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penny

Member Since 2011
HI,
I am new to this all! My cat, Thomas, was just diagnosed today. I am freaking out about the cost and managing the insulin, etc. I just spent $118 for one vial of Lantus and the pharmacist said I am supposed to discard it after 28 days. I'll be throwing away most of the vial at the end of the month. I don't know how I am going to afford this. Is it possible to use the insulin past the 28 day expiration. HELP!

Penny
 
Welcome, Penny & Thomas!

i will let other, more experienced members address your question in more depth...but most of us use the pens or cartridges...and many folks...myself included, get much more than 28 days of use.

you've found a great place for help...great knowledge and support to be had here!

celi & binks

edited to add: where are you located? the us prices differ from the canadian, of course...but lantus solostar pens generally come in packs of 5 ...price varies...but the 28 day countdown starts when you breach the seal, and you get 5 3ml pens...as opposed to 100ml vial
 
Hiya Penny & Thomas :YMHUG:
Please read the stickies at the top of the message board and print out so you can have on hand when needed
It all seems overwhelming in the beginning, but this is a very treatable disease & we are all here to help you, ask tons of questions & you will get tons of answers.
I wanted to drop through to support & encourage you & provide you some links to assist you with managing this ;-)

Home Testing Site

Home Testing Video

Here is some wonderful information on feline nutrition too, is Thomas on dry or canned? Feline Nutrition

Also..... if you can find a new pharmacy (try a hospital outpatient pharmacy) who will sell 1 Lantus Pen at a time (most will) then that is only about $50 a month AND good news.. I have a coupon.. for $25 off the 1st RX which is why I suggested finding a new pharmacy for the next refill.. here you go Lantus Coupon

**To answer your question re: 28 days.. a lot of people keep using theirs until their #s fizzle out... I am one who does throw mine out after 30 days because I want to leave nothing to chance.. completely your call.. do familiarize yourself with the proper handling by reading this Lantus Handling

Im sure I have forgotten a lot, but I have given some info to get started with & Welcome to a furfabulous community!
 
Welcome to Lantus Land. I joined at the end of October really overwhelmed too. The gang here is seriously amazing. It is a steep learning curve but you will have a ton of support. Read the files more than once lol. It makes sense as you go along and ask questions.

Because we did home testing and got support from the board here we avoided a fortune in vet costs. We do our own curve, not paying the vet to do it (cats are too stressed out at the vets for it to be accurate anyhoo). Maverick is down from 1.0 units to .25 units twice a day and is maybe going to be off insulin completely soon thanks to this Lantus forum. The vet wanted to start him out on 2.0 units which was way too high.

Its a lot to take in. But it will all come together. A lot of people get a lot more than 28 days out of their vial. Just keep it in the fridge. There is info on this in the stickies I believe. We also bought the cartridges.

Are you in Canada or the US? What meter did you buy?
 
Welcome to Lantus Land.

What you are confronting with Lantus use is the manufacturer's recommendation vs. real life. The manufacturer and, as a result, pharmacists recommend that any unused insulin be discarded after 28 days. It doesn't matter if this is a 10 ml vial or the 3 ml Solostar pen. Members of the counterpart of this forum in Germany often get up to 6 mos. from their Lantus and there are members here who get significantly longer than 28 days. Part of the longevity of your insulin depends on how well you care for it.
  • Keep your Lantus refrigerated, preferably not on the door where it's subject to the greatest variation in temperature.
  • Do not shake, roll or allow your cat to play hockey with the bottle. Lantus is in solution and does not need to be mixed by rolling. It is also a fragile type of insulin.
  • Do not allow the insulin to freeze
  • If the insulin has "floaties" or any kind of particle, get new Lantus.
The vials are a bit easier to care for than the pens. The pens are more cost effective, especially since most of us do not realistically use a vial for 6 mos. (I'm another person who discards after 30 days.) There is more information in the starred, sticky note at the top of the board on caring for your Lantus/Levemir.
 
Hi Penny,
Welcome to you and Thomas! I use the vial of Lantus and have used it for three months with no problem, and Maggie's numbers weren't wacky. Just be very careful with it, never roll it, keep refrigerated, etc. I'm not telling you to use yours for three months, but I have done so with no problem. The others have given you good advice on the Lantus pen. Ask a lot of questions.
 
Hi Penny,

Welcome to you and Thomas. I too use Lantus and have been using the same vial for over a month now. There are also more economical ways to do it with the pen and cartridges but I will allow the experts speak to that. The fellow FDMB members are VERY helpful and VERY knowledgeable! You can post any concern and will most likely receive several responses the same day if not within minutes! As said by others, this is very manageable and in some cases reversible. I was a hot mess when my cat was first diagnosed but thanks to the support of this group, my kitty is doing great! Hang in there. Help is just a click away.

gwen and cinnamon
 
Welcome Penny and Thomas! You've found the right place to help you deal with all this! The folks here are the absolute best! My Muffin was dx 6/30/10 and with the help and guidance of the people here, she went OTJ 11/5/10. So we are not here daily any longer, but we do check in often still, as this is our family. Just wanted to stop in and say hello and we used our vial much longer than 28 days.
 
