Going to try to start insulin tomorrow evening... terrified...

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J

Jasper Blue and Jay

Member Since 2019
A very generous person sent us some Lantus so after a lot of stressful life events seem to have quieted down I think it's safe (I'll be home and can watch him for reactions) to start insulin tomorrow night.


I have honey, a can of FF gravy and a can of FF medley in case his sugar gets too low... we aren't great at testing yet...but we have managed to do it the 3x we tried so even though it takes a while we should be able to test him before/after insulin. I forgot to get needles though and probably won't be able to get them til tomorrow night.


I am watching videos right now to try to learn how to give the insulin and hopefully what to watch out for and how to treat hypoglycemia if it happens.

I'm terrified.


I also want to start him with just a half dose of the Lantus but I don't see that as an option on the pen.


Is there anything else I'm forgetting before I start? Stuff I should have for an emergency?

If he has to get brought to the vet if something goes wrong will I get in trouble for giving him insulin without a prescription? I'm in NJ and kept meaning to google that but there is so much information to learn/remember. :(

(I just wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to reply to my questions, our car was repossessed in the middle of the night and it took a few very stressful sleep deprived days to get it back so unfortunately I wasn't able to reply much.)
 
When using pen, we don’t use the pen needles as dosing can’t be controlled as much as with syringes.

Lantus needs u100 3/10 cc/ml syringes, the gauge is the needle thickness and the higher the number, the skinnier the needle, 30 or 31 gauge are the thinner ones, best value of two will usually be 30g. Some states need a vet script, some don’t, not sure of NJ. Make sure they are the right dosage syringes (u100 3/10 cc/ml) and have half unit marks for easier dosing.

Local pharmacy should have syringes for short term needs, but can get cheaper online. ADW has decent prices and if you call them they will tell you if you need a script from vet in NJ, if you do, you can take a picture of script and email it to ADW, they will help you if you need it. You might not even need one.

These are good :

https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product...100-syringes-30g-3-10cc-5-16in-100ct-1-2-unit
 
Do you have a glucometer to test Jasper? A glucometer allows you to test before every shot to ensure that it is safe to give insulin and also mid cycle t see how low the dose is taking BG. You can pick up a reasonably priced Relion meter at Walmart for which the test strips are also the least expensive. The glucometer is the best tool we have to keep our kitties safe and get them back on the road to health. The ability to test Jasper will give you some peace of mind to know he is doing OK. Not all cats display symptoms of low BG until it gets serious so your glucometer is the best tool to keep Jasper safe and you sane. If need be DCIN, may be able to supply you with a meter and strips to at least get started.

From what I can see, you can buy up to 10 syringes without a Rx in NJ. You will obviously need more than 10 per week when giving 2 shots per day.Since your vet was willing to prescribe glipizide for your cat, do you think the vet would be agreeable to write you a script for Lantus or any other insulin for Jasper as well as the syringes? It looks like you are going to need something from the vet that proves you need syringes in order to obtain the necessary supply.
 
we have a glucometer, i tested 3x , he was 362, 352, 366. I don't know how that translates to feline... i just read a forum post i can't find now that said it can be up to 200 higher than that?!


I am trying to find a cheaper vet because he is the highest I've heard around here, he's $85 and everyone else is like $65-67, not a lot for one visit but... these visits seem to keep coming up...

But all the ones i talked to today say they use prozinc, I didn't think to ask if they'd prescribe lantus but I was only dealing with the receptionists anyway and kept getting a lot of "i don't know you'll have to ask the doctor" :(
 
You CAN do this! You really can! I know it's scary getting started, it's scary knowing you don't yet understand it all. It's scary thinking you'll make a mistake. It's scary knowing kitty could go hypo. Know what? After you finally get started, get your feet on the ground, you'll look back and scratch your head trying to figure out what you were so scared of...PROMISE! I remember well that first shot - I shook, I cried, I paced, I cried, I shook....for half an hour trying to convince myself I could...and I eventually did. KT just looked at me like 'What's the big deal MamaBean?". Dakota is our second diabetic, adopted already diabetic - if it were really that scary, we never would have adopted another one. I've been 'poking' cats for nearing 9 years, it's just second nature now...

HUGS!!!
 
Julie and Honey said:
When using pen, we don’t use the pen needles as dosing can’t be controlled as much as with syringes.

