? Insulin Cost, Options?

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Three Cats & a Baby

Three Cats & a Baby

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Hi, I'm brand new here and I really appreciate the help I've gotten over the last couple of days. We just gave Phoebe her first dose of insulin this morning. Since we wanted to get her started without any delay, I just went with the quickest option of having my (human) pharmacy fill her prescription without looking around at prices or anything like that.

The vet prescribed Glargine, and the pharmacy filled it with the Lantus brand. The cost for a 100 unit vial was $407, plus $60 for the box of syringes. She's been prescribed 1 unit twice a day, so this should last us 50 days.

The vet seems hopeful that this might be a short term thing for Phoebe (she's so young and otherwise completely healthy), but if this is a longterm problem, it's going to be sooooo expensive. We live in the US, in a super high cost of living city, so I'm not sure if that has an impact on the price.

Are other people paying this much? Are there ways to bring this cost down? We don't have pet insurance, is it too late to get it, now that she has this diagnosis?

Thank you for reading!
 
Three Cats & a Baby said:
Hi, I'm brand new here and I really appreciate the help I've gotten over the last couple of days. We just gave Phoebe her first dose of insulin this morning. Since we wanted to get her started without any delay, I just went with the quickest option of having my (human) pharmacy fill her prescription without looking around at prices or anything like that.

The vet prescribed Glargine, and the pharmacy filled it with the Lantus brand. The cost for a 100 unit vial was $407, plus $60 for the box of syringes. She's been prescribed 1 unit twice a day, so this should last us 50 days.

The vet seems hopeful that this might be a short term thing for Phoebe (she's so young and otherwise completely healthy), but if this is a longterm problem, it's going to be sooooo expensive. We live in the US, in a super high cost of living city, so I'm not sure if that has an impact on the price.

Are other people paying this much? Are there ways to bring this cost down? We don't have pet insurance, is it too late to get it, now that she has this diagnosis?

Thank you for reading!
Click to expand...

Look into GoodRX if it's an option for you. If you can use a pharmacy like Rite Aid, Walmart, or Walgreens, they are currently quoting $194.82 for a vial. The syringes you can probably get cheaper at Walmart, I feel like I paid $20 for syringes last time I stocked up.

Also, look into getting a human meter to test your cat. I got the Relion Premier Compact for $20 and it's been great. Test strip refills are only $9 for 50 or $17.88 for 100.

As for pet insurance, I actually just looked into it for my two diabetic cats. Pet insurance won't cover pre-existing conditions, although some will cover conditions that were temporary and have been gone for at least 12 months. So it probably won't help with the diabetes-related treatments, but it could cover you if your pet develops other health conditions. Personally, we've decided to just set aside a bit of money every month into a rainy day fund and use CareCredit if necessary.
 
That price is crazy plus 60 dollars for a box of syringes unbelievable
, I don't know why the pharmacy didn't give you Glargine
If you need it in the future you should get the 5 pens
They will last you at least a year ,plus the expiration dates will most likely be 2023 or 2024
We use the pens just like a vial
I'll show you a diagram below
You just stick the syringe in the gray rubber stopper and draw out the insulin
The reason we don't use thevp needles that would go in the pens is because you can only dial the pens by whole units
With the U-100 syringes with half unit markings we can adjust by 0.25 units at a time




Glargine is the name of the generic for Lantus. The name of the actual generics is Basaglar

You can call some of your pharmacy's and ask

I also found this posted by one of our members
.


We use the pens just like a vial , just stick the syringe in the gray rubber stopper and draw out your insulin
Just take the cap off the pen and use a U100 syringes and pull the insulin out of the pen!
syringe-in-pen-pic-jpg.45006





Generic is fine you are better off getting the pens and not the vials
Basaglar

Check this out also
https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-glargine?dosage=five-3ml-prefilled-pens-of-100-units-ml&form=carton&label_override=insulin glargine&quantity=1
The 5 pens will last about a year

Basaglar is also Insulin Glargine, it acts the same way.

