Tips for buying Glargine?

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DTMFA

DTMFA

Member Since 2015
Hello -

We are just starting insulin treatment on our 18-year-old diabetic kitty James.

Our vet can sell us 100 doses of Glargine (or about 50 days worth) for $114. I'm wondering if I can find a better price.

What are these Lantus pens that everyone is talking about? How many doses are there per pen, and how much do they cost?

Thanks for any details you can give!
 
Take a look at the yellow Sticky Note st the top of the forum, the one on Info, Storage,and Handling of Lantus and Levemir. It has pictures of the Lantus Solostar Pens. There are five pens in a box. How long they will last you depends on the size of dose you are giving James. My kitty has a condition that means her dose has varied a lot, but I have gotten anywhere from two weeks to over two months on a pen. I wouldn't buy Lantus from the vet. It is probably cheaper from a pharmacy. Where do you live? If you are in the US, then the on line option Elise mentioned is one of the cheaper sources.
 
I live in Philadelphia. They are recommending 1 unit 2x a day, but I don't know how much a "unit" is. Do you know?

The Lantus pens for sale from Mark's pharmacy say they are 100iu/ml, and I'm not sure how many units that is.
 
Marks Marine Pharmacy in Canada can't be beat for price....that's why a lot of us are buying from there now. All the information is in the Insulin from Canadian Pharmacies post (the very LAST post talks about Marks)

I have heard that even if you have a script for a vial, that they'll let you get the pens instead if you ask

Glargine is what they call a U100 insulin....that just means there's 100 little particles of insulin per unit and 100 units per mL

Each pen contains 3mL....that's 300 UNITS....so in a 5 pack of pens, you'll get a total of 1500 units (and at 1 unit twice a day, that'll last you up to 2 years)
 
Ummmmmm....... Is your vet repackaging the insulin? If so, it's illegal to do so. It may also increase the chances that the insulin is contaminated. Your vet would need to draw off insulin from a vial and re-package it in another container. That's illegal.

Lantus is under patent. You should either be purchasing it in a vial or in a Solostar pen that is supplied by the drug company. One of the members here was using insulin supplied by her vet and there were huge problems. I've gotten up to 119 days (with 2 shots per day) from a Solostar pen. One of the members here was looking to sell a box of pens for $180. Retail price for one pen would be approx. $80 per pen. I don't think your vet is offering you any bargain.

The Lantus pens for sale from Mark's pharmacy say they are 100iu/ml, and I'm not sure how many units that is.
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This means there are 100 units in every mL. Each pen contain 3 mL.
 
Yeah, she tried to sell us a $75 glucose meter (I've since found out they can be bought much cheaper) and $114 repackaged glargine which would only last 50 days.

I'm now learning I can get a glucose meter for under $20, and 300 units of Lantus for $49.99.

HUGE difference! We are now considering treatment for our 18yo kitty, while before we were not sure if we should spend all of that money and not know how long James had with us.

Does anyone have any recommendations for what kind/place to buy syringes?
 
Here's a "Getting Started Shopping List"

1. Blood glucose meter. The Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro. (about $15) These are the best choice until the ears "learn to bleed"...then the Relion Prime is the cheapest one for replacement strips. The Confirm and Micro take the smallest sample size...the Prime take a bigger sample and some people have complained about higher error rates

If you are in Canada, and can get to a WalMart regularly (or have friends/family that can ship you supplies if you need them), the Relion meters are great. I think the Bayer Contour or One Touch are other favorites of the Canadians in the group

2. Matching strips (about $19 for 50, $36 for 100) Prime strips are $9 for 50. Will vary depending on what meter you end up using. Using the Contour or One Touch, check Amazon/Ebay for better prices

3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool. (about $8 for lancets, $5 for lancing tool ...not required if you can freehand poke)

4. Cotton balls/cosmetic pads to stem the blood

5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound (ointment ONLY...no cream)

6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against

7. Ketone urine test strips..ketostix (urine only) or ketodiastix (test urine and blood but more expensive and unnecessary if you're already testing BG) - Important to check ketones when blood is high (about $8)

8. Sharps container - to dispose of wasted syringes and lancets. (Optional)

9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken or any low carb treat your cat likes

10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast

11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast

12. Syringes (If using a U100 insulin like Lantus or Levemir or willing to use a conversion chart with U40 insulin like ProZinc) WalMart's Relion U100 syringes are $12.58 per 100....other syringes vary in price)

IMPORTANT that you get syringes with half unit markings! 30 or 31 gauge, 3/10cc insulin syringes....All the WalMart Relion 3/10cc syringes have half unit markings
relion syringes.png
 
Hey there fellow Philadelphian! If you're having reservations about ordering from Canada, let me assure you that I've done it no problem. Takes about a week or so to get here, but it's legit. I'd be very wary if your vet is trying to get you to purchase repackaged insulin. I get most of my stuff (lancets, syringes, test strips) from ADW. You can get the Walmart meter that many here use, or the Arkray Glucocard 01 which is pretty much the same exact thing. I bought mine off of ADW and it was free with order of test strips. There are also lots of coupons you can use off of ADW which brings down the cost a bunch :)
 
I can't believe how misled I was. I was told $250 just for the meter, 50 days of Glargine, and 60 syringes. Not even including test strips.

