? Switching from Novolin to Glargine; Do I shoot with the same amount of units as I did with Novolin?

Becky and Gray-Gray

Becky and Gray-Gray

Member Since 2020
I would like to hear from everyone. I am switching from Novolin N to Lantus and am about to place my first order of Lantus and cannot decide between vials or pens. Which do you prefer and why? Thank you in advance :bighug:
 
I like the pen. The vials can cost up to $300 here and with the amount of Lantus I was using , I was afraid it would expire before I got my money's worth. My pen cost $71 at Walmart, and I used the last one for 3 months before switching to a new one over efficacy concerns (used to keep it in the door shelf in the fridge- not as cold).
I still had 1/3 left.
 
Pens.

You get total 15 ml if you get the box of 5 pens.
The vial is total 10 ml.

If you drop a pen, it doesn't break.

When using 1 pen, the other 4 stay fresh.

If one pen should go bad (which is rare), you have an immediate back up.

You can get every single drop in the pen, If using syringes and not the pen needles.

If getting from Marks Marine it's cheaper.

Pens all the way..
 
Si am cat mom said:
I like the pen. The vials can cost up to $300 here and with the amount of Lantus I was using , I was afraid it would expire before I got my money's worth. My pen cost $71 at Walmart, and I used the last one for 3 months before switching to a new one over efficacy concerns (used to keep it in the door shelf in the fridge- not as cold).
I still had 1/3 left.
Click to expand...

Door shelf not the best place. It will shake it up every time door is opened.
 
Si am cat mom said:
I like the pen. The vials can cost up to $300 here and with the amount of Lantus I was using , I was afraid it would expire before I got my money's worth. My pen cost $71 at Walmart, and I used the last one for 3 months before switching to a new one over efficacy concerns (used to keep it in the door shelf in the fridge- not as cold).
I still had 1/3 left.
Click to expand...
Great information. Thank you! Where in the refrigerator do you keep the pen now?
 
Olive & Paula said:
Pens.

You get total 15 ml if you get the box of 5 pens.
The vial is total 10 ml.

If you drop a pen, it doesn't break.

When using 1 pen, the other 4 stay fresh.

If one pen should go bad (which is rare), you have an immediate back up.

You can get every single drop in the pen, If using syringes and not the pen needles.

If getting from Marks Marine it's cheaper.

Pens all the way..
Click to expand...
Thank you! Excellent information. Where inside the refrigerator do you store your unopened pens?
Marks pharm is where my script was faxed to today. I just need to contact them to place my order. With the feedback I’ve received the pens make sense!
 
Becky and Gray-Gray said:
If you drop a pen does it break similarly to a vial?
Click to expand...

almost never....it's a small glass cartridge that's covered in plastic ...yes, it can happen but it's very unusual.
syringe in pen pic.jpg
syringe in pen close up.jpg


You use regular insulin syringes just like a vial, not the "dial a dose" mechanism (which can only do dose changes in whole unit increments)
 

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Becky and Gray-Gray said:
Thank you! Excellent information. Where inside the refrigerator do you store your unopened pens?
Marks pharm is where my script was faxed to today. I just need to contact them to place my order. With the feedback I’ve received the pens make sense!
Click to expand...

I'm a shelf. The one in use is in a cup.
 
Basaglar is a bio-similar of Lantus....both are Glargine. If your vet wrote for Glargine, you have your choice from Marks.

When Basaglar was first showing up, I volunteered China for testing and she reacted exactly the same as Lantus.

Somebody had to compare them and at the time, she was very tightly controlled (so most people here thought I was crazy to mess with something that was obviously going so right) but I figured because she was so tightly controlled, if it was going to act differently, she'd be the one to show it.
 
Judy and Freckles said:
I'm always a little concerned if I was to drop the vial
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I got this to protect the vial (inexpensive insurance :))
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000R81M5C/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

I got most of my Lantus from the supply closet. Usually paying ~$60 for a vial. I would switch out to a new vial about every 6 months and would keep the used one as an emergency back up. I also had to consider weather (Texas heat) when I ordered and had the insulin shipped.

