Need Help With Insulin Choice

Hello All,


New to the forum, and need some advice on how to proceed with my sugar cat.

We are on our last bit of Vetsulin, and we just took her to the Vet to get a new prescription. The Doctor wants to put her on Pro Zinc insulin which is roughly $120 dollars per vial. I just can't afford that kind of money every month.

I read about a cheaper Alternative called NPH, and was wondering if anyone on here is using that with success.

I really want to keep my poor kitty alive, but I just can't afford the high priced insulin the docotor wants to prescribe.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hello and Welcome to FDMB.

My Pru was dx Feb 2010 and is OTJ for just over two weeks now. We used the ProZinc and I am glad I did. I am sure other people will chime in soon. I want to mention that there are a few folks as well as myself - that ran into the ProZinc not lasting the full 12 hours. In my case, I went to TID, but I was able to do this since I work from home. I agree ProZinc is expensive, but what was the dose of Vetsulin sugar cat on?

 

Have you thought about using Lantus? The cartridges can help save money, and the action of Lantus -- givingthe possibility of good control that keeps the pancreas in the healing area for a good portion of the day -- might help achieve remission! If you're interested, you might try posting your question in the Lantus interest group here.

 

Purlonius is currently getting 2 1/2 units of Vetsulin per injection twice a day.

Not sure if a remission is possible as she is a type one diabetic. She became diabetic at roughly 6 months old. We have been giving her shots for years now. We started on Humulin U many years ago, and when that became unavailble, we went to PZI Vetsulin.

Bottom line here is I just can't afford 120 or more per vial of insulin to keep her alive. I love her very much, but that much money is out of the question.

Any suggestions?

 

Personally, i'd put N or NPH next to Vetsulin as the worst insulins out there for a cat so there's no way in heck i can say go for that. I'm liable to get slammed for putting it so bluntly but so be it. Your being informed is more important

now, to the cost factor. yes, any of the other insulins will cost more than what you are used to with the Vetsulin (N being cheap too) buttttttttttttt, you won't be spending $120 a month on ProZinc as that vial will last you many many months. If it really is the replacement for Idexx's PZI that was recently discontinued, you should see 6 months or more out of one vial if you handle it properly (no extreme temperatures, no dropping, typical insulin care stuff you know) so please don't let the cost of the insulin scare you away from any particular one.

 

I'm a Lantus fan too, as Hank was on it a short time and is now OTJ. So many kitties have been successful on it. I was SO worried about the financial aspects. We were diagnosed when I was not working, had no income. I also thought it was going to be $100+ a month. But after researching, found the best deals to be getting the Lantus solo star pens (used with insulin syringes, not the pen needles...just like a vial). The upfront fee was higher than if you bought it by the vial, but they came in 5 - 3ml cartridges, which had 2+ years shelf life unopened. Once opened manufacturer says 28 days, but they also say not to keep it in refrigerator. With careful handling and storage, many, many people would use each cartridge a minimum of 60 days...up to several months.
(there is a sticky post at the top of the Lantus Land board discussing proper handling and storage).
A box of 5 runs under $200...making each cartridge less than $40. Each one lasting 1 month minimum (if left out every day and not handled carefully) or more up to a few months. I was able to purchase a single from Sam's Pharmacy for $38-ish.
Our bigger expense was the test strips, not the insulin. But turns out on Lantus you really need them as your kitty may begin to repsond very quickly and you need to be able to carefully manage their changes and watch for their dosing needs to adjust as they do. It is really amazing to see how well the kitties respond and how many are able to get to remission. Read the stickies and see what you think.

betty

 

Hi,

just one more alternative:

Levemir is very like Lantus. Each vial (the 5x 3ml vials that have already been mentioned) lasts at least 42 days, sometimes longer.A 5 pack lasted us well over 6 months so works out way cheaper than Vetsulin or NPH as I believe both come in a 10ml vial that you have to discard somewhere after 28 days.
So although your initial outlay is higher, in the long run way cheaper.

