(USA) Femine Diabetis - How much does in Insulin cost?

Question

After being gravely ill the last 2 days, believe it our not, my vet just diagnosed diabetes in my cat. I was not prepared for this and I am trying to find out what a basic maintenance plan will cost a month to adjust my budget accordingly

How much is a bottle of insulin? "Lantus"

Whats your experience with cat diabetis?

That was suppose to be "feline"

Thank you everyone for this detailed information and your much appreciated feedback. Many of you reassured me of the symptoms and precautions and gave hope. I will contacts several of you that invited me to do so.

In the meantime I found out that one 100 U vial of this insulin cost $85 at walgreens and the syringes are $16 per 100. With one unit (U) twice a day that is certainly manageable. Even my husband agreed to it after the initial shock of the vet bill.

Answer 1

I really suggest strongly that you go to http://www.yahoogroups.com and join the group felinediabetes. The members there can guide you in all aspects of managing this disease and will be happy to answer your questions about pricing insulin, where it is most economical to buy it and a quality diet to promote your cat's health.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

Depending where you live and the cc that your cat will need daily, the insulin and needles will usually be under $100. The needles are under $10 for a 100 count box. Alcohol wipes are $4 for a 100 count box and the Lantus usually under $50.
Dont be skittish when you have to inject your cat. Make sure after injecting in the shoulder, you do something special.....rub ears / pet.....dont feel sorry, the injection is needed. Your cat will actually come for the injection willingly after a week because of the special attention given after the shot.
I made a diary when my cat was first diagnosed.
Things I noticed and compared from before and after diagnosis:
:
Higher thirst - he would just sleep next to the water dish

Lifting or dragging paws - This was when the insulin was too low and it caused neuropathy ( nerve damage) and he always had tingly paws ( like when your feet fall asleep)

Overly tired - He was sleeping alot and lethargic.

Just watch and notice things that are happening. Watch for weight loss and high thirst the most, it may mean the vet needs to change the doseage

Answer 5

I know what you are feeling and the thoughts that are racing through your mind right now! I was there 5 years ago in June with one of my kitties.

First, take a deep breath, there is help out here in cyberspace from us -other diabetic kitty caretakers- and some very nice information. Feline diabetes is a very manageable illness...not a death sentence! Diabetes is one of the most common illness in older cats.

Go to the website for feline diabetes and start reading. This site has answers to just about any question you have. There is a bulletin board where you can post questions or just query and find answers other caretakers have posted.

To answer your question here, budget wise, this is the most expensive part, the initial diagnosis. Your vet will probably hospitalize your kitty to begin her insulin and find the right dosage for her. Mine was just 2 days, but I have read others say up to 5 days. After this, you will probably only need to see the vet for her checkups, once or twice a year.

I am familar with Lantus, it came out about 2 years after mine was diagnosed. It is supposed to be a wonderful insulin especially for newly diagnosed kitties. I cannot tell you the costs, my Kelley takes PZI, which runs about $100 a bottle. But that bottle will last an average of 6-8 months, so when you consider that, the cost is not so high. Lantus from my understanding is less expensive, and again it will last you an average of 6 months. The next expense will be insulin syringes. I use BD ultra fine II (short needle). My pharmacy will sell them by the box of 100 for about $30. Kelley is a celebrity here, she is the only 'feline' diabetic patient my pharmacy serves! I use one syringe a day for Kelley's daily dose.

After these costs, the next is food. Feed your sugar baby a good canned food and avoid dry food as much as possible. Dry foods are full of grains (corn, wheat, rice) that kitties don't need especially diabetic kitties. I had been feeding Purina DM-the specially formulated diabetic diet-dry for all these years thinking that it was good for Kelley. It has corn in it too, I couldn't believe it. The second link is to the food comparison charts.

There is more information I would be happy to share with you and I am sure the other sugar baby caretakers out there will post information for you, too. There is hometesting and making sure your vet is up on caring for a diabetic kitty. The vet that diagnosed Kelley is not her current vet. I found he lacked the concerns for her that I had--but that is a whole other story!

Please feel free to write to me. I will be happy to help in any way I can, or just be moral support. Sometimes us caretakers need a caretaker, too!

Purrs and prayers for you and kitty.

Answer 6

I was leery of the costs too, when ours turned full diabetic earlier this year.

Lantus is a good insulin, it's 12 hours long so you HAVE to stay on a regular schedule with this and not give the shots 8 hours apart or so. A half hour either way is usually ok, but no earlier.

The expensive part is getting the cat regulated and on a curve that can be managed--this is a high vet cost as they have to do blood tests every hour or two on your cat to see what his cycle is. Then they recommend the dose and you give it. But the dose may be too high or low, so you have to have the cat checked with a glucose test in 2 weeks if things look normal, sooner if there's a problem. The glucose test is a drop of blood read by a meter at the vets.

The frucosamine test is an overall look at a blood test which focuses on how the cat has done for the past 10 days, that one costs around $90.

