New-Please help broke insulin bottle

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DebbieQ

Member Since 2021
Hi there!

This is my first post and I planned on writing an longer intro and will later, but need help ASAP! My husband broke the bottle of ProZinc insulin this morning so cat hasn’t had his morning insulin. Of course it’s a Sunday and my vet doesn’t have an emergency line and just says to call the emergency vets which we did, but they will only give us more of his insulin if we bring him in. Last week he did a glucose curve at the vets all day and he was so scared and stressed that he groomed his foot bloody. I really don’t want to have to take him in and put him through unneeded
stress. He just went up taking 2ml twice a day. He started that dosage this past Wed. Before he was on 1ml twice a day. We don’t home test as our vet told us that it’s not usually accurate etc. But thinking his numbers at the bet aren’t accurate either cause of his stress levels. Is it ok to wait until Monday when our vet’s office opens or do we really need to take him in to a new place to get an exam in order to get new insulin now? If we wait until Monday that means he will miss 3 doses which was this mornings dose and he will also miss tonight’s and tomorrow mornings so 3 doses will be missed! Obviously if a emergency or thought he wasn’t doing well, we wouldn’t hesitate to bring him in, but if not necessary because of his stress level and our financial situation. Please help! I’m not sure what to do!
 
Where are you located? There may be a member who can share some insulin with you until you get a new vial.

When you get the new vial, place it in a pill bottle and wrap cotton on a napkin around the vial so it fits snug inside. To use it you only need to remove the cap from the pill bottle. Make sure the lip of the vial sits lower than the lip of pill bottle. This will help protect the vial if it is dropped.
 
I would call Chewy's and see if they have the capability of sending you insulin via overnight mail. It may end up costing as much as a visit to the emergency vet -- although I would check with the emergency vet to see if they are only going to give one shot or if they will dispense a vial. The hassle with Chewy's is that they will likely want a prescription. If the vet dispensed the Prozinc, there's no prescription you can send them.

The reality is that there is likely not a single member here who hasn't given a fur shot (e.g., the needle went in one side and out the other and the insulin squirted into the wall vs into the cat) or had to skip a shot.

FWIW, while home testing may be initially stressful, most cats become accustomed to the process and will often gladly jump to their testing spot purring the entire time. If you associate testing and treats, they catch on. In addition, they learn that what you're doing helps them to feel better. Testing also helps us to feel better. It gives you greater control over what's going on with your cat's response to insulin and lets you know if numbers are too low to shoot or if you need to intervene to bring mid-cycle numbers into a safe range.
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
Where are you located? There may be a member who can share some insulin with you until you get a new vial.

When you get the new vial, place it in a pill bottle and wrap cotton on a napkin around the vial so it fits snug inside. To use it you only need to remove the cap from the pill bottle. Make sure the lip of the vial sits lower than the lip of pill bottle. This will help protect the vial if it is dropped.
Click to expand...

I’m located in Florida. Indian River County.
Thanks for advice on how to store the vial better to avoid this happening again! Will definitely do that!
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
I would call Chewy's and see if they have the capability of sending you insulin via overnight mail. It may end up costing as much as a visit to the emergency vet -- although I would check with the emergency vet to see if they are only going to give one shot or if they will dispense a vial. The hassle with Chewy's is that they will likely want a prescription. If the vet dispensed the Prozinc, there's no prescription you can send them.

The reality is that there is likely not a single member here who hasn't given a fur shot (e.g., the needle went in one side and out the other and the insulin squirted into the wall vs into the cat) or had to skip a shot.

FWIW, while home testing may be initially stressful, most cats become accustomed to the process and will often gladly jump to their testing spot purring the entire time. If you associate testing and treats, they catch on. In addition, they learn that what you're doing helps them to feel better. Testing also helps us to feel better. It gives you greater control over what's going on with your cat's response to insulin and lets you know if numbers are too low to shoot or if you need to intervene to bring mid-cycle numbers into a safe range.
Click to expand...
Yes, we did look into Chewy and since our vet dispensed the vile, unfortunately we don’t have a prescription. We do have the box the vial was in with the rx number etc which is why we were hoping an emergency vet or another vet that was open today might let us since we had that, but all say he must been seen. He gets his insulin at 6:30am and 6:30pm and since our vet doesn’t open until 8am that would mean he’d miss 3 doses in a row. Unless one of us gets to the vets right as it opens and tomorrow morning then maybe he can tomorrow mornings dose 2 hours late? Or is that not advisable? Really not wanting to stress him out more after last week’s curve was so hard on him. He was on 1 ml twice a day for 3 weeks and then 2ml twice a day for about a half of a week so far up until this mornings accident with the bottle. Think we can wait until tomorrow morning?

And yes, I’m definitely wanting to learn how to monitor his numbers myself despite what the vet says.
 
I understand the rationale for a vet wanting to see your kitty! It's a liability issue.

If there's a way to leave a voice mail or e-mail for your vet, it's likely that someone will be in early and check the calls. Hopefully, if they do, they can have the insulin waiting for you.

Lisa's suggestion is a good option. How about opening another thread with something in the title indicating what area you're in and that you're looking for some Prozinc. I'd also duplicate the post on the Prozinc forum.

Prozinc is a bit more forgiving than other insulin. Shooting late isn't the problem. The PM shot will be due 12-hours later. You can walk the time back either by 30 min once a day or by 15 min with each shot. If you don't have any flexibility with shot time, that could be a problem.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
I understand the rationale for a vet wanting to see your kitty! It's a liability issue.

If there's a way to leave a voice mail or e-mail for your vet, it's likely that someone will be in early and check the calls. Hopefully, if they do, they can have the insulin waiting for you.

Lisa's suggestion is a good option. How about opening another thread with something in the title indicating what area you're in and that you're looking for some Prozinc. I'd also duplicate the post on the Prozinc forum.

Prozinc is a bit more forgiving than other insulin. Shooting late isn't the problem. The PM shot will be due 12-hours later. You can walk the time back either by 30 min once a day or by 15 min with each shot. If you don't have any flexibility with shot time, that could be a problem.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I just left a voice message for my vet so hopefully they’ll have it ready first thing in the morning when they open. I will also make other posts like you suggested. Thanks again!
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
Where are you located? There may be a member who can share some insulin with you until you get a new vial.

When you get the new vial, place it in a pill bottle and wrap cotton on a napkin around the vial so it fits snug inside. To use it you only need to remove the cap from the pill bottle. Make sure the lip of the vial sits lower than the lip of pill bottle. This will help protect the vial if it is dropped.
Click to expand...
Why did it take 2 months for me to learn this? Thanks so much!!!
I just wrapped my vial in a little baby bunting using two makeup removal cotton rounds, taped at top and bottom as well so it cannot slip out.
 
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DebbieQ said:
Yes, we did look into Chewy and since our vet dispensed the vile, unfortunately we don’t have a prescription.
Click to expand...
Yes, Chewy's will not accept an emailed copy of my vet's prescription either. CS told me they HAVE to phone my vet with each refill.

Good for you on testing at home.
Our ex-vet did not discourage it, but did not suggest or encourage it either. I learned it was possible on FDMB.
 
Ann & Sister said:
Yes, Chewy's will not accept an emailed copy of my vet's prescription either. CS told me they HAVE to phone my vet with each refill.

Good for you on testing at home.
Our ex-vet did not discourage it, but did not suggest or encourage it either. I learned it was possible on FDMB.
Click to expand...
Yes I haven’t started testimg myself yet as I also just learned that it’s best to do, but I will try to figure it out soon! It will definitely give me more piece of mind.
 
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