TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Thats good to know thank you, even without the discount that still more than half the price of what I way paying
Frustrations with vet - says TR method is wrong:(
- Thread starter TanyaG
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MrWorfMen's Mom
Member Since 2015
You can only use that ruler with the BD syringes. Other brand syringe markings are not the same so the dosing using the ruler would not be as accurate.
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Thanks for the info, thats a pity I think it would be helpful to have something for making fine dosing more accurate. These are the syringes I am currently using.
Kris & Teasel
Member Since 2016
I've used those before and I found them to be good. I've used 3 or 4 different brands and never had a major issue with any of them - maybe I'm not as particular as some people are ...
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
So my hubby got turned away at the Safeway pharmacy after requesting Lantus for our cat! The said its a grey area and that he needs script so he rang our vets and apparently the vet tech couldn't find the details of what insulin Tinka is on, really? My hubby told the pharmacist exactly what we need the lantus cartridges which they had in stock. But he was in a total flap and basically refused to give it to my hubby without a script. Ridiculous. Hubby has just got to Shoppers drug mart now and was given the lantus cartriges with no questions asked! Thank you Shopppers
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Good price from Shoppers too $114 for 5 x 3ml cartriges. No script needed. Thats way cheaper than my vet yah!. Hubby has just got to Shoppers drug mart now and was given the lantus cartriges with no questions asked! Thank you Shopppers
Tuxedo Mom
Member Since 2014
Glad you were able to finally get the insulin. In Manitoba I have bought Lantus from Shopper's, Superstore and Target (when they were still here) and Levemir from Shopper's and Walmart all without a prescription and without having to verify with my vet. How strange Safeway wouldn't sell it there.
Julie made a great video in the Sticky on Lantus/Levemir info and storage, showing how to draw from the vial vs. the pen. The cartridge is a pen refill, so it's like a pen but less "stuff" around it. It's about 2/3 of the way down this sticky note. It almost sounds like what you were getting from the vet was a cartridge. Does it look the same as what you got? Glad you got a source for a better price.
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Thanks thats helpful to know
I think the pharmacist was just a bit clueless, he'd probably never done it before. We live in a fairly small town but not thats small, I would have thought he may have at least known the laws. Anyways shoppers to the rescue, had really good and quick service there. The cartridges are much cheaper than what we got from the vet so thank you for all your help everyone! I couldn't get my needles there though as they didn't have any and they syringes were a different size and more expensive so I'll shop around for those.
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Thank you for the sticky note, I looked at it a while back but thats when there was so much new info so was good to revisit it. Yes you are right it is not a vial that they gave me although they called it a vial and my receipt says its a vial its actually a cartrige refill. It is this one -Julie made a great video in the Sticky on Lantus/Levemir info and storage, showing how to draw from the vial vs. the pen. The cartridge is a pen refill, so it's like a pen but less "stuff" around it. It's about 2/3 of the way down this sticky note. It almost sounds like what you were getting from the vet was a cartridge. Does it look the same as what you got? Glad you got a source for a better price.
I haven't seen what the cartridge looks like yet hubby is on his way home, is it the same or does something go over it? Thanks for helping me source the cheaper cartridges
The cartridge hubby got should look exactly like the picture you posted.
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Thank you, you are right he just back and the cartridges look exactly the same except I have 5 now for the price of two, what a deal
These are the ones we got 
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
Yep, those are them!!
It's great that you're out from under your vet's thumb now too.....You can get your insulin any time you need it and he can go fly a kite!!
It's great that you're out from under your vet's thumb now too.....You can get your insulin any time you need it and he can go fly a kite!!
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Hee hee love this, thanks Chris
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
So today I get a voicemail from my vet, as Safeway pharmacy rang them last night when the young pharmacist thought I needed a script. So my vet rings me today to tell me I can't buy insulin without a script. Well yeah I can and I did from Shoppers thank you very much it's perfectly legal. Anyway then she precedes in the voicemail to tell me that I need to tell her how much insulin exactly I'm giving Tinka before she gives me a script and that she wants to stress again that I don't need to home test daily and she doesn't want me doing it. She says now today that BG testing daily on the ear can cause fibrosis or something like that on the ear where basically I would have damaged the veins in her ear so she won't be able to test Tinka properly in the future. Honestly she's so determined to put me off BG testing at home and taking any responsibility for Tinkas diabetes. Im just going to ignore this and move forward. Thought I'd just share this hilarity! I'm really happy with Tinka's progress on TR so far! The only higher numbers we've seen have been from reintroduction of steroids. But even on steroids we are getting things better controlled with TR and the amazing help from you!!
