First timer advice on home testing kit within UK appreciated

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Gavin

Member Since 2020
My cat Hector is on 0.5 units of Prozinc and will be moving on to caninsulin very soon. The vets recommended starting him on 0.4 and home testing. Reason for change was I had trouble from my supplier to get prozinc and had to buy it full rrp from the vets. I can get caninsulin for £25 halving my costs every time. What glucose meter is recommended?
Alpha track and consumables seem to be expensive where I have read human meters are far more reasonable. Thanks in advanced.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Welcome, Gavin.

Basic information can be found here.
We have a number of members from the UK.
Click to expand...
Wowsers what an interesting read, it's very very helpful.
Hector took a fair while to become stable initially but we were not home testing. We just trusted the vets advice and gradually settled on 0.5 prozinc, Hector never minded the vets but soon become very stressed. As mentioned I am moving to caninsulin, and will be 100%monitoring at home with a test kit knowing it's not as stable. Home testing wasn't suggested and wish I was informed about this great resource of info. Chances are we could have been giving too much or not enough. Time will certainly tell!

Amazing thank you!
 
Hi @Gavin, here from the UK too.

I started home testing yesterday with my first curve completed. I was slightly worried about my vet not being able or happy with me using a human meter so settled for Alphatrak2. Wish now I hadn't. The consumables are expensive especially as I went through 4 test strips on one reading as both Douglas and I were struggling. But thats my lesson learnt and all I can do is pass my learnings on.

When I was looking into it, the Gluco Navii was going to be my human meter option. A starter pack on amazon is about £18 and refill test strip packs work out at about 17p each (against the Alphatrak, which is 90p each!)

Also, I thought I would definitely need a lancet pen to help deliver the quick prick but found without was so much better, quicker and controlled for me so repeat tries weren't necessary. With this in mind, I'll probably be looking at just buying regular lancets which I think can be about £6 for 100 on Ebay/Amazon. So much cheaper too.

Hope this helps :)

But maybe you can help me now, where can you get Caninsulin for £25? To buy direct from my vet its about £50. I saw online I could buy for about £22, but after the delivery cost and then cost of getting a written prescription from the vet, the total was roughly the same as buying direct from my vet. Is your £25 for delivery as well?
 
Douglas_my ginger cat said:
Hi @Gavin, here from the UK too.

I started home testing yesterday with my first curve completed. I was slightly worried about my vet not being able or happy with me using a human meter so settled for Alphatrak2. Wish now I hadn't. The consumables are expensive especially as I went through 4 test strips on one reading as both Douglas and I were struggling. But thats my lesson learnt and all I can do is pass my learnings on.

When I was looking into it, the Gluco Navii was going to be my human meter option. A starter pack on amazon is about £18 and refill test strip packs work out at about 17p each (against the Alphatrak, which is 90p each!)

Also, I thought I would definitely need a lancet pen to help deliver the quick prick but found without was so much better, quicker and controlled for me so repeat tries weren't necessary. With this in mind, I'll probably be looking at just buying regular lancets which I think can be about £6 for 100 on Ebay/Amazon. So much cheaper too.

Hope this helps :)

But maybe you can help me now, where can you get Caninsulin for £25? To buy direct from my vet its about £50. I saw online I could buy for about £22, but after the delivery cost and then cost of getting a written prescription from the vet, the total was roughly the same as buying direct from my vet. Is your £25 for delivery as well?
Click to expand...

You have confirmed my research which is very much appreciated! Petdrugsonline is where I have been getting my insulin. It's 21.68 plus postage, (you can buy multiples saving on p&p), I also use quidco saving a little extra each time. I'm a member of healthy pet club so a written repeat prescription is needed but can use that 6 times and works out cheaper that way.

Needles I have alway bought from vet UK 100 is about 14.99. I have found them to be very good especially being cheapest ones I have tested over time.
 
Our very experienced UKer @Elizabeth and Bertie may have some up to date info on Prozinc availability for you.
Are you switching to Caninsulin because of costs? You would probably find that the two insulins work in different ways and Prozinc is generally considered more suitable for cats, so if you can find a way to stay with Prozinc within your budget that might be a better bet.

Ref meters - yes the Alphatrak is very expensive to run and human meters are fine. As well as the Gluco Navii that Anna suggests above, the Code-Free is also a reasonable price and is available on Amazon. The One Touch Ultra is an ongoing popular choice too. The cost of supplies (ie strips) does vary a lot so it’s worth checking out what you can get on ebay (be sure that strips are within use-by date).

Good luck!
 
It is very much budget at the moment unfortunately. Times are tight this end. Home testing will help further and give me piece of mind now I'm understanding this a lot more. We have been using the same dose each and every time so I count myself lucky we have not had any complications especially as Hector eats away from home despite his massive collar tag. He is a slender cat as part of his breed. We had an old lady try and home him because he looked a bit scruffy from his shaved neckline, she even wormed and flea treated him(why someone would do this still amazes me. My number was on his tag also). We were extremely lucky that nothing bad happened.
 
Gavin said:
It is very much budget at the moment unfortunately. Times are tight this end. Home testing will help further and give me piece of mind now I'm understanding this a lot more. We have been using the same dose each and every time so I count myself lucky we have not had any complications especially as Hector eats away from home despite his massive collar tag. He is a slender cat as part of his breed. We had an old lady try and home him because he looked a bit scruffy from his shaved neckline, she even wormed and flea treated him(why someone would do this still amazes me. My number was on his tag also). We were extremely lucky that nothing bad happened.
Click to expand...
Hi there, when costing insulin bear in mind prozinc has a much longer shelf life (60 days I think but check) once the bottle is broached where as caninsulin is (28 days).
 
