Long acting (24h) insulin?

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:35:51 GMT

I tried to order it through Boots but they were useless, I don't think it is our local shop it seems institutional but after waiting 3 days for news they then reckoned they'd never even received the order. It was delivered 2 days after the special order with NVS. The price was about the same, they wouldn't let me buy individual cartridges but I sell them one at a time so that is far more economical for the client than a 10ml bottle. The cartridges have a small latex port that you can draw the contents the same as from a bottle. I wondered about actually using the Lantus pen as one of my cats was on very low doses (1.5 units bid) also and it is very difficult to accurately measure fractions of a unit even with a 0.3ml syringe, but it will only allow you to set single units. I don't think it is that your cat is lucky Kate I think its an indication of how well glargine works.

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

James Laidlaw — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:05:22 GMT

Boots have the pen refills - 5x 3mL cartridges for £56.03

How is that uneconomical for a doctor???

Thats 5 months worth if they only last 30 days - will see through nvs tomorrow - thanks again Martin

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Kate Richardson — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:03:16 GMT

Martin- do you know if you can order the glargine pen refills individually- I have a cat on it, but the owner who is a doctor thinks it only comes in packs of 5 which wouldn't be economical for him, as cat is only on 1iu sid (and very stable- but I think this is a lucky cat!) And I presume you can draw the insulin up from the refill as you would from a 10ml bottle?

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:56:19 GMT

[quote user="James Laidlaw"]Martin, thanks - where do you order the pen refils? We use NVS and it seemed to be quite expensive, but think that was for 10ml bottles. 24 h not entirely essential, just thought that was the main alternative to caninsulin and was assuming it had gone out of production.

[/quote]

If you phone NVS special orders dept. they will order if for you. It costs more for the pen refills per unit than a 10ml bottle but the owners won't end up throwing 3/4 of it away at the end of the month so its more economical. Latest info I had was that you mustn't use it beyond 30 days after opening and not just because of silly rules and you must use a new needle every time to avoid any potential contamination of the contents as it is not as resistant to mis-use as regular soluble or colloidal insulins.

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

James Laidlaw — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:19:09 GMT

Martin, thanks - where do you order the pen refils? We use NVS and it seemed to be quite expensive, but think that was for 10ml bottles. 24 h not entirely essential, just thought that was the main alternative to caninsulin and was assuming it had gone out of production.

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:35:20 GMT

The theory of using glargine is fine but having tried it, in practice it is a bit different. As it only comes in 100iu/ml giving small doses to cats can be difficult. Of the two I've tried it on one did go into remission but the other was only having 1.5iu and the owner found measuring this dose and giving it with confidence nigh on impossible so they've gone back to Caninsulin and put up with the dramatic swings on the glucose curve. Plus its still a twice daily dose so for whatever reason the OP wants a 24hrs insulin glargine is not the answer. But if its because the swings are too great then glargine twice daily may be the answer as theoretically it gives a much flatter curve without the extremes of hypo and hyper glycaemia, provided the dose required is high enough to measure accurately. If you do go for it then get the 3ml Lantus pen refills as they're a lot more economical than the 10ml bottle.

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Rob Loxley — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:07:15 GMT

And if you're going down the cascade for a new diabetic based on needing once daily injections then it seems that glargine is probably a better choice over PZI. Some info on here, lots on vin amongst other places.

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:59:48 GMT

[quote user="James Laidlaw"]

Thanks, Robin of?

[/quote]

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

James Laidlaw — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:58:01 GMT

Thanks, Robin of?

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Rob Loxley — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:47:36 GMT

Intervet (nor Pfizer) ever made it themselves. The human stuff (Hypurin PZI) is still available, or Lantus.

Re: Long acting (24h) insulin?

Gillian Mostyn — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:52:59 GMT

As far as I am aware, intervet insulin no longer exists at all. The company has ceased to manufacture it.