Our cat has diabetes

[Bernadine]

Remember this handsome man?

He's been peeing around the house, and the vet just called- diabetes. Does this mean we'll be paying $300/month for insulin? malibu Yikes!

[Deleted]

Awww. Yes, most likely.

[zelda25]

It's pretty expensive for a vial, but it should last a lot longer than a month.

[Deleted]

My cat was diabetic. She got 2 shots a day for 4 or 5 years and was pretty healthy. We got the insulin and syringes from CVS way less frequently than monthly.

[So_Fetch]

My cat Minnie had diabetes. I want to say her insulin was $120 a vial. I hope yours is inexpensive (in comparison)

[Bernadine]

Oct 22, 2015 12:23:18 GMT -5 So_Fetch said:

My cat Minnie had diabetes. I want to say her insulin was $120 a vial. I hope yours is inexpensive (in comparison)

Do you remember how long the vial lasted?

[averyjessup]

My dog is diabetic, in the US (I've moved & it's a different type now) his insulin was about $110 per vial, he got 3-4 units twice per day and a vial lasted a long time, easily a few months. Syringes were about about $10 for a box of 100.

There is a little needle clipper thing you can buy, it snips the needle off of the syringe at the base and then the rest of the syringe can be thrown away, it's much smaller than a sharps container.

Eta I think the insulin was called Humulin?

[thatgirl2478]

My kitty was diabetic. The hard part was figuring out her dosage, that took a few trips back & forth to the vet to get it right. The vial lasted way longer than a month, and I don't think it was $300. I believe you can reuse the needle a few times too (since your cats not sharing, there's virtually no chance of infection) which cuts down on the cost.

I know that when my kitty passed away, I returned all my unused supplies to the vet so that she could give them to people who had financial hardships but their pets needed care.

[tigermom]

If you're willing to test your cat's blood sugar at home you could try some diet changes before starting insulin. We were able to bring our cat's blood sugar down by switching to a low carb diet (wet food only, we use Friskies and fancy feast pates). He may eventually need insulin but has been diet-controlled for almost two years now. There is a link in malibu's recent post to a feline diabetes message board that has a lot of resources on the best foods, home testing, and insulin regimens.

[malibu]

Bernadine My cat is getting glargine insulin, which is $300 a vial. There are other brands and types to my limited knowledge, but this particular one, made by Lantus, does not have a generic and therefore costs an insane amount. You might get prescribed a different type that isn't so expensive (my IL's Bichon, for example, gets a type that costs around $100/vial).

On the plus side, it's working. I had to take her back yesterday to retest, and her sugars were down to 101 from 413, just in five days of insulin.

[Bernadine]

Oct 22, 2015 12:49:46 GMT -5 malibu said:

Bernadine My cat is getting glargine insulin, which is $300 a vial. There are other brands and types to my limited knowledge, but this particular one, made by Lantus, does not have a generic and therefore costs an insane amount. You might get prescribed a different type that isn't so expensive (my IL's Bichon, for example, gets a type that costs around $100/vial).

On the plus side, it's working. I had to take her back yesterday to retest, and her sugars were down to 101 from 413, just in five days of insulin.

How is it giving her the shots? How often do you have to give them?

Emmett is going back to the vet's office this afternoon to stay the night, and then they'll recommend a dosage.

I think I saw that other message board. Did your vet say anything about testing at home?

[Deleted]

Oh and I think I forgot to mention my ex used to get a lantus pen for his cat. He'd just get it without the needle part on top and you can use a syringe to plunge into the top and extract the insulin. It might have been cheaper and it never expired before it got used up since it wasn't as large an amount of insulin.

[malibu]

Oct 22, 2015 12:52:07 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Oct 22, 2015 12:49:46 GMT -5 malibu said:

Bernadine My cat is getting glargine insulin, which is $300 a vial. There are other brands and types to my limited knowledge, but this particular one, made by Lantus, does not have a generic and therefore costs an insane amount. You might get prescribed a different type that isn't so expensive (my IL's Bichon, for example, gets a type that costs around $100/vial).

On the plus side, it's working. I had to take her back yesterday to retest, and her sugars were down to 101 from 413, just in five days of insulin.

How is it giving her the shots? How often do you have to give them?

Emmett is going back to the vet's office this afternoon to stay the night, and then they'll recommend a dosage.

I think I saw that other message board. Did your vet say anything about testing at home?

The shots have been no big deal. I give them to her in the scruff while she's eating, she doesn't even flinch. It's been an adjustment having to remember, so I finally set an alarm on my phone to go off about ten minutes before I have to give her an injection. She's getting the shots twice per day.

She did not have to stay at the vet's office. I started doing the injections on Saturday, and I took her back in yesterday to get her sugar level tested. I will be taking her back again on the 31st for another recheck, and I believe they will then show me how to do testing at home. She's starting to look normal again, and she's already gained back a half pound since last week so that's good!

[So_Fetch]

Oct 22, 2015 12:35:14 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Oct 22, 2015 12:23:18 GMT -5 So_Fetch said:

My cat Minnie had diabetes. I want to say her insulin was $120 a vial. I hope yours is inexpensive (in comparison)

Do you remember how long the vial lasted?

She got between .05 and .2 a day (I don't remember the unit) and was on it for three weeks. I still had 1/3 of a bottle left.  (she passed away from an asthma attack before we could finish the bottle)

[agnes]

Aw, I'm sorry. At least he's cute?

[Deleted]

Try FB for pay it forward groups. People are always giving away insulin. Some used for humans can also be used for animals.

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