Caninsulin pens?

[ryanms3030]

Hello all. I have been reading about Canisulin. Has anyone been using these yet or have any info. I have been using Lantus pen with syringes but this seems like a interesting alternative if it's cost effective.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

caninsulin is much cheaper than lantus, but for cats the Lantus is much better. My understanding (and i can't say i know a lot about caninsulin) is that it was developed for dogs (hence the "canine" in the name). Diabetic dogs are incredibly different from cats. I know 3 people who have/had diabetic dogs. The vet figures out what the dose is and then they keep the same dose for the next 6-12 months before doing another curve. Most people don't even home test because dogs just don't vary as much. They don't metabolize insulin in the same way that cats do. Cats have very fast metabolisms, which is why the Lantus/Lev are one shot/24 hrs in people, but one shot/12 hrs in cats. Caninsulin doesn't last as long in cats as it does in dogs.

One thing we know about cats is they do best when their blood sugar is tightly controlled, especially if they are kept in normal non-diabetic numbers. The longer-lasting insulins, Lantus and Levemir, are especially good in that respect.

If you're looking for a slightly cheaper option, Levemir costs a little bit less than Lantus and the dose is typically a little lower. I didn't open Whitey's ss to look, but if you were giving (just for an example) 3u Lantus to whitey, we'd suggest you start at 70% of that, or 2.0u. Cobb went from 31uLantus to 22uLantus and had roughly equivalent blood sugar control. Might be an option for you.

Another option is to look on Craigslist. You've gotta be careful and check out the story of why the insulin is for sale, and also check the expiration date & ask if it was kept refrigerated, but i bought 4 boxes of Lantus pens for about $250 a couple of years ago. I was buying from a woman whose diabetic dad had passed away. The insulin was totally fine. Others have had success with that, but you do need to ask questions and be confident about what you're buying.

There are also some pharmacies that will sell one pen at a time - especially if that pharmacy serves hospitals and nursing homes. You just have to call around and ask - there's no rhyme or reason. Some individually owned, some corporate pharmacies will break the boxes up. some won't.

I'd definitely stick with Lantus or Lev though, for Whitey's sake. They're simply better for cats. Prozinc is another good option.

 

[ryanms3030]

Thanks for all the info Julie. I did know Caninsulin was originally for dogs but their website advertising it for both. I have been getting Lantus pens at Target who has been selling me a single pen at a time and honoring coupon from the internet so it's been costing $25 each pen so price is not a problem. Worlds better than $200 per vial I was paying every 3 months. I was mainly interested in the ease of accurately measuring doses with pen over syringe and not having air bubbles to deal with but that's fine, I'll stick with Lantus.

He has been doing pretty well. We are just over 3 years since his diagnosis and our vet estimates he is about 14 years old (he was adopted as an adult so we can't be sure). Between age and diabetes he is living a relatively great life. He is on 1 unit right now. He floats between 100-300 on 1 unit but as soon as I start increasing toward 1.25 he drops into the 40s

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

you definitely can't use the pen needles, regardless of which insulin you're using. My understanding is that they aren't as precise as drawing up a dose with a syringe, and especially if Whitey is sensitive to tiny incremental changes in insulin, that could create problems.

sounds like he's doing pretty well! kudos!

and nice to see you, ryan!