Update On Rascal

[MJL]

Hello All,
So it has been 2 weeks now since his diagnosis. Although I am not very active on here you have all been wonderful and we greatly appreciate your knowledge and help. I have a few updates.

Quick recap; Rascal lives with 3 other cats and separate them for feeding. Insulin and dosage info in signature.

10/4; We attempted switching to special kitty wet food, that was a failure. At the first feeding everyone seemed only mildly interested. By the second feeding we noticed It gave everyone in the house diarrhea. Promptly ran out and picked up the lowest carb fancy feast as that is what everyone will eat. Rascal is not a fan of any of the prescription food that was provided as samples. We also bought Tiki Cat Carnivore dry food to give a small portion to help the transition from a dry diet to a wet diet.

10/11; Rascal went in for his glucose curve @ the vet. Results are in his spreadsheet. We spoke with the vet about home testing and will be doing that going forward. Listed below is the glucose meter we purchased. Will be tracking pre shot levels, and doing a glucose curve at home. The Vet did mention considering switching to Lantus Insulin based on the results we are seeing from Novolin NPH. He told us to finish the bottle of NPH we have before switching. His feeling is that with the use of Lantus Insulin we could get Rascal in remission.
Advocate Pet Test Blood Glucose Monitoring System for Dogs/Cats PT-100

I do have a question regarding the Lantus Insulin. It seems to run very high in cost >$300, anybody have thoughts on where to get the best price on this when we switch?

 

[Margie and Jackson]

Marks marine pharmacy in Canada. Many people get insulin shipped from them and they’re fantastic. It seems weird and scary, because you have to acknowledge that US customs could confiscate the insulin, but apparently they don’t bother if it’s for personal use. The prices are listed on the website. It’s a good time to order since the weather isn’t freezing yet.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Also ask for the Lantus pens instead of vial. You will use the pen as a mini vial. Once open the Lantus insulin starts to lose effectiveness around 2 - 3 months. So with a vial you will end up throwing away a lot of insulin.

With the pen, you should be able to use almost every drop before it becomes ineffective. There are 5 pens in a package. Depending on your dose one pack of pens would give you enough insulin for about 9 months. The cost is a little more than the vial, but since you would not have to replace a vial of insulin every 3-4 months, it actually ends up costing less.

If your vet will prescribe Glargine instead of Lantus, you can order Basaglar instead of Lantus. Both insulins are glargine, and Lantus & Basaglar are brand names. Basaglar costs less than Lantus and is also available in pens.

 

[MJL]

Thank you both for the wonderful information.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Well done with starting to test the BG levels!
Yes Lantus is a much better insulin for cats.