Ordering insulin (lantus) from Canadian pharmacy

I took Lilly to the vet today and she is doing really well. I told the vet about this site and that it was a game changer in getting and keeping Lilly healthy. I asked for a lantus prescription so I can order from the Canadian pharmacy that has been mentioned here....so much less expensive. He cautioned me about using insulin that isn’t regulated by the FDA for quality.

So question....for those that have used both lantus from the U.S. and then ordered from Canada, could you tell a difference in the effectiveness?

 

I ordered from Marks Marine Pharmacy: https://rxcanada4less.com/search.php The Lantus arrived in temperature in a foam shipping box with ice packs. My Vet faxed the order and I received a call from the Rx within about 20 minutes. Arrived at my house about 5 days later, I believe. And this was in July when the heat was well over 100 degrees. Lantus box was sealed with an expiration date of 9/2020. The web site states it is sourced from Canada.

The stuff works so I am happy.

 

The insulin from Marks is made by the exact same company that makes it for the US

If you have any questions, please call them! When I first "found" them, I spent over 2 hours on the phone with the pharmacy manager asking a ton of questions....they are great about answering any questions you have!!

 

Dang, Chris! What in the world did you find to ask about for two hours?!

 

You name it!! I was very leery of them because I'd been looking for someplace to get Lantus in Canada for several months and the only places that came up on my searches were those "warehouse pharmacies" that had awful reviews.

I was within a few weeks of having to take China off Lantus because I just couldn't afford it anymore when all the sudden, my Google searches started including Marks.

First I talked to a friend of mine that lives in Vancouver to ask if they were a real pharmacy and she said they were....then I called and asked every question I could think of to make sure they were legitimate

I didn't announce it to everybody here until I'd actually received my first shipment and everything had gone exactly as they had promised

 

I knew there was one pharmacy in particular that many used....I'm definitely going to give them a try. Its $300 a vial here and I think there its closer to $125. thats a huge difference. Thank you so much Chris.

 

Here's all the information on Marks Marine in Canada

You're better off buying the 5 pack of pens.....they cost a little more than the vial, but you'll be able to use every drop of the insulin. The vials hold 1000 units and unless your cat is on a high dose, it usually loses efficacy about 4-6 months after it's started. That means throwing a lot of insulin in the trash!

The pens each hold 300 units so it's like having 5 "mini-vials". The ones that aren't started yet will remain good until the expiration date on the box...usually at least 2 years!

You use the pens just like a vial...you pull the cap off, insert a regular insulin syringe and pull the insulin out of the pen.

 

I have never heard of the pens...do I need a different prescription for the pens

 

Not if you order from Marks....once they have your script, you can call and ask that they send you the pens instead of the vial.

They are allowed to do that....all you have to do is ask!!

 

I just got my first order from Marks a couple weeks ago. What nice people! They called me and were very patient with my questions as well. I ended up ordering only one pen to get started. They were fine with an order that small. When I asked about syringes they told me I could get them cheaper in the states. They also will give a $25 credit to the person who refers you to them if you give them the name.

 

Yeah they are one of the few places that will break open a box and sell a single pen. There was a shortage of Lantus for awhile a few years ago and they had to stop selling it to "new" clients so they could continue to provide it for their established clients.

I suggested they at least offer to sell a single pen so they could continue to help new clients as well and they thought that was a good idea!

For humans, a single pen doesn't make much difference (since they use 30+ units at a time) ...but for our sugarcats, getting one pen could save a life!