insulin cost comparison

[k9diabetes]

We could very easily determine whether NPH would save you money. There is a lot of variation in markup from the vets selling Vetsulin so that would be a factor - need to know how much your vet is charging you.

Vetsulin being more dilute, you get fewer injections out of the same size bottle.

Just for ease of comparison, let's use a 5 unit dose of insulin given twice a day so 10 units of insulin given every day.

In a 10 mL bottle of Vetsulin, there is a total of 400 units of insulin so if you used every last drop you would have 40 days of injections from that bottle.

In a 10 mL bottle of NPH, there is a total of 1,000 units of insulin so if you used every last drop you would have 100 days of injections from that bottle.

Even if the two bottles cost the same amount - let's say $30, which is about what NPH costs - the NPH bottle lasts 2.5 times longer, making it vastly less expensive. The Vetsulin would cost 75 cents a day while the NPH would cost 30 cents a day.

Natalie

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jazzy Girl

Okay, so $37 for 400 units of insulin is 9.25 cents per unit.

Let's just round up and say Walmart's Relion brand is $25.00 for 1,000 units so that's 2.5 cents per unit.

That's almost 75% less expensive for NPH from Walmart!

If you bought Novolin N somewhere other than Walmart, it probably would be about $37 a bottle for 1,000 units of insulin, making it 3.7 cents per unit, still significantly cheaper than Vetsulin.

I doubt if your vet has ever figured the difference in cost when including the fact that there are fewer units of insulin in a 10 mL bottle of Vetsulin than in the same size bottle of NPH.

[delilah]

insulin cost comparison

Hi,

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are thinking of switching Delilah (10 yo lab) from Vetsulin to NPH to save $. I'm trying to get an idea of how much we will save. She is currently on 18 units twice/day of vetsulin, though she isn't regulated yet so that may go up. If I order vetsulin online bulk, I can get it for $31 per bottle (that includes shipping). How much would the equivalent amoung of NPH cost (given the fact that it is 100u/ml instead of 40u/ml?) I'm not quite sure how to do this math (I'm a social worker, not a mathematician!).

Thanks!
Martha

Thanks!

[k9diabetes]

Re: insulin cost comparison

Hi Martha,

I copied a couple of posts where we addressed the price difference - it's huge actually when you consider that there are fewer units of insulin in a bottle of Vetsulin than in the same size bottle of NPH.

Natalie

[ravenecw]

Re: insulin cost comparison

Hi,

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are thinking of switching Delilah (10 yo lab) from Vetsulin to NPH to save $. I'm trying to get an idea of how much we will save. She is currently on 18 units twice/day of vetsulin, though she isn't regulated yet so that may go up. If I order vetsulin online bulk, I can get it for $31 per bottle (that includes shipping). How much would the equivalent amoung of NPH cost (given the fact that it is 100u/ml instead of 40u/ml?) I'm not quite sure how to do this math (I'm a social worker, not a mathematician!).

Thanks!
Martha

Thanks!

I guess I have questions....

Where can you buy it in bulk and what does bulk mean (how many?)?

Also, comparing Vetsulin to NPH- how does it compare... say I give 8 units or 7 units of Vetsulin, how many of NPH? Does it differ that much or ...???

This is interesting and something I am interested in, not saying I should switch but....

This and dog food, still not sure W/D is the best but I don't know what other way to go... I hate to change too much anyway though but always can inquire and that's what I'm doing (thanks for this great post by the way).

[ravenecw]

Re: insulin cost comparison

I have read that it does start to lose it's potency but forget these things. Still curious on the bulk topic though, how much is in a bulk and where you can get it from.

[delilah]

Re: insulin cost comparison

In terms of buying in bulk: I called around to a bunch of different online pet med dealers. If I buy 10 bottles of Vetsulin from entirelypets.com it would cost $298 total including shipping (there is a $5 coupon on the web). However, I looked up reviews and they got enough shaky reviews to make me wary about using them. Drs. Foster and Smith (who I think are more reputable??) would be $318 for 10 bottles. I have a $10 credit with them so this batch would be a bit cheaper for me. My vet charges $40/bottle, so this is almost $100 savings for 10 bottles. It may be possible to buy more bottles without adding to the shipping charges, I was just asking about 10.

Still trying to understand the insulin conversion. Is 1 unit of vetsulin=1 unit of NPH? If I'm giving her 18 units of vetsulin, how many units of NPH would that be? Right now it takes 10 days to use a bottle of vetsulin. How long would it take to use a bottle of NPH? Forgive my mental math block!

[ravenecw]

Re: insulin cost comparison

Right now a bottle of Vetsulin lasts me about 25 days (give or take). So sticking with Vetsulin is probably the way to go. I like the idea of the other, getting more for my money but unsure if it is worth it, if the bottle usually is only good for about 28 days and then you start losing it's potency. Hopefully some that know will chime in and help us both.

