Cost

What is the general range of costs for treating a diabetic cat (not vet costs, but the strips, insulin, syringes, etc.)? I have a Contour meter and a few strips left, but I don't know what they cost at the store. Vet didn't know what to tell me about the cost of insulin; she prescribes it to a local pharmacy.

 

Costs can vary. I am not sure the cost of Contour strips, but many people here find good deals on ebay for them. Some of us also use store brand meters which the strips cost less. I use Walmart's Relion meter and the strips cost about $39 for 100.

If your vet is prescribing Lantus or Levimer, ask for a script for either the cartridges or pens. The initial cost is more than a vial, but because you get 5 cartridges or pens with the prescription, it last 5 times as long. Plus with a vial, you rarely will use all of it before the insulin quits being effective and end up throwing away a lot of it. I use the Lantus pens and I usually am able to use every drop of it.

Cost of syringes vary also. Again I use the Walmart brand (31 ga, .33cc, 1/2 unit markings) and I paid less than $14 last night for a box of 100.

Also, keep an eye on the Supply Closet, sometimes some of the things you will use are posted there.

 

How much does insulin cost?

 

If you order your Lantus from CanadaDrugsOnline, it's less than $130 for the pens or cartridges including shipping. Levemir is probably less expensive that way too. http://www.canadadrugsonline.com/DrugMoreInfo5636.aspx Assuming you use 1 pen/cart per month, that's $26 per month for insulin, but I think most people get much more than a month from each one, so it's probably much less than that.

If you get it from a local pharmacy, your cost will be significantly higher....I got quotes of $200 and up.

 

How long do the pens/cartridges last?

 

So it seems like the insulin is more expensive in the States, but everything else is cheaper than in Canada!

I pay $96 for 5 cartridges of Lantus (3ml cartridges - 15 ml total) at my pharmacy
I pay $73 for a box of 100 Freestyle Lite strips, which currently lasts two weeks (yikes) - ordered some on ebay for $50 per 100. We don't get Relion at Wal-mart Canada
I pay $32 for a box of 100 BD ultra fine U100 31 guage short needle syringes at Wal-Mart (no Wal-Mart brand here - have yet to check out the Costco brand which is $2X per box)

I'm planning a mini-vacation to either Atlantlic and Ocean City or to Florida next week, so I'll be checking out a Wal-Mart there

 

So doing the math further... Heart's diabetes is costing me $130-150 a month :shock:

>$100 for strips (ebay), ~$10 for Lantus (half a vial per month), $20 for needles

That's without vet.

 

Ricky's monthly cost is less than $40 a month. $10 for the Lantus, $7 for Walmart Relion needles & lancets and $20 for Walmart Relion strips. :mrgreen:

If you do not have the Relion brand meter, consider using a store brand meter. All of them are made by the same manufacturers that make the name brand meter, they just have the store branding on them and sometimes a few less bells & wistles. But they will work just as well but the strips are cheaper.

 

I live in the states, and a box of 5 3ml Lantus pens was $230 at the pharmacy(I shopped around and the cheapest was CVS). each pen usually lasts a little longer than a month. I use the Aviva accuchek, but I buy the strips on ebay for about $20/per50 instead of in the store. I go through about 100 a month. My food cost went up a tiny bit when I switched solely to wet food, but not by much, maybe $15 a month? Syringes are $13 for a box of 100 at Walmart.

So my initial starting costs were about $300, but it averages out to about $100 month. I ended up going through more strips in the beginning, too, so in his first three months it was about $120 a month.

 

For us:

5 pens of lantus - $200 = $40 per month based on 1 pen a month, some can stretch it longer. Our vile was about $100 and we got 2.5 months out of it so that was about the same cost per month.
box of syringes - 100 for $25 = $7 per month
avivia meter cost $20 up front (they come with mail in rebates but mine was expired)
strips from ebay - averaged $22 per 50 X 2 per month = $44, (OTC at Walgreens or my pharmacy they were $78 per 50, so if you don't shop online, don't do an Aviva)

$40+7+44=$91

So we would have been about $100 a month. No Walmart pharmacy supplies here, ND has weird pharmacy laws so we only have one pharmacy in all of the Walmarts in town and it was never open when I went there and no supplies were OTC.

