How to adjust for Lower BG Numbers?

Hello,

As some of you have read, Oreo is a very special cat with GI lymphoma. He is on chemo drugs and Prednisilone. So the ideal BG range for Oreo is around 100-200. We are using the Alpha Trak 2 meter.

Oreo has been using 3 units Landus twice daily for several months. At the advise of our vet, my husband and I did not test daily for the first few months. Then we started doing our own weekly curves. One night , we realized that he was dipping from his usual high 200's to 89. Yikes! We phoned the vet and did not give insulin that night, and gave him high carb food. Then went back to 3 units as directed.
We are now testing 3 times a day. Before meals, and at one nadir. Overall, his numbers are lowering. His numbers today were 200 at 5:00 AM, 144 at 11:00 AM and 127 at 5:00 PM.
We felt that 3 units were to high and dropped to 2 units. Our vet felt it was better to keep him consistantly on 3 units even though the numbers were declining. Seriously, we feel as if we are playing Russian Roulette with three units. Our vet's tech said "don't worry, if he goes hypo, you will know it and can deal with the event when it occurs". We don't want to have an event at all!!!
Our vet said that consistancy with dosage and scheduling is very important, but what do you do when the numbers begin dropping? We wondered if you adjust the doses to the appropriate levels based on readings, or do you keep the insulin the same all the time?

We appreciate your advise on this.
Oreo's Mom and Dad

 

Please remember to tell people that you use an Alpha Trak meter... most assume everyone is using a human mater. Maybe you could put a note in your signature... to do so, click "User Control Panel" near the top left of the page, go to the "Profile" tab, and then click "edit signature".

With a normal Lantus protocol you would only reduce the dose if your cat goes below a certain threshold, which is 80 on an Alpha Trak. Since you started right at 3u it's hard to say if you missed his "ideal" dose... but keep in mind some cats do need more insulin, especially if other medications/health conditions are interfering. I don't know what to advise - hopefully someone else will though.

 

Thanks Ry and Scooter,

We do use the Apha Trak meter. Should this be posted on the Lantis group instead?
Thanks
Oreo's mom

 

A post there too wouldn't hurt - there may be some people that just visit the Lantus board and don't come here much