From:
"April Armstrong Campbell"
Date: 2005-05-13 16:34:45 UTC
Subject: Self-Administered Lupron
To: <sjone9@bellsouth.net>
Cc: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <003701c557d9$ac285010$6501a8c0@bigbox>
"Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 15:03:29 -0400
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
From: Shaie <sjone9@bellsouth.net>
Message-ID: <42825701.9080900@bellsouth.net>
We have 7 ferrets. We adopt those who are ill and unadoptable. Three
sweethearts need Lupron monthly. Does anyone have experience giving
Lupron injections at home and is there a substantial cost-saving? Thanks
for any input.
StephenJ"
Hi. It depends on what your vet charges you for; at my last job, where we =
did a lot of lupron shots between all our ferret and bird clients, we were=
able to provide lupron very cheap b/c we used so much of it that it was po=
ssible for us to do this ($28 for a 125 mcg injection). For pets that had =
already had an exam and were started on a lupron course, we only charged fo=
r the shot itself-$28-because subsequent shots were given by a technician, =
without requiring an additional DVM appointment. So it wasn't more expensi=
ve to do the shot at the hospital than out.
Another hospital in the area didn't use lupron often, so it was $200+ for a=
n injection, regardless of whether or not they charged an exam fee.
If you are buying individual doses and your vet can teach you how to proper=
ly do the injections, it is certainly feasible to do them yourself; I am a =
vet tech, and my last pet on lupron got her injections at home. =
It needs to be frozen once made up. If you are buying a whole vial, you w=
ill need to make up the whole thing into individual doses in individual syr=
inges to be frozen that way, and it needs to be all made up within an hour;=
then those doses are good until whatever the vial itself says for an expir=
ation date. (Your vet probably could and probably should do that for you.)=
The long and the short is that it really depends on what your vet is chargi=
ng for when they do the injections, what they are able to sell the doses fo=
r, and whether or not they will send you home with it to do yourselves anyw=
ay...
But it is certainly pretty easy to do ONCE YOU ARE PROPERLY TAUGHT HOW by y=
our veterinary staff and very feasible to do at home.
Hope that helps!
-April
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