I did get a couple of free pens from my (human) doc. They are supplied with samples. I simply asked when I went in for a visit. He was happy to help :D
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
Basaglar is a bio-similar of Lantus....both are Glargine. If your vet wrote for Glargine, you have your choice from Marks.

When Basaglar was first showing up, I volunteered China for testing and she reacted exactly the same as Lantus.

Somebody had to compare them and at the time, she was very tightly controlled (so most people here thought I was crazy to mess with something that was obviously going so right) but I figured because she was so tightly controlled, if it was going to act differently, she'd be the one to show it.
Click to expand...
Great info! Thank you!
 
Looking forward to seeing what Gray Gray can do on Lantus. It was a real game changer for my boys!
Gray Gray is a real cutie:kiss: She resembles one of my past civvies.
BTW I have a civvie named Grey aka Grey Grey!:cat:
Have a great evening Becky!:)
 
Briere Fur Mom said:
Looking forward to seeing what Gray Gray can do on Lantus. It was a real game changer for my boys!
Gray Gray is a real cutie:kiss: She resembles one of my past civvies.
BTW I have a civvie named Grey aka Grey Grey!:cat:
Have a great evening Becky!:)
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Aww thank you! I am praying for remission, but any sort of stability moving forward is going to be better than my past years journey in Vetsulin and then Novolin. I’m so very thankful for this group! Have a great night!
 
Becky and Gray-Gray said:
Thank you! I’m super psyched for positive results! I so eager for my kitty to at least stabilize.
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Hi Becky, nice to "meet" you and Gray-Gray. She's very beautiful, and your profile pic makes it look like she is smiling :)

I just wanted to pop in to say that I love your positive attitude -- it will serve you and your kitty well as you take this next step in your diabetes journey! :bighug:
 
Sandi & Whisper said:
Hi Becky, nice to "meet" you and Gray-Gray. She's very beautiful, and your profile pic makes it look like she is smiling :)

I just wanted to pop in to say that I love your positive attitude -- it will serve you and your kitty well as you take this next step in your diabetes journey! :bighug:
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for dropping a message! Nice to “meet” you as well Sandy! I can thank my positivity to this group, it has been quite the educational journey over the past month! I just want to keep on doing the best I can for my Gray-Gray kitty :joyful:! Unfortunately I lost my first kitty back in 2012 and I blame it on my own negligence because I should have further educated myself beyond what the vets were telling me and doing. His name was Max and he was my world, my everything! Myself AND my doggy were heart broaken over loosing him! My pup paced the house for months after and still to this day “tolerates” the new addition to the family (Gray-Gray) but doesn’t nearly have the connection with her. This process has been eye opening to me and I am so very thankful for EVERYONE in this group:cat::bighug:! Thank you so much for saying hello :)!
 
Hi Becky and Gray- Gray,
A belated welcome to the group from an "old-timer" who tries to visit pretty regularly. I'm sure that Gray-Gray will do well on Basaglar/Lantus and want to wish him the best on this new insulin adventure. I always kept Rusty's insulin pens in the door of the 'fridge (otherwise I would never have been able to find them in my fridge!). I wrapped the pen that was in use in a foam insulated sleeve and and kept it in a small cardboard box. I attached one of those small, plastic, zipper-pull thermometers (sold in camping stores or online) to the outside of the box with a rubber band. The unopened pens stayed in their box, and I put that box into an insulated sleeve. I never had a problem with the insulin getting too cold. And the well wrapped pens didn't seem to lose anything from being in the fridge door.

Welcome!
 
I've been helping Becky and her kitty Gray-Gray over in the Vetsulin/Caninsulin/NPH forum for a bit. Glad to see she has made her way over here to the Lantus ISG.

Links to two of her older threads
Questions on Feeding plan for NPH insulin cat
My 1st GREEN! How do I regulate my doses to prevent hypo with Novolin?

You already have a warm welcome from the nice folks here in lantus land.

