Recommended insulin

[Kat M]

Hi all! It seems that vetsulin may not be ideal for my kitty. He started on 1 unit twice a day when he was diagnosed. We had a week after a hypo event that he was off insulin, and he was definitely high during that time, but the vetsulin seems to make him drop too fast (at least on 1unit). I dropped down to 0.5 unit once per day for the last two days, but have not been able to test post shot due to work.

I spoke with my vet today (just to note, this is the vet that has been treating Merlin since his hypo episode, who is a different vet than the one that diagnosed him and started him on the vetsulin - same practice though). She suggests we can try a different type of insulin - either Novolin (less recommended, but cheaper) or Lantus. I am leaning toward Lantus. Or trying the 0.5 unit of vetsulin longer (though it's hard to measure accurately!)

So a couple questions - 1) what has your experience been with different types of insulin for getting diabetes regulated? and 2) has anyone had success using Lantus AFTER having been on a different type of insulin, and gotten their kitty into remission? (I was so bummed when I heard about Lantus' effectiveness, that I wasn't told about it right at the start!)

I will continue the vetsulin at 0.5 unit through the weekend, because it is unlikely I will be able to pick up a different insulin before then. I was planning to get a BG curve this weekend.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

We've had lots of kitties here that were started on Vetsulin and later went to Lantus....I can't remember one that was sorry they'd made the switch

Lantus is a much better insulin for cats...it's gentler and lasts longer....but it does take some time to get used to because it's dosed differently from the Vetsulin....you have to get used to the idea of a "depot" and that you base the dose on how low it takes them, not the Pre-shot numbers.

 

[Kat M]

Thank you! Can you explain more about how it's dosed differently?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Can you explain more about how it's dosed differently?

With Vetsulin, we usually determine the dose based on how high the Pre-shot is and we "hope" to get about a 50% reduction at nadir (so a 300 PS to about 150 nadir)

With Lantus, you don't pay much attention to the Pre-shot....you pay attention to how low the dose takes them.

There's a lot more to it than that, but it's not something that's really easy to explain and it takes experience and time to learn what you're watching for (which is why having the people here with lots of experience watching over us is so valuable)

There's lots of information about Lantus in the "sticky's" at the top of the Lantus forum

 

[JanetNJ]

You dosed 1 unit at 131?! You should have skipped that dose. The days where there is nothing written in your u spaces did you give no insulin? The other time you hypoed you didn't pretest... It may have been low as well. Your spreadsheet has so many things missing, and very few mid cycle numbers, so it's hard to say whether it's working for you. I think it's working, it's bringing your numbers down, but you need more tests and to lower your dose for lower preshots.

 

[Kat M]

Yes, I should have skipped I am new and was a bit overwhelmed. I did a second reading that morning immediately after the 131 and got 194. The vet thinks however that 131 was the correct number and the 194 was a response to stress of getting poked again. In any case, I do plan to switch to Lantus and get more information with monitoring to fill in the spreadsheet. Thanks!

 

[JanetNJ]

Yes, I should have skipped I am new and was a bit overwhelmed. I did a second reading that morning immediately after the 131 and got 194. The vet thinks however that 131 was the correct number and the 194 was a response to stress of getting poked again. In any case, I do plan to switch to Lantus and get more information with monitoring to fill in the spreadsheet. Thanks!

If 1 unit is too much you can do 0.5.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Or trying the 0.5 unit of vetsulin longer (though it's hard to measure accurately!)

Hi Kat, do you have U40 syringes with half-unit markings? Or do they just measure whole units?
(Or, it's possible to use U100 syringes with a conversion chart. This makes measuring small doses much easier, but does mean you'd have to be comfortable using the conversion chart, and be sure you've understood how the conversion works.)

Are you now testing before every shot?
It would be great to get some more current data on your SS so that we can see how the insulin is actually working at the moment.
.