Questions about Cosequin + mini update

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Cindy & Pets

Cindy & Pets

Member Since 2012
I was wondering is cosequin is alright to give to Tip? It doesn't interfere with insulin of anything? Pretty much my reasoning is because I know she's getting up there and age, and she isn't the strongest cat in the world. No arthritis yet, thankfully. But would giving her Cosequin(as per the dosing printed on the box) an alright idea to prevent any bone problems from cropping up? I'd much rather prevent a problem from ever occurring.

Also, as a little mini update on Tip, she was at 362 this morning! A new vial of humulin N(unfortunately my vet seems real hesistant when it comes to switching to lantus as she feels bad for me needing to come in so often, so is trying to save me money, but it's just costing me more in little expenses to not switch. ): At least her intentions are good) and a drop in the dose of .5U hopefully caused this, and it isn't just a normal variation. :)
 
Cosequin is safe for the cat.

I don't understand this statement:

A new vial of humulin N(unfortunately my vet seems real hesistant when it comes to switching to lantus as she feels bad for me needing to come in so often, so is trying to save me money, but it's just costing me more in little expenses to not switch.

what does the vet feel bad about? Are you home testing? Or is the vet doing the tests for you?

If you are not home testing, then may I suggest you do so, as you will save yourself tons of money by not having to take the cat to the vet and pay her for something that is very easily done at home.

there are so many of us that use or have used Lantus with great results. While the initial cost to purchase lantus is a bit pricey, over time it actually pays off. We recommend purchasing the 5 pack of lantus pens - rather than a vial. As there is less waste with the pens and unopened, they will last until the expiration date.

And some pharmacies may even let you purchase one pen at a time. When I researched this, Costco was the least expensive pharmacy for lantus pens (and if you are a Costco member - you get an additional discount which equals more cost savings).
 
Alright, I'll get her on it tonight then. :)

Both currently. There's been a few complications, and my meter is still in the testing phases on how it compares to the vets. Though now it's something like every 3 weeks I go in, since it's starting to show consistency. That, and we're still working on a proper dose for her. She feels bad about me spending so much on Tip by taking her in so often while trying to weigh, work out dose, work out meter, and the new humulin N vial, even though I insisted Lantus would be cheaper for me in the long run. Really? About how cheap is it at costco?
 
I suggest that you call your local pharmacies and ask them the prices. In my area, I found that costco was the cheapest. Ask them how much they sell a box of Lantus solostar pens for without insurance. And ask if they will sell one pen at a time. Also, if you look on Supply Closet, I think there is a coupon for the pens. Again, more savings.

What kind of meter are you using? And why do you need to compare it to the vet's? Many of us use a human meter without issue and don't bother running in to the vet for comparisons. Something to keep in mind, there can be a 20% variance when testing different meters.

The least expensive meter and strips is Walmart's Relion brand. Personally, I've used Bayer Contour - which I think works great, it's a bit more expensive than Relion but gives same data. The only meters I would say to stay away from are any of the ones with TRU in the name - such as Walgreen or CVS branded ones.
 
Thanks! :) I will either do that later today when my brain is a bit less wobbly from a nap, or tomorrow. Right, savings is nice, as right now, I believe I'm just short of being able to buy them. But I'm not positive.

A relion Ultima, mostly as proof that human meters do the job just as well because she had heard evidence that suggested otherwise. So far mine has been consistently running under their alphatrak by about 60 points.

Right, I go to Sams Club for it, but same difference. They're right next to each other and the Sams Club just has better customer service at the pharmacy here. Once when I was in walmart they almost refused to give me the syringes because they didn't believe I was going to use them for my diabetic cat. Why they asked, dunno', but I'm always willing to inform people a little on feline diabetes.
 
Humulin is a harsh insulin for kitties. I could never get Trouble regulated on it AND he felt crappy besides....Once we switched to (at the time) it was called PZI he felt much better. Sending positives out for you and Tip!
jeanne
 
You get what you pay for; N is a lousy insulin that does not last anywhere near 12hours, so you are not doing much for the cat.,
The insulin is harsh, pulls down numbers fast then fizzles, leaving you with the same lousy high BG numbers.... and your ss for Tip shows just that. It's not saving you money if your cat remains sick.

