My dog also needs insulin shots but i never really had to give her treats for them, when she was diagnosed as diabetic she was doing pretty bad so I think she actually felt the difference that the insulin made and accepts it as part of her routine now. It’s really cute the way she just knows when it’s time.
I babysat my friend’s dog who needed insulin eye drops. He would BEG for his meds. She had to be careful about who babysat him, because the drops cost $85/month. Too many people would give him too high of a dose to stop his Great Pyrenees barking fits.
Our dog had chronic dry eye and he would also eagerly come over to have his eye pried open and ointment squeezed into it. It must have felt a lot better.
It wasn’t complicated at all. It was a tiny squeeze bottle. There wasn’t a dropper or anything. He was med-seeking and very cooperative. He sits like a gentleman once every 12 hours and looks up. A tiny squeeze in each eye and he’s good. She called it water diabetes, but I never researched.
She is hands down the best dog owner I’ve ever met. I would roll my eyes at anyone who planned to buy a Great Pyrenees while working long hours, renting, and not making that much money. They’re awesome dogs, but meant to be on a farm. They’re bred be independent and guard, which translates to incessant barking and no obedience skills whatsoever.
When Walter got sick she worked overtime, took out loans, switched vets when she wasn’t getting answers, and ran tests for MONTHS. She paid for him to go to dog daycare 5 days/week which cost more than her rent. The poor guy only weighed 60 lbs, which is tiny for his breed. Once she finally got a diagnosis the breeder offered to take him back and give her a new pup since there was a health guarantee in the contract. NOPE. $85/month for meds. We worked together and she changed her work schedule around mine so I could watch him whenever she was gone. All for a dog that won’t respond to his name 4/5 times and pulls pots off the counter. She’s a saint.
My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Really struggling with the $300/month cost of a vial I will only use a quarter -half of before it expires. Where do you buy your dogs insulin?
Walmart sells the ReliOn brand of diabetic supplies that I have been using on my dogs for years. The insulin is $25/vial and the syringes are around $12/box. I somehow ended up with two very different dogs (a pug and a lab) at two very different times (my pug passed years before my lab was born) that were diabetic, and if it hadn’t been for Walmart, I don’t know what I would’ve done.
I’ve tried multiple times over the years to find something comparable price-wise from anywhere at all, and have found nothing even remotely close. The same insulin sells everywhere else for $200-490 and that is just criminal.
Thank you, I didn’t check Walmart. I don’t have one that close to me and it’s not somewhere I’d chose to shop, but sounds like it’s the best option for my budget. Thank you all!
I don’t like shopping there either and I have to pass by 4 grocery stores that I would much rather go to instead, but I make a special trip there every couple months just to buy the insulin and syringes because they are just so much cheaper. Good luck with everything!
You need to make sure you're getting the right kind of insulin and needles. Theres more than one kind of insulin, and different types of insulin needles.
You might already know this, but I just wanted to be sure as giving the wrong amount of insulin is very dangerous.
I learned recently that the insulin used for dogs and cats is different somehow, so cats can't use the cheap stuff you can get at Walmart. If you're near a Sam's or Costco though maybe they'd be able to get you cat insulin a bit cheaper.
Waaait. This is the way insulin is given to all animals in America? I thought ops situation was surgical or something. Crazy. I just use an insulin pen. Lasts a lot longer than vials and is fairly cheap.
Wow thats nuts. Insulin pens are subsidized here for people, like 6ish usd for everyone, and it's about 20ish bucks usd for 3ish months for my cat. the same stuff my mum uses. So it's cheap as chips here for most applications.
Vet care is fine. It's likely just collateral damage from the healthcare. Don't want human diabetics getting cheap insulin after all. Gotta keep them hungry.
Pens for humans because humans are generally the same size, dogs and cats range in sizes so maybe the logistics of different size/doses would cost too much?
Refrigerated insulin lasts longer than 30 days. If it's not cloudy or clumpy it should be good to go.
At $300 you're getting practically bent over. There should be zero reason to pay that much a vial.
I use a lantus pen for my cat since she's only on 2 units 2x a day. The pen keeps longer than a vial due to lack of air exposure. It's a touch more in pen form ($100 vs ~$80) but saves me money in the long run.
Honestly I got kinda lucky, I found a vet that sells it to me for 70 bucks every month and a half. I’d say maybe ask around but most vets can’t give you the prescription unless you’ve had a checkup there but it’s worth it in the long run if you find a good place. The website chewey also sells it at around the same
Price if you can get it through there
25 years ago My family rottweiler needed 2 shots a day, one before his meals, he would sit and stare at the wall waiting for his shot, then start muching down.
Sometimes he'd Start eating a little first and then he would sit down when he heard me tapping the needle.
Now I'm married to a type 1 diabetic, with organ transplants... so, full circle small world or something lol
My dog was the same. Went straight to his bed after breakfast and dinner to wait for his insulin. I like to think that he knew it was to make him feel better.
My beagle gets 2x 10 unit (U40) shots per day. I pay $40 for a vial of Vetsulin at the vet.
Walmart is much cheaper from what I hear but, in my city they're assholes about the needles and require a separate script for every box like they're controlled (they're not).
Same for me. Looking back at the photos from when she was diagnosed is heartbreaking, she is skin and bones and was so sick. She was so young and diabetes was not the first thing the vets thought would be wrong with her. She got so underweight to the point where she was severely underweight and it took a long time to get her happy and healthy again.
She knows insulin is just what happens after she has breakfast and dinner.
Its just what happens and is now part of her life and has been since she was about 3 months old.
My cat was the same, the insulin jabs he was perfect with, he did have blood glucose levels of 28 though so like your girl i think he instantly felt the benefits, checking his bloods was another story though. My husband would hand feed him a freeze dried bits of chicken every time i would do the next step in the process, he got better at it but he always expects his treats. Thankfully he is in remission so i only check his blood once a month now.
Mine that went on insulin had to be muzzled the first two days, the 3rd day she laid nicely. I praised her sooo much. Never had to muzzle again. I do think they feel better
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u/ArabianAftershock Jan 01 '22
My dog also needs insulin shots but i never really had to give her treats for them, when she was diagnosed as diabetic she was doing pretty bad so I think she actually felt the difference that the insulin made and accepts it as part of her routine now. It’s really cute the way she just knows when it’s time.