Kris & Teasel
Member Since 2016
There are people here whose kitties have had their ears poked for years on end and seem to be doing just fine. And, hello?! you don't need a script for Lantus!
Tuxedo Mom
Member Since 2014
OMG Time to find a real vet. One of my kitties, who will never go into remission ( other health issues) had had his ears poked over 7 THOUSAND times in the last 2+ years, with NO medical issues and he actually comes to the test mat and purrs while I do his testing. His reward of course is a bit of LC treat and he is very food oriented, but it works well for us. The first vet I saw ( very short time) said no home testing and lots of other bad advice. My second vet was not a big advocate of home testing but over the last 2 years has become much more pro=active about suggesting home testing after she saw how well BG levels could be tracked when seeing the spreadsheets for my two FD kitties. Sorry but a vet is like a GP doctor. They know a little bit about a lot of conditions. The people on here know a LOT of FD and some of the other conditions that follow FD.
Squalliesmom
Member Since 2015
Wow! Are you sure this woman actually has a degree in veterinary medicine, lol?!? Time to find a new vet!
MrWorfMen's Mom
Member Since 2015
Your vet is definitely on a power trip and far too out of touch with reality to be trusted with feline diabetes. The only "scarred" spot on my girl's ear is from some idiot not knowing what they were doing testing her at the ER hospital when she was first diagnosed. Otherwise her ears are as pristine as they were before her diagnosis. Like Mary Ann's furkids, my girl often comes to get me at test time and if she doesn't come get me, she comes when I call her and then purrs through her testing and she just get pets and kisses for doing so! Personally I'd have a hard time not responding to a message like that but then I have very low tolerance for arrogance and stupidity especially on the part of so called medical professionals.
Otherwise her ears are as pristine as they were before her diagnosis. Like Mary Ann's furkids, my girl often comes to get me at test time and if she doesn't come get me, she comes when I call her and then purrs through her testing and she just get pets and kisses for doing so! Personally I'd have a hard time not responding to a message like that but then I have very low tolerance for arrogance and stupidity especially on the part of so called medical professionals.
Tara & Ivana (GA)
Member Since 2015
IMO, this is all the justification you need. You hold the syringe, you get to make any final decisions. You have the power to over-ride both your vet's advice as well as any advice you get here that you don't feel comfortable with.
Oh and your vet would be horrified at the number of times my Ivana used to get poked - I think her record was over 20 times in one 24hr period, and it was usually around 8-10 times every day
Gill & George
Member Since 2015
Well George's ears are just fine, my vet can't see any scars, and we have yet another kitty who purrs all the way through his tests, he's OTJ now, but I still test daily as I want to be sure that I am on top of things should anything cause him to come out of remission.
You can minimize bruising by applying gentle firm pressure, with a cold wet cotton pad and by avoiding hitting the vein, we aim for the capillaries in the sweet spot.
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Thank you everyone for the encouragement Tinka has responded so well to her BG home tests. Her ears look perfect, no marks. She purrs during her test too. I warm her ear up before with a little mini rice pack. She enjoys the attention and barely feels the prick and she always gets a LC treat after It's just ridiculous that my vet is so clueless! She'd rather have me shoot blind risking my cat dieing from a potential hypo or holding a dose that's too low for days on end risking developing ketones then hv me gently prick my cats ear. I'm too annoyed at her to even bother responding to her power trip. I have my insulin now and I don't need a script and I hv all that I need to home test and keep my baby safe Not going to bother discussing things with her. Our practise is so unfortunately so small it's just a handful of vets at the practise. We are planning to move west to a bigger city later this year so hopefully I'll find someone better! Iv dealth with one other vet at my practise a few times and again he didn't encourage much home testing but I told him I test at least 4 times a day and he didn't argue. I also told him about Tinkas values and my spreadsheet a few weeks back and he seemed fine about it. He was surprised I was able to find dose But he did say I don't need to home test much and I can shoot in the PM without testing her a BG which I obviously don't agree with. But he at least didn't hv the power trip going. Maybe I'll try deal with him next time but I think I'll just avoid discussions with them as much as possible and just keep moving forward with Tinka with all your help! So grateful for this amazing group, thank you!