You could also post on the supply closet forum and see if someone is willing to send you a vial to try and then you'd know what you are getting for your money.

Also, deopending on what food your giving, you could end up giving less insulin if using low carb wet food (commercial not Hills which is way more expensive and is better-Fancy Feast, Friskies and Evo are popular choices).Then your vial would last longer.
Hometesting is a fantastic tool-do you do this?

Please ask any more questions we can help you with.

 

Just want to give you a break down of the costs of the differnt insulins. Remeber you have to compare apples to apples. This is strictly how the insulins compare to one another with respect to price (there are advantages such as effectiveness to consider as well)

PZI- is a U-40 insulin which means 40 units of insulin per 1ml of liquid. Comes in a 10ml vial cost $120

10ml=400 units of insulin: $120/400 units= $0.30 per unit*100 units=$30 per 100 units insulin (assuming a dose of 2 units BID) that's 4 units per day x 30 cents per units cost $1.20 per day

Lantus is a U-100 insulin so 100 units per 1ml. Comes in a package of 5 Solostar pens each with 3ml so a total of 1500 units. Cost approx. $125 per box
5 x 3ml=15ml
15ml x 100 units each ml=1500 units
$125/1500 units=$0.083 per unit x 100=$8.33 per 100 units insulin
(assuming a dose of 2 units BID) that's 4 units per day x 8 cents cents per unit cost 32 cents per day

Levemir-is essentially the same as Lantus both in how it works and relative cost (Levemir might be a few dollars more per package) some people claim it is more stabil than Lantus and it last longer without "going bad".

Vetsulin is a U-40 insulin and is availble in 2.5ml vials (and 10ml vials) I only know the price for 2,5ml (This may be outdated) 2,5ml vial contains 100 units costs about $12 per vial
$12/100 units= 12 cents per unit x 100 units=$12
(assuming a dose of 2 units BID) that's 4 units per day x 12 cents cents per unit cost 48 cents per day

So as you can see Lantus or Levemir will be the CHEAPEST of all insulins. And IMO will give the best results in terms of blood glucose control (regulation).

I do not know the price of NPH but I think it may simular to the cost of Vetsulin. It is a U-100 insulin and probably comes in a 10ml vial. It doesn't keep long and you will likely not use the whole vial before it goes bad, which means wasting insulin and money. I doubt it is much cheaper than Lantus on a per unit basis.

 

I have to agree with everyone here who are saying Lantus and Lev work out to be cheaper. Tugger was diagnosed in December. I purchased a vial of Lantus the same day he was diagnosed. I didn't know how to handle it properly so I was injecting air into it, drawing insulin into the syringe and pushing some back into the vial, left it out on the counter near the stove while I was cooking dinner, rolled it like the vet told me to do.... and I still used that vial till March. I had more than half a vial left when I pitched it and bought a new one. IF I had treated that first vial properly I probably never would have had to buy the second vial because Tugger went into remission really quickly when I finally changed him from dry food to canned food. That happened at the same time I got the new vial so I can't be sure if the old vial was still good, but based on my mistreatment of it I'm sure it wasn't. Even still if you average out the cost (about $100) over the time I used it... works out to be about $25 a month.

The second vial I was much more careful with, kept it in the fridge and didn't roll it or push air or insulin into it etc. We used less than a quarter of that vial before he went into remission and most of what came out of the vial went into the sink rather than the cat. When he was on those teensy doses, I'd draw out 2units and push/twist out most of it to get to the correct microscopic dose So he maybe used 1/8th of the vial from early March till he went OTJ.

On that 2 unit dose, a cartridge or vial would last months as long as you keep it cool, don't shake it up or roll it, etc. The insert tells you to pitch it after 28 days but that is because it is an insulin made for humans who use much more at a time and do not keep it refrigerated after opening it, they use it up long before the 28 days. We can get so much more out of it than that =) Cost wise if I have to buy the insulin, I'd rather treat a diabetic kitty than a diabetic human