Very first prescription questions..

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elizhope

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So I went to the vet to get my prescription and after yalls advice, i thought i would ask for levemir. He refused to write that one bc he hadnt heard of it (and once looking it up, claimed it was brand new and he cant recommend it) sigh... i really wanted that one.... But anyways he was trying to talk me into the prozinc one, but i dont think i can afford it. So i have a prescription for lantus. I went to fill it today and had to beg for cartridges... does $220 for 5 cartridges with 300 units each sound right? (I havent officially bought it yet, i said I needed to think) The way my doctor was really really pushing the prozinc makes me wonder if I should go back and ask for that instead... Any advice? Im soo nervous about all this in general.

I had posted earlier, but here is the history:

11 year old spayed female
healthy except lost weight
diagnosed last week
ive been practicing home testing, her numbers are always around 300
just switched her to an all canned diet 6 days ago

Thanks everyone!!!!! :)
 
yep, that price sounds about right.

one thing to note though is that those 5 pens can last a very long time. for instance, i started mine in february 2010 and i'm on the 4th pen is all. Mousie gets approximately 1u twice a day depending on her mood it seems so $220 for more than a year's worth of insulin isn't bad i figure (occasionally we have to drop her to .75u for a few weeks and then she decides she wants that extra .25 back sooooo)

fwiw, lantus in a newly diagnosed kitty typically has a very high success rate so if you can afford it, i'd definitely go for it.

whatever you do though, make sure you get the 5 pens because they'll last waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than 1 big vial will.
 
It sounds like a good price to me, however being new myself I wouldn't be able to give you as good of an opinion as others on here. Doing the calculations yours is only bout 15 cents a unit (rounded up) where the place I just put in my scrip for Lantus is 11 cents a unit. Unfortunately thats for the vial, and now that I read your post and a bunch of others I see I'll need the cartridges, so my per unit cost will go up, but the amount I'd end up throwing away will go down. Hopefully I can harrass the pharmacy tomorrow when I go to pick it up to give me cartridges instead. *sighs*

If it wasn't for ya'll I'd be in a pit full of snakes with no antivenom. Jeeze.

I still hope my reply helped you out Eliz! Your post was extremely helpful to me :3 even though it wasn't meant to be.
 
Yea, even the pharmasist told me that if i get the vial (at 1u 2x per day) i would end up throwing away 80% of the bottle. So cartridges are the way to go. The one big vial was $116.

I just wanted to make sure that Lantus was a good choice bc my doctor was literally shoving the prozinc down my throat. But he said it was like 250 for a 3 mo supply.. eek... I dont think I could afford that.

What is the best time to do my 12/12?? Just out of curiosity, what happens if Im late on a dose or miss one??

thanks again for all your help :)
 
kuraikatara said:
It sounds like a good price to me, however being new myself I wouldn't be able to give you as good of an opinion as others on here. Doing the calculations yours is only bout 15 cents a unit (rounded up) where the place I just put in my scrip for Lantus is 11 cents a unit. Unfortunately thats for the vial, and now that I read your post and a bunch of others I see I'll need the cartridges, so my per unit cost will go up, but the amount I'd end up throwing away will go down. Hopefully I can harrass the pharmacy tomorrow when I go to pick it up to give me cartridges instead. *sighs*

If it wasn't for ya'll I'd be in a pit full of snakes with no antivenom. Jeeze.

I still hope my reply helped you out Eliz! Your post was extremely helpful to me :3 even though it wasn't meant to be.
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without this board, i dont know where I would be... i would probably think my only choice was to put her down. Thank goodness for the internet :)
 
Lantus is best dosed on a 12/12 schedule.It builds up in the system (called the 'shed') and so if a shot is late, the cat will draw from the shed and then it will take a day or two to refill. If a shot is early, the shed will be overfull and again take a few days to drain down again. I think the info is that Lantus shot times can be moved about 30 minutes at a time. That said, life happens, and if you have to shoot early, ask for advice about reducing the dose. Same for late.

As for what time to shoot, it depends on your schedule. Many people do a 6 am and 6 pm. That way your evening is always free. There is no right or wrong time - as long as it fits with your schedule and your kitties eating times.
 