Tinka has responded so well to her BG home tests. Her ears look perfect, no marks. She purrs during her test too. I warm her ear up before with a little mini rice pack. She enjoys the attention and barely feels the prick and she always gets a LC treat after It's just ridiculous that my vet is so clueless! She'd rather have me shoot blind risking my cat dieing from a potential hypo or holding a dose that's too low for days on end risking developing ketones then hv me gently prick my cats ear. I'm too annoyed at her to even bother responding to her power trip. I have my insulin now and I don't need a script and I hv all that I need to home test and keep my baby safe Not going to bother discussing things with her. Our practise is so unfortunately so small it's just a handful of vets at the practise. We are planning to move west to a bigger city later this year so hopefully I'll find someone better! Iv dealth with one other vet at my practise a few times and again he didn't encourage much home testing but I told him I test at least 4 times a day and he didn't argue. I also told him about Tinkas values and my spreadsheet a few weeks back and he seemed fine about it. He was surprised I was able to find dose But he did say I don't need to home test much and I can shoot in the PM without testing her a BG which I obviously don't agree with. But he at least didn't hv the power trip going. Maybe I'll try deal with him next time but I think I'll just avoid discussions with them as much as possible and just keep moving forward with Tinka with all your help! So grateful for this amazing group, thank you!
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Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
If I have to take China in for something else, I start the conversation by saying "she's on X units of Lantus and her blood glucose usually runs between X and Y"...that way I'm keeping the vet informed without seeking her advice or opinion (and if she gives it to me anyway....well.....you know.....LOL)
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Good advise thanks Chris!! Ha ha this made me chuckle, thanks for sharingIf I have to take China in for something else, I start the conversation by saying "she's on X units of Lantus and her blood glucose usually runs between X and Y"...that way I'm keeping the vet informed without seeking her advice or opinion (and if she gives it to me anyway....well.....you know.....LOL)
Squalliesmom
Member Since 2015
A picture says a thousand words...or none at all, lol!If I have to take China in for something else, I start the conversation by saying "she's on X units of Lantus and her blood glucose usually runs between X and Y"...that way I'm keeping the vet informed without seeking her advice or opinion (and if she gives it to me anyway....well.....you know.....LOL)
Lincolns Mom
Member Since 2016
Tanya wish you lived closer... i am just south of red deer... my vets rock... i share my SS link with them... they have said more then once i know more about my cat now then they do and have actually clapped for me when i start explaining stuff for them... not sarcastic seriously clapping... and Costco i just found out today is $95 for the 5x 3ml cartridges and the pharmacist there had no issues when we said it was for our kitty... in fact he told us that it was good we had said it was for our kitty... cause if you dont tell them... they place it on your acct under your name.. and then it shows up if you were to get hurt that you are on insulin... if you cannot talk in the hospital and they pull up your file they will assume you or your DH are the ones on the insulin... just a heads up in case it was placed under either of your names and not kitties name.. i agree with everyone here .. nod and ignore and look for a better vet if you can
Judy and Boomer
Member Since 2014
My cat's vet didn't understand why I test a few times a day until he ended up with a diabetic cat of his own. And because he wasn't testing, Dolly had a hypo incident and was in a coma for 3 days. She is ok now and now he understands why I test.
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Thanks so much for sharing this info! My hubby told the pharmacist at shoppers it was for our vet but then she out his name on the bottle. I'll ask him to tell her to change it to Tinka ad I def don't want hubby been given insulin when he doesn't need it in case of s hospital situation. That's so wonderful to hear about your vets!!! If u don't mind me asking what is the name of the practise and vet? That is a pretty long drive for me from Banff but def something to consider. Thanks again!