Here is a saving card for basaglar for 5 pens
Check it out just put in where it says set your location
https://www.goodrx.com/basaglar

I see some members will call CVS, Rite Aid, Costco, Walgreen's, to get the price for 5 pens

You will need U-100 syringes with half unit markings for lantus , just insert the syringe into the pen and draw out the insulin.
13.47 for a box of 100 Here is the link to buy them from
If they say you need a script from you vet they will call the vet to fax it over 'ask for refills and give your vets office a heads up . I know that some member didn't need a script at all ,I did I live in N.J. So I guess it depends on where you live

https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/1316/surecomfort-u100-syringes-half-unit-31g-3-10cc-5-16in-100ct


30-unit-insulin-syringe-markings.jpg
 
Last edited:
One members posted this
I get the generic version of Semglee which is simply called "Insulin Glargine". It's a biosimilar to Lantus. I paid $175 for a box of 5 pens at Walmart pharmacy, but GoodRX coupon says you can get it for around $90 if you have a Rite Aid pharmacy near you.
 
Thank you, this is so helpful! Thinking this insulin was going to cost us ~ $10 a day forever was scary! Now I've got some time to look into cheaper options before I have to get more. Such a relief!

Diane Tyler's Mom said:
That price is crazy plus 60 dollars for a box of syringes unbelievable
, I don't know why the pharmacy didn't give you Glargine
If you need it in the future you should get the 5 pens
They will last you at least a year ,plus the expiration dates will most likely be 2023 or 2024
We use the pens just like a vial
I'll show you a diagram below
You just stick the syringe in the gray rubber stopper and draw out the insulin
The reason we don't use thevp needles that would go in the pens is because you can only dial the pens by whole units
With the U-100 syringes with half unit markings we can adjust by 0.25 units at a time




Glargine is the name of the generic for Lantus. The name of the actual generics is Basaglar

You can call some of your pharmacy's and ask

I also found this posted by one of our members
.


We use the pens just like a vial , just stick the syringe in the gray rubber stopper and draw out your insulin
Just take the cap off the pen and use a U100 syringes and pull the insulin out of the pen!
syringe-in-pen-pic-jpg.45006





Generic is fine you are better off getting the pens and not the vials
Basaglar

Check this out also
https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-glargine?dosage=five-3ml-prefilled-pens-of-100-units-ml&form=carton&label_override=insulin glargine&quantity=1
The 5 pens will last about a year

Basaglar is also Insulin Glargine, it acts the same way.

Here is a saving card for basaglar for 5 pens
Check it out just put in where it says set your location
https://www.goodrx.com/basaglar

I see some members will call CVS, Rite Aid, Costco, Walgreen's, to get the price for 5 pens

You will need U-100 syringes with half unit markings for lantus , just insert the syringe into the pen and draw out the insulin.
13.47 for a box of 100 Here is the link to buy them from
If they say you need a script from you vet they will call the vet to fax it over 'ask for refills and give your vets office a heads up . I know that some member didn't need a script at all ,I did I live in N.J. So I guess it depends on where you live

https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/1316/surecomfort-u100-syringes-half-unit-31g-3-10cc-5-16in-100ct
Click to expand...
 
Three Cats & a Baby said:
Thank you, this is so helpful! Thinking this insulin was going to cost us ~ $10 a day forever was scary! Now I've got some time to look into cheaper options before I have to get more. Such a relief!
Click to expand...
You're very welcome , just call all the pharmacy's tell them you have the RX coupon , and ask them the price for 5 pens , when you go to the RX site and type in where you live it will give you the prices and list of pharmacys and you can have the RX card sent right to your cell phone
Just tell them you want the cheapest
They will be 5 pen 3 ml
Box will look like this
Package_18995.JPG


Ignore about only lasting 28 days that's for humans you can use one pen until the last trip
Just keep then in the fridge middle shelf


Or the generic
basaglar-kwikpen-1.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
One members posted this
I get the generic version of Semglee which is simply called "Insulin Glargine". It's a biosimilar to Lantus. I paid $175 for a box of 5 pens at Walmart pharmacy, but GoodRX coupon says you can get it for around $90 if you have a Rite Aid pharmacy near you.
Click to expand...
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
You're very welcome , just call all the pharmacy's tell them you have the RX coupon , and ask them the price for 5 pens , when you go to the RX site and type in where you live it will give you the prices and list of pharmacys and you can have the RX card sent right to your cell phone
Just tell them you want the cheapest
They will be 5 pen 3 ml
Box will look like this
Package_18995.JPG


Ignore about only lasting 28 days that's for humans you can use one pen until the last trip
Just keep then in the fridge middle shelf


Or the generic
basaglar-kwikpen-1.jpeg
Click to expand...
Def call the pharmacy first. The ones near me won’t accept the coupon for a cat, humans only. And the Walmart syringes are less than $16 for sure. what state are you in? I’m selling 2 boxes in the supply closet. Good luck!
 
