Lowering insulin dose: New Member

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Bijou’s Mom

Member Since 2020
Hi,
My 16 yo old cat was diagnosed with diabetes last fall. It took several months to get the right dose which was 4.5 units 2x daily. A month ago she crashed, I tried maple syrup with only a little luck. I rushed her to hospital. She was at 27 BC. We stabilized her. In the next two weeks I monitored her visually closely and two more times she went low. I was able to revive her again with syrup. We slowly lowered the dose of Vetsulin. Now she gets one unit 2x a day. She seems ok but the vet and I are monitoring her weekly. Has anyone had this happen? I am truly puzzled. Thanks for any insight. Vet mentioned glargine but it’s so $$.
 
You are so lucky to still have Bijou with you!

One thing you can do right away is learn to home test. That will keep her from having those hypoglycemic episodes. We are strong proponents of home testing and it gives you control of your cat's treatment.

If you live in the US, you can get a Relion Prime blood glucose meter from WalMart for $9 and strips are $9 for 50 or $17.88 for 100. A box of lancets (to poke with) can run from about $2 to $12. I also liked to use cotton cosmetic pads so I had something to protect my finger from getting poked and after testing, I'd just fold it over to apply pressure to China's ear to stop any bruising.

Home testing isn't hard and most cats actually learn to like it because they get a special treat for tests. If you develop a routine, it won't be long before she'll come running to her "testing spot" when you start to get the supplies out.

Here's one video on home testing but there are lots of them on YouTube

Vetsulin is a harsh insulin that's better for dogs...it tends to hit cats hard and fast and then wear off before the next shot is due. Glargine is a much better choice for most cats.

Most of us buy ours (either Lantus or Basaglar...both are Glargine insulin) from Canada because it's 1/3 to 1/2 the price compared to the US. Here's information on buying insulin from Canada
 
Home testing seems daunting but you CAN do this! I was all thumbs and Trouble certainly wasnt on board with it but we got er done. After failures and tears we finally got it done. YOU CAN TOO!
This is the best site to help you kelp Bijou! Listen to the good folks here, theres a wealth of info just waiting for you.
WELCOME TO FDMB!
 
Thank you both. So appreciate your responses! I want to learn how to home test and while a bit anxious, know I can do it. The ReliOn meter - is it for humans and how do I then interpret results from human to cat? I have an vet appmnt tomorrow morning. I’m going to see about getting the glargine (lantus) prescription and get from CAN. Appreciate link for that!
 
Bijou’s Mom said:
The ReliOn meter - is it for humans and how do I then interpret results from human to cat?
Click to expand...
Yes, the Relion line of meters are made for humans.
There is no interpretation, or conversion needed from 1 type of meter to another. You are looking for blood glucose ranges, not exact numbers. No meter, human or pet specific, will give you that kind of accuracy.

Too high is too high, and you need to adjust the dose for that. Too low is too low and you feed to prop up the BG numbers and/or lower the insulin dose.

The Relion is a Walmart brand. You always want to buy test strips that match the meter you are using. Plus you will need lancets, to poke the ear with.

Your vet may prefer that you use a pet specific meter like the Alphatrak 2. Let them know that meter has very costly test strips, and if you can't afford that much for the strips for a meter like that, let the vet know of your financial constraints.
 
Thanks this is all useful info for me. I now wish we would have started with the glargine in the very beginning but at least it’s not too late to change.
 
One more question, if / when I get her adjusted again, does the frequency of urination ever normalize? She’s still peeing a lot. If I’m supposed to post this new question somewhere else please tell me. I am still learning the rules. Thank you!
 
This is the correct forum for any members to ask any questions. New members and old, both post here.

Bijou’s Mom said:
One more question, if / when I get her adjusted again, does the frequency of urination ever normalize?
Click to expand...
Yes, the peeing does taper off, back to normal as you get the blood glucose under control. The size of the pee puddles go from gigantic to extra large, to large, to medium to normal. It takes time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Would you update your User Id profile a bit for us please? Adding your location to your profile, is helpful to us as is updating your "Signature."

Some info on doing that is here:
Signature instructions.



Sure would love you to take 60 seconds and put some helpful information in your User Id profile, including the "Signature" portion.

