Posted: 10/14/2024 9:14:05 PM EDT
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9 year old female mutt with some sort of shepherd mix. Has always had incontentece issues but over the past week she turned it up to eleven! Pissing all over herself at night, her bed would be soaked. Took her to the vet today and they did bloodwork… bam her blood sugar was really high. $500 later we left with a bag of syringes and a bottle of insulin ?? A friend of my parents, years ago, had a diabetic cat they had to give shots to every day… that cat lived a good long time. Is there a cheap alternative to getting insulin from the vet? I am not looking forward to spending $100 a month for my dog. A bullet is a lot cheaper , but I can’t do that to her. They recommended special food as well… more money for them. There is a local place that sells raw turkey for dog food, probably go that route instead of the dry kibble. She is not overweight at all, has always been thin , gets fed twice a day. Ugh. 
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Costs us considerably more than $100/month for our 12 year old Springer…NO incontinence issues ever and except for the diabetes and being blind with cataracts, she is healthy and “mostly” happy, eats like a horse, etc. As long as we feel she is not in any pain and seemingly, happy, we will continue to absorb the costs of her condition. She still gives us joy every day and gets up and happily greets us both. (I am with her most of the time and she loves my truck and wants to go wherever I go)Attached File |
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Originally Posted By Hillcountry: Costs us considerably more than $100/month for our 12 year old Springer…NO incontinence issues ever and except for the diabetes and being blind with cataracts, she is healthy and “mostly” happy, eats like a horse, etc. As long as we feel she is not in any pain and seemingly, happy, we will continue to absorb the costs of her condition. She still gives us joy every day and gets up and happily greets us both. (I am with her most of the time and she loves my truck and wants to go wherever I go)https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/542989/IMG_8058_jpeg-3349770.JPG Awe, that is a cute doggie. My wife says they might have pet insurance through her employer, just in time for open enrollment season 
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We have a diabetic mutt and she suffered the same problems. Her meds come from walmart and it's 28 bucks a bottle and lasts us a little under a month, at two doses a day (morning and evening feeding) Checking her blood sugar is the most difficult part and it isn't really difficult. Once you figure out the dosage the dog needs, it becomes routine. |
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Originally Posted By Moto-M187: We have a diabetic mutt and she suffered the same problems. Her meds come from walmart and it's 28 bucks a bottle and lasts us a little under a month, at two doses a day (morning and evening feeding) Checking her blood sugar is the most difficult part and it isn't really difficult. Once you figure out the dosage the dog needs, it becomes routine. I will check with Walmart about the insulin. Thanks! I thought about checking her blood sugar, but the vet never mentioned it (she said they would do it on her next visit). Her diet is pretty consistent, sadly probably high in carbs. I am looking into going to a raw diet for her, or at least just meat. There is a local turkey processor that sells ground meat as dog food in 50 pound boxes 😳 that’s a lot of meat! |
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Not all insulin is the same and it can affect dosing or even if the animal can process it. The cheap stuff from Walmart is meant for people, and it's the old first generation kind. It might work for you dog. $100 \ month is fairly standard. My vet sold me the syringes at least at cost (I couldn't find a cheaper retail source, i.e. Amazon), so I assume the insulin was as well. Get an Alpha Trak glucometer immediately. I can't stress this enough. You will need to monitor the blood glucose level and dial in the insulin dosing yourself. Go slow with it and no drastic changes in the dosing levels. Keep honey or jam\jelly around. If the dog gets overdosed on insulin you'll need make sure they eat something sugary. ETA: didn't see this was month old. Hope your dog is doing better. |
| Our 12yr old rescue retriever we got from a shelter when he was a pup was diagnosed with diabetes a couple years ago. He is on Humulin N. We were also paying over $100 a month for a bottle of insulin, sometimes near $175 depending on who had it. Lilly makes Humulin N, they have a website that you can get a discount coupon to bring the cost to $35. You have to sign up once a year but it takes 5 minutes and I've never had anyone call, email or send anything to me so it's pretty harmless to sign up. Our mom n pop pharmacy takes it and so did the pharmacy at winn dixie (grocery store). |
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