Tell your vet you want the Lantus and that's that. You will see a huge improvement in Tip within days of starting on Lantus.

The Cosequin is fine to give to cats; I gave to both my cats daily.
For older cats, it's good to give B12 shots; talk to your vet about getting a vial of B12 and you can give weekly then a monthly maint dose. The benefits from B12 are many and I saw an amazing improvement in my Shadoe who had chronic pancreatitis issues and much inflammation, but was almost eliminated with the B12 shots.
 
Thank you. :) Yeah, that's what I've been trying to do. I definitely feel like Humulin N is NOT cutting it for her and that it's costing me more in the long run. I think I'll be going back in sometime either this week or next week and talk about it again.

B12? I'm curious, what exactly is B12 for?
 
HI Sayania, nobody else answered your question on Cosequin - yes it is fine to give your diabetic cat a glucosamine supplement. Cosequin or Dasuquin (a newer supplement with MSM in it) is fine and doesn't interfere with insulin or bg levels. I get Dasuquin for my civvie through Ebay - its brand new/unopened - and the best price. My diabetic cat is on Dasuquin along with a prescription med called Adequan because she has severe spinal arthritis. Using Cosequin as a preventive is definitely not a bad idea!!! Jan
 
There have been other posts comparing alpha trak to human meters and yes it is normal from what I recall that alphatrak runs lower than human meters. So a 60 point difference is no big deal.

And if you shop at Sam's - check with their pharmacy on cost for lantus - I didn't have one nearby, so I couldn't price shop there.

Finally, if your vet is unwilling to change the insulin, then maybe you may want to find a different vet.
 
Thanks. :) I have a bottle of Cosequin from not only my outdoor Frankie getting ankle injuries(nothing sever, just sprains), but from when it was thought Tip had arthritis, but turns out she doesn't. At the vets it was only something like $10-$15. I'd much rather prevent problems, especially if it's cheap prevention, than wait for it to happen, because it'll most likely cost way more if I wait for her to get something.

Is it hard to give with dry food? Because it'd be nice to have her sister on it too. They're both the same age. I know, I know, dry is bad for any cat, but she is particularly hard to get off of it.

@Hillary:
Mine actually runs around 60 points lower than their Alphatrak so far, if too much blood isn't put on it, like what happened one time.
I will be shortly. Might even be able to run in there when my brother goes to work, since he works at the walmart no more than a block away. Why they put 2 stores from the same company so close is beyond me.

She is willing, it's just so far the only objection to it I've heard from her is that it's expensive. Which, honestly, to me expense isn't THAT big of a deal when it comes to the pets. Especially since I do live my grandfather, so he assures I have a roof over my head and whatnot, so I have no bills to pay. I'll be bringing that point up when I go in next, which should be coming up soon.
 
If money isn't an issue for you and your vet is working with you, then I would recommend getting the lantus as soon as you can and starting Tip on it. You will have better control with lantus and may even be able to get Tip into remission.

As far as dry food, whatever you can do to get them off it, will be best for all your cats in the long run. Dry food, even a small amount, can wreak havoc with a diabetic and regulating the BG's. I get the challenge, Maui was a dry food addict her whole life and it took weeks to get her to eat wet food.

If you/they still need a dry food, an alternative that I found that my girls love and is diabetic friendly is Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw cat food. It can be served dry or with added water (my girls prefer it dry), and because it's raw food, it's better for them. http://www.petfooddirect.com/Product/50 ... -for-Cats-

It comes in several flavors - mine like the chicken best.

This could be a good way to transition to wet, while supplementing with "dry", if that makes sense.
 
Right. I mean, now it almost is, but I should be able to find the money to get it.

Well, Tip is already off of the dry food. I just set it down for her away from Christmas's food, and she started eating canned right then. Just civvie Christmas is having the problems. And it's especially concerning me because she is overweight, and I imagine that if Tip has diabetes, and they're from the same litter, that Christmas is predisposed to it? So I'd rather prevent the problem of two diabetics because that's twice the supplies, twice the insulin, etc. and I'm not sure if I could financially handle that situation.

