New member and confusion over Lantus storage

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Allycat

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Good morning Everyone, :smile:

We wanted to introduce ourselves and seek some advice.
We have an adorable tabby Tesla, he is 14 and has been diabetic for almost 4 years. We were originally started on PZI and when that was discontinued we moved onto Vetsulin, which we will run out of in 2 weeks.
We have been prescribed the vial of Lantus and after going to the pharmacy we see that its only good for 28 days. I called our vet and at first they told us it was only good for 28 days, then when I asked if there was an alternative due to cost and to waste, they said it was fine to keep for up to 6 months.
I just dont feel comfortable with this info.
The dosing was prescribed at 1.5 units twice a day and Tesla weight 11.5 pounds. We have never tested him at home for blood glucose, he has his 6 month fructosimine
tests, but had not had a blood curve since diagnosis.

hospitalization was suggested by our vet for the first 3 days, but not recommended due to stress and she said it was best to start him at home and watch for signs of Hypoglycemia. I am not working for 6 weeks so will be able to be here 24 hours to monitor him. She mentioned remission was possible also. This all sounds very scary and more complicated than previous insulin changes.

I feel like I should really be more informed and look at home testing and would appreciate any advice you can give. This site has been so amazing over the years and when we were first diagnosed it kept us sane and got us through all the fears and concerns.

We also lost our two other kitty babies in the last 6 months, one to Kidney failure and one to lung cancer so its been tough. We want to do whats best for our Tesla and not put his precious life at risk with the wrong next move. Is it time to find a new vet and get a second opinion or deal with someone more experienced with diabetes? The practice has been good to us but they are increasingly busy and I worry that they are losing attention to detail.

Thank you all so much
 
Welcome to Lantus Land. First off, my condolences over your losses, I know its a difficult time.

I buy a package of 5 smaller Lantus cartridges and keep them in the fridge, in the crisper section. It extends the life of the insulin. Some people claim their insulin lasts the whole 6 months, others say it starts to loose potency. I've switched after 2 months.

Please learn to hometest, it's not as scary as it sounds and you'll know how your cat is doing. Everyone here is very nice and extremely helpful.
Good luck!
 
First thing, don't get a big 10ml vial; get the package of 5 cartridges. The count down does not begin until your first use of a cartridge.
There is an expiry date on the package, something like Dec 2011, or whatever. That's the date for the unopened cartridges. You don't have all that waste when you are using only a 3ml cartridge.
For sure to store all in the frig - there is a temp range on the pack, I have a frig thermometer and keep the package close by it to be sure it stays in range.

As for the life of the one you are currently using, I think my first vial lasted about 30-ish days and my numbers started to creep up. The first question I was asked on this board was "how old in your vial?" Silly me, I don't read things like inserts LOL. When I switched to a new container, this time the smaller cartridge, that very first shot gave better numbers.

I know there are some that use their containers of Lantus for much longer, so the 28-day mark is just the point where it's sort of guaranteed to have its original potency. After that time, well, you could be pushing it.

Someone posted around here the other day about people sharing the cost of a package, especially if you are on a microdose or almost OTJ; maybe someone can pick up on that idea with you.

You are definitely in the right place, so you are going to find people who can help you get all set up and let's see if we can get Tesla to that remission place.

You will need to set up a spreadsheet, so that you can record all of your BG test results. In order for you and other people to see how things are going with Tesla.
It really is easy peasy, so don't you worry about home testing being tough to learn and do, it's not. And you won't need to waste a single cent on any vet visits for testing and that fructosamine test. All that test is is an average over the last little while of Tesla's BG. When you are home testing, you will see immediately what's going on! The others here can let you know what meters they use for testing, but I use the One Touch Ultra and the mini; just go to your pharmacy and look at the meters they sell for humans. Honest; it's easy peasy.

You should set up a profile that has all the info about your kitty, just so people don't go asking the same stuff over and over and over. Ugh it's a pain.

I think that starting at a dose of 1.5u Lantus BID is a bit high; most kitties start at maybe 1u BID or even less, just to see how they handle it but since you are already giving insulins, it would depend on the dose you are giving right now and then it would be easier to say what would be a good dose of Lantus for the transition.

There are lots of stickys full of info for you to read, like the one which tells you what to have ready in a Hypo kit, just in case Tesla goes too low. Since you are not needing to switch immediately, it is great to get all set up and practice some home testing and then plan the big day to switch.
For sure take a look at the protocol so that you understand why people say what they do around here. Just remember : Start low. Go slow. If you give too little insulin, fine. You can always give more the next time. If you give too much, you have problems, and Lantus is much longer lasting in the body than what you have been using.

