My dog has diabetes...

[gregintenn]

...and treatment for it is ridiculously expensive. He also has hip displaysia. Anybody have any suggestions for things that might help him? We really think a lot of him, and don't want him to suffer.

[Shorty]

I assume by treatment you mean daily insulin injections?  Ask your vet about Rimadyl, maybe Meloxicam, for the hips.  Both of those will help with the joint inflammation to a degree, which should help with the discomfort.

[gregintenn]

9 minutes ago, Shorty said:

I assume by treatment you mean daily insulin injections?  Ask your vet about Rimadyl, maybe Meloxicam, for the hips.  Both of those will help with the joint inflammation to a degree, which should help with the discomfort.

Yes. My wife took him to the vet today. She said insulin was $50 per unit, and at his weight, he'd require 18 units. She didn't ask if that was per dose, day, month, or what.

I think he's probably had it a while and it's pretty bad.

Edited October 31, 2018 by gregintenn

[Shorty]

It's been a while since I did all this, but a vial of insulin is 10mL if I remember correctly.  If your dog needs 18 units each dose, that should be about 55 doses per vial. I don't know what the going rate is on insulin since there are several, but maybe that math makes the price easier to stomach.  You could also try cinnamon and see if that helps control his blood sugar.

[Jamie Jackson]

I am so sorry to hear about this Greg. My Sister had a cat she gave insulin injections to for several years.

I believe that the 10 milliliter bottles of insulin contain 1000 units. So if the dose is 18 units per day that'd be 55 or so days worth.

A quick Google search shows insulin to run about $275.00 for the 10 ml bottle. I didn't realize it was so expensive.

Prayers out for you guys.

Jamie

 

sorry to crosspost Shorty.

[gregintenn]

5 minutes ago, Shorty said:

It's been a while since I did all this, but a vial of insulin is 10mL if I remember correctly.  If your dog needs 18 units each dose, that should be about 55 doses per vial. I don't know what the going rate is on insulin since there are several, but maybe that math makes the price easier to stomach.  You could also try cinnamon and see if that helps control his blood sugar.

Cinnamon....hmmmm....worth a try.

That still figures out to about $1000 a month, Right?

[Hozzie]

40 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Cinnamon....hmmmm....worth a try.

That still figures out to about $1000 a month, Right?

No, essentially 55 days.  So about $125/month if it was $275/10ml and the other calculations are correct. 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Hozzie

[gregintenn]

25 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

No, essentially 55 days.  So about $125/month if it was $275/10ml and the other calculations are correct. 

Twice a day. Perhaps my wife misunderstood, but she heard $50 per unit. The dog would require 18 units. I do know that equals $900. I do not know w much else.

Would special dog food help to any degree?

I'm going to look into the cinnamon.

[jpx2rk]

Sorry to hear about your pet, best wishes.  

[bersaguy]

First off I am sorry to hear about your pet and it's issues. I think you might need to get a second opinion on the diagnosis. I have never heard of a dog getting 2 dozes of insulin a day to begin with and I have known a few people who's dogs were diabetic. That or you call the vet and ask him if your wife heard him correctly. Something just does not sound right.

[Shorty]

You could try the low/no carb dog foods but that's going to be pretty expensive too as a primary food source.

[gary_boom]

My Father said many years ago "I love my dog but I don't hate my money"

[E4 No More]

15 hours ago, gregintenn said:

...and treatment for it is ridiculously expensive. He also has hip displaysia. Anybody have any suggestions for things that might help him? We really think a lot of him, and don't want him to suffer.

https://www.allivet.com/p-2013-vetsulin.aspx?sku=25897&sp=1&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=25897PLA&msclkid=82995e1290921412274205c86223466f

$34.99 per 10ml bottle. 

[Capbyrd]

CBD Oil. 

 

[gregintenn]

Is there a rest home for dogs?

[Capbyrd]

You laughed at my post but I'm serious.  It may not help with the diabetes part but it will likely help with the pain.  Its pretty common for people to buy CBD oil for their pet's issues. 

[E4 No More]

1 minute ago, Capbyrd said:

You laughed at my post but I'm serious.  It may not help with the diabetes part but it will likely help with the pain.  Its pretty common for people to buy CBD oil for their pet's issues. 

I second this. It's a pretty strong anti-inflammatory.

[Johnny Rotten]

My dog had diabetes and went blind from it, I kind of recall the vet gave me a prescription for the insulin, needles and Walmart filling it wasn't expensive at all, sad part I only gave him shots for a couple weeks.

good luck 

[DaveTN]

Greg, what kind of dog, and how old?

[gregintenn]

28 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

Greg, what kind of dog, and how old?

9 year old Lab.

[MacGyver]

Man, I'm sorry to hear this.  Sounds like you've got some options to buy him a little more time.

The best advice we got with our lab was to make a list of the 5 things she liked to do the most.  When she could no longer enjoy those - or lost interest - we'd know her pain was taking over.  Labs are so stoic - it's hard to know when they're really suffering.  Ours wanted to be with us and please us until the day she died.

[dawgdoc]

Is the cost estimate for Vetsulin, which is a veterinary-specific insulin?  It is also a 40 Unit insulin rather than a 100 Unit insulin.  So if it is a 10 ml bottle of Vetsulin, then a dog getting 18 Units twice a day would go through that bottle really quickly (11 days).

If it is a 100 Unit per ml human insulin, there are more choices, but they may not work as well.  The two types of human insulin I have used are both NPH insulin.  The two brands are Humulin N and Novolin N, the latter being the cheaper option at Wal-Mart.

In general, in an average diabetic dog, Vetsulin tends to work better in both terms of potency and duration of action.  Occasionally a dog can take Vetsulin once a day, but the majority of patients take it twice a day.  I have never seen a dog take NPH insulin once a day and be controlled.  Some dogs can do fine to adequate on the NPH insulin, but I would only use those if cost created a decision of any treatment vs. no treatment.

Dogs get the type of diabetes that requires insulin, so diet and weight loss helps control the blood sugar, but they generally always require insulin.

Other things to consider are that the starting dose is not necessarily the dose that the dog will be on for life.  We usually start low and work up to the final dose using glucose curve to guide the dose change.  Also, other causes of inflammation, such as dental disease or urinary tract infections, will affect the ability to control diabetes.

One last thing--all diabetic dogs get cataracts eventually, no matter how well the diabetes is controlled.

[AuEagle]

Sorry about your pup.....Prayers for him & you & yours.

[plinker4life]

I have a diabetic dog. First you need to get on grain free food.   Yes always twice a day for shots, vetsilun runs me $43 a bottle. I have a 36lb schnauzer.  So with special food, insulin,needles. It cost me about $100 a month total.  Of course bigger dog will cost more. And as stated above she is now blind but gets around good.

Edited November 1, 2018 by plinker4life

[dawgdoc]

I forgot to add, all dogs with arthritis should be on a glucosamine supplement and an omega fatty acid supplement.  The specific brand of glucosamine I would use would be Cosequin or Dasuquin because the manufacturer uses quality control methods equal to a drug manufacturer.  The fish oil-based omega fatty acid supplements have the most research validating their use.  With both supplements, it takes 6 to 8 weeks to see an effect.

If arthritis is severe, then we add a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain medication (many different brands).   With long-term use, the liver and kidneys need to be monitored.

There are several other supplements which each act on a different part of the inflammatory pathway.  There are other pain medications that can be used.  Also, acupuncture can help many dogs.