I do like the idea of getting it in bulk from Fosters and Smith, and my vet is also charging me $40 a bottle. I am going to try to see if I can buy it in bulk as well but am wondering what the shelf life is (if I am using 1 bottle a month is this something I can do?).

[Soaphie & Sydney's Mom]

Re: insulin cost comparison

Our first vet was charging $55/bottle of Vetsulin....we switched vets....the new vet charges $33/bottle

[delilah]

Re: insulin cost comparison

wow- $55 per month- that is crazy! Ravenecw- they told me over the phone how long before they expire- I want to say 6 mos to a year- can't quite remember because it didn't apply to me (since we go through them so fast). You could probably look on your bottle to see, and I'm sure they would tell you over the phone.

[k9diabetes]

Re: insulin cost comparison

Hi Grace,

I removed your post about insulin expirations as it appears to be inaccurate.

The insert for a Novolin R vial, for example, states only that "Unrefrigerated Novolin R PenFill cartridges and Novolin R InnoLet must be discarded 28 days after the first use, even if they still contain Novolin R insulin." Refrigerated vials are specifically not included in this restriction and I have used opened vials of Regular for considerably longer than 28 days.

All of the other inserts I have do not void the insulin other than saying not to use it after its expiration date. However, I have also seen some folks continue to use insulin well past its expiration date as well because the insulin has been discontinued and was the only insulin that worked well for their dogs.

All that said, I would not use bulk containers of insulin - too much opportunity for poor mixing and degradation over time. But Martha wasn't talking about buying a bulk container of insulin (have seen some vets who do use those) but in buying a handful of 10mL vials at one time.

Natalie

[k9diabetes]

Re: insulin cost comparison

One of the things that determines how long something like NPH maintains its potency is how often you access the bottle and how thoroughly the solution is mixed each time. There is the potential over time with each access by a needle and variations in how well all of the crystals are mixed for the insulin's effect to change.

Along the same vein, there is more risk of changing the effect of NPH, which has to be mixed before filling the syringe, versus Regular insulin, which does not have to be mixed.

[k9diabetes]

Re: insulin cost comparison

Unopened vials of insulin are good at least through the expiration date on the bottle.

So when ordering online, that is something you have to watch out for if you're buying a bunch at one time. You might get 10 bottles of insulin with an expiration date 6 weeks from now.

I believe that there's very little difference between an unopened vial and one that's been opened but rarely used - after all, the only difference is flipping off the little cap! What degrades insulin over time in the short term is mixing that is bound to be less than perfect and the injection of air and possibly other contaminants with each needle stick into the bottle.

1 unit of insulin is 1 unit of insulin.

And you most likely would need a similar number of units when you switch from one insulin to another.

It can vary some but usually won't be something like half as much or twice as much - should be within a few units at least of the same dosage for each type of insulin.

The difference in price is big when you consider that a 10mL bottle of Vetsulin contains only 400 units of insulin while a 10mL bottle of NPH contains 1,000 units. So you get a lot more injections - two and a half times more - from the same size bottle of NPH. This is because Vetsulin is a "dilute" solution - has less insulin molecules mixed into the fluid.

If you do a switch, your vet should decrease the current dose of Vetsulin by 20-25% to come up with the starting dose of NPH. This is because each insulin works differently with each dog and one can have a stronger or weaker effect than the other. So, to a limited degree, you are stepping back to make sure you don't give too much of the new insulin.

So if you're currently at 18 units of Vetsulin, I'd cut back to 13 or 14 units of NPH to make the switch and monitor very carefully.

Don't forget that you also will need different syringes for the NPH unless you are already using U100 syringes with U40 Vetsulin.

If you end up switching, make sure you thoroughly understand the differences between U40 Vetsulin and U100 NPH and that you reduce the dose starting the new insulin and work UP to the right one.

Natalie

[ravenecw]

Re: insulin cost comparison

I should be working...

So are you suggesting not buying say 10-12 bottles at a time, is that my understanding. It's not something I thought of before but the price would be right and if they didn't go bad...but now reading this maybe this isn't a good idea..... hmmm, so much to think about and so unsure right now....

I wouldn't be ordering online either, i'd go to the Foster and Smith store but i'd still have to check the dates I guess, it wouldn't be worth running for a bottle or two but for 6 or more I could run a couple of times a year and it would be worth it if the insulin didn't go bad etc....

[snow]

Re: insulin cost comparison

My last vet charged me $37/bottle for Vetsulin. My new vets charge $45

I am worried about ordering Vetsulin via mail order getting jiggled and all. I called Foster + Smith and asked about that, they said leave a cooler and some ice out and a note for the FedEx guy to put it in there.

What about the time it spends in the truck? But if I ordered it from F+S I'd save $11/bottle even with the shipping. Devon goes through about 4 bottles a month.

BTW I've used F+S for years and have been pretty happy with them.