 

For us:

http://www.hocks.com
100 syringes = $17.49 (Monoject 3/10cc with half unit marks)
100 lancets = $1.49 (Invacare)
100 test strips = $33 (Maxima AST)

Insulin - from Walmart in Ontario - LEVEMIR (doesn't poop out as fast as Lantus)
$120 for 5-pack of 3ml cartridges -- we are able to use to the last drop (3-4 months each)

I have two diabetic cats:
Rusty avg 1.5u per day
Tiggy avg 1u per day

for both, one cartridge $24 lasts approx 120 days or 4 months -- lets say 3 mo to be conservative === $8 per month

so... syringes, lancets, test strips
per cat per shot = $0.52 (not including insulin)
per cat per day = $1.04
per cat per month = $31.20

extra tests - lancet + test strip .015+.33
$0.345 per test
estimate 6 extra tests per week per cat:
$2.07
per month (4 wks)
$8.28

So...
$ 8 insulin (both cats)
$31.20 per cat
$ 8.28 per cat
=====
$47.48 per cat (except insulin is for both)

My two-cat expenses: (not including food)
$86.96

For food, I feed canned Wellness and have 5 cats, so I won't bother computing it.

 

That will depend on dose and storage of the cartridge/pens. Lantus and Levemir cartridges should be stored in the refrigerator in a drawer, not in the door. They should not be allowed to freeze, but kept around 40º.

Our current dose is 1.25U and a 300U cartridge of Levemir lasts us a little over 90 days. It should last 120 days, but you have to allow for incorrect draws and the fact we don't use it till the last drop, usually till about the 12U mark.

And costs of strips can be greatly reduced by buying them from Ebay sellers. I recently bought Accu-Check Aviva strips for $15/box of 50. Again, monthly cost will depend on usage. I use about 80-90 strips/month and I don't test nearly as much as some members.

The only item I don't scrimp on is syringes. I order from Hocks, about $36 worth last me 2 months. Ballpark monthly cost of these items - $52.50. I am willing and able to spend more ahead of time, such as with the strips, to be able to save more on a monthly basis because I buy in bulk.

 

For a little while my expenses were crazy... mostly due to me not knowing what the hell to get. I didn't know that the cartridges are more cost efficient! How do I get those? Do I need to call the vet to have her prescribe the pen instead? Do you still get 100ml?

I got the ReliOn Meter from Wal-Mart. Although I'm not the biggest fan of supporting Wal-Mart and their child labor problems over seas... I think I am going to switch to it 100% once I've used up all my strips for the FreeStyle Lite. Here's a breakdown of what I was spending (not including vet visits)

Food - Innova EVO 95% Turkey/Chicken - 12 cans of 13oz = $25.00 (I generally bought two cases)
Syringes - $25.00 for a box of 100 (I use on syringe twice a day, I know it's not recommended but I do it. Each time I swipe the needle with alch.)
Insulin - Lantus 100ml $124.00 through my local pharmacist. I tried online and with shipping didn't find it for any cheaper. Now I was using a particular vial for about 5 months, because I read here:http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_6_protocol2.htm that you could keep them up to 6 months. However i MISREAD it and in fact that was meant for the PENS. I've never bought the pens so I'm not sure how much that would cost. However if I keep up the current way I'm going it seems like I will be tossing out a lot more insulin than needed.

Not sure if I helped on this

 

Ok, so what should I suggest to the vet? Cheapest/best insulin? Longest lasting? What brand?

 

Lantus or Levemir if you can order it through a canadian pharmacy, ProZinc will be the same cost if you need to get it here in the states. There is always the option of getting your first script of Lantus/Levemir at a local pharmacy and get subsequent refills from the canadian pharmacy.