Gavin said:
It is very much budget at the moment unfortunately. Times are tight this end.
Click to expand...

As Pabs&Ro says, ProZinc has a shelf life of 60 days (just got my first vial yesterday, so I checked the leaflet) - if your Caninsulin is only 28 days, that makes a big difference when working out costs. Maddie was on Lantus to begin with, which costs a fortune (thanks for nothing, Sanofi!) so it was a big relief when ProZinc became available again.
 
I don't want to muddle the waters... but why would prozing go bad after 60 days, if it stable for year without being open? I can see that out of precaution against contaminations that it is agood idea to not use the same vial forever, but does anyone know the reasoning for 60 days after the seal is broken?
 
I can't believe how helpful everyone is being. Is caninsulin really that bad? from what I see lots of people are using it. I'm feeling we may have made the wrong desision to change.
The vet recommended I start with 0.4 units and monitor at home. We have never tested at home and had Hector checked by them.
I'm not liking the sound of the 8-10 hr when sometimes he will pull an all nighter. He hates being shut in although generally doesn't go far.
 
Gavin said:
I can't believe how helpful everyone is being. Is caninsulin really that bad? from what I see lots of people are using it. I'm feeling we may have made the wrong desision to change.
The vet recommended I start with 0.4 units and monitor at home. We have never tested at home and had Hector checked by them.
I'm not liking the sound of the 8-10 hr when sometimes he will pull an all nighter. He hates being shut in although generally doesn't go far.
Click to expand...

It’s what we do!
Caninsulin does get a bad press, sometimes justified, sometimes not. The thing is, it’s really made for dogs (the clue is in the name - Canin sulin) and dogs have a different metabolism to cats. Caninsulin typically works fast and is used up fast. Prozinc typically is rather gentler in action and longer lasting. Some cats do ok on it but many owners end up switching if their cat isn’t doing well on it (bg wise). The choice is yours. It’s not for us to be pushy but to be perfectly honest, most people here would say stick with Prozinc if you can and if cost is an issue (we do sympathise) see if you can find other ways to cut down costs.
 
Gavin said:
I can't believe how helpful everyone is being. Is caninsulin really that bad? from what I see lots of people are using it. I'm feeling we may have made the wrong desision to change.
Click to expand...
Hi, Caninsulin has a tendency to often act quite quickly and to have a relatively short duration in kitties (often lasting less than 12 hours, and sometimes maybe 8 - 10 hours maximum). Prozinc typically has a longer duration of between 10 - 14 hours.
But it all depends on how the insulin works in the individual cat. And as we frequently say around here, 'Every Cat Is Different'.... Some cats do fine on Caninsulin, and some don't. Hometesting of blood glucose will enable you to see whether it is or isn't working sufficiently well for your kitty.
Of all the insulins Caninsulin tends to have the shortest shelf life after the vial is first punctured (although often much more than the package insert suggests...). Prozinc typically lasts longer. So, it may well be that Prozinc - although appearing more expensive at first glance - lasts longer and is more cost effective.
...If you have a kitty that is doing well on a particular insulin - whichever insulin that is - then it may be wise to stick with that if at all possible... Different insulins will give different results...
 
I appreciate all the help and advice, my prozinc has almost been used and have a new caninsulin to start at the weekend along with the meter thats on its way. I assume I'm OK to go back to prozinc once the caninsulin has been used. I imagine it will take a while for every thing to settle and see how he does on it, if so how long roughly? I can only judge buy his behaviour at the moment.
 
Is prozinc a controlled drug perscription?
Hercule's mum said:
Hi Gavin,

I am in the UK and just bought prozinc yesterday from Weldrik's:
https://www.weldricks.co.uk/products/prozinc-insulin-for-cats-40iuml-vial-10ml

Hope this helps!

We are worried now about the drop off with caninsulin, Weldrik's need a perscription for prozinc which we have. I have uploaded a photo but they say they need the original if it's a controlled drug and won't despatch before, is prozinc a controlled drug perscription???? Have you ever posted the original over. Not sure my prozinc will last by the time they receive the orig and post.
It's now feeling rather rushed. Sorry
Click to expand...
 
I hadn't
Pabs&Ro said:
Hi there, when costing insulin bear in mind prozinc has a much longer shelf life (60 days I think but check) once the bottle is broached where as caninsulin is (28 days).
Click to expand...

Hadn't realised, or was not informed at the beginning caninsulin has such a short life. Hector being on 5 units of Prozinc, moving to caninsulin starting at 4 means it's not economic...Unless looking at all these numbers and reading up I have cooked my simple brain.
 
Gavin said:
I can't believe how helpful everyone is being. Is caninsulin really that bad? from what I see lots of people are using it. I'm feeling we may have made the wrong desision to change.
The vet recommended I start with 0.4 units and monitor at home. We have never tested at home and had Hector checked by them.
I'm not liking the sound of the 8-10 hr when sometimes he will pull an all nighter. He hates being shut in although generally doesn't go far.
Click to expand...

Hi Gavin
We are in the UK and new to this too. Mac has just completed his first week of jabs - he is on 1iu of Caninsulin twice a day and so far fingers crossed) seems to be doing well and is a lot better than before we started them.
I replied cos of your meter question - we bought the alphatrak 2 as it is the one the vet recommended - it is not cheap at £98 but animed have it an £83 - tried them but it never turned up so went back to good old amazon. Turns out my pet insurance will reimburse me for it so worth checking with them if you have some.
Best of luck to you & your sugar cat
 
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