I dropped a 10ml vial of insulin once. Caught it on the door edge as I was taking it out of the fridge and it shattered on the kitchen tile floor. It wasn't even my insulin, but was for a cat sitting client of mine. Ooops! doesn't even begin to cover how I felt about shattering someone else's insulin vial. He was very understanding. Still cat sit for him and his pets for the past 6 plus years. Tried to talk him into ordering the pens instead. He doesn't. He does wrap many layers of plastic wrap around the vial to help protect it.
 
Becky also keeps wonderful up to date SS with lots of notes in the Remarks column. Very helpful to us to see that. See vacuuming notes. ;):D

Marje and Gracie said this in her other post about the starting dose for Lantus.
"I know you didn’t specifically ask, but I wouldn’t start at less than 0.75u. You’d likely be fine with 1u but if you want to be cautious, which is fine, 0.75u is good."

Becky asked "Thank you for input. I think I posted about this in another place. I was curious about dosage and considering basaglar is a depot insulin I didn’t know how long after meal to wait to shoot?"

Marje said "You just have to feed before onset at +2 but pretty much everyone feeds while shooting. That also allows for food on board before onset."

Deb said this AM 1/27 "Becky, the when to feed with using Lantus or Basaglar is quite different than it is with the Novolin N insulin you were using.

Because NPH insulins (Like Novolin N) onset very quickly and tend to cause a very steep and rapid drop in BG, you needed to Test, feed first, wait 45 min to an hour, test again to make sure the BG's were still high enough to give insulin and then give the Novolin N insulin.That waiting time after feeding was so some of the food could be digested and start to balance out the rapid onset of the NPH. You were trying to balance out the steep drops with the NPH insulin also.

Now, you do not have to do that waiting.

Lantus is a gentler and longer duration insulin. Test, feed, shoot all in a 15 minute window of time is what most people do that use Lantus.

When do you expect to receive your Lantus insulin? Do you know yet? You could contact Marks Marine Pharmacy to find out.
How soon after you receive the new Lantus insulin will you be using it for Gray-Gray?"

p.s. I'm so excited to see how Gray-Gray does on Lantus.
 
Welcome!!

There's so much good information in this thread. Please let us know if you have questions.

This is a brief summary of what folks have said:
  • With the depot-insulins, you can make a direct dose switch from your previous insulin. Many people like to drop the dose by a small amount in case their cat has a marked response to glargine.
  • Onset is at approximately +2 (versus almost immediately). You can test, feed, and shoot within a few minutes. Food does not need to be on board prior to your giving an injection.
  • Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, not on a pre-shot number. The are options to skipping the shot if you get a surprise at pre-shot time. It's always good to post and ask for help if you're not sure how to proceed. (This is a big forum with people from around the world. There's usually someone around who can answer your questions in a relatively short period of time. )
  • Lantus likes consistency both in terms of holding doses (vs making a change in dose from cycle to cycle) and shot time. If you need to adjust the time, let us help. Early or late shots act like dose increases or reductions, respectively and there's a method to getting back on schedule.
  • Read the sticky notes. Read them again (and again and again). If you think this thread is overwhelming, the sticky notes and the embedded links contain a encyclopedia's worth of information. No one remembers everything that's there. The most important thing in the sort term is for you to decide on which dosing method you want to follow.
Again, let us know if you have questions. We're all here to help.
 
Hi!! One last thing with lantus... no need to roll the pen and no need to inject air as with the bottle. Keep it refrigerated as the pharmacist may say it’s ok to keep out but then it doesn’t last more than 28 days! It does
Behave much more differently than the other insulins as it is a depot insulin so don’t be confused if the numbers go up after the injection. This was very counterintuitive and perplexing to me when I first started using it because it is a depot insulin. And lastly, as everyone always reminded me, patience pants are needed. It’s a great insulin once the ball starts rolling in the right way! You’ll be tempered to want to hurry it along but sit tight and take it easy! Good luck!
 
And think about what dosing method you want to use. SLGS (Start Low and Go Slow) or TR (Tight Regulation).

There is a "Sticky" (pinned thread) here at the top of this forum that explains those 2 dosing methods. I could link it for you, but want to see if you can find it yourself first!
 
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