Excited - Switching from Caninsulin to Lantus

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Catticus Maximus

Catticus Maximus

Member Since 2016
Maximus and I have reached a precarious position where 1.25 units of Caninsulin is not quite enough, and 1.5 is too much. We did "ok" with Caninsulin previously while he was still on some dry food with a maximum dose of 3.5 units that gradually reduced over time as dry food was slowly removed.

Maximus had a dental on May 13 and I take him back for his follow up visit tonight. I've spoken to my vet a few times, hoping to switch to Prozinc but she would like us to try Lantus. My vet isn't working tonight, but will leave the transition plan with the vet who will be there. I believe we will be starting a 1 unit, but the vet wants to make sure Maximus's mouth is healed first.

Can any Canadians advise on the cheapest place to get Lantus and U100 needles? I live really close to Walmart so hope that's the best place lol
 
Hi Tanya, I have bought all my supplies from Walmart and find their prices amongst the lowest. Some folks have also indicated Costco has good prices. I have not checked them out myself. Another tip if you happen to either be or know someone who is a senior is Shoppers Drug mart for testing strips. One member in Manitoba has said she saves considerably buying in bulk on seniors days.

When buying Lantus, buy the pen refills which are small 3ml vials rather than the 10ml vial. They come in packs of 5 refills. The cost will be higher than the 10 ml vial but you are getting more insulin and the expiry on the insulin is usually about 2 years (check date on package) so unused pens will be good until that time. The vial in use is good for several months if kept in the fridge. You do NOT need to discard after 28 days as that applies to humans who keep the insulin out at room temperature. Buying the pen refills means you can use up all the insulin with no waste. Buying the big vial can result in considerable waste. At an average dose of insulin, the package of 5 -3ml pen refills will last well over a year so despite what looks like a hefty price initially it's actually quite reasonable. I believe my cost for the Lantus pens at Walmart was in the neighbourhood of $115.00 last year.

Syringe prices are good at Walmart but Costco would be worth checking out as well. The biggest expense really is the strips for testing.
 
One other thing, make sure you get the U100 syringes 3/10ml with half unit markings. The needles on the syringes come in different lengths and most of us use 8mm/31G but some find the 6mm work fine. I personally found the shorter 6mm needles resulted in more fur shots. I think the needle on the u40 syringes you have been using is probably 1/2 inch so the 8mm would be closest to what you are accustomed to.
 
Thank you Linda - I buy all the testing supplies at Walmart already so it would be great if I get the insulin and syringes there as well. (I really wish Walmart had their own brand of metre here - they have their own lancets...) I pay $74.77 for 100 strips...if I can get them cheaper at Shoppers with a seniors discount I may ask my parents to get some for me. They have a Costco membership as well, but the Costco pharmacy is always insane - I'm not sure they'd be willing to wait for me there.

I will ask for the pen refills...anything to save money in the long run. Do they need to be stored upright?
 
I've left mine sitting upright in the box in the fridge but Lantus doesn't come out of suspension like some other insulins so I don't think it matters. Those pens are used by humans who would have the vials they are carrying around in the pens laying in any old position.

Yes it's too bad we can't get those Relion meters here. I sometimes feel like I live in a third world country when I see the options available in the US as compared with here!:rolleyes:
 
Real Canadian Superstore Pharmacy is also worth checking out. For me, they were the next best price after Costco.

Hope the switch goes well!
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Those pens are used by humans who would have the vials they are carrying around in the pens laying in any old position.
Click to expand...

Good point. I'm too used to Caninsulin that has to be treated fairly carefully yet needs to be rolled before each use... I have it sitting upright in a little juice glass in the fridge.

Another reason to be glad to switch!
 
Elle & Squeak said:
Real Canadian Superstore Pharmacy is also worth checking out. For me, they were the next best price after Costco.

Hope the switch goes well!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I can't wait to get started.

I live fairly close to a Real Canadian Superstore but never thought to check it out so I should do that. There's a pharmacy at the No Frills by work so I wonder if that would be worth looking in to as well.
 
Well I got everything at Walmart last night...The cashier and pharmacist were really helpful. The syringes were $28/100 and the Lantus refills were $106 for the box. The pharmacist asked me if I was sure that is what I wanted since it was so expensive...I explained that in the long run it is a lot cheaper than the U40 insulin we were using! lol

I gave the first shot before leaving for work this morning, and plan to do a full curve on Sunday. I always do pre-shot tests so that will be interesting to see as well.
 
Glad to hear you got everything and were able to get started on Lantus this morning. I wish the pharmacy folks in my Walmart were so helpful! :( ;)

While pre-shots testing is a must to ensure it is safe to give insulin, it's mid cycle tests that let you know how low the BG is going on a specific dose of insulin and those mid cycle readings rather than pre-shot readings are used to determine dose increases and reductions. Since you are at work during the day, it would be a good idea to get some mid cycle tests in during the evening when you are home. Depending on your shot times, a test 2 or 3 hours post shot at night can be quite helpful and tell you if it's going to be an active cycle or not. Lantus usually has it's peak action between 5 and 7 hours after the shot as opposed to Caninsulin which peaks much sooner so a test before bed can be very helpful. Curves are helpful until you get more data but because they are one day out of many, they don't always give you the clearest picture of how kitty is doing.

It's also very important to get some mid cycle tests when switching from a dry to wet diet as that can have cause a profound lowering of BG.

Most of us use the spreadsheet available on this board to track our tests and doses. It's colour coded automatically and makes it easy to see patterns as you collect more data. This spreadsheet allows folks here to be able to offer opinions and suggestions should you have any questions about dosing. Below is the link for the spreadsheet instructions.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Fingers crossed Maximus does better on Lantus! If you have any insulin specific questions, you can post in the Lantus/Levemir forum for advice from the folks with the most experience using those insulins. :)
 
That's great Tanya! :D Now you are all set and as you collect more data you'll begin to get an idea of how Maximus is doing on the 1 unit. He's down a little bit today so that's very encouraging.

You have a choice to make as to how you which method you want to use with Maximus. There is the Tight Regulation protocol or Start Low Go Slow. Tight Regulation (aka TR) is a little more intense and requires a bit more monitoring so you may want to stick with the Start Low Go Slow method (aka SLGS) for now. That said, there are folks working full time who use TR and there are tips here on how to do so. The choice is entirely yours to make. There are links to both the TR and SLGS stickies and the tips for doing TR with a full time job HERE in the Lantus/Levemir forum.

If you have questions specifically related to the Lantus, dosing etc. you can post them in the Lantus/Levemir forum to get the benefit of the experience of those most familiar with that insulin. Any general questions can be posted in the Health forum.

Go Maximus! :cat:
 
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