I am at work so I don't have all the links for the above to give you here, so if the others have not posted the links I have, I'll add them in here later for you.
You can click on the links to the spreadsheets and profiles for my two kitties to see what kind of info I put and how I record their numbers - ask any questions you like.

And finally, Welcome! In no time flat, you will feel so much better and Tesla will too!
 
Welcome to Lantus Land.

An unopened vial or cartridge/pen of Lantus will last until the expiration date on the package. This could be 2 years from now providing you store the Lantus properly in the refrigerator. Once opened, the manufacturer's recommendation is that you not use the Lantus beyond 28 days. However, people here get variable amounts of life out of their insulin. In the German Lantus forum (the parallel group to here), members note that they've gotten up to 6 mos. from a vial. Most of us do not get that duration. The majority of people use cartridges or pens since there is less waste than with a vial especially if you aren't able to get more than a month of use. Most places do not sell single cartridges/pens so the initial investment is greater than for a vial - it costs about double. However, if you call around, you may find places that sell single units (e.g., a university med center pharmacy is a good possiblity).

Lantus does take some work to use and the front end of the learning curve can be overwhelming. We've all been there and we're all here to help. Please keep those questions coming!

And again, welcome to you and Tesla.
 
Thanks so much to you all for such a quick response! I feel at ease already.
I will get the profile page started today so that all the info is on here as recommended, thank you.
I also watched a video on you tube this morning demonstrating home testing and feel a bunch better, seeing its just a little prick to the ear.... phewww !

I have not yet opened the vial of lantus so I called the pharmacy about the cartridges and they do have them. She told me however that I cant use my new U100 needles with the cartridges and I need stick pen needles..... ??
Everything I have read here and online says I CAN use the needles, inserted into the rubber stopper like the vial? So I plan on going to return/exchange for the cartridges today so that I will have them ready to go after I get started on the home testing.
Please correct me if I am wrong.

Tesla is on 2 units am,pm of Vetsulin U40 right now by the way, but will get his full info set up on the spreadsheet.

Thanks to you all again.... I feel more confident now about getting started. I look forward to sharing more with you all.
:smile:
 
nope, you don't need the pens!
I just put the needle from the syringe directly into the top of the cartridge.
 
I don't use pens, you can use needles with the cartridges.
Try getting needles with 1/2 unit markings, it will make your life easier when trying to find the right dose.
 
Hi and welcome,
You have found the absolute best place to be for help treating your kittie's FD.

I don't know where you live or if you need a prescription for the needles too.... but I would suggest getting the U100 needles with half unit markings if you haven't already.
That helped me tremendously when I had to measure insulin in .50 or .25 or lower doses.

Glad you'll be hometesting!! It really is a lifesaver... literally! And after a short while, it becomes routine for you and your furbaby.
If you have a hard time with it, post here and there will be plenty of people to help you.
 
welcome to Lantus Land!

Do you have any numbers from Vetsulin or PZI? That will help determine whether Tesla needs to start over at 1 unit or if maybe a slightly higher dose would be ok.
 
Allycat said:
I have not yet opened the vial of lantus so I called the pharmacy about the cartridges and they do have them. She told me however that I cant use my new U100 needles with the cartridges and I need stick pen needles..... ??
Everything I have read here and online says I CAN use the needles, inserted into the rubber stopper like the vial? So I plan on going to return/exchange for the cartridges today so that I will have them ready to go after I get started on the home testing.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Click to expand...

I would very strongly advocate against NOT using the stick pen needles. Those dial up a particular dose and shoot it through a mini needle. Less waste. BUT- with the small doses we use here, it's HIGHLY inaccurate. You might want to mention that to your vet for future reference. I did a test when I couldn't figure out why Vesta wasn't moving at all on 2units, and we found it was shooting about 1/2 what we thought (2 units was 1unit). Pretty bad! Plus, you can only dial full units that way, and the protocol we use doses in .25u increments.
 
Thank you again everyone,
I now have the 1/2 unit needles U100's and have exchanged the vial for the cartridges.

We are going to start the Lantus next week as I will be off work to monitor him . Tesla's last fructosamine numbers Test in April results were 227 (usa we are in SC)
We are still working on all the info for the profile page, to better help with questions, thanks to all who have answered and listened, after 4 years I feel like we are starting all over again! But I know it will be ok, we will do whatever it takes for him to be healthy and happy :-)
 
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