Lincolns Mom
Member Since 2016
https://www.facebook.com/innisfailvet/
Innisfail Veterinary Services.... and Dr Micheal and Dr Andrew are the two i work with... but they are all good there from the receptionist and up...
Innisfail Veterinary Services.... and Dr Micheal and Dr Andrew are the two i work with... but they are all good there from the receptionist and up...
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Tha
Thank you so much!!https://www.facebook.com/innisfailvet/
Innisfail Veterinary Services.... and Dr Micheal and Dr Andrew are the two i work with... but they are all good there from the receptionist and up...
Willow
Member Since 2016
Hello,
I'm going to chime in on this.
Most of the folks on here know my kitty Willow and her crazy story along with my defiance in listening to any of the vets advise.
In a nutshell our vet cost me $12k in vet bills in under a month time and three different vets all told me to put her down. Not only did I prove all of them wrong, Willow is setting right next to me! The instructions they gave me was to shoot our cat twice a day, no need to check her blood and come and see us in a few months. It was not until I noticed problems with our cat in the first week did I start to educate myself to this disease. I was referred to this group and learned so much more. I called a friend who is a great doctor and he told me that with humans before they can even start to take insulin they have to be educated or the doctor could lose their license. Yet a vet? No liability.
Vets only get a total of 4 hours of training in dealing with diabetic animals, two for cats and two for dogs and this is done during their schooling. If you watch any of the YouTube videos on the guy who is suppose to be the leading trainer for vets in diabetic dogs and cats you will completely lose it and want to punch the guy out. Most vets don't have the time or training to advise you on your cat. I have yet to meet a vet with the knowledge I currently have learned over the past year and I'm not a vet. This knowledge came by way of dealing with Willow and there is sooooo much more I need to learn.
The folks on here are battle tested! There have been times I have disagreed with some of them only because I know my cat better then anyone else. Take a look at Willows SS from last year and you will see scary numbers. Even today we battle with her and either getting into our other HC cat food or not eating. This then causes her bg to go high or too low as she has been doing this lately. Here we go,with the ups and downs on her insulin dose.
Do what you must to keep your cat safe. Cats are the only known animals that can reverse this. If you ask your vet if this is possible they will either say maybe or if it's not done within a year it is not going to happen. Yet their are members on here that their cat has reversed this after a year.
I will trust the folks on here over any of the vets I have had to deal with. This is not saying to discount all vets, I have learned to keep asking questions and get my second opinions from this group.
Your not alone with your frustration, at least they have not cost you a lot of money yet.
I'm going to chime in on this.
Most of the folks on here know my kitty Willow and her crazy story along with my defiance in listening to any of the vets advise.
In a nutshell our vet cost me $12k in vet bills in under a month time and three different vets all told me to put her down. Not only did I prove all of them wrong, Willow is setting right next to me! The instructions they gave me was to shoot our cat twice a day, no need to check her blood and come and see us in a few months. It was not until I noticed problems with our cat in the first week did I start to educate myself to this disease. I was referred to this group and learned so much more. I called a friend who is a great doctor and he told me that with humans before they can even start to take insulin they have to be educated or the doctor could lose their license. Yet a vet? No liability.
Vets only get a total of 4 hours of training in dealing with diabetic animals, two for cats and two for dogs and this is done during their schooling. If you watch any of the YouTube videos on the guy who is suppose to be the leading trainer for vets in diabetic dogs and cats you will completely lose it and want to punch the guy out. Most vets don't have the time or training to advise you on your cat. I have yet to meet a vet with the knowledge I currently have learned over the past year and I'm not a vet. This knowledge came by way of dealing with Willow and there is sooooo much more I need to learn.
The folks on here are battle tested! There have been times I have disagreed with some of them only because I know my cat better then anyone else. Take a look at Willows SS from last year and you will see scary numbers. Even today we battle with her and either getting into our other HC cat food or not eating. This then causes her bg to go high or too low as she has been doing this lately. Here we go,with the ups and downs on her insulin dose.
Do what you must to keep your cat safe. Cats are the only known animals that can reverse this. If you ask your vet if this is possible they will either say maybe or if it's not done within a year it is not going to happen. Yet their are members on here that their cat has reversed this after a year.