I'm a beginner too so take this with a grain of salt, but I've been researching switching my cat from Vetsulin to Lantus or insuline glargine and my understanding is that the vials are 10ml at 100U/ml, so the vial you have is probably 1000 doses, not 100, although it most likely won't be effective for the full 500 days. My reading says 4-6 months if you keep it in the refrigerator.

Also, I found a good price at Costco of $75 for 5 pens (total of 15ml or 1500 doses.) And as was said above, the five pens will last probably a full year.

Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding the units - I'm still learning!

Edited to add the name of the pens at Costco - found it under
Insulin Glargine-yfgn (Generic)
 
RachelBee said:
I'm a beginner too so take this with a grain of salt, but I've been researching switching my cat from Vetsulin to Lantus or insuline glargine and my understanding is that the vials are 10ml at 100U/ml, so the vial you have is probably 1000 doses, not 100, although it most likely won't be effective for the full 500 days. My reading says 4-6 months if you keep it in the refrigerator.

Also, I found a good price at Costco of $75 for 5 pens (total of 15ml or 1500 doses.) And as was said above, the five pens will last probably a full year.

Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding the units - I'm still learning!

Edited to add the name of the pens at Costco - found it under
Insulin Glargine-yfgn (Generic)
Click to expand...

Oh my goodness! I think you must be right, and that's SUCH a relief! Yes, I read the box again, and it says 100 units/ML, 10 ML vial. Good lord. I asked both the pharmacist and the vet tech if the U-100 meant 100 doses, and they both said yes, but clearly didn't actually know, haha. Oh boy. $1/day is just so much easier to deal with than $10/day.
 
Three Cats & a Baby said:
Oh my goodness! I think you must be right, and that's SUCH a relief! Yes, I read the box again, and it says 100 units/ML, 10 ML vial. Good lord. I asked both the pharmacist and the vet tech if the U-100 meant 100 doses, and they both said yes, but clearly didn't actually know, haha. Oh boy. $1/day is just so much easier to deal with than $10/day.
Click to expand...

I'm going to correct myself - I keep saying doses, but if someone finds this later and their cat isn't on 1 unit doses that will be confusing. So more accurately I think the vials have 1000 units and the 5 pens have 1500 units.
 
Three Cats & a Baby said:
The cost for a 100 unit vial was $407,
Click to expand...
The vial contains 1000 units, U100 is the strength, 100 units per ml. The vial contains 10 ml.
JL and Chip said:
Ooof, u-100 is the strength of the insulin. Please tell me that they sold you U-100 insulin syringes (not U-40). It matters!
Click to expand...
Human pharmacies except maybe special ones that also carry pet-only meds, only carry U100 syringes. U100 syringes have orange needle caps while U40 syringes have red needle caps.
 
I don't know much about insulin pens in the US, but other members here have talked about Marks Marine Pharmacy in Canada (https://canshipmeds.com). Members have Lantus shipped to them and apparently all works out fine.

I actually visited their physical store earlier this month while I was on a trip to Vancouver, BC (I grew up there, not far from Marine drive, haha). They're legit and super nice. I stupidly forgot my cat's Lantus at home in the fridge, and the pharmacist helped me out – an absolute lifesaver. Check out their website and give them a call and see if their prices would be better.
 
RachelBee said:
I'm a beginner too so take this with a grain of salt, but I've been researching switching my cat from Vetsulin to Lantus or insuline glargine and my understanding is that the vials are 10ml at 100U/ml, so the vial you have is probably 1000 doses, not 100, although it most likely won't be effective for the full 500 days. My reading says 4-6 months if you keep it in the refrigerator.

Also, I found a good price at Costco of $75 for 5 pens (total of 15ml or 1500 doses.) And as was said above, the five pens will last probably a full year.

Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding the units - I'm still learning!

Edited to add the name of the pens at Costco - found it under
Insulin Glargine-yfgn (Generic)
Click to expand...
Marc’s Marine Pharmacy in Canada is still cheaper than Costco for 5 pens. I think less than $200
 
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