Insulin and Syringes

My dog Sandy, a cute little Lhasa Apso, was diabetic. She also had Cushing's disease (which probably caused her diabetes), hypothyroidism, arthritis, allergies and cataracts (caused, most likely, by her diabetes). Unfortunately, Sandy passed away 2 years ago at the age of 13. Sandy had been diagnosed with diabetes and Cushing's disease about 5 years earlier.

I attribute the fact that she lived those 5 years to: a) my pharmacist background and training which taught me the importance of patient compliance which meant giving each dose of medication when it was due, b) being able to recognize changes in her behavior that were signals to me that the insulin dose needed to be adjusted and, c) taking Sandy to the veterinarian as often as her conditions required a visit.
Sandy's diabetes required twice a day dosing with insulin and I want to share these considerations which are necessary when using insulin:

• Insulin such as Vetsulin for dogs and PZI Vet for cats are suspensions and need to be shaken prior to use. HOWEVER, you do not "shake" insulin by pumping your arm up and down. You "Shake" insulin by gently rolling it between your hands.
• Vetsulin and PZI Vet should be stored in an upright position in the refrigerator.
• Vetsulin and PZI Vet are U-40 insulins. This means there are 40 units of insulin in each 1 ml of product. The "human" insulins (Humulin-N, Humulin-R, etc.) are U-100 insulins. This means there are 100 units of insulin in each 1 ml of product.
• It is critical that the correct insulin syringe is used for the type of insulin being used.
• Specifically, use U-40 insulin syringes for Vetsulin and PZI Vet and use U-100 insulin syringes for Humulin-N, Humulin-R and other "human" insulins.

For those of you with diabetic dogs, here's what I want you to remember:

1. For the health of your pet, you MUST be compliant as an owner which means giving your pet the insulin shot every day. Some dogs are given one injection a day, others are given two (or more). Follow your veterinarian's instructions carefully.
2. Roll the vial don't shake it.
3. Use U-40 insulin syringes for U-40 insulin and use U-100 insulin syringes for U-100 insulin.
4. Needles, syringes and lancets are known as "sharps". They are called sharps because that's what they are. The best way to dispose of sharps is to use a sharps container.
5. A sharps container is a single-use container that is filled with used syringes, needles and lancets. When filled to capacity the sharps container can be disposed of safely. Your veterinarian should be able to tell you where these filled sharps containers can be safely dropped off.
6. One brand of U-40 insulin syringes is now packaged in a sharps container. You remove the unused syringe from one part of the container and after use place it back into the used syringe section of the container. When all syringes have been used, the container can be disposed of safely.
7. Insulin syringes should be used one time only. You should not reuse syringes.

Please remember that the pharmacists at 1-800-PetMeds are available to answer any questions you may have regarding the use of insulin and insulin syringes.