I will trust the folks on here over any of the vets I have had to deal with. This is not saying to discount all vets, I have learned to keep asking questions and get my second opinions from this group.
Your not alone with your frustration, at least they have not cost you a lot of money yet.
TanyaG
Member Since 2016
Wow what a journey you have been on too! Thank you for sharing and I'm so glad willow is with you today! I agree this group is amazing and I def feel so grateful to have found this group and the advise is far better than anything my vet knows! Thank you for the encouragement
Like others, if you look at Gabby's SS, you'll see I was a testaholic. I had no problems with getting blood from her ear -- and I tested on one ear only.
As for your vet making statements about what can happen to your cat's ear, my response to any medical professional is always, "Can you direct me to an article that you like on that subject. I'd really like to understand and learn more." If they can't think of a reference, I ask that they send me an e-mail me the citation. (This usually gets a response about needing to be able to access a veterinary library. And then I tell them I do have access to both a medical and vet library which shuts them up.) And if you do need access to research articles, send me a PM because I really do have access to a very large university and veterinary library system.
As for your vet making statements about what can happen to your cat's ear, my response to any medical professional is always, "Can you direct me to an article that you like on that subject. I'd really like to understand and learn more." If they can't think of a reference, I ask that they send me an e-mail me the citation. (This usually gets a response about needing to be able to access a veterinary library. And then I tell them I do have access to both a medical and vet library which shuts them up.) And if you do need access to research articles, send me a PM because I really do have access to a very large university and veterinary library system.
Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA)
Member Since 2010
I can feel the envy of the USA members when they read about the price of insulin in Canada! And no prescription needed! I'm lucky: I live near the border and can just go over to buy Lev. at the Shoppers Drug Mart in Cornwall, ON. No questions asked. I was invited to join Shopper's Optimum discount program, and when I told them I lived in the US, they said, no problem, they had just issued a card to a New Zealander!
I now have a wonderful vet who leaves Rusty's diabetes treatment up to me. But that was not always the case. I shot my first diabetic cat, Stu, "blind" (no testing!) for 4 years (but he was on one of the older, in-and-out insulins, not a "depot" insulin like Lantus). When Stu was switched to Lantus because the other insulin had been discontinued, my vet at the time treated it as if it were the older type of insulin. Stu's dose was raised by 1 or 2 units every week until he was up to 7 Units twice a day and crashed. That's when I found the FDMB and learned how to test. This wonderful group of people saved Stu's life.
I see that syringes cost much more in Canada than in the US! (trade-off for the insulin?) I also see that you are using Monoject syringes. You should be aware that Monojects--if they are not perfect--have a problem that could cause you to give more insulin than you think you are. Several years ago I addressed this problem in a Google Doc. Here is a link.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18Sy-_ED9Vi_119OVGEF71zZ0PM6op2R_07oz578xaWU/edit
Tinka is a lucky kitty to have you for her momabean!
Ella & Rusty
I now have a wonderful vet who leaves Rusty's diabetes treatment up to me. But that was not always the case. I shot my first diabetic cat, Stu, "blind" (no testing!) for 4 years (but he was on one of the older, in-and-out insulins, not a "depot" insulin like Lantus). When Stu was switched to Lantus because the other insulin had been discontinued, my vet at the time treated it as if it were the older type of insulin. Stu's dose was raised by 1 or 2 units every week until he was up to 7 Units twice a day and crashed. That's when I found the FDMB and learned how to test. This wonderful group of people saved Stu's life.
I see that syringes cost much more in Canada than in the US! (trade-off for the insulin?) I also see that you are using Monoject syringes. You should be aware that Monojects--if they are not perfect--have a problem that could cause you to give more insulin than you think you are. Several years ago I addressed this problem in a Google Doc. Here is a link.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18Sy-_ED9Vi_119OVGEF71zZ0PM6op2R_07oz578xaWU/edit
Tinka is a lucky kitty to have you for her momabean!
Ella & Rusty
Squalliesmom
Member Since 2015
That's terrible, about the Monoject syringes! You'd think they would change the design so that wouldn't be a risk, seems very dangerous to me!
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