Newly dx'd cat. Lantus or Prozinc?

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SamsonsMom

SamsonsMom

Member Since 2017
Hi all, my 9 yr old male was dx'd yesterday and thankfully I found this site a few minutes afterwards - thanks in advance for the wealth of info and advice! Basic question re: insulin: my vet is recommending either Lantus OR Prozinc (my choice) starting at one unit 2x/day. The Prozinc is significantly cheaper and she said it's my choice since they're both the long-acting type. I'm a freelance journalist without much additional income lying around so I'm inclined towards the Prozinc. Do people have any strong thoughts on this?

Also, do y'all buy your insulin online or get it from you vet or...? Thanks!
 
SamsonsMom said:
Hi all, my 9 yr old male was dx'd yesterday and thankfully I found this site a few minutes afterwards - thanks in advance for the wealth of info and advice! Basic question re: insulin: my vet is recommending either Lantus OR Prozinc (my choice) starting at one unit 2x/day. The Prozinc is significantly cheaper and she said it's my choice since they're both the long-acting type. I'm a freelance journalist without much additional income lying around so I'm inclined towards the Prozinc. Do people have any strong thoughts on this?

Also, do y'all buy your insulin online or get it from you vet or...? Thanks!
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Cost:

ProZinc is a U40 insulin which means its concentration is 40 units of active insulin in each mL of solution. It comes in a 10 mL vial which is a total of 400 units of insulin. The cost is around $100 to $130 per 10 mL vial. The vial should be good for at least 2 months and the doses you give Samson will determine the rate of consumption.

Lantus is a U100 insulin so it's more concentrated - 100 units of insulin per mL of solution. It comes in a 10 mL vial - a total of 1000 units of insulin - for anywhere from $300 to $500 per vial in the US. You're not likely to get to the end of it before it loses its potency. It's also available in a 5-pack of 3 mL insulin "pens", a total of 1500 mL. This is the better option because the unused pens can last until their expiry date if properly refrigerated (up to 2 years). Many US folks buy it online from a reputable Canadian pharmacy, Marks Marine Pharmacy in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The price of a pen pack, shipped, is under $200.

How they work:

ProZinc is slower in onset and longer in duration the Novolin or Vetsulin. It's an "in-and-out" insulin, meaning that the dose is gone after 12 hours. It's more forgiving in that you have a little flexibility with dose timing (up to + or - an hour away from a 12/12 schedule is OK). It also lends itself to more frequent dose changes if that's needed.

Lantus is a depot insulin, meaning that a part of every dose is stored in a depot under the skin and this depot acts rather like a time release mechanism. It should allow more evenness in insulin concentration in the bloodstream over the time between doses. It can work very well in many cats. It works best with a high degree of consistency in dose timing (every 12 hours with little wiggle room) and doses have to be held anywhere from three days to a week.

I hope this helps. :)
 
Thank you! Sounds like the Prozinc is a little more forgiving, and cheaper, so I'll opt for that pending additional input. Thanks again!
 
SamsonsMom said:
Thank you! Sounds like the Prozinc is a little more forgiving, and cheaper, so I'll opt for that pending additional input. Thanks again!
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Another good thing about ProZinc is that you'll learn how to figure out dosing for yourself over time (and with our help! ;)). Lantus has a set of guidelines outlined on that forum which people follow and they find it (can) take away some of the guesswork. However, some people have difficulty building their own confidence level when doing that.
 
SamsonsMom said:
Hi Kris, do you get your insulin from the vet or order online? what do most users here do? Thanks!
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When Teasel was on ProZinc I bought it from my vet at $125 CAD per vial - same as US price. There might be online pet pharmacies in the US where you can buy ProZinc a little cheaper. In Ontario, Canada, I'm able to buy Lantus OTC and much cheaper. I pay $125 CAD for a 5 pack of pen cartridges in a human pharmacy. That's much cheaper than I'd pay at my vet's for Lantus.
 
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