# Diabetics - cheaper insulin?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diabetics-cheaper-insulin/252594>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 28, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diabetics-cheaper-insulin/252594 "2004-06-28T19:15:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diabetics-cheaper-insulin/252594/1 "2004-06-28T19:15:39Z")

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My dog is 13 year old and was recently diagnosed with diabetes. We are still struggling to get him regulated, but he has been doing much better since he started insulin. I am not one to begrudge my animals the medicines they need, but I wondered if there is a cheaper source for insulin? I am getting it at a local pharmacy and it is running $31.50 for a bottle of Humalin N. It is obviously not covered by any insurance. He is getting 28 units am and pm (56 units a day), and he is blowing though those bottles. Any other sources?

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diabetics-cheaper-insulin/252594/2 "2004-06-28T19:39:55Z")

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Well, you can buy three vials for $77.63 at drugstore .com, but I think that maybe a talk with your vet might yield a substitute (perhaps a bovine or porcine insulin would be suitable and cheaper (or maybe not). I checked, and Humulin N is common in veterinary practice; the problem is that insulin is not approved for veterinary use by the FDA, so no one makes a product especially for that (of course, a lot of common products are not approved for veterinary use, because the vet market isn’t as lucrative).

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**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diabetics-cheaper-insulin/252594/3 "2004-06-28T22:06:26Z")

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Thanks. My vet said something about switching to the L type, depending on how my dog’s next curve goes. I guess I never realized how expensive diabetic stuff is.

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**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diabetics-cheaper-insulin/252594/4 "2004-06-28T23:04:33Z")

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Wal Mart Reli-on brand. It’s usually about 21 bucks and you can get three vitals online for about 50 (last I checked) cheapest I’ve ever found.

And insulin is nothing you should try paying $75 for test strips every month. 😛