I do believe there is also a 25.00 off coupon for your first prescription of lantus in the supply closet, so long as your vet writes it out for the solorstar pens (which is the way to go anyways) Plus I thought I read that someone said at wal mart if you have AAA you get another 25.00 off .. hope that helps!
 
It may be that your vet has only worked with PZI. (it's a good insulin too.). If he is not familiar with Lantus, and that is what you end up getting, you will want to read all the Lantus info we have on this site. It works very differently than PZI. Check out the Lantus support group forums on the main page menu.

viewforum.php?f=9
 
You can fax your prescription to a Canadian online pharmacy and get it cheaper but it takes several days to arrive.

I don't know the current price for Lantus, but Levemir runs $125 for 5 cartridges of 3ml (300units) shipped.

your credit card might charge a fee for foreign currency, but these pharmacies deal with so many US customers that I think they bill in US dollars.

There are instructions / advice on ordering from Canada in the Supply Closet
 
They showed me what I would be getting.. Its a box with 5 clear tube looking things... is that pens or cartridges? This was at walmart.
 
If they have big gray cap on it , like a big pen cap they are the pens. If it is clear w/ white plastic on one end they are cartridges. It does not matter which they are. My pharmacy charges the same price for each.
 
There is also a link to a $25 coupon for Lantus in the supply closet. I'm not sure where you are located, but it may only be for US prescriptions only. That will save a little money. The price you received is a decent price. You may want to call around to different pharmacies to compare prices. Some pharmacies will also match prices with a competitor, so make sure if you find a better price somewhere else, you ask your pharmacy about it.

Even though the price seems high, 5 pens/cartridges will be enough insulin to last you almost a year. So it is a much better bargain than a vial. The problem with using the vials, is that is seems to become ineffective after a couple months and you end up throwing most of it away. With the cartridge/pen, you should be able to use every drop.
 
Also, ask for ones with the longest expiration date. As long as they are unopened, they are good until expiration date. so, since the pens/cartridges will last a long time in fridge, get the longest expiration date they have. Hopefully something that goes 2 years out will be ideal.
 
elizhope said:
So I went to the vet to get my prescription and after yalls advice, i thought i would ask for levemir. He refused to write that one bc he hadnt heard of it (and once looking it up, claimed it was brand new and he cant recommend it) sigh... i really wanted that one....
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A previous vet I used never heard of Levemir, either. I printed out everything I could on how Levemir works for cats and even SS's for cats who were on Levemir and showed it all to the vet. After some discussion, she wrote the prescription for Levemir :-D That was over a year ago. I later switched to another vet and he was cool with me using Levemir and loved seeing my cat's (very colorful) SS :smile: See if talking to your vet about Levemir and showing all the info you can find about it will change his mind.

Lantus is a great insulin to use if the vet won't budge. There are published veterinary studies on how Lantus works for cats.

You can use a free prescription drug card to save some money on Lantus and Levemir and other meds your cat may need at the Human pharmacy: http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... 84,1946184 You might save only a couple dollars but it's better than nothing.
 
Thank you everyone for your help!! :) I picked up the lantus cartridges today. Tommorow is Day 1 .. eek.. Im soo nervous about this...

So i get up, test, shoot, then feed all in a row.. right? I am nervous about filliing the needle, giving the shot, the amount of dose... everything. Her numbers have been 300 almost every time. So 1 unit should be fine. right? after I give her the shot, when should I test her again?
 
The pharmacist told me to keep the medicine in the fridge at all times. But a video on giving the shot says it needs to be warm??

Is it possible to give her the shot while she is eating? I dont even think she would notice me if I did it then.... shes all about her food
 
You keep it refrigerated. You can hold the filled syringe in your hands for a minute or two to warm it up before you shoot.

Yes, we always shot Oliver while his head was deep into his food. He never noticed.
 
elizhope said:
Is it possible to give her the shot while she is eating? I dont even think she would notice me if I did it then.... shes all about her food
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I always gave insulin while my cat ate. He never noticed it probably because he was distracted by yummy food :smile:
 
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