Dosing advice please?

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Darcy and Jonesy

Darcy and Jonesy

Member Since 2015
Hi everyone,

My name is Darcy and my "sugar boy" is Lebowski. Long story short (well, probably long . . . ) he was diagnosed early this year, was only on insulin for a few months. He's been in remission UNTIL recently. (Totally, 110% my fault. He was getting dry food. I know. I deserve to be whipped)

I'd been running curves about every 6 weeks or so, and random testing, but no set schedule. This past Wednesday morning I tested him and he came up at 29.4 (I'm in Canada, if multiplied by 18, that would be around 529) *BTW, I'm not sure exactly how much info I should be posting here on my first post?? My apologies if too much info!

I called my vet during the day while at work. She said give him 2 units (Lantus) when I got home, approx 6:30 pm. I did this, had to go out in the evening, and tested again around 10:30 pm. (Oh, and yes, he was totally CUT OFF from the dry food from that morning) At 10:30 he came up at 11.2 / 202 (Oh, I'm using an AlphaTrak meter)

Thursday morning, 6:45 am, tested before food, came up at 2.8 / 50.4. I fed him, tested again at 7:15, after his food, he'd come up to 4.4 / 79. Before I left for work, 8:45 am, I tested one last time, he was at 6.6 / 119. I left for work, feeling confident. Did not shoot.

Got home, tested him around 7:00 pm, he was at 4.4 / 79. Did not shoot

This morning, Friday, tested before food, he was climbing, at 18.7 / 337. Fed him, tested again around 45 minutes later, was still climbing at 21.1 / 380

I tested about 20 minutes ago, and he is way back up to 30.4 / 547

The REASON I'm coming here for advice is because that first night, I'd posted on the Feline Diabetes board and had a lot of people saying that 2 units was too much, too soon. That he needed to "detox" from the dry food. But it is now day 3 with only wet food, boiled chicken, and dehydrated chicken as treats.

Do I shoot tonight? If so, start him with one unit??

Thanks so much in advance!
Darcy, and my orange alpha boy, Lebowski
 
How much does Lebowski weigh? And is that an "ideal" weight for him or is he overweight/underweight (and if so, how much should he weigh?)

Also, I know you're getting used to the board, but as soon as you can, it'll be important for you to start our spreadsheet program. Here are Instructions on Setting up the FDMB spreadsheet.....if you have trouble, let us know!!

When is your next shot due? (How long?)
 
Hi, Lebowski is pretty much at his ideal weight now, if I remember correctly, he's around 12 pounds right now. He is 15 years old, and over the past months has lost weight along his spine. But my vet said the loss of mass along his spine could partially be due to his age? And that he's getting more protein than fat right now? He is a "big boy" in regards to him not being a tiny boned cat.
I'll work on doing up a spreadsheet, thank you.
Re his next shot, due to his numbers today, I'm going to assume he should get a shot tonight after dinner (I should feed him within the next 30 minutes or so) But I'm hesitant, should I give him 1 unit? And I don't know if I should be giving him another unit in the morning, which I'll assume will be based on what his number is in the morning.

Sorry, I'm obviously long winded ;)
 
OK...first, you don't want him to eat for the 2 hours before shot time....if you didn't shoot this morning, you can shoot any time you want tonight as long as you're able to shoot again in 12 hours (we're on a 6am/6pm schedule here)

At 12 lbs, the beginning dose on Tight Regulation would be 1.3, but we usually like to start them a little lower, so 1U sounds like a good place to start for you. It's much safer to go up slowly than it is to give too much, too soon and have to deal with a hypo

We generally TEST/FEED/SHOOT, all in about 5-10 minutes....Test first to make sure they're high enough to give insulin at all, Feed to make sure they're eating "normally" and then shoot

Will add more info in a few minutes for you
 
Okay, you lost me I'm afraid. You say he shouldn't eat for 2 hours before a shot? But then you said test/feed/shoot

so confused . . . ;) Either way, off to test and feed right now . . .
 
OK...there are 2 different protocols for Lantus...One is Tight Regulation which gives the best chance at remission and dose adjustments are made as often as every 3 days (6 cycles). It generally requires more testing, but getting your cat into better numbers sooner gives him the best chance at remission

The other is Start Low, Go Slow....dose changes are only made once a week after doing a curve (either every 2 hours for 12 hours or every 3 hours for 18 hours)

No matter which one, it'll be important to always get tests before shots ..the AMPS and PMPS (AM Pre-Shot and PM Pre-shot) and then if at all possible, at least 1 mid-cycle test during the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle

When you first start, we suggest a "no shot" limit of 200, but that doesn't necessarily mean you don't shoot...it means to stall, DON'T FEED and post and ask for help. The first few times you shoot under 200, we like to have someone with experience watching out for you. As you get more data, that "no shot" number comes down so you're learning to shoot lower and lower numbers. Those of us with lots of data who know our cats well will shoot anything over 50

You'll need to read over the protocols and decide which one works for you (You can always change your mind though)

It'll also help us for you to get your signature lines filled out. Just click on your name at the top right and choose "Signature"....a new box will pop up and you put stuff like your name/cats name, date of diagnosis, type of food, type of insulin, type of meter, and other health problems and a general idea of where you live are what most of us have (You can read ours below)

When you get your spreadsheet working, you'll put the link to it in your signature too so we can go look at how he's doing anytime we need to
 
Darcy Kul said:
You say he shouldn't eat for 2 hours before a shot? But then you said test/feed/shoot
Click to expand...

Right...we don't want them to eat for the 2 hours before the shot so the Pre-shot test isn't influenced by food....As long as the PS test is above 200(for now), you'd go ahead and feed and then shoot
 
SO glad you made it here. You are not a newbie and have your SS up, I'd suggest posting this in Lantus/Levemir section and going forward. Everyone's on the same insulin and understands the nuances and can best help guide you with the protocol. We need to be sure Mr. L gets back on track and stays there! This is where Chris posts daily w/ Chyna, and us too when I got my Hank into remission with their help years back. Cross post this thread there, and then hopefully you'll start posting daily so they can get to know him and his patterns and help you most. Hugs and welcome to FDMB!!!!
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-glargine-levemir-detemir.9/
 
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