Wow! Vetsulin is back

[k9diabetes]

Per Mark Peterson's most recent blog post, Vetsulin is returning to the U.S. market.

http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/201...-approved.html

Why was the proportion in the short-and long-acting insulin fractions changed?
According to the company, the proportions of the short-acting amorphous fraction and long-acting crystalline fraction have not actually changed, as compared to the original Vetsulin product. Instead, the new stated ratio (65% long-acting and 35% short-acting insulin) represents a more accurate reflection of the actual composition of both the original and updated Vetsulin product

http://www.vetsulin.com/vet/default.aspx

[Linda1]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

Thanks, for link. I sent it off to my vet. She was just saying this week how much she missed being able to get the vetsulin.

[jesse girl]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

i still have jesses first and last vial of vetsilun not sure why i keep it but i do

[Cebe]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

So explain to a girl whose dog was diagnosed after vetsulin was taken off the market: what's so great about it?

[CraigM]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

So explain to a girl whose dog was diagnosed after vetsulin was taken off the market: what's so great about it?

Without getting into the chemical makeup (because I can't), I think the "thing" is that Vetsulin / Caninsulin is identical (or much closer) to dog's naturally produced insulin than human insulin. I think some dogs may have a certain amount of rejection to human insulin. That's my take on it. I also think Vetsulin contains both an intermediate acting, and a fast acting, insulin to "cover" common dog foods (sort of like me adding 0.5 units of Novolin-R to Annie's Novolin-N)

Who knows, some of our pups might benefit from Vetsulin. I'll try to keep an open-mind, but I won't rush to make a switch. The probable higher cost for a U-40 insulin (400 units per 10ml vial, compared to 1000 units per 10ml vial of Novolin-N) will probably make it too expensive for me.

What do others think?

Craig

[jesse girl]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

i probably would not return jesse to vetsilun the whole situation with it when jesse was first diagnosed was not a good experience i am not sure if the product was good or bad for jesse i did not like how it was handled from my vet at the time and the manufacture it left some dog parents who had good regulation had to look else where as tami had to with her pup

more than likely if this will be on the market again vets will not prescribe human insulin anymore at least for new patients there will be more control over the process

i dont know if this is going forward or not its at least a product that is designed for dogs and cats as my mom always said i am from Missouri and you have to show me before i buy into something .

[amydunn19]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

I think it will be great for dogs who have been unable to regulate on nph. I had a friend who just lost her diabetic westie. She was originally on vetsulin and once they took it off the market, her Westie never got back to the same numbers with nph.

I don't know if I would switch at this point in Maggie's life. I do plan to talk to the vet and get his take on it.

I am all for more options!

[BogiesMom]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

I wonder how it would be to switch from Levemir to Vetsulin Levemir is so expensive plus it seems to run out at the 8 hour mark.
I would wait and see what happens down the road before a switch but it is a thought... I'll chat with my vet in a couple months and see what she has to say

[Soaphie & Sydney's Mom]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

My opinion is even if you are somewhat regulated on another type of insulin - don't do it...it's not worth it. What if they take it off the market again?

Soaphie is on Caninsulin / Vetsulin because she is allergic to NPH. First we got it in Canada. Then they stopped shipping. Then the UK. Then when we tried a 2nd shipment from the UK, the shipment was stopped at customs and they asked us if we had a permit with the USDA to import Veterinary Products. Er, no... So now I had to go through the process to apply for this permit with the USDA. I will find out in a couple weeks if we get approved - but now it looks like I don't need the permit to import as we can get it in the US.

Sigh.

Tami

[jenny]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

I think that its great news all round. The more choices people and vets have the better as one size cannot fit all. I think this is generally Natalies view too.

It does seem that the formulation is going to be slightly different in US vetsulin now ( 35/65) and I have not heard in the UK that we are changing from the current (30/70) formulation of caninsulin, but will watch out for any new on this.

Also seems that the new US formualtion requires shaking of the vial to mix. Thats a new concept to me too. And we are always so careful not to shake the vials of canninsulin but to roll them gently to mix. Hummmm.

