Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

[MikeMurphy]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

Hello!!

Brand new newbie here..... my 13 y/o heeler mix girl was just diagnosed last night. Got the 10ml vial of Novolin N at Walmart last night for the 24.88.

Wondering if they make LARGER vials?? She is about 60 lbs and our vet prescribed 20 units every 12 hours..... so this is going to get pretty spendy for me pretty quickly...... Not to worry, I will do whatever I have to to keep her as healthy as possible.

But at this rate, she will be going through about 12 vials per month and even at $25 a vial, that adds up.....

a friend suggested maybe looking at Canadian pharmacies??

Any advice anyone can offer will be most welcome..... She got her first injection last night and her second this morning, and I can tell she is feeling better, just not all the way yet.

This is a whole new world for me and for her.....

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The concentration of Novolin N is 100 units of insulin per milliliter, so a 10ml vial would contain 1,000 units. So you should be fine. The vial would last 1,000 / 40 = 25 days.

I’m a little concerned that your girl may have been started on too high of a dose. A conservative starting dose for a dog is .2 units per pound, twice daily. So the starting dose for a 60lb dog would be about 60 x .2 = 12 units, twice daily.

My dog, Lily, weighs 60lbs and is currently on 16 units of Novolin, twice daily.

I would contact your vet and verify the starting dose.

[Raysaint]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

I agree the starting dose seems a bit high. What formula did your vet use?
In Canada here, vets usually start at 0.5 units per kilogram (a kg is 2.2 lbs)

I live in Ontario and pay $30 for a vial of Humulin N.

[latetotheparty]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

thank you all for responding so quickly..... There is such a huge amount of information I am having to digest and learn.... my head is spinning!!

First thing I have figured out is that I didn't understand the relationship between units of insulin and ml of fluid, so I am not so worried now about THAT expense.....

She has been refusing most foods over the past 4-5 days.... I have tried everything from boiled chicken breast to an EXTREMELY expensive food from New Zealand to two kinds of FreshPet to boiled chicken livers to canned cat food to cooked hamburger.... she will eat a bit of whatever the new offering is and then refuse it the next time it is offered. So far, the hamburger has been the most successful..... I just want her to eat more than what she has been.... presently, the 10 lb chihuahua eats more than she is..... she has lost 15 pounds over the past couple of months, some of which, admittedly, she needed to lose, but we are into the unhealthy zone now.....

Thankfully, I have had human friends with diabetes over the years.... wait, that doesn't sound right!!.... but in any case, I am aware of the relationship between food and insulin and blood sugar, so I halved the amount of insulin I give her..... I think I may still have been giving her too much, based on more reading and friends' advice.... she has arthritis in her hips and knees and initially, I thought the issues I was seeing were from THAT, but am now convinced I have been overdosing her....


I have been giving her dabs of honey all afternoon and I definitely see some improvement.

I have an AlphaTrack II glucose monitor on order that should be here by Wednesday.....

I am taking her straight into the vet's office in the morning and hope that she will be hospitalized for a couple or few days to get this whole nutrition, insulin, glucose thing straightened out....

I am just so sorry that this all came to light over a holiday week

[jesse girl]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

sometimes challenges come at inappropriate times

there is usually a reason for appetite problems and for diabetics the pancreas can be a problem for diabetics if it gets inflamed it can be quite painful and at the vet you want that checked

hi and low sugar can bring on lethargy which can bring appetite problems

it can also become behavioral from being sick in the past and association of food to not feeling well . maybe change up the routine even a different bowl or location to eat

there is a reason and its just figuring what that is. if its medical hopefully the vet can pinpoint the problem

[Raysaint]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

Definitely get the test for pancreatitis. Having no appetite is a main symptom.
And remember that the dog will need some carbohydrates in her diet, not just meat/protein.

[latetotheparty]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

Definitely get the test for pancreatitis. Having no appetite is a main symptom.
And remember that the dog will need some carbohydrates in her diet, not just meat/protein.

Yes, I feed a well balanced diet to all 6 of my dogs..... but I was just trying to get her to eat SOMETHING.....


she is in the hospital and having many blood and other tests.... She will stay there until she is better stabilized.....

[mrs.athey]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

Hello!

I'm brand new to the forum, but my dog, Bailey, has been diabetic for four years now.

When she was diagnosed, the vet tech told me explicitly that she needed Humulin N insulin, and that I couldn't use anything else! He also went on to tell me that I would be told frequently about a cheaper and 'generic brand of insulin' available at WalMart (ReliOn). But that I should not attempt to use it because he knew of several cases where dogs reacted very poorly to it and even died!

