Frankie-just diagnosed :(

Jennifer831

Jennifer831

Member Since 2021
Hi, my 10 year old Frankie was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago & the vet wants to prescribe Prozinc. I am trying to get him started on insulin, unfortunately right after he was diagnosed I had to go out of state to take care of my mom as she recovered from a double mastectomy so I wasn’t able to get Frankie on insulin right away. I immediately switched him to a low carb high protein wet diet-fancy feast pate and Wellness Pate. I am wondering how long a 10ML vial of prozinc should last? I know that dosing varies, so I guess if Frankie starts out at the highest dose, how long 1 vial might last him? How many vials a month would he need? Would 1 vial last 2-3 months?And pricing, my vet charges $140 for a vial but I see I can get it for around $108 on chewy.com. Is it possible to get it cheaper than that? I do not know what dosage the vet wants to put Frank on, since it’s been a month since his diagnosis the vet wants me to bring him in to have his blood sugar checked before she will do an insulin demo and give me the insulin. I am totally committed to this, only issue is a husband who doesn’t want to spend the money :(
Thank you all so much.
 
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Hi Jennifer, wishing your mom all the best.
Yes the insulin can be expensive , just giving you another option that hubby might go for since you mentioned he doesn't want to spend the money

By the way what a handsome boy Frankie is, I love the coloring on his face
A lot of us use Lantus insulin. You might want to ask your vet about this and write a script for it. You would call Marks Marine and they would contact your vet and she could fax the script to them
We buy it from Marks Marine in Canada
You will get 5 Lantus Solostar Pens for 164.99 and they will last you for at least a year or longer depending on his dose


You would buy the U-100 syringes when using Lantus and just take the top off of the pens and insert the syringe from there. There is a little gray stopper , that's where you stick the syringe in. The pen only allows you to increase in whole units, we increase or decrease by 0.25 units at a time. We buy syringes with half unit markings , it makes it easier.
You would also buy 26 or 28 gauge lancets .
Cotton rounds to put behind the ears in case you poke yourself, then just hold it on Frankie's ear to stop the bleeding about 15-20 seconds.
Just a thought , you would save a lot of money
You would call Marks and they would contact your vet for the script
After that if you need to re order you won't need another script
They are very nice people



Lantus Solostar PEN CAN (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) *single pen open box* Brand 100iu/ml one pen 3 ml $49.99 USD

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Lantus Cartridges 5x3ml per box (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) Brand 100u/ml 15 ml $159.99 USD

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Lantus Solostar PENS 5x3ml per box (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) Brand 100u/ml 15 ml $164.99 USD

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Lantus VIAL Insulin (10ml per vial) (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) Brand 100u/ml 10 ml $110.99 USD
 
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You can go buy The Relion Prime from Walmart 9 dollars
17.88 for 100 test strips
Some buy The Relion Premier
I read on your other post about the vet recommended the Alpha Trak 2
As you said the price for the test strips are crazy and you would be going thru them
fast. Just tell her you plan to use a human meter because there is no way you could afford the price for the test strips.
Our numbers we use are based on human meters

You might want to start testing Frankie now and record his BG and times
We have a spreadsheet we all use to record the BG.
In case you need help with dosing we need to see that to give you advice
We can help you with that later and give you the link to set it up, if you have trouble we have members who will help you with it

Take a look at mine at the end of my posts it says Tyler's spreadsheet.
Right now thank god he is in remission

Testing your cat is the only way to keep him safe when you start insulin

You could not have found a better place than this forum
I have to say the members here have more experience than most vets do
Just keep asking questions :cat:
 
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Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
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6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
 
If you consider using Lantus U-100 syringes half unit markings.
You can order them from ADW Diabetes. You can order any of these from ADW Diabetes

available from ADW online:
UtiCare
Monoject
Carepoint
Sure Comfort
B/D

Relion Brand at Walmart when using Lantus you have to ask for them since they're kept behind the counter. Just make sure they are 3/10ml

You want U100 insulin syringes. 3/10ml, 30 or 31 gauge (and no matter what they might tell you, all their 3/10ml syringes DO have half unit marks)
158245327_10218538137791952_7615496727660103564_n.jpg

157545311_10218538138151961_7276476434743079322_n.jpg
 
Jennifer831 said:
Hi, my 10 year old Frankie was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago & the vet wants to prescribe Prozinc. I am trying to get him started on insulin, unfortunately right after he was diagnosed I had to go out of state to take care of my mom as she recovered from a double mastectomy so I wasn’t able to get Frankie on insulin right away. I immediately switched him to a low carb high protein wet diet-fancy feast pate and Wellness Pate. I am wondering how long a 10ML vial of prozinc should last? I know that dosing varies, so I guess if Frankie starts out at the highest dose, how long 1 vial might last him? How many vials a month would he need? Would 1 vial last 2-3 months?And pricing, my vet charges $140 for a vial but I see I can get it for around $108 on chewy.com. Is it possible to get it cheaper than that? I do not know what dosage the vet wants to put Frank on, since it’s been a month since his diagnosis the vet wants me to bring him in to have his blood sugar checked before she will do an insulin demo and give me the insulin. I am totally committed to this, only issue is a husband who doesn’t want to spend the money :(
Thank you all so much.
Click to expand...

Hi Jennifer! Welcome to the Board.

Switching Frankie to pate foods while you tended to your mother was an excellent move. You should absolutely have the vet check Frankie's BG (blood glucose) levels again before starting insulin. You'll likely find that his numbers are lower than a month ago.

Our experience with Prozinc was excellent. After 5 weeks of shots, and 3 weeks after a diet switch, Lola went into diet-controlled remission. I wonder if I had made the food switch before starting the insulin whether she would have needed the insulin at all?

I ran the cost numbers while she was still on insulin and detailed them in a (very) (long-winded) post here. Here's the executive summary:

"So if I buy my bare necessity supplies (insulin & syringes) from the vet it costs $1.63 per day to treat Lola's diabetes, and it would cost $0.93 per day if I bought supplies online."
​
I encourage you to get a ReLion meter from Walmart. The cost of the meter and the strips is much more affordable than other meters (especially the pet meters!), and they are available locally should you find yourself running low. Home testing will allow you to keep Frankie safer and avoid much of the vet expense.

Enid
 
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