I called around on the Lantus. I had the prescription for the syringes and the lantus from the vet, and best price on syringes I found at WalMart for $16 for a box of 100. I reuse mine once, so with giving my cat 2 units twice a day, I only use one needle. Using it more than twice, it hurts going in and the cat won't like it.

You have to feed the cat something before the insulin is injected, you can't inject if they haven't just eaten. So figure out what your cat likes and save that for injection time. They only need to eat a tablespoon worth or a tablespoon and a half worth--enough to get the stomach working. If they eat less, I'd not give the shot. Also, a diabetic cat needs to eat small meals about 4 hours apart so he's got a consistent food intake, not eat twice a day.

The Lantus varied everyplace I called. I finally settled on WalMart for that too--it was $140 for the box of 5 vials (they look like clear cigars), each vial holds 100 units, so our guy on 4 units total a day this lasts him almost a month. The five vials will take him about 5 months, so the cost per month is around $30. Which I find ok for my budget. If you're on one unit once a day (as one of our other ones was) then this 100 unit vial will last you up to three months and be cheaper for you.

Call around to different pharmacies, Walgreens, WalMart, Target, etc. Ask for the pharmacist and ask how much the bottle costs (it's the size of an inkwell, the large portion offered) and then ask how much the box of five vials costs. If the bottle is lower cost, figure how far it'll take you, time wise, to use it and if it will be less than 9 months, you can go with that, but I've been more comfortable with using the vials. You may also be given a free vial by the vet to start with.

Do NOT shake the vials, this breaks the suspension of the insulin in the fluid and it'll render the insulin useless. You gently roll the vial in your hands twice then put the syringe in and draw the amount you need. Make sure you have the vet show you how much. Two units is basically less than a drop of water, so this stuff has to be perfectly on the mark or you take the chance of overdosing.

While the vets have been saying the vial only lasts a month, the pharmacist I talked to was more up on Lantus (which is fairly new) and he said that the insulin isn't as fragile as they thought it was, a vial that's being used is ok for up to 6 months just fine IF it's refrigerated, has not turned color, has not been exposed to heat, and has not turned cloudy. He speculated that it's ok for possibly 9 months, but any longer and you probably should not use it.

So if you're on a low dose and the vial will last you more than a month, don't worry about it. Keep it refrigerated (I keep the whole box in the refrigerator door) and just plan on going till each vial is empty.

The short needles on the syringes are best, but the long ones are ok if you don't hit the muscle when you inject. Lift the scruff up (I do a grab & pull, grab & pull several times, and my cat relaxes so it does go up nice and high). Then hold the scruff up and inject into the 'tent' part, but make SURE you don't push the needle all the way through out the other side. It'll feel wet if you missed or did it with the end of the needle out the other side. If this happens, do NOT inject any more insulin at that point, wait till his next regular dose.

If your cat's eyes get watery and the pupils seem to be huge when they shouldn't, this is a sign that the doseage is not right and the cat should be taken to the vet for the technician to do a drop of blood draw and check his numbers.

There's two feline diabetes groups on yahoogroups.com you can join (probably more, but i'm on two and they're good ones).

You also need to feed a high protein but low carb food. This helps the cat stabalize. I feed Royal Canin Siamese 38 for the dry and also offer a can of 9-Lives Super Supper (their low carb choice out of all the types they carry), so Hudson gets 1/4 of a can of that in the evening. He also gets ground raw turkey occasionally, and some cooked chicken or beef when we have it for supper (no salt or pepper on it).

Lantus is known for sometimes pushing cats back to normal, so watch for an insulin overdise--the cat will be throwing up fluid and food three or four times in a row, not feel good, and be acting sick. Stop giving insulin and have the vet check his levels--the insulin may be to the point where you don't need to inject anymore (it's called a 'honeymoon') and it's been known to happen enough times that they tell you this when you put a cat on Lantus. It hasn't happened to us yet, but I can hope.....

Answer 7

With the newer types of insulin these days, diabetic diets aren't necessarily as restrictive as they used to be. Read here https://tr.im/m1P3q
As with any medicine or diet change, you should discuss it with your doctor. Fruits, both fresh and dried, have a natural sugar in them that will raise blood sugar levels, so be careful about eating too much. Not sure about the nuts. Moderation is always the key. I've been diabetic for 18 years and just recently changed insulin types. I love it because it gives me more freedom in when and what I eat.

Answer 8

Hi
Please read my profile and contact me. To answer your question, the more expensive bottle is really the cheaper one. The 100 dollar bottle of PZI is good to the last drop and can last for 3-7 months depending on how much you use.
Lantus will be about 60 dollars for a bottle.

I have alot of exerience treating this and helping literally hundreds of others deal with it. many vets are NOT up to date in treatment and some can be dangerous. Again please read my profile and get in touch with me so I can help you learn to treat this correctly and keep your cat safe. Diabetes is NOT a death sentence, no life span is lost and your cat can live a full happy life if treated.

Answer 9

Walk regular 30 min each morning

Answer 10

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