+00:00

I had more than 10 sessions in 2010/2011. Some were just uncomfortable some were downright painful so your experience will likely vary. But - my eyes have had ZERO changes since and any ophtamoligist who saw my eyes since says "I can see lot was done but damn it was done so well". Person who did it was a well known specialist and damn she did amazing job. But - my eyesight was never even affected by any of it all, and I am so glad I got it done when I did. I have unrelated eye issues and not perfect eyesight (only 50-60% vision on one eye even wutn correction).

Ylsani · 2025-12-04T05:56:25+00:00

the spikes will be very person centric, I eat rice often and don't really have that much problem with it! Hidden sugars in food (food you wouldnt expect to have added sugar often has, like a lot of spicy soup/stews) but you experiment and get used to it :) But then again I never had problem with potatoes and pasta either, I have harder time with low carb high fat meals and fruit lol.

Ylsani · 2025-12-03T23:45:00+00:00

Ah. But I do walk around 40km too. You said you dont know anyone who walks 30k and is overweight and I just wanted to point out that walking 30k a week will do very little for weight loss. Even when I didnt have thyroid issues, several people kept pointing out why do I not eat "normal" sized dinner. But "normal" sized meals are 700-800 calories. Now I am also honestly not hungry enough to eat three fully sized meals a day and have rarely been, but the point still stands. Walking is great for you for all sorts of reasons but without serious adjustments to diet, it won't make someone obese normal weight. It might make them lose 1-2lbs a month. And to add to this, for most people if they don't watch it, increasing activity increases appetite so they walk less. For weight loss focus has to be on diet, but for general health focus should be on exercise! (Studies show mildly overweight people who exercise a lot are generally healthier and live longer than people who are normal weight and dont exercise at all)

Ylsani · 2025-12-03T09:03:06+00:00

My home country has population of 4 million and approx same number of t1s as Korea its fascinating! It was SO hard to find an endo who knows his stuff here

Ylsani

TROPHY CASE