Two newbie questions: 1) Lantus and 2) urine

[MelanieP and Ninja]

Hi all! Question 1: Has anyone ever gotten a bad (ineffective) vial of Lantus directly from the pharmacy? Have been trying to regulate my cat for the last month and consistently getting numbers in the 400's with a couple of really scary 500's (no real change in the numbers despite increasing dosage). Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and buy another (hideously expensive) vial of Lantus, even though I still have more than half left in the original bottle. Today my cat Ninjas +7 reading (using the new vial) was 276 -- a significant improvement from the 471 reading taken at the same time yesterday and the 524 (!!!!!) reading the day before that. I know you can't read too much into one BG test, but wondering if anyone else out there ever got a bad vial directly from the pharmacy, or is this something that is unlikely to occur. PS: I always kept my vial in the frig, but do not remember it being cold when I picked it up initially from the pharmacy. Is this odd (should the pharmacy be refrigerating this, or does it not matter)? Also, I live in Florida (hot...hot...hot...) so wondering if it could have been exposed to heat during transport to the pharmacy. Keeping my fingers crossed that the new vial continues to work better than the last; but just wanted to know if anyone else ever got a bad vial from the pharmacy.

Question 2 (and this is a stupid one): Why is the consistency of the urine different in a diabetic cat than a non-diabetic one? That is, before she became diabetic, Ninja used to urinate what appeared to be tightly formed golf ball sized "pee balls" which were easy to scoop out of the litter box. Now her urine looks like wet cement, doesn't clump well and falls apart when I'm trying to scoop. Just wondering why that is, and if this is characteristic of all uncontrolled diabetic cats.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

I always kept my vial in the frig, but do not remember it being cold when I picked it up initially from the pharmacy. Is this odd (should the pharmacy be refrigerating this, or does it not matter)

I don't think it is kept refrigerated at the pharmacy, but I've never used it. The Lantus website recommends storing unopened pens and vials in the fridge so that they will last until the expire date, and can be kept at room temperature for up to 28 days if a fridge is not available. I believe most people here keep it in the fridge because it will last much longer (beyond the exp. date) that way. Mostly due to the fact that cats take much smaller doses than humans would and at the cost, you want to squeeze every last dose out of it.

Question 2 (and this is a stupid one): Why is the consistency of the urine different in a diabetic cat than a non-diabetic one? That is, before she became diabetic, Ninja used to urinate what appeared to be tightly formed golf ball sized "pee balls" which were easy to scoop out of the litter box. Now her urine looks like wet cement, doesn't clump well and falls apart when I'm trying to scoop. Just wondering why that is, and if this is characteristic of all uncontrolled diabetic cats.

what you are seeing is totally normal. I think it's a quantity thing. Ninja is peeing larger volume of urine, and it saturates the litter. As her numbers get better, the frequency and amounts of urine will decrease. Before Bob was diagnosed, the litter and the water bowl were what "clued us in" eventually (along with the weight loss of about a third of his body weight. He started drinking multiple bowls of water, and if the bowl was dry, he'd go into the tub or toilet for water. And the litter box was always flooded. His paws became caked with the clay litter. We thought it was something changed with the litter! We tried every brand in the store with the same results. Once he was diagnosed it all made sense, but I didn't know feline diabetes existed before then. We ended up switching to pine/corn based litter, and I never went back to the clay even after he went OTJ. The pine and corn litters are so far superior, less maintenance and smell, etc. in my opinion. They cost more, but the bag or box lasts a lot longer.

Carl

 

[Larry and Kitties]

All the pharmacies that I have used kept the insulin in the fridge.
How long have you been using the insulin? The manufacturer only says it is good for 30 days or so after opening the vial. Most of us here purchase the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens. Although the cost per ml is higher, usually the insulin is goo till the last drop. That is usually not the case with the 10 ml vials.