Go to the top right corner of the screen, click on your user name, a drop down list will appear, select "Signature" from that list. Start typing in the text box that appears and be sure to click on the "Save Changes" button at the end of the text box.

Information like your first name, your cat's name age and sex, DX: (diagnosis date), insulin used, meter used (when you get one), food fed, and then the SS (spreadsheet) link when you get that setup are so, so helpful to those of us responding to members. That signature information will be "magically" attached at the end of all your posts. Signature and other user profile information can be updated as needed.

While you are there, editing your user profile, if you could update your profile to include your location, that is helpful also.

Thanks.
 
Prob about 3 to 4 years ago? Guessing. Probably due. I’ve been just dealing with the whole diabetes thing in my focus, ( and current on immunizations too). I haven’t done more. I’ll speak with vet tomorrow
 
Deb & Wink said:
This is the correct forum for any members to ask any questions. New members and old, both post here.


Yes, the peeing does taper off, back to normal as you get the blood glucose under control. The size of the pee puddles go from gigantic to extra large, to large, to medium to normal. It takes time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Would you update your User Id profile a bit for us please? Adding your location to your profile, is helpful to us as is updating your "Signature."

Some info on doing that is here:
Signature instructions.



Sure would love you to take 60 seconds and put some helpful information in your User Id profile, including the "Signature" portion.

Go to the top right corner of the screen, click on your user name, a drop down list will appear, select "Signature" from that list. Start typing in the text box that appears and be sure to click on the "Save Changes" button at the end of the text box.

Information like your first name, your cat's name age and sex, DX: (diagnosis date), insulin used, meter used (when you get one), food fed, and then the SS (spreadsheet) link when you get that setup are so, so helpful to those of us responding to members. That signature information will be "magically" attached at the end of all your posts. Signature and other user profile information can be updated as needed.

While you are there, editing your user profile, if you could update your profile to include your location, that is helpful also.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I did!
 
Deb & Wink said:
This is the correct forum for any members to ask any questions. New members and old, both post here.


Yes, the peeing does taper off, back to normal as you get the blood glucose under control. The size of the pee puddles go from gigantic to extra large, to large, to medium to normal. It takes time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Would you update your User Id profile a bit for us please? Adding your location to your profile, is helpful to us as is updating your "Signature."

Some info on doing that is here:
Signature instructions.



Sure would love you to take 60 seconds and put some helpful information in your User Id profile, including the "Signature" portion.

Go to the top right corner of the screen, click on your user name, a drop down list will appear, select "Signature" from that list. Start typing in the text box that appears and be sure to click on the "Save Changes" button at the end of the text box.

Information like your first name, your cat's name age and sex, DX: (diagnosis date), insulin used, meter used (when you get one), food fed, and then the SS (spreadsheet) link when you get that setup are so, so helpful to those of us responding to members. That signature information will be "magically" attached at the end of all your posts. Signature and other user profile information can be updated as needed.

While you are there, editing your user profile, if you could update your profile to include your location, that is helpful also.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Signature update done.
 
Thanks for the signature update. :) Now, thanks to "magic behind the scenes", all your posts will have that signature information at the end of all your posts. Even those posts you did before you created the "Signature". Pretty neat, huh? Plus if you ever make changes, the changes "magically" appear too.

That signature info will help us help you better going forward.

Let us know how the call to the vet goes. Please keep asking questions, it's how we all learned at first.

p.s. Twin Cities area! Been there many times. MIL and FIL lived there before their deaths.
Do you know Uncle Edgar's and Uncle Hugo's bookstore, on Chicago Ave. South? They specialize in mystery and science fiction/fantasy books, both new and used and willingly ship to customers.
 
I left her at the vet for the day. They are going to do monitoring. ( all the more reason for me to learn how!). I just ordered Lantus thru Marks Marine in Canada. Won’t be here til late next week. Rethinking this to instead go local.
 
There are 2 people in the supply forum that have insulin for sale.

You'll want to see if there is a local pharmacy that has the lantus pens in stock and is willing to split the box up and sell you a single pen. CVS or Walgreens or Walmart or Costco will sometimes do that, split a box of Lantus insulin pens. Call around first.
 
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