Naturally, I have never once explored the subject because, based on what was told to, there was nothing worth exploring.
However, I had a conversation with a Pharmacist today that opened my eyes a little and prompted me to ask some questions.

Based on everything I have read here, it seems the vast majority of people on this forum us the ReliOn from WalMart. Which is a great sign!

However, is there anyone here who started their dog with Humulin N and transitioned to the ReliOn? How did your dog react? Were there any noticeable differences or side effects?

I'm sure this seems silly, since so many of you use this insulin on a daily basis. But I had the fear put in me years ago and am attempting to come to terms with the fact that I may have been greatly misled in that moment, and have been paying a rather expensive amount for Humulin N for several years now.

Thank you in advance!

[farrwf]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

Hello!

I'm brand new to the forum, but my dog, Bailey, has been diabetic for four years now.

When she was diagnosed, the vet tech told me explicitly that she needed Humulin N insulin, and that I couldn't use anything else! He also went on to tell me that I would be told frequently about a cheaper and 'generic brand of insulin' available at WalMart (ReliOn). But that I should not attempt to use it because he knew of several cases where dogs reacted very poorly to it and even died!

That tech needs to find another line of work.

The WalMart store brand, ReliOn, is Novolin which is not a generic. Novolin is at least as popular a brand as Humulin, if not more popular. They are each produced by major pharma companies.

Welcome to the best place on the planet for doggy diabetes information, advice and fellowship.

[CraigM]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

Hello!

I'm brand new to the forum, but my dog, Bailey, has been diabetic for four years now.

When she was diagnosed, the vet tech told me explicitly that she needed Humulin N insulin, and that I couldn't use anything else! He also went on to tell me that I would be told frequently about a cheaper and 'generic brand of insulin' available at WalMart (ReliOn). But that I should not attempt to use it because he knew of several cases where dogs reacted very poorly to it and even died!

Naturally, I have never once explored the subject because, based on what was told to, there was nothing worth exploring.
However, I had a conversation with a Pharmacist today that opened my eyes a little and prompted me to ask some questions.

Based on everything I have read here, it seems the vast majority of people on this forum us the ReliOn from WalMart. Which is a great sign!

However, is there anyone here who started their dog with Humulin N and transitioned to the ReliOn? How did your dog react? Were there any noticeable differences or side effects?

I'm sure this seems silly, since so many of you use this insulin on a daily basis. But I had the fear put in me years ago and am attempting to come to terms with the fact that I may have been greatly misled in that moment, and have been paying a rather expensive amount for Humulin N for several years now.

Thank you in advance!

My dog went from Novolin-N to Humulin-N and back to Novolin-N over about a three year time. Didn’t see ANY difference.

You might be wondering why I switched back and forth? Walmart had switched providers for their $25 NPH insulin, so I used whatever Walmart was rebranding ReliOn

Craig

[jesse girl]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

fear mongering

dogs are not the easiest diabetics to control . i think thats partly because in general all insulin's for dogs may not be completely appropriate for there metabolism but thats all we got . dont you find it a bit odd that your vet recommends a human insulin and not the insulin designed for dogs so thats what we got to deal with and you may get a complete different approach with another vet . its very individualistic for each dog finding what approach will work

the relion n insulin is not generic its novolin n sold under the relion label at walmart to get there substantial discount .

now there will always be an ongoing argument which is better and it appears some vets prefer the humulin over novolin . jesse has used both and i dont see any real difference . maybe there are some dogs that may do better on one or the other i cant say for sure all i can say it doesnt seem to matter for jesse

[mrs.athey]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

Thank you all so much for your feedback! It is incredibly helpful. I feel so much better, along with the tiniest bit of frustration toward that vet tech. BUT as long as my doggo is healthy, I'm good
We are going to try the ReliOn next time we pick up some insulin!

[amydunn19]

Re: Humilin N vs Novalon N & Reli On (WalMart)

My dog switched from Humulin to Novolin N and I preferred Novolin N. It seems to have a longer duration. Maggie always seemed to run out of Humulin a couple of hours right before her next meal and shot but Novolin seemed to last that extra two hours. Also, my Humulin started losing effectiveness after 30 days. I would start to see those numbers climbing, until I got a new bottle. Novolin could last me 6 weeks and probably beyond but it was so much cheaper, I just bought a new one every month. The differences are very subtle and the average person probably wouldn’t pick up on those things but we tested on a regular schedule.

Also, the drug reps visit the vet offices just like doctor offices and the Eli Lilly reps wore my vets office out on Humulin.