Thought on vet increasing Lantus dose?

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kelcie

kelcie

Member Since 2023
Zyler, my 8 yr young kitty was diagnosed today and I’m just still in shock. Zyler has been with me since he was 7 weeks old and in that time has lived in 3 different states, been a foster sibling to a dozen kitties, gone on countless 9hr road trips, a few camping trips, and was promoted to big brother last year of a sweet Labrador retriever, Zoey. He has always been a spicy kitty, very playful and energetic, bringing me his trophy toys daily. The last few weeks have been no different in that regard but this weekend I emptied his litter robot for the 3rd time with the thought, these pee clumps are bigger than normal. I looked over and he was guzzling water, quickly checked the robot log and he was down a pound in the last month, and I knew what that meant.
I spent the weekend researching and reading and giving him extra snuggles till our appointment today.
Zyler has always been a healthy weight for his long, tall body, but has been on SD light to “help” with that, with a portion control feeder. Feeling really guilty as Zoey gets a raw food diet and I had been trying to incorporate aspects into Zyler diet and unfortunately I did not commit with him sooner. Immediately I started looking for a better food, he’s always been extremely picky with wet food (no pate and typically only will eat chicken protein), but I was able to get tiki cat after dark and so far he’s eaten every flavor.
Zyler hasn’t been to the vet since moving states last year, and I was in the process switching Zoey’s vet just due to some differences in beliefs however they were able to get him in quickly while any other vet would be weeks out. The vet prescribed Lantus 2x daily and instructed me to bring him in after to spend the day there for monitoring of the first injection and glucose curve. The vet never talked about diet other than they “usually prescribe foods that are designed to regulate blood sugars”. When I further questioned about the possibility of remission with dietary changes she gave no hope that it would be a possibility.
Looking for best tips for newly diagnosed member, advice you wish you knew, inspirational stories, etc. Thanks for the opportunity to join a supportive community.
 
Hi and welcome to you and Zyler. I can’t stick around at the moment but will be back later.
In the meantime someone else might pop in but I just wanted to let you know we have seen your post.
This is a great community with lots of knowledge and support.
Be back a bit later. Bron:)
 
It is possible for a few lucky cats to go into remission with just a diet change but most need insulin. Some for a short time and some forever.
Changing to a low carb diet is very important. HERE is a link to suitable foods. Look for foods that are 10% or under carbs.
We recommend feeding a good meal before giving the dose of insulin and then 2 or 3 snacks during the first half of all the cycles. A snack is a teaspoon or 2 of low carb food.
Lantus is a good insulin. What dose did the vet prescribe?
We also recommend home testing of the blood glucose. It is the best way to keep your kitty safe and it will save money having to go to the vet for curves. We recommend using a human meter for testing. If you tell us what country you are living in we can help you with a suitable meter. So the routine is to test, feed and give the insulin in that order one after the other.

Here is another link HELP US HELP YOU which has the links to the spreadsheet, the signature and the hypo box which I would set up asap.

Doing a curve on the first day will give a bit of information but lantus is a depot insulin which means it will take up to 7 days for the depot to fill and to see how that dose affects the blood glucose. Here is information about the DEPOT
And here is information about getting started with Lantus.
Ask lots of questions.
 
Zyler was given his first shot of Lantus at the vet this morning because they wanted to monitor blood glucose curve. See spreadsheet for numbers