Are there any resources for Insulin help?

Status
Not open for further replies.
MizzKitty

MizzKitty

Member Since 2018
Hello all, I came back to this forum after having not been here in a long while after getting comfortable with being able to manage my diabetic cat. It will be 5 years in May that my kitty was diagnosed and started insulin.

I came back here today hoping to find some info/resources. I've fallen on hard times and am currently between jobs, waiting to get my first check at a new job. Unfortunately of course my kitty runs out of insulin during this time. The timing couldn't have been any worse. I cant afford to get her refill for the first time in almost 5 years. And wont be able to for another few weeks to a month. Where I'm at a bottle of Lantus costs $312.

Does anyone know any resources or what I can do? I only need enough to last 3-4 weeks. She only has a few days worth left and my bank account is in the low double digits. Embarrassing to say but hard times are hard times. Thanks to anyone who can point me in the right direction. I've also messaged someone in the supply closet area of this forum, fingers crossed perhaps they come through.

- Mizz
 
More eyes will see you if you post in the Lantus Forum. There are now much cheaper generic versions of Lantus. Smeglee is one of them.
Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Canada is much cheaper. Quite a few members order from them. One member has even been inside the store. You will need a prescription from your vet to send to them.
If you give us a general idea of where you live, there may be a member close by.
There's also the Forum Facebook group you can try:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/felin...4Rq-pmXzkI3ByG8gCgCBJvGRqsj2Yk2XAuYgV-fcDUTb4

Tagging @Diane Tyler's Mom who knows the in's and out's of Lantus and its generics in the US.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
More eyes will see you if you post in the Lantus Forum. There are now much cheaper generic versions of Lantus. Smeglee is one of them.
Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Canada is much cheaper. Quite a few members order from them. One member has even been inside the store. You will need a prescription from your vet to send to them.
If you give us a general idea of where you live, there may be a member close by.
There's also the Forum Facebook group you can try:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/felin...4Rq-pmXzkI3ByG8gCgCBJvGRqsj2Yk2XAuYgV-fcDUTb4

Tagging @Diane Tyler's Mom who knows the in's and out's of Lantus and its generics in the US.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the info, I'll see about ordering from Mark's Maine in the future for sure, sounds like an amazing savings. thank you so much.

Im in Metro Atlanta area.
 
Tagging @Diane Tyler's Mom who can list some cheaper sources for insulin in the US. A couple options I can think of. First, check out our Supply Closet forum, people are often giving away or selling insulin for low prices there. The other option is to consider some of the generic Lantus/glargine versions like Basaglar and Semglee. I've heard some stories of people getting glargine for quite good prices.
 
We just switched to the generic "Insulin Glargine" instead of Lantus for our newly adopted diabetic cat. She came to us with a partial vial of Lantus, but when that ran out we went to the generic and noticed absolutely no difference in her BG numbers the week of the switch (I also hadn't been sure if the depot would basically need to re-establish like when starting a completely new insulin, but it apparently did not, the transition was seamless).

We are Costco members, but according to this page you do not have to have a Costco membership in order to use their pharmacy: https://customerservice.costco.com/...d-a-membership-to-purchase-prescription-drugs

There appear to be several Costco locations around Atlanta, but I just picked the "Perimeter Atlanta" location at 6350 PEACHTREE DUNWOODY RD ATLANTA GA 30328-4568 just in case it impacted the price. Then when I look up the price of a 5 pack of Glargine pens, it shows $77.28 which is exactly what we paid here in southwest Virginia, so the store location must not matter: https://www.costco.com/cmpps?drugIdentifierParam=94057584835&drugNameParam=Insulin+Glargine-yfgn

But you should confirm whether you need a Costco membership in order to get that price, and if you do I wonder if you could use a friend or neighbor's card even though the prescription is for you (your cat). I doubt that they would break a pack of pens and only sell you one, because they just slap a label on the sealed manufacturers box.

This price at Costco actually makes it cheaper than going through Marks Marine Pharmacy in Canada. Back when there were no generics/biosimilars to Lantus, like for our previous diabetic, Marks was absolutely the way to go though.

I hope you can find something to tide you over, but either now or in the future I highly recommend checking out Costco. Good luck :bighug:
 
@MizzKitty
Check this out
https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-glargine?dosage=five-3ml-prefilled-pens-of-100-units-ml&form=carton&label_override=insulin glargine&quantity=1
One pen would last me about 3 -4 months . we use the pens just like a vial, you would just insert the syringe it the gray rubber stopper on the pen and draw out your insulin
Its generic lantus



Or this one also

I see some members will call CVS, Rite Aid, Costco, Walgreen's, to get the price for 5 pens
Posted by another member
One members posted this
. 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.

We don't use the pen because you can only adjust the dose by full units, we adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time. Are the U-100 syringes you already have do they have half unit markings


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
 
Usually in the USA you can by using a GoodRx or Single Care coupon get generic glargine insulin at a local pharmacy at about the same price as real Lantus, a glargine insulin, from Canada
 
You don’t need a Costco card to use their pharmacies, at least not in California. You do need an RX though.
 
Could this be a DCIN thing?
@Wendy&Neko @Marje and Gracie @Sienne and Gabby (GA)
Another idea is GoFundMe. The results won't be fast and don't think of it as pity or charity, if it's an honest plea than honest and well meaning people will reply. There is a bit of trickery (poor choice of words, I'm tired) involved. Keep it short, be honest and use just one photo, the "money shot". Again that sounds deceitful but simply put don't show a photo of a cat on death's door or you in tears clutching your cat. If you've done something in your life that you're proud of like military service, being a first responder or even a volunteer at a food bank don't be afraid to say so. You're not showing off or bragging, you've done a good thing and should be proud of that.
People spend more on one shoe than that vial of Lantus and often for their own reasons want to help someone. Some people (my sister) cross the street to avoid homeless people but have more money than they could ever spend. That's their problem, not yours and there's no shame in asking.
You're not allowed to fund raise here and don't mention FDMB, the rest is just part bad luck and how the world works.
I wish you all the luck you so much deserve.
 
We aren't permitted to have GoFundMe options for individuals. We would be swamped with people asking for fundraising. In addition, it could be difficult to sort out the honest requests from scams. The general rule is that GoFundMe or similar requests are not permitted.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top