I am so pleased that it will hopefully help Tami with her supply problems which must of been awful

Just as a foot note: Pippa is on UK canninsulin and doing really well . My diabetic cat Basil has also been on canninsulin 4.5 years and is also doing really well. I use the cannuinsulin syringes 40u per ml for Basil and the 100u syringes for Pippa because of the shorter needles available and I do the conversion on dose myself for her.

[Soaphie & Sydney's Mom]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

I think that its great news all round. The more choices people and vets have the better as one size cannot fit all. I think this is generally Natalies view too.

It does seem that the formulation is going to be slightly different in US vetsulin now ( 35/65) and I have not heard in the UK that we are changing from the current (30/70) formulation of caninsulin, but will watch out for any new on this.

Also seems that the new US formualtion requires shaking of the vial to mix. Thats a new concept to me too. And we are always so careful not to shake the vials of canninsulin but to roll them gently to mix. Hummmm.

I am so pleased that it will hopefully help Tami with her supply problems which must of been awful

Just as a foot note: Pippa is on UK canninsulin and doing really well . My diabetic cat Basil has also been on canninsulin 4.5 years and is also doing really well. I use the cannuinsulin syringes 40u per ml for Basil and the 100u syringes for Pippa because of the shorter needles available and I do the conversion on dose myself for her.

Oh my goodness! I didn't realize you had a diabetic dog and cat! And doing the conversion on the needles! Wow!

Tami

[Ladybug]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

I'm not excited about Vetsulin being back on the market and would never go back to using it. Ladybug was started on Vetsulin in October 2008 and did wonderful until September 2009 when everything went downhill. At that time, the FDA only issued a warning about Vetsulin not a recall. Her health deteriorated rapidly until the vet told me what was going on and told me to put her on Humulin N. Plus, the U-40 syringes are like daggers and she would yelp every time I gave her a shot.

However, for those of you who have a dog/cat that absolutely has to have the Vetsulin, I am extremely happy for you. It has to put your mind at ease knowing that you will be able to go to your vet for insulin.

Linda

[pixiegirl]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

I know when Connor was first diagnosed (fall of 2012) and was (still is) a bit difficult to regulate, my Vet said that Vetsulin was off the market and was sorry about that. He said some dogs did very well on it as it is closer to the make up of the insulin that dogs produce.

When is it coming out and will it be expensive?

Why was it taken off the market?


susan

[jim maceri]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

Interesting point in the vetsulin article......I believe they consider "regulated" between 100-250 for diabetic dogs. That is the first time I've seen a range for regulation stated by any insulin manufacturer. Did I read this right?

That is the same range my vet keeps referring to as being a regulated state.

[Patty]

Re: Wow! Vetsulin is back

I think that its great news all round. The more choices people and vets have the better as one size cannot fit all. I think this is generally Natalies view too.

I'd have to agree with Jen here that more options make it easier to find the right 'fit' for some dogs.

Without getting into the chemical makeup (because I can't), I think the "thing" is that Vetsulin / Caninsulin is identical (or much closer) to dog's naturally produced insulin than human insulin. I think some dogs may have a certain amount of rejection to human insulin. That's my take on it. I also think Vetsulin contains both an intermediate acting, and a fast acting, insulin to "cover" common dog foods (sort of like me adding 0.5 units of Novolin-R to Annie's Novolin-N)

Like Craig said, Vetsulin is closer to the chemical make-up of a dog's naturally produced insulin. But sometimes that doesn't necessarily work in the dog's favor. For dogs that put their insulin to work very quickly, the slight resistance they may have to human insulin could help slow down absorption and be a better fit than Vetsulin. A dog that also doesn't get much of a food rise may not need the faster acting portion of this combination.

Like everything, it's really individual. I like to see options available, as long as a veterinary practice doesn't use one option for all pets, which we've seen even with insulins like Lantus that are more unpredictable in dogs.

In the end, it's really exciting for dogs like Soaphie!