Lantus needs u100 3/10 cc/ml syringes, the gauge is the needle thickness and the higher the number, the skinnier the needle, 30 or 31 gauge are the thinner ones, best value of two will usually be 30g. Some states need a vet script, some don’t, not sure of NJ. Make sure they are the right dosage syringes (u100 3/10 cc/ml) and have half unit marks for easier dosing.

Local pharmacy should have syringes for short term needs, but can get cheaper online. ADW has decent prices and if you call them they will tell you if you need a script from vet in NJ, if you do, you can take a picture of script and email it to ADW, they will help you if you need it. You might not even need one.

These are good :

https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product...100-syringes-30g-3-10cc-5-16in-100ct-1-2-unit
Click to expand...

The vets here will only prescibe prozinc it seems like... which have their own prescription only syringes they're telling me...

this is so confusing...
 
Just to help - there are 5 insulins usually prescribed. Those are:

* Vetsulin (Caninsulin elsewhere) - Animal only
* Prozinc - Animal only
* NPH - Human and animal
* Glargine (Lantus by brand) - Human and animal
* Detemir (Levemir by brand) - Human and animal

Vetsulin and Prozinc are 'U-40' strength and use U-40 syringes. That's the 'concentration' of the insulin.
NPH, Lantus and Levemir are 'U-100' strength and use U-100 syringes.

Altho' several of these come in pen form, the pen needles have an allowable variance plus only dose at whole units. That's all fine for humans but for cats, we change doses by .25 units, never a whole unit. That's a HUGE amount to jump for a 10-15lb animal. That's why we use syringes instead of those expensive pen needles.

I started on NPH years ago, changed to Lantus then to Levemir 4 years ago. I MUCH prefer Levemir hands down.

Hope this helps just a bit...
 
Jblue said:
But all the ones i talked to today say they use prozinc, I didn't think to ask if they'd prescribe lantus
Click to expand...
That could be a problem because if they write a script for ProZinc which is U40 insulin, they might designate U40 syringes which you can't/shouldn't use with Lantus.

I'd have an honest conversation with the vet and tell him money is tight and a friend gave you some Lantus so you'd like to use that and need a script for U100 syringes with 1/2 unit markings. If the vet baulks at the Lantus, ask for a script for NPH (Novolin N) which is U-100 and the appropriate syringes as that insulin is far less costly than ProZinc. Hopefully the vet is willing to work WITH you to get Jasper the medication he needs even if it's not the vet's preferred type.
 
You can do it, the needle in the insulin syringes is really small, I know the first times you use it, it looks like a huge scary needle but really it isn't actually cat claws are far bigger and thicker so far worse and you know cats can really get rough in their playing with each other so the insulin shot is not really a big deal for them a lot of people even give the shoot while the cat is eating and most don't even notice.

Don't use the pen needle use the insulin syringes that will help you with the dosing
 
Jblue said:
we have a glucometer, i tested 3x , he was 362, 352, 366. I don't know how that translates to feline... i just read a forum post i can't find now that said it can be up to 200 higher than that?!


I am trying to find a cheaper vet because he is the highest I've heard around here, he's $85 and everyone else is like $65-67, not a lot for one visit but... these visits seem to keep coming up...

But all the ones i talked to today say they use prozinc, I didn't think to ask if they'd prescribe lantus but I was only dealing with the receptionists anyway and kept getting a lot of "i don't know you'll have to ask the doctor" :(
Click to expand...
You don’t have to translate to feline, the number is what the number is there’s about a 20% difference between pet and human, either way high is high and low is low
 
There is no way to convert feline to human glucometer readings or vice versa and the difference is neither a percentage nor a specific number of points. What we can say is that as a general rule is that the numbers will be closer at low level readings and further apart at higher readings. There is also meter variance that comes into play with both human and pet meters which only serves to further complicate any attempt to figure out equivalencies.
 
Has anyone heard from OP? Last post was Friday. I know I'm confused. She had 3 threads going. One talks about prozinc, one on lantus, then she is just going to start giving but as far as I know she doesn't know how much to give or how.

This is unsettling to say the least.
 
Olive & Paula said:
Has anyone heard from OP? Last post was Friday. I know I'm confused. She had 3 threads going. One talks about prozinc, one on lantus, then she is just going to start giving but as far as I know she doesn't know how much to give or how.

This is unsettling to say the least.
Click to expand...
Was wondering the same thing
 
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