Welcome Penny and Thomas!!! You will find all the support you could possibly need here and a ton of information. The important thing is get your spreadsheet ready (it's easy to do), do a daily condo, and ask tons of questions.

Here is the info on the Spreadsheets:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207&start=0

If you need any help, please let us know.

We each do one "condo" or thread daily. So tomorrow, you can open up a "new topic" in Lantus land by pressing the button with that title. In the subject line, you would put the following info: month/date, kitty name, AMPS and then enter your preshot number. You can write a well cat report (WCR) to us in the large text box...we each try to do this each day so everyone knows how the kitty is doing by assessing the "5Ps": purring, preening, pooping, playing, and peeing. When you are done, click "submit". After you take the next test, go back to the same condo and click on it, go to your first posting of the day, click "edit" and then add the new number in the subject line and then click "submit". As an example, it might look like this: 1/4 Thomas AMPS 212 +2 190. If you want to write something to us, then you'll have to click on your condo and then click on "post reply". For the evening, we go back into the subject line as stated above, take out the day's info, and put in the PM info. So you would reopen your condo, go to first post of the day, click edit, delete "AMPS" and everything after it, and start again with PMPS.

Let us know if you have any questions...you might want to scroll through some of our condos to see how we do it. Welcome..it's overwhelming but you'll get it!!
 
Hi Penny & Thomas and welcome!

This is a great place to be to learn how to deal with Feline Diabetes. The people here are very knowledgeable and very compassionate. You will have a lot to learn very quickly and it will seem overwhelming, but stay with it and it will begin to make sense. Please tell us about Thomas so that those who are more expert among us will be able to evaluate him properly. They will want to know: how old is he; what does he weigh; what are you feeding him; does he have other health issues, etc. What dose of Lantus did your vet prescribe? (very important for us here to know this).
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Someone will always be along to answer and give advice.
Start your reading with the "New to the Group" informational "sticky" (the starred posts at the top of the Lantus forum). Tons of information here.

Welcome to Lantus Land!

Ella & Rusty
 
Hi And welcome aboard! You've found a great place here, with very helpful, caring and knowledgeable people. You've received alot of information already so I won't add to that. Read the sticky notes at the top of the board, they are very helpful, and will answer alot of the basic questions. I too used the vial, and could get alot more than just 28 days from one vial.

Welcome aboard, and I hope we see you post often! :-D
 
Hi Penny, and welcome to Lantus Land! :) You've come to the right place, and you're going to find a lot of wonderful people on here to help you.

I had a vial that lasted from July 25, until it finally petered out on November 14. The only key that let me on to the fact that it wasn't working was because Blackie's #'s kept rising after her shot that day. Thankfully, there was only a shot and a bit left in the vial, so it wasn't a total waste to throw it away.

However, do read those stickies at the top as they do provide you with a lot of useful information. :)

Again, welcome! :) You've certainly come to the right place. :)
 
pp_greet_100.gif


hello and welcome! you've already been given some good advice to read the stickies at the top of this forum starting with
LANTUS & LEVEMIR - NEW TO THE GROUP?.

since you're new to the FDMB, you'll want to introduce yourself and your kitty on the Health Forum: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=28. Health is where you'll receive a proper welcome from our members as well as help with learning how to hometest and the basics of feline nutrition and diabetes.

hope to see you posting often! :-D
 
Hi Penny, and welcome!

I'm a newbie here too, with a newly diagnosed cat. I can't say enough positive things about the good people here. They're knowledgeable, kind, and selfless in the help and support they give.

My vet told me that if I refrigerate the Lantus, I ought to be able to keep it for six months, regardless of what the manufacturer says. Vet also told me that ought to be enough to dose my cat (1 unit per day) for about six months. You might want to talk to your vet about this. But from what I've heard from other people who've used Lantus for their cats, it seems most of them get many more months out of it by treating it carefully and keeping it in the fridge.
 
Welcome to lantus land--As you can see we are a very closely knit group, and we are dedicated to helping our FD cats & making them well--
It is so Scary at first, but believe me we have all been where you are--I buy my lantus in the solo star pens, and you get 5 for about $100.00 from canadian pharmacies--I thought I couldnt afford this either, but been here for almost 3 yrs & my cat is well & happy--
Just listen, ask qusetions, and READ the Stickys--You have much to learn, but I know you love your cat & will do this for him...
Overwhelmed, confused, helpless--We all understand, as we have all been there--Just be calm & patient- it will be alright!
 
Welcome! I see you have gotten a lot of great advice/websites to check out .. so I'll just say this is the best place for you to be while dealing with FD ..
 
Welcome to LL and you have already been given lots of good advice so Do Lou and I are just going to say Hi and hope to see you posting soon there is so much help on this board cat_pet_icon
 
just adding my welcome to the board as well. Take a deep breath, I know how scary the whole process is at the begining but the people here will be tons of help and give you alot of support.
 
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