Where to buy insulin for cat without prescription

For one year or so, my cat has been drinking a lot and eating a lot. But she kept loosing weight ( She is skinny now ). I switch her food from dry to canned food, symptoms seem to improve, but she is not gaining her weight back. I bought a BG meter and tested her glucose level, it is around 370 . So she has diabetes. I am in a tight living budget and can't afford to take her to the vet and have a treatment . Any one could tell me where to buy long lasting insulin at a low cost and without prescription ? I am thinking to give her a try. Thank you for your info.

 

I don't know of any where that does not require a prescription for insulin.

You may just have to ask your vet to do the minimum .... no curves, no bloodwork.... to get the prescription.
You will have a lot of reading to do to keep your cat safe.
I hope you will come back here and ask for help managing her diabetes.

 

Thanks for the reply. I know in UK they don' t need prescription for insulin, may not be the case in US.
I am wondering what would they do if I take my cat to the vet . Do they hospitalize her for a few days for the initial treatment and taking blood curve ? About how much do I have to spend ? Thanks.

 

First, I'd work on finding a Feline Diabetes friendly vet, who supports the wet low carb diet and hometesting and who will prescribe one of the three insulins that work best (Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc) there are cheaper insulins but these three work best. You could ask your vet about BCP PZI (a form of ProZinc) which is sometimes free for the first vial. if you want, give your city and state and maybe someone knows a vet near you.

You can get some blood glucose levels over several days and take them in to the vet. There should then be no need for a fructosamine blood test. And no, Fd friendly vets know it doesn't work to keep cats at the vet to get them "regulated". The majority of cats are stressed at the vet and stress raises blood glucose levels. Levels taken at home are much more accurate.

The insulin is the most expensive part of the process. You can find cheaper wet low carb food, the meter and strips don't need to be expensive and FD friendly vets generally will advise you seeing the spreadsheet of levels. (We have a great accessible goggle doc spreadsheet)

 

If you have a vet, give them a call. Ask for the vet to call you back....
you can have a phone conversation, tell them you're broke and you need minimal expenses.

You can also call around to other vets, see what they say.

They should be willing to look at your blood glucose tests, see that the cat is diabetic.


You don't need a prescription food in fact most aren't very good quality.
You can learn the foods that are best from all of us....
here's a starter list to work with
while you are learning.

Your cat does not need to stay overnight or even for a day...
you can do curves yourself.

You can achieve regulation by yourself.

So really all you should need is an office visit....
let them see that you do indeed have a diabetic cat ( by the bg numbers) . so you can get the prescription.

 

Thanks
I am already giving my cat the low carb diet. I cook chicken thighs for her, along with the Frisky classic paste canned food ( which has less than 10% carb )
I live in Piscataway, NJ 08854 . I appreciate if anyone could recommend a diabetes friendly vet around where I live. ( within 15 miles ) . Thanks for your help

 

I found this thread for vets in central NJ. Anywhere near you?

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=126741&p=1308992&hilit=New Jersey#p1308992

 

Sound like you've got the food going well. In case you need more info on feline nutrition, check out Cat Info. There is a full food chart there in this link.

Spreading the food into mini-meals helps reduce food related glucose spikes.

If you can be home, and if you can do regular home testing, there is 1 insulin you may be able to get over the counter. We don't recommend this insulin. It is either Humulin or Novolin NPH. It lasts only 6 to 8 hours in the cat, which means that good glucose control may require giving insulin about every 8 hours. It hits hard and drops the cat quickly, plus wears off quickly. There is a primer on it here. You will need 30 to 31 gauge, 3/10 mL U-100 insulin sryinges. Some states require a prescription for these.

 

Thanks for the links. I will look through them.
I have a question about diet for FD. Besides low carb, does fat matter ? When I prepare the chicken thighs, should I take the skins out . Thanks.

 

Not as much as for humans. You want the percent of calories from protein around 40-50 % if possible.

Cats (and humans) can break down fat and protein molecules, then re-arrange the parts to make glucose if needed.