I just did the math and I can get a meter, 100 test strips, 100 syringes, and 150 days of Glargine for $100.

Thanks everyone.
 
We're pro's at dealing with this disease in an "affordable" way!!

Having Marks available has been the saving grace for quite a lot of us...especially since Lantus keeps raising their prices!! They're supposed to lose their patent in early 2016, so hopefully there will be generics available after that
 
I've ordered from Marks twice now. You can call their 800 number and talk to them. I got my insulin in five days this time. Max needs an average of a little over 2 units twice a day. I end up losing some each time to get rid of bubbles as much as possible so each pen lasts me 2 months.
 
Please keep in mind that you will need your vet to fax the prescription to Marks.

The meter the vet wants to sell you is a pet specific meter. Many vets recommend this. However, a human meter works just fine. Aside from the price of the meter (usually it's an AlphaTrack meter), the strips are expensive and often you need to purchase them through your vet. In other words, if you run out of strips, you're out of luck if the office isn't open.

 
You've gotten a lot of good tips here. I'm just chiming in to wish you good luck! And to say I think it is important, too, to have a relationship with a vet you trust and who trusts and supports what you are doing.
 
I ordered from Mark's from the first time back in March and had no problems! Would definitely reorder if Bandit needs ever insulin again (we're hoping not), and it was so much cheaper than the pharmacies (both Wegmans and Target, which wanted $288 for a vial and over $400 for a pack of 5 pens). Target did have some kind of discount card you could buy for $10 that reduced that cost a bit, but not by much.

I'm assuming you're ordering a single 3ml pen from vetrxdirect? I almost did that but opted for Mark's instead because it's way more cost effective--you get 5 pens for $170, vs. 1 for $100. You might want to consider that when your pen is almost gone, if you still need insulin at that time. 5 pens will last you well over a year on an average dose. Just make sure you factor in enough time for shipping, which can take a few weeks if it gets stuck at customs. Mine didn't, and arrived within a week.

EDIT: I just saw where you said you found a single pen for $49.99? Just out of curiosity, where is that? I haven't found any for less than $100 online from American pharmacies.

We also use the Relion syringes from Walmart because they're the least expensive, but sometimes I get the BD syringes of the same measurement (3/10 cc, 8mm with half unit markings) from Wegmans if I'm being lazy and don't want to deal with going to Walmart, but they're like $25 vs. $14 at Walmart. I also use a human meter, have never used a pet meter and we did just fine.
 
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I'm happy to see you utilizing the help on this site. Our kitties are always worth the effort if their quality of life is still good and you're in the best hands ever here. :)
 
Julia & Bandit said:
EDIT: I just saw where you said you found a single pen for $49.99? Just out of curiosity, where is that? I haven't found any for less than $100 online from American pharmacies.
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It's at Marks....they're selling individual pens now. When they were running low on Lantus and were putting people on a waiting list, I suggested they offer single pens and they decided it was a good idea
 
Hi everyone. Just an update. I've gotten a glucose meter and strips, as well as syringes all from Walmart. I'm still really struggling to figure out how to get insulin quickly and cheaply. Cheapest is clearly from the Canadian pharmacy, but it will take 1 to 2 weeks, & I don't think James can wait that long. I have someone who is willing to sell me a box of 5 pens for $180, but she lives in Minnesota, and to overnight it would be almost $50 more. I don't know if I should do that, or what. Any suggestions?

I'm really freaked out that James will decline because he hasn't had any insulin, he was diagnosed a week ago, & I don't know how quickly he needs it. This whole thing has been really overwhelming and scary. I haven't been completely happy with my vet, and I'm not feeling very supported by them. Even if all you have to offer the kind words, I would appreciate it.
 
If you order from Marks, it should only take about a week. I ordered my last box late on a Monday afternoon and it was in my mailbox on Friday (of course they have my script and payment info on file)

There's also no reason it has to be "overnighted"....it can be shipped via Priority Mail as long as it's well wrapped and has an ice pack and it should arrive in 1-3 days...for $5.95
 
Thank you, I am currently looking on Craigslist and that looks promising. I'm hoping maybe my vet can give me a little bit of insulin, just enough to get me through the week.
 
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