New...Stalling...Need Help

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Jaysonguy

Member Since 2017
Hi, I'm new. I have two diabetic cats named Cape and Speedy.

Currently trying to get Cape in a good zone for her numbers, tried .25 but she was in the 300's. When I try .5 she drops like a stone. We had one night on the 16th where I gave her .25 but I think the syringe's numbers were off and it was higher and she dropped 130. We started .5 again yesterday and she dropped 170 after her test and shot last night, then another 50 and I gave her a snack, now I just did her numbers and she's at 119. We normally do testing and shot around 9-9:30.
 
There really isn't enough data for me to be comfortable telling you to give insulin. That is a shootable number but it would be really low for you and requires close monitoring. I'm advising you to skip the shot for this morning.

Have you read the two protocols here? I'll post more in a minute but wanted to answer quickly.
 
Hi there,
It looks to me that after that drop from red to blue on the 16th she bounced.
On TR we would have recommended that you held the dose a little longer, at least 8 cycles.
It looks like she is clearing the bounce this morning.
Are you able to stay with her and monitor?
do you have supplies (at least 20strips)?
HC food syrup etc?
It looks like she is staying flat for the time being and as it's the end of the cycle the rise will be due to start.
 
If you are able to, you could stall a little longer until you see her start to rise and then shoot, but that would see you off schedule and getting back on schedule may be difficult.
With the limited data, shooting may be risky, especially as taking up the dose may have been a little premature.
 
Just a few thoughts to help you going forward.

At the moment you have pretty much no data in the morning cycles, I'm guessing that's because you are out at work. To help you get some tests in that morning cycle you may want to reconsider what time you shoot in the morning so that it allows you to get a +1 and or a+2, grabbing a test just as you head out the door is a good habit to get into.
At weekends or days off, try and grab spot checks, run a curve once a week, it will help fill the gaps and give you a better idea of what the dose is doing.
With Lantus we dose based on how low the dose is taking kitty, with the current data available, we haven't got a clear idea of that. Those PM tests you've been getting do help, good job getting them, but at the moment we really only have half the picture with no tests in the am cycle to speak of.

Have a read of this sticky if you get a chance, it's full of great tips on how to effectively monitor if you have a full time job, it's written with TR in mind but the points still apply to SLGS
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-glargine-levemir-detemir.9/
 
Thank you for responding.

The limited data made me not shoot. She came in from outside and was labeled a diabetic in the shelter, the last few weeks may be her only time being treated and she's currently very emaciated.

I'm thinking her sweet spot is .37 because .25 is too low and .5 looks too high based on the limited numbers she has. We ordered a digital caliper for more accurate dosing.
 
The limited data is because I don't know if she's an agreeable feral or a very anxious stray.

The 18th with testing during the day really threw her for a loop. She's been in 6 different places in the last month ending her journey here so I'm currently working with her to be better with testing more often.
 
Jaysonguy said:
The limited data is because I don't know if she's an agreeable feral or a very anxious stray
Click to expand...
Poor thing and very admirable of you to take her in. As you know Lantus is dosed based on how low she goes. Without mid cycle tests (at least one every cycle) there is no way to say what the right dose is for her. If it were me I'd take her back down to .25, get some mid cycle tests in and adjust from there.

Skipping shots is not going to help get her regulated but it's needed until there is more data. Safety is always first here.
 
I think skipping was a good move given the info you have.

I would be tempted to take her back to the 0.25u, that saw her drop into blue, and if you are able to get the gaps in the data to see how she is doing on that dose you'll have a better idea where to go from there.
Like I said earlier, even on TR (the more 'aggressive' approach we use) we would have ordinarily held the 0.25u a little longer (at least 8cycles)
I would add that if you did want to follow TR, you really need to be able to find a way to get a couple of tests in each cycle on a regular basis.
If that's impossible to do then SLGS is perhaps better suited to your situation and that would see you hold dose changes for 14 cycles.

I really think that you do not know with certainty that 0.25 was too much.
On the pm cycle of the 16 she went from red to blue and back up to pink, imagine that's a daytime cycle, and you hadn't got any midcycle data, all you would be seeing is red and pink at PS, so it makes me think that you may be missing some lower numbers in that am cycle.

I would probably stick with the 0.25, and try to fill in those gaps, do read that post I linked above, it has great suggestions on how you might be able to organize yourselves to fill in those gaps.

ETA cross posted, understandable that it is hard to get those extra tests in, hopefully given time and patience she'll become less anxious about it. You're doing a great job by the way. Given the limitation in gathering data, it might pay to take it slowly, at least until she becomes more amenable to testing.
 
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Thank you both, I would like to be a regular on here because I hope I'm able to have both Cape and Speedy for the rest of their lives. I'm currently a long term foster that loves these two to pieces and I want them to be a part of our family, I just need to make sure that I can give them the kind of life they deserve as far as testing and treatment.

I'm always ready to learn more and I'll start seeing if I can get more daytime tests for Cape.

I'm home 99% of the time, now during a large portion of that time I don't have the ability to get her to a doctor or hospital if something goes wrong so that's why starting out I'm erring on the side of caution.

The only thing that's stopping me from testing Cape is how timid she is. We're getting the basics down by having a designated testing area and a good system before and after the test along with multiple meals daily so we have testing interactions and good interactions throughout the day.

I'm very sorry, I thought I sent this hours ago but for some reason it didn't post. Thank you again for your help.
 
My Max was very timid. I wasn't going to test at home at first. He would not have survived the three years if I had stuck to that and he didn't pass from diabetes either. What worked was to give him a treat after each test. I used human freeze dried chicken and turkey. The pet ones are fine as well. I used Whole Life pet ones. I used the same strategy for giving fluids. The first time I gave them he hid right after. I started giving a special treat he loved after and he would wait for me to get it.
 
Hi and welcome to Lantus & Levemir Land, the nicest place you never wanted to be.

I think we all admire what you're doing with these two special kitties, and we want to help as much as possible. There is a ton of info on this site, and it looks like you've already been reading some of it. I'll just give you a couple of links that I think might help.

I just put up a post for new member that answers some common questions and issues. It's kind of long, so hang in there - it will really help you work with us to help those two sweet babies. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/updated-tips-for-new-members.173572/

Also, from the New to the Group sticky, here some tips to help you with the testing. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Lastly, we sometimes seem to have our own language around here, so to help you figure out what the heck we're talking about, here is our slang dictionary. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/l-l-land-slang-dictionary.162551/

Ask lots of questions. We love to help!
 
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