New member with newly diabetic cat

[Robin&Cecil]

I have an eight year old male cat named Cecil. He was just recently diagnosed with diabetes. We unfortunately didn't see the signs until the neuropathy began to kick in, and he started to have difficulty with his back legs. I've been left feeling very bewildered. Our vet gave very little help. They did not instruct us on how to administer insulin. They still don't let people inside their offices because of Covid. We were prescribed Basaglar. At 300$s a bottle... We were given a coupon to lower the price to around 100$ or so, but it wasn't accepted. Our vet mentioned nothing about us monitoring glucose levels. Only that we were to bring him back in a month to have them run some tests. Is that normal? Everywhere online seems to say that you're supposed to be monitoring their blood sugar in order to correctly administer proper doses of insulin. I'm very afraid I'm going to overdose my best friend here without knowing his blood sugar levels beforehand. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome Robin and Cecil to the forum.
We can give you lots of help and support here. I will need to ask you some questions to gain some information first though.
That is a bummer having to pay $300 for the bottle of Basaglar….same as Lantus. There are other ways to buy this…I will tag @Diane Tyler's Mom as she lives in the US and can tell you.

• What dose of insulin was Cecil prescribed?
• Were you given the U100 3/10 30 or 31 gauge 6 or 8 mm insulin syringes with the 1/2 unit markings?
• Did the vet tell you to change to a wet low carb diet?

The normal routine with Basaglar is to test the blood glucose (BG), feed and then give the dose of insulin in that order. There is no need to wait in between each one. And if you are she he will eat, you can give the dose while he is eating. Basaglar does not onset ( start to work) for about 2 hours so you have time to make sure he eats before then.

We recommend you feed a good meal before the dose then give a couple of snacks of the low carb food during every cycle (each 12 hours).
It is better to give the snacks in the first half of the cycles when the insulin is strongest so maybe at +3 and +5 (3 and 5 hours after the shot).

We strongly recommend hometesting the BG as that is the only way to make sure Cecil is safe. It sounds scary but it is not and Cecil will very soon get used to it if you give him a treat every time you test. If you live in the US you can buy a ReliOn Premier meter for $9 from Walmart and a box of test strips for $17.88. You will also need a box of lancets….get size 26 or 28 gauge and some cotton rounds to hold behind the ear when testing and to hold on the prick afterwards for 10 seconds.

I’m going to give you some links to look at. Ask lots of questions and don’t expect to understand it all at once. It will take time and we are happy to help you with it and answer questions and support you.

HELP US HELP YOU links to spreadsheet, signature and hypo kit (very important) and other useful information.

HOMETESTING HINTS AND TIPS

Food chart

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

We were prescribed Basaglar. At 300$s a bottle... We were given a coupon to lower the price to around 100$ or so, but it wasn't accepted. Our

Welcome Robin and Cecil
Next time you need lantus you can get Semglee
Here is a coupon below
Just call any pharmacy to see if they have the 5 pens, they will last you a year or more
Type in where you live and you will see where you can buy it
Lantus is expensive if you live in the US
https://www.goodrx.com/semglee?dosa...rride=Semglee&quantity=1&sort_type=popularity
Semglee, it is a generic Lantus, and was approved by the FDA last June.
Some have their vet write the prescription as insulin glargine

You can also order from Canada ,many members do
https://canshipmeds.com/medication/lantus/

You can get Basaglar for 140.00 for 5 pens

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

After you are done with the vial
Here is how you would use the pen
Here is how you can use the pen you have to get the insulin out with the use of the insulin syringe I mentioned above.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

For the neuropathy, one capsule a day, open it up and sprinkle it in the LC wet food
It's tasteless , add water also
It took about a month and a half to see Tyler totally walking normal again
but each week or so I did see him improving
Getting the BG under control will help
https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-b-12-methylcobalamin-5000-mcg-100-capsules-6


If you need the U-100 syringes with half unit markings
https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/1316/surecomfort-u100-syringes-half-unit-31g-3-10cc-5-16in-100ct

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

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

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
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up

Here is a video one of our members did
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Try GoodRx for discounts of glargine insulin. See:
https://www.goodrx.com/semglee?dosa...rgine&quantity=1&sort_type=popularity
Note the price varies vy pharmacy and that the price frequenlty canges.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

Hi Robin and Cecil, I'm Kyle. Welcome to The Sugar Team. AKA The Diavengers, The Remissionaries, or The Best Club You Never Wanted To Join.

I am new to all this as well and my vet was pretty useless too.

It is very overwhelming, so much information to try and ingest and digest. Take a deep breath, give yourself a hug, and thank the universe that you found this place because these people are awesome. Literal Angels. They helped my buddy Hendrick tremendously, he is doing so much better and if all I had was the vet -- no way that would be the case.

I am in the US and just bought 5 pens of generic Lantus from Mike's Marine (canshipmeds.com) and I think it came to $169 with shipping. Prior to that, we were paying $150-180 for a single pen. Definitely worth checking out. Takes a couple weeks to arrive though.

Cecil has no idea how lucky he is that you found us! I'll see you around the forums, feel free to PM me if you want to ask a question privately just be warned I am only a couple months into all this.