Returning after 16 years

Hi, my name is Marsha, and I was a member mainly in 1998 and 1999 with my 2nd diabetic cat, Shawn. Shawn died of cancer about a year and a half after his diabetes diagnosis. Shawn was 15. My first diabetic cat was O.J. He was diagnosed in 1992, did great on PZI, but died of kidney failure in 1995 at age 14. There was no home blood testing when O.J. was diagnosed, so I had to use urine test strips. I was so glad to be able to do blood testing instead when it was Shawn's turn, to get the numbers in real-time. 3 years after Shawn died, I was diagnosed with diabetes myself (type II). Metformin, diet, and excercise brought my BG into the normal range, and I have never graduated to insulin.

Today, I brought Tibby to the vet, in a state of ketoacidosis. He is around 9 years old. I have been busy job-hunting and emptying my storage lockers and selling some of the contents, and didn't catch his increasing lethargy. I knew one of the cats had been making larger than normal pee-balls the last couple weeks, but never saw who it was. There are 9 others in the house. But last night I noticed something was definitely up, and this morning it was clear he wasn't just depressed over the loss of another cat in May. He laid next to the water fountain and rested his chin on it. He looked up at me with eyes squinting. When he got up to move, it was very slow, and he only went about 4 feet and laid down again. He made improvements through the day on IV fluid, insulin, and potassium. He is staying overnight at the vet's, and I am hopeful he will be coming home tomorrow. Three of the other cats are especially close to him, and their distress is evident.

I have testing supplies, but I don't know how I'm going to afford the insulin. I maxed out all my credit cards the last 2.5 years taking care of cats with cancer, feline leukemia virus, heart failure, and a urinary blockage. I am looking at some old rings in hopes there is something sterling or gold that I can sell for quick cash.

 

Welcome back to the message board, the best place you never wanted to be.

There are 4 things you'll need to manage your kitty's diabetes:

- You - without your commitment, the following won't work.

- Home blood glucose monitoring with an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart Relion Confirm or Target Up and Up (the pet ones will break your budget!). This keeps your cat safe and saves you the cost of going to the vet for curves and done regularly, removes the need for a fructosamine test. All of our insulin guidelines use human glucometer numbers for reference. We record them on a grid; instructions are here. You can still use ketone testing strips and other Secondary Monitoring Tools (see my signature) to help you evaluate how he is doing.

- Low carb over the counter canned or raw diet, such as many Friskies pates. See Cat Info for more info. If already on insulin, you must be home testing before changing the diet. Food changes should be gradual to avoid GI upsets - 20-25% different food each day until switched. There are 2 low carb, dry, over the counter foods in the US - Evo Cat and Kitten dry found at pet specialty stores and Young Again 0 found online.

- A long-lasting insulin such as ProZinc, Lantus (check this Canadian pharmacy for much lower Lantus and Levemir costs), BCP PZI, or Levemir. No insulin lasts 24 hours in the cat, so giving it every 12 hours is optimal for control.

 

I think the least expensive long lasting insulin is BCP/PZI. It is a compounded insulin made in a pharmacy, similar to PZI. Your vet can order it or give you a prescription. Sometimes vets can get a free sample but that might take awhile. Novolin and Vetsulin are cheaper but usually harder to regulate with and harsher.

Lantus/Levemir can be ordered from Canadian pharmacies cheaper than in the US. (Not sure if the postal strike is still on)

 

My current vet uses glargine.

 

Also check out the supply closet for some good deals

 

That is a good insulin. Also called Lantus. Cheaper in Canada.

 

If you are using Lantus or Levemir, ask your vet for the prescription for pens instead of a vial. There are 5 pens in a package and some pharmacies will sell individual pens at a time. This way it keeps the cost down and you will not end up throwing most of a vial away because it has become ineffective. On package of pens could last 9-10 months depending on your dose. You will use the pen just like a vial, using a syringe to draw the insulin out.

 

Holy Crap!!!! I just went to GoodRx.com to check prices on Lantus, and am in a panic and tears, so it's hard to see the screen. I am close to bankruptcy already, and have no income other than occasional sales I am able to make through Craigslist, an auction, Ebay, or Etsy. No high-dollar items to sell.

The only way I get food and litter now is because I still have room on one store credit card that has pet supplies. If I file, that account will be closed.

 

Did you check the supply closet?
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-pens-pm-me-with-your-needs.156909/#post-1719365
I've bought from him, he's ok, and I think will sell a single pen at a time.

ETA You may also want to post in the Supply Closet to see if anyone has any Lantus they want to sell/give away.

 

If you are on a limited income check out this post http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/financial-help-links.131190/ People often post in the supply closet with supplies they are happy to pass on to another forum user, and you can set up an alert for the forum (click watch forum top right) so you will see if there are new posts there, the alerts show as a red number at the top right of the page.

 

How long is the contents of one pen good for? Maybe I should wait until I use half of what I've got to make sure that's going to be what I'm using? The vet did give me one pen, but after that I have to take the prescription somewhere to fill myself. Note: don't have that piece of paper yet, will talk to him later in the week, or maybe tomorrow. To get help from Diabetic Cats in Need, I have to send a copy of the prescription.

 

One pen holds 300units, so how long it lasts depends on how high your dose is. It's really one of the best insulins you can use, and since so many people here use it, there is often some up for grabs in the Supply Closet.

ETA if you keep it refrigerated, it should be good to the last drop

 

It's like I'm starting all over again. I *was* an old hand 16 years ago, now there is so much new information to take in, or things to relearn. New insulin products, new ideas, new slang even (is OTJ for "off the juice"?). It's overwhelming (again), but I am so thankful this board is still around, so I knew right where to go, even though it is a different place than before. The only thing that's been easy is giving the insulin injection. At least I didn't have to go through the newbie jitters on that one.

 

Yes, a lot to learn/relearn! OTJ is off the Juice- something to strive for!!! I think the new insulins are definitely better than the old, and Lantus is one of the best, so if you can, I'd stick with it. My cat is on a high dose of Levemir and there's no way I could afford it at the pharmacy. I've been able to get enough so far from the supply closet, and when there's none there, I'll order from Canada, where it's much cheaper!

 

How do I order from Canada? Last time around, I ordered from the UK after Eli Lilly discontinued animal-source insulins here. That was very expensive, a huge hassle (that got worse after they changed the rules and it had to be prescribed by a veterinarian in England), and then the delivery service left it on the stairs of my apartment building on a hot day, and I didn't find it there until several hours later. It had been packed in something to cool it, but after going through the whole trip including customs, I worried if it was still OK. It wasn't cloudy, and I put it in the fridge right away.

 

Most use this pharmacy
https://rxcanada4less.com
You will need a prescription

 

My cats dose was 2 units twice a day. One pen usually lasted about 2 1/2 months before I needed to start using a new pen. One pack of pens was enough insulin for almost a year. An unused pen is good until the expiration date on the package. Once you have started using it, the insulin starts to become ineffective 2-3 months later. Ignore the 28 day expiration date on the package, that is for human use only.

 

@Lynxe did you see this http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-pens-for-sale-25-including-shipping.161559/

 

@Sharon14 Yes, but I don't have $25 at the moment. According to Lisa's earlier post, I should be good for 2 months with what I have. How do you know it's still good? Does it start to turn cloudy?

Marsha

 

Yes, it should be clear.

 

If you are home testing you will begin to see higher readings than normal as the insulin is becoming ineffective.