PSA: Lantus SoloStar pen shortages in certain areas

Seth&Bell

Seth&Bell

Member Since 2024
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I live in central Illinois and had a "fun" day trying to track down a refill for Bell's insulin. The tech at Walgreen's told me that none of the stores in my area had any of the pens. He recommended I try less frequented pharmacies to try and locate the meds. He wasn't confident on the timeline for resupply - the system was showing late August/early September. I called Walgreens, CVS, all the various grocery store pharmacies, Walmart, Costco, local wellness pharmacies. None had the pens. Walmart had vials. Some didn't have any timeline on resupply, others were showing August/Sept.

I finally got lucky with Sam's Club. The pharmacist there said she saw this coming and ordered extra.

Just wanted to get this out there to folks. I'm not sure the extent of the area this impacts, but I would advise being proactive and giving yourself plenty of extra time to track down your next refill.
 
Seth&Bell said:
Article

I live in central Illinois and had a "fun" day trying to track down a refill for Bell's insulin. The tech at Walgreen's told me that none of the stores in my area had any of the pens. He recommended I try less frequented pharmacies to try and locate the meds. He wasn't confident on the timeline for resupply - the system was showing late August/early September. I called Walgreens, CVS, all the various grocery store pharmacies, Walmart, Costco, local wellness pharmacies. None had the pens. Walmart had vials. Some didn't have any timeline on resupply, others were showing August/Sept.

I finally got lucky with Sam's Club. The pharmacist there said she saw this coming and ordered extra.

Just wanted to get this out there to folks. I'm not sure the extent of the area this impacts, but I would advise being proactive and giving yourself plenty of extra time to track down your next refill.
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Glad you located the pens!! Now I'm curious as to why the pharmacist said she saw this coming.🤔
Thanks for helping folks out with this, Seth. Jude uses the vials. I know I should switch to the pens, but I've just not gone through the rigamarole to get things switched over.
 
Yeah I was very relieved. I'm not sure if this impacts the vials. It sounds like different manufacturers discontinued their insulins, which led to a bunch of folks switching to Lantus. I've also read that the Iran war could impact insulin, but I'm not sure if we are seeing that yet.

New stress unlocked! yay
 
Ahhh...interesting! Look what AI tells me (AND DON'T TRUST AI!!--just look at this as a rumor). That's why the pharmacist knew.
  • Levemir (insulin detemir): Novo Nordisk is entirely discontinuing Levemir FlexPens, Penfills, and vials, with global stocks and final phase-outs concluding by December 2026.
  • Eli Lilly Vial Presentations: Eli Lilly is phasing out several traditional 10 mL human and analog insulin vials through 2026, including Humalog vials, Humulin R vials, Humulin NPH vials, and Humulin 30/70 vials.
  • Basaglar Tempo Pens: Lilly is discontinuing its specialized Basaglar Tempo connected insulin pens by the end of 2026.
  • Generic/Unbranded Lines: Select unbranded or generic versions of Novolog (insulin aspart) and Tresiba (insulin degludec) vials and pens were discontinued by manufacturers.
  • Fiasp Presentations: Certain fast-acting Fiasp vial and FlexTouch pen presentations have been withdrawn or slated for discontinuation.
 
If any SoCal folks out there need a pen, I had several donated recently. They expire in a couple months so I know I won't get through them all before their expiration date. Can you use insulin past its expiration date? 😬 I don't know. It's never been opened, so maybe it's still ok? Anyway, shoot me a message if needed!
 
I bought 5 pens on July 12th, but the way Jackson goes through insulin, I just put in a refill to be picked up tomorrow at WalMart. I hope they have it for him. 🤞
He goes through a pen about every 10 days, and my new just purchased box won't last until September.
 
Yeah I was thinking of you (and all the acro cats) with this, Dyana. I hope it isn’t impacting your area. The pharmacist should be able to let you know if they’ve had issues getting supply.
 
So, I'm starting to freak out a little here.
No one has Lantus, WalMart, Costco, CVS, my local grocery store pharmacy.
What if I can't find it before we run out? Nobody has any answers. What do the humans do?
When I called WalMart they said I just got insulin on July 12th and it was too early.
I told the lady about the need for insulin and not being able to wait until September. She said they have ONE PEN left and that if I call back on Saturday and they still have the one pen left.. that I can buy it., Yeah right. :nailbiting:
I have enough to maybe get me through August. I guess we have to switch to ProZinc or something.....
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Did you ask about vials Dyana? How about the generics like glargine or Basaglar? They are interchangeable.
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Yes, I asked about vials and they don't have any.
I did not ask about the generics. I can still try that.
I have been pulling the syringe to just below the 10 unit mark to get rid of any bubbles first before measuring the dose. I guess I'll have to be more careful with how much I waste.
I did the math. I think. He's on his first pen in the box and has 4 pens left. 1200 divided by 20 units per day is 60 days. That should get us to the third week in Sept.
I just can't believe all the humans on Lantus have to just go without or find a diferent insulin.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Did you ask about vials Dyana? How about the generics like glargine or Basaglar? They are interchangeable.
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Oh this is good to know, I didn’t realize Basaglar was ok to use for cats. I believe that was one of the substitutions they had available when I talked with the tech at Walgreens. He listed off 3 or 4, but I don’t remember the names. Your vet would also have to write script to allow substitutions, if they didn’t already.

Is any Lantus substitution approved for humans ok for cats as well?
 
Dyana, that’s worrisome if all those places were out of vials as well. Hopefully they have generics available for you.

There are still pens and vials available online, they are just wayyy more expensive. If you and Jackson get into a real bind and you are priced out of online insulin, I can chip in to help you get a vial.
 
Seth&Bell said:
Oh this is good to know, I didn’t realize Basaglar was ok to use for cats. I believe that was one of the substitutions they had available when I talked with the tech at Walgreens. He listed off 3 or 4, but I don’t remember the names. Your vet would also have to write script to allow substitutions, if they didn’t already.

Is any Lantus substitution approved for humans ok for cats as well?
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Trixie was started on Lantus and switched Basaglar and had no issues with it. Also comes in a pen called Kwikpen.
 
We've had a number of users of Insulin glargine-yfgn, which is listed in the article Seth linked in the first post, under the "available" heading. They are made by the company that made Semglee. Semglee itself is discontinued but they are still making the generic. The Rezvoglar (insulin glargine-aglr) mentioned is also a Lantus biosimilar. made by Eli Lilly.
 
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