 

How about sodium and potassium ? Some say they are not good either.
One basic question: through diet only, assuming bg is regulated, will the cat be putting back the weight she lost ?
( I would think not because the cat still don't have enough insulin to utilize the sugar )
thanks again

 

Standard low carb cat foods are formulated OK for cats with regard to sodium and potassium.
And diabetics sometimes wind up needing potassium supplements, so I wouldn't cut down on those unless a vet diagnosed a problem.

Per Dr Pierson of Cat Info, you can add up to 20-25% plain meat or poultry to canned food diets and not mess up the nutrition.

If you want to feed raw, you must have a properly balanced recipe ; she posts a one on her web site.

 

My cat Mimi has been on lantus now for 33 days . I took her to a vet's office , the vet insisted on a bg test for her. I spent $65 for the office visit and $16 for the blood test. But I got a free lantus pen. The vet told me they are giving out insulin ( from donations) for the first time patient.
I started with 1u/ BID and increased to 3.5u/BID now at 0.5u steps. Mimi is doing much better now. She gained back 3.5 lb of the weight she lost. ( 9 lb now ) and her legs are stronger now. However, the bg is still around 300 . I noticed that whenever I increased the doze, bg turned low for a day or so ( almost negative on a urine test ), then returned to the 300 levels. I believe her body produced more antibodies to balance the increasing insulin.
Should I continue to increase the doze ? What is the maximum safe doze of lantus for cats ? Thank you for any advises.

 

Um ... We need to have you do some reading to help you understand how Lantus works for cats. Here is a post that contains information on 2 different protocols for using it. You've increased the dose rather fast and high and may have missed the best dose.

Can we get you started using our grid to record your glucose tests? It will help us give you better feedback. Instructions are here.

Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning pre-shot test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening pre-shot)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.

 

I read those posting before and followed the guide lines: increase doze by 0.5 every 3 to 5 days if nadirs are over 300 .
I didn't do the blood test often because it is hard for me to get her blood sample. Instead, I use urine test strip. The urine test results are around 1% most of the times even at +6, +8, +10 . Here are some of blood test results:
11/13 1.5u / BID 325 at +6
11/18 2u / BID 435 at +7
11/24 3u / BID 328 PMPS
11/30 3.5u / BID 220 at +7
One thing I should mention that she eats throughout the day ( small amount each time, 13 oz per day of Friesky canned food classic paste) . She drank about 12 oz of water per day.
Based on the test results, I don't think she had hypoglycermia during nadir . What do you think ?

 

Hello all. I have brand. New lantus pens that are refrigerated and. Not expired. My cat recently passed away and would love to get them to someone who can use them. If you have pet insurance some will pay for it or I have a cash price. Let me know if interested I will match and beat any price you present me. Thank you and god bless you and your baby/babies

 

Sounds like you've gathered tons of data and done research. Two points; there's always more to know. Go through our Lantus and basic care pages, print and consume everything. Money and your vet. Vets often over test for many reasons, good, bad and greedy. If you're really strapped for cash find a vet who will talk to you. Present your case, personally and with all your data, like you would if you were borrowing money or getting into an Ivy League school. Vets are ethically bound to not just hand out meds so they need to believe in you. It's never as simple as it looks.

 

!!!! Slow down and take your cat to the vet. There is no getting out of blood work on this. Diabetics is not something self diagnose. There are two words your not going to hear on here KIDNEYS and PANCREAS. Both can be at fault and if one is Diseased than you have to deal with that first and foremost. I have done a lot of research since my Barney was diagnosed and my vet ran a full blood panel and conformed things. A lot of what I found on line was questionable and hear say. It was while I was researching food that I found a article by a vet that explained that there is no one size fits all food when dealing with Diabetes. First and for most Kidney function has to tested. Depending on what is going on with Kidneys and Pancreas the vet will tell you if you need to limit the Protein or Fat in your cats diet. To much of one or the other can cause major problem and even cause the kidneys to shut down!

 

FYI this is a thread from 2014, and the original poster hasn't been back since Dec2014.