Diagnosed about 2 mths ago - 14yr old cat, related to steroid shot

Hi there,

My 14yr old male cat, Salem, was diagnosed w/Diabetes about 2 mths ago. Right away the vet said he needs to be on Insulin. She called in a prescription of Lantus - which to my surprise was almost $300 for a tiny vial. I thought that was crazy so I spoke to some people & read reviews, got advice first before doing the insulin. I thought I had posted on this site before, but must've been another one. Anyways, I had a friend who's cat was diabetic and she recommended taking Salem off the dry food ASAP and switching from Friskies to Fancy Feast, which I did. She also suggested buying Pet Remedy which is a glucose nutritional supplement. I did both things and Salem's levels dropped from 500 to 245 within weeks without insulin. He's not really liking the Pet Remedy in his wet food and sometimes turns away. I feel that he's not getting enough food and wondering if I should get him some dry kibble (perhaps Wellness or something). He's peeing a lot and drinking. I think he may need to start on insulin and will take him to another vet because I was not happy with the vet we saw a couple mths ago. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Do any of you purchase the Lantus online from Canada or somewhere else? Should I get the pens or vial?

 

He's high enough that he could be developing ketones. That can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis which can be fatal.
Is he losing weight he needs to keep? That can be the diabetes preventing him from using the calories he eats.
Not eating can be a sign of increased glucose/ketones or pancreatitis; you need to get him to a vet asap.

Several of us do purchase Lantus from Canada. We recommend the pens or cartridges, which contain 300 units and come in packages of 5. You'll be able to use all or most of the insulin from a pen; the 10 mL vial with 1,000 units wimps out after 6 months and you have to pitch any unused insulin. At doses of 1-2 units per day, you waste a lot of insulin from the vial.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

It's great that you have switched him to wet food. But now if his numbers are still high then I would go ahead and get the lantus. It is a good insulin, you just have to be savvy where you buy it to keep the cost down.

This thread may help you with regards Canadian pharmacy's
www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/insulin-from-canadian-pharmacies.49608/

We also recommend that you test blood glucose levels at home so you can keep your kitty safe and tailor the dose to best meet his needs. Is this something you are doing already?

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Whilst he is in the higher numbers you should also be testing for ketones. You can buy the pee sticks called ketostix or similar.

 

I've read here that if you phone around about the Lantus, some places may sell single cartridges.