Is there a way I can get a sample bag of the dry food alternative? I don't want to buy too much(Christmas doesn't eat much, at most 3/4th a cup of dry a day, usually it's 4 handfuls) only to find out she hates it like 90% of what I've tried her on. I've tried switching her slowly, I've tried cold turkey, I've tried fancy feast, friskies, and she just turns her nose up at it all.
 
Contact the manufacturers and see if they will send you a sample or at least a coupon to try their products.

And you may want to test your other cat just to confirm that she doesn't have diabetes. As far as double the cost, you can use the same insulin and supplies for both cats, you don't have to get separate supplies for each one. Just my 2 cents.
 
Will do. :)


I've tried to test her once, but yeah, I'll definitely try again. About how often should I test her? Or will that depend on what results I get?

Ah, yeah, I didn't exactly think of that, though more of thinking, it'd be using up everything twice as fast, give or take a bit.
 
At a minimum you want to test before each shot.

Additionally, get spot checks in during the cycle. You want to find your cat's nadir (which is the lowest BG in the cycle) - this can come anywhere from 2 - 7 hours into the cycle.

So, maybe if you test every couple of hours, you can start to see the pattern. If you haven't started the spreadsheet, that's something else to work on. You can find instructions in the tech forum.

Of course, if you get a significantly low number, you may need to test more frequently, like every 15-30 minutes in order to prevent a hypo situation.

What you are going to find is that the insulin you are using, won't last the full 12 hours, which is why we recommend the other insulins to use. Again, another reason to get the vet to prescribe lantus.
 
Oh, I already know when and how often to test Tip(though I've yet to update her spreadsheet, I've got the numbers written down). I was wondering about Christmas, the non-diabetic. I just tested her a little bit ago and she came up as 71. About how often should I test Christmas?
 
I was told by a chemist that glucosamine (sp?) is not related to glucose, BUT, I will tell you that my Romeo's diabetes reared its ugly head for the first time within a couple of days after I gave him Cosequin. It could be purely coincidental, but I would double check with your vet.
 
Okay, it's always worth checking with the vet. Guess it's a good thing I forgot to give it to her last night then. I'll call after I get Luka, my parakeet in her new cage. More room, and it shouldn't be falling apart. :)
 
For Christmas - it's really up to you how often you want to test her. 71 is a great non-diabetic number. You may only want to test her if something seems off - drinking too much, peeing too much, etc.
 
I got bottle of Lantus at costco and wasn't bad, expected worse. $125. That's in CA. syringes were $25 and the good ones for Half unit markers. Sharps box was $2 and change just need to find out where to bring used syringes, see many fire houses take them so going to try there. Costco also has card for uninsured prescript meds so I save in that. They also now carry Cosquin for cats and Cosquin DS for dogs, I find the DS one helps my 18 yr old arthritic kitty better, but need to give like a pill as she doesn't like to eat if in food.

I also asked our vet about if it could be contributory to her diabetes, said that tests have not proved conclusive... Either way Missy needs it, when I lapse is when she has problems moving. Giving 1/4-1/2 the dog formula for her weight 10 lbs.
 
How is the Cosequin going? FYI if you have any trouble getting Tip to eat it, Shady was on Cosequin temporarily a few years ago. He is very picky eater and would never eat any food with the Cosequin powder mixed into it. I mixed it with a small amount of water and gave it to him with a medicine dropper. Ironically, he didn't seem to mind that, he would lick it off the end of the dropper usually, but he would not eat it in food.
 
I'm so sorry it's taken so long to get back to you guys. Things have been hectic and I've even been barely hving time for mid-day testing. @_@ Hope my vet doesn't mind not getting a curve today. She's going in to see if the dose needs changed, which I think it needs lowered, and now to also check some wheezing issues she's having, figure I should bring it up now.

But the cosequin did, unfortunately, increase her bG a slight bit, and since I'm having issues getting it under control still, that might be something left for a different time.
 
Since you are bringing her to the vet. Now may be a good time to change insulins - to prozinc, lantus or levimer. You will get better results with one of these insulins than with humulin.
 
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