Help Needed Switching from Vetsulin/Caninsulin to Lantus

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Rose

Rose

Member Since 2015
Hi!
Aggravating story short: Vet is writing a new prescription for Lantus. Currently we're on Vetsulin/Caninsulin and we're dosing 3 x a day, according to the Vetsulin/Caninsulin dose chart on this forum's sticky. (2 Vet recommendations of Vetsulin dosing are utterly useless).

Because of the 3 times daily I have not been able to utilize the forum's preferred spreadsheet for record keeping but will do so once I make the switch. I have attached a copy of the insulin notes I've been keeping.

I should have the Lantus in hand by nightfall. TheBowHuntress suggested I get the Savings Card for Lantus and I have that printed and ready to go to the pharmacy. Does the vet's prescription for Lantus need to be specific for the pen in order to get the pen, or will providing the Savings Card be all that's needed to have the pen? I truly want to not have to deal with the vet for a while so if it needs to be specific I would like to make sure I have that spelled out before leaving there. (Even that will be a battle, but I'm willing to go to war at this point.) I will get the 100 ml needles (with half marks if they have them).

I am of the understanding that Lantus is going to be twice a day and I'm wanting to set it up for 6:30/6:30. Should I stop giving her Vetsulin now (scheduled doses: 1:45 EST and then 9:45 EST) in preparation/cleanse before the switch or continue?

It goes without saying that I have far more trust in this forum than I do the vets (any of them), and am of the opinion that if they even use a Merck Veterinarian Manual it is only as a doorstop. So consider us putty in your hands and willing and ready to be molded into Insulin Super Ninjas. While my desire to do what's best for Zoey is what drives me, I now have the added fuel and purpose of proving to the "experts" that they're dead wrong about feline diabetes and shout it from the rooftops that there's a better way than what they learned in school.

And if they're deaf and won't hear me, then yes, I will use sign language and give them the finger.
 

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Just to avoid any trouble at the pharmacy, I personally asked for a specific prescription for one single Lantus Solostar pen. Some pharmacies said they could only break up the pack with a prescription, so I asked for that to be safe. The Target pharmacist also recommended www.goodrx.com where they have coupons and Target will generally price match the lowest price, if the Savings Card doesn't work for whatever reason! Good luck with the switch!!
 
:) Your post made me chuckle.

In the uk the prescription has to be very specific. I got the vet to write out 1 pack of five 3ml? cartridges (rather than the pen). It is a lot cheaper than in the uk.

Am not sure about the dosage or when to stop the vetsulin. You obviously want it to be completely out if the system prior to starting the lantus.

Have you looked at the tight regulation protocol and the start low go slow protocol? Any idea which one would best suit your situation. How much does Zooey weigh?

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-levemir-tight-regulation-protocol.1581/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-levemir-start-low-go-slow-method-slgs.129446/

Maybe @Chris & China, @Wendy&Neko , @Marje and Gracie , @julie & punkin (ga) could advise
 
Rose said:
Insulin Super Ninjas
Click to expand...

laughing!

Your prescription has to be for either the Solostar pens or the vial. Most people want the pens. They come in a 5-pack and some pharmacies will break up the pack and sell one pen, most won't. There's no rhyme or reason to who will/won't. You just have to call around and beg if you want to just buy one.

How long in between probably is going to depend upon the blood sugar. Wendy has switched from Caninsulin to Lantus to Levemir. Caninsulin doesn't have a depot like Lantus, so you don't need an extraordinary length of time, but you want to know the caninsulin action has waned and it's not going lower before you give the first lantus shot.

There is a ton of information on the Lantus/Lev support group. If you've mastered the initial work of shooting and testing, please feel free to post there for help from this point on. Here is a post that will help you find your way around the massive quantity of information there.

Welcome to the forum - and GAME ON Insulin Super Ninja! :D You're going to do just fine!
 
Is there ever anything easy? Ever?!

I picked up the script and went to Walgreen's with script and Lantus Savings Card in hand. Prepared (and excited) to pay 25.00 for a pen (even if I had to buy five at a time, that's $125.00). Walgreen's tells me that the prescription is regularly $400.00 and that the Savings Card allows me to save up to 100.00 and the cost will be $300.00. Does that even sound correct? If that's what we have to pay, so be it; but I need to research that cost before I just shell it over. If anyone is using the Lantus Savings Card, or any other coupons/discounts, I am interested in knowing the how-to's.

I'm continuing on the Vetsulin until I have three days I can put aside to make the switch and follow the tight schedule protocol for Lantus. I have commitments on Monday and Tuesday that will prevent me from doing the recommended testing so it will be Wednesday before I can make the switch. I'm going to use these upcoming days to try and find the best price and read up on the new information being sent to me.

I'm going to post this on the other thread I have going.

Thanks for the help and encouragement you guys! :)
 
$400 sounds like the cost of the 5 pack (80/pen is about what I paid). I would ask them to specify if it was for one pen or the entire pack. The Walgreens by me would not break the packs up and said they thought it was a corporate policy. Target and CVS would, but CVS was over $100 for a single. Make sure your prescription said one single pen!
 
We couldn't find anyone to break open a box of 5 and sell us just one either Rose...what they're telling you is that you'll need to buy the whole package of 5 and you'll get $25 off each of 4 pens for a total of $100 off.

There's no way I could afford what they're charging so I went looking in Canada and found a great pharmacy. Look at the last post on "Insulin from Canadian Pharmacies" for more information

You can get the entire 5 pack for $133.99 plus shipping!
 
Hello and welcome to the "let's ditch the dog insulin and get one for cats" club. :joyful: I kept asking if Caninsulin was the right insulin, and lucked out when I got a locum vet who got Neko started on Lantus and pointed me to FDMB (which I had already been lurking). We just stopped Caninsulin one day and started Lantus the next. The day before you are ready to start Lantus, post in the Lantus/Lev forum and ask for assistance on a starting dose. We look at the cats current and ideal weight, and also consider the dose of the previous insulin. One of the many benefits of Lantus vs. Caninsulin is that the syringe needle sizes are smaller. Both Neko and I appreciated that. You want the U100 syringes with half unit markings.
 
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