Humilin or Lantus

[mccat2]

Hi:
I have a 17 year old cat that is a transient diabetic. He was on Humilin last year and went into hypo in November. Haven't had him on insulin since. His readings were in the low 100's after that. He has severe irritable bowel treated recently with a short acting prednisone shot and budesonide. His bg has gone up the the 200 level and tonight he was at 350 bg. However he went blind on Friday, saw a specialist today now he is on bp meds as well as bude and flagyl for the diarrhea.
What are your thoughts on the better insulin. If I recall I chose humilin due to the lower cost last. I need to start the insulin again as I believe he is getting neuropathy. He lost balance in his hind legs last night and the vet visionary specialist doesn't think it is the blindness.
My poor baby.

Thanks,

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Vicki

So sorry Sampson has to be back on insulin. Lantus and Levemir are gentle insulins; they are slow acting and long duration (12 hours). Humulin is a fast acting, short duration insulin. Humulin is cheaper but it's also harsher and, if I recall, can make a kitty more prone to hypo. Quite a few of our folks with kitties that have been diabetic a while started on humulin and moved to lantus or levemir. The big difference between lantus and lev is that lev typically has a much later nadir....around +11 instead of somewhere mid-cycle like lantus. Also, if a kitty is getting a big dose, lev doesn't sting like lantus. Smaller doses don't seem to matter.

You can buy both lantus/levemir in pens; sometimes you can get them singly at a local hospital that will do outpatient meds. We don't have any here so I buy the 5-pack (3 mls each) of lantus at Costco. It runs about $200.
Vials are about $110 for 10mls but you'll throw alot more away unless he's a big doser.

You can give him methylB12 (xobaline) for his neuropathy. You can get the Life Link[xobaline made for cats on amazon. Here is a link:

Xobaline

You can also google Life Link xobaline and check out the Life Link website...sometimes it's cheaper than Amazon.

Good luck and please let us know what you decide to do. We'd love to have you in lantus land where there is tons of support and all the help you'll ever need with lantus/levemir.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If you take a look at Hefner/Karrie's condo from today, there's also a discussion regarding Humulin N (NPH) going on there. N is a short-to-intermediate acting insulin that is known for it's harsh drops. There are better types of insulin available although you are correct, N is inexpensive compared to Lantus or Levemir. My vet, who's a feline specialist, will not use N -- she doesn't believe it's a good insulin for cats.

 

[CD and BigMac]

I used Levemir for my kitty and really like it. For us, the nadir was usually around 7 to 8 hours after the shot. It is very similar to Lantus as Marjorie pointed out.

I highly recommend either Lantus or Levemir instead of NPH.

Good luck with your decision.