best medicines? best place to get it?

My cat also has been diagnosed a few months ago.... the doc said Prozinc 2 times a day 7am / 7pm. they did not tell us to take blood sugar readings but they took her in couple of times to adjust the dosage from 1ml at start now she is at 5ml... unfortunately at 5ml per shot she is still showing bit of symptoms... peeing secluded in corner for parts of day etc.....

few questions:
1. Prozinc is very expensive $130 / bottle at Costco... is there an alternative medicine that is as good? What is best place to buy it Walmart etc...? Walmart doc told me other cat people use other meds sometimes human that is as low as 30$ / bottle...

2. you guys mentioned testing sugar important.... i wonder why my vet did not tell me to do this ....

 

I have discovered that many vets are not terribly informed and experienced with Feline Diabetes, therefore do not recommend home testing or do not think it necessary. I know, by experience, that testing is one of the most important tools we can use to keep our kitties safe. We were not testing like we should have been and Idjit had a hypoglycemic event. We were shooting "blind" like you are. Other members have had very dangerous and critical hypos with cats ending up in Vet ER. I don't want to see this happen to anyone. Please review the link I am providing, there is information on hypos, testing and more.

Link to Feline Diabetes FAQs Index

 

Hi and welcome.

Are you saying you give 5 units twice day?

The are several reasons for testing:

1. Vets are not well versed in feline diabetes for the most part.
2. The second thing a lots of vets assume owners will not take on the extra expense and work to do home testing or fear it will harm the bond with your cat. I did not find that at all btw, Jones is still my snuggler at night.
3. Humans never take insulin without constant testing, why would an animal be any different? Insulin needs will change over time especially if doing diet changes etc.
4. It allows you to know every day, how your kitty is really doing.
5. Using our spreadsheet helps us concentrate on trends not individual numbers. This helps guide the dosage requirements to what is actually needed. Too much insulin can have a far worse outcome then having too little insulin.

Let us know any questions you may have. Read the yellow sticky threads as there is important information in those. We also have prozinc forum if you are looking at specific answers on the dosage.

 

Thanks I will test... how about the right medicine choices? Prozinc is pricy what are other medicines I should try? Where are good places to buy? Costco / Wallmart / ???

 

H,
I never used Prozinc so not aware of places w/ good deals, sorry.
Walmart sounds like good source, though.
Have you tried locating a coupon for Prozinc online?
My vet downloaded a 10% Off for my Lantus insulin to be cashed at Walmart.

If am not mistaken the most economical option is Vetsulin (Walmart) but it is not the best one for cats. (It is known to drop the blood glucose to low levels very quickly and to prevent Hypoglycemia a Vetsulin user is to be very vigilant with home testing and V. won’t have long duration as Prozinc or Lantus). Talk to your vet about it – the current dose might need to be reevaluated if you switch.

Vetsulin is about $60 / per vial in Ca.

Another option is to check the Supply Closet section of this Forum http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/supply-closet-for-sale-or-free.15/.

I use Glargine Lantus which is ~$300/ 10 ml vial in the US but I read on here several reports that in some states big chain Pharma stores like Walgreen's sell Lantus by single pen v. the entire pack of 5 pens or a single vial of 10 ml. On small doses such pen lasts for several months (and not 28 days as the manufacturer's manual says!) Call around.

You can also get a Yellow book and place some calls to local vets and check if any willing to give you a better deal on Prozinc.
I think private practices charge less than an ER clinics.

 

This happened to us! I was not comfortable with testing Cleo at first, so I didn't do it. My vet didn't mention it to me, so I didn't think it was a big deal. Then Cleo became hypoglycemic while I was at work one day. I came home and she was so sick. I got her through the night, but she had to spend the next day at the vet clinic. It was very frightening (and expensive). I decided that it would be worth putting Cleo through blood tests a few times a day, rather than go through that again. Testing was rough at first, but I'm glad we stuck with it. I thought she would be traumatized and hate me forever, but it turned out that she was mostly just interested in the treats I kept giving her.

I don't know of any better prices for Prozinc. I buy it from my vet for about $150 per vial. It's expensive, but I try to economize in other ways. Testing her BG at home saves us money on vet visits, so there is that. Plus, that little vial lasts a long time. Cleo was diagnosed in March and we only started our second vial of Prozinc about a week ago.

 

Allivet has ProZinc for $95.99 plus shipping is about $30 (depending on where you live)

ValleyVet has it for $97.99 plus shipping