Managing Canine Diabetes on a Budget
Sticker shock! I am not talking about the price tag of a new car or a house or that favorite pair of spendy shoes, I’m talking about the estimate we are handed from our vet to manage diabetes. You may have spent a small fortune at the vets because your dog was ill when you took her for that check-up. Then tack on insulin, syringes and prescription food. And of course your vet needs to run blood glucose curves every seven to ten days to adjust insulin. This all adds up quickly and it’s not uncommon to see bills from $1,000 - $8,000. The high end is normally due to hospital stays because of illnesses at the time of diagnosis like pancreatitis or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
Cost is one of the main reasons that some vets suggest euthanizing a newly diagnosed diabetic dog. They require insulin and special food for the rest of their lives and some people cannot afford the proposed $200 + a month.
I am lucky enough that I never heard those words from our vet when Lucy was diagnosed with pancreatitis and diabetes. I was in sticker shock, we spent $605.87 in 24 hours and I chose to nurse Lucy at home. If I chose to have her hospitalized for pancreatitis, I shudder to think what the bill would have been.
Many of us must work with a budget so today I want to give some suggestions to help lower the overall cost of managing canine diabetes. We CAN reduce our monthly cost by a lot with the tips in this blog.
Grab a cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage and let’s get to it!
Insulin
Many of our dogs are started on Vetsulin / Caninsulin, it is made specifically for dogs and cats, and is a U40 intermediate acting insulin that is porcine (pork) based. Part of this insulin acts as a regular type insulin (35%) and the balance is a true intermediate acting insulin. It has two peaks and the first peak helps reduce wet food spikes. Vetsulin / Caninsulin also requires U40 syringes. Vetsulin in the USA is $61.00 through Chewy. Each 10 mL via has 400 units and needs to be replaced every 42 days.
Novolin N (Novolin ge NPH in Canada) is a human U100 intermediate acting insulin that has been available since 1987 and was widely used in dogs before Vetsulin / Caninsulin was introduced to the market. Novolin N can be purchase at Walmart of Sam’s Club in the USA for $24.88 per 10 mL via. Each vial has 1,000 units and is good for 42 days.
Many diabetic dogs do well on Novolin N!
Syringes
U40 syringes for Vetsulin/Caninsulin can be expensive when purchased at the vet’s office. For a 50-day supply along with a sharps container I was paying $37.00, and this was in 2015.
You can purchase U40 syringes online with a prescription for much less: anywhere from $12.76 - $20.00. Don’t forget that there are shipping charges, so I recommend buying multiple boxes at a time.
U100 syringes can be purchased at most pharmacies, at Walmart they were about $13.00 for a box of 100, but they often do not have the proper length needle for our dogs. U100 syringes can be purchased online as well.
Tip: Smaller dogs need 5/16” (8 mm) length needles and medium to large dogs require ½” (12.7 mm) length needles. This ensures that insulin is getting to the proper subcutaneous area.
Sharps Containers and Disposal
Sharps containers are great, don’t get me wrong but they are bulky and can be expensive if purchased at the vet’s office. After looking up disposal laws in my area, I found that I could drop used sharps at our local sheriff’s department for free. Acceptable containers I could use were detergent bottles and Gatorade bottles. When we accumulated a couple (or several) filled containers we dropped them in the sharps bin at the sheriff’s department. Look online for sharps drop-off locations, many are free. Just make sure you use approved containers; you can look that up as well since every county/state has different rules.
If you feel more comfortable using a sharps container they can be purchased online for way less than what I was paying, 100 syringes and a sharps container was $37.00!
You can also use needle clippers; they clip off the needle safely and in most cases the needleless syringes can be tossed in the trash. Be sure to check your local guidelines for disposing of needleless syringes properly!
Dog Food
Prescription dog food is expensive, for example: Hills Science Diet WD Dry food is $97.99 for a 25 lb. bag on Chewy. A 17.6 lb. bag of Royal Canin Glycobalance is $79.99 on Chewy. That is pricey and many of us cannot afford that, especially if we have a large dog. There are commercial options that cost less and in my opinion have better ingredients. Look for a commercial food that is higher in protein and lower in fat. This can be a bit tricky since dry food needs a binder; dog food companies use fat or starches (carbs) to bind the food, without one or the other the food crumbles. We do have to watch fat content since our dogs are prone to pancreatitis. If your dog has pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis, food that is under 10% on a dry matter basis is recommended. Dogs that do not or never have had pancreatitis should stick with as close to 12% fat on a dry matter basis as possible.
A couple brands that are good non-prescription options are:
- American Journey Grain Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Senior Dry, 24 lbs. for $54.99 @Chewy
- Nature’s Logic Sardine Feast Dry, 25 lbs. for $89.99 @Chewy.
- Nutri Source Weight Management, 30 lbs. for $75.01 @Pet Flow
- Wellness Core Reduced Fat Dry, 26 lbs. for $72.99 at @Chewy
Note: Free shipping on these foods and most have an option for subscribe and save.
Pro tip: weigh your dog’s food each meal. Consistency is important when it comes to diabetic dogs and five grams of dry food will affect blood glucose levels.
If you need a carb and dry matter basis calculator, please click here and bookmark it for future use!
Blood Glucose Curves
Running blood glucose curves are necessary to get our dogs to target levels and insulin should not be increase without a curve run. Curves at the vet’s office can be expensive and are often not accurate due to increased stress levels, we call this stress hyperglycemia or stress hypoglycemia.
The first two curves that Lucy had were run at the vet’s office, subsequent blood glucose curves were run at home and I emailed curve results to my vet. He called me after reviewing results with advice on what to do. Your vet should work with you and should encourage testing blood glucose levels and running curves at home.
You need to use an animal blood glucose meter to run curves and while test strips can be a bit pricey, they cost much less than having a curve run at the vet’s office. Looking at Lucy’s file a curve at the vet’s office was $173.00. Eight test strips and a curve at home cost about $4.00.
While writing this blog I went through Lucy’s vet bills to see just how much money we initially spent on her care, this was back in 2015 so I had forgotten just how much was spent and why I was a bit stressed about monthly cost. Memories flooded back and I remembered just why I was stressed when I added them all up! Here is a quick breakdown:
- Initial check up with senior blood panel: $267.54
- Follow-up appointment for insulin and medications: $284.42
- Five cans Rx food: $15.91
- Follow up visit (office charge only): $38.00
That was in four days and like I said, I nursed Lucy at home when she had pancreatitis!
Two weeks after diagnosis Lucy required a dental to remove a cracked molar, which cost $655.99. Each curve at the vets was $173.00!
Food, insulin and syringes with sharps container was $224.11 every 30 days.
I hope this blog has helped you realize that you can manage canine diabetes on a budget…it is possible and many of have done it. I was able to cut cost down to about $100 per month by using Novolin N, purchasing U100 syringes on PetTest, feeding Wellness Core Reduced Fat dry along with a lean protein and veggie and running all my curves at home.
Below are links to products available through PetTest. Shipping is free on orders over $19.95 in the USA ($49.95 USD in Canada).
PetTest U40 Syringes:
0.5 cc, 31 gauge, 5/16” - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-pettest-u-40-insulin-syringes-31g-5cc-5-16-100-box/
Advocate U100 Syringes:
0.3 cc, 30 gauge, 5/16” - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-syringes-30g-3cc-5-16-100-box/
0.5 cc, 30 gauge, 5/16” - https://shoppettest.com/syringes-30g-0-5cc/
0.3 cc, 30 gauge, ½” - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-u-100-insulin-syringes-30g-3cc-1-2-100-box-1/
0.3 cc, 31 gauge, 5/16” - https://shoppettest.com/syringes-31g-3cc/
0.5 cc, 31 gauge, 5/16” - https://shoppettest.com/syringes-31g-5cc/
PetTest 1.5 quart Sharps Container - https://shoppettest.com/1-5-quart-sharps-container/
BD Safe-Clip Needle Clipping & Storage Device - https://shoppettest.com/bd-safe-clip-needle-clipping-storage-device/
Advocate Universal Digital Food Scale - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-universal-digital-food-scale/
PetTest Meter Kit - https://shoppettest.com/pettest-meter-kit/
PetTest Test Strips:
35 count - https://shoppettest.com/pettest-strips-35-ct/
50 count - https://shoppettest.com/pettest-strips-50-ct/
Until next week stay comfy and caffeinated!
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please start a conversation below.
If you are looking for a Facebook community to join for support, I have proudly been an admin in Diabetic Dog Owners for over five years. You can also join Canine Diabetes Support and Information on Facebook as well.
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Do you need a blood glucose meter kit for your diabetes arsenal? Click here to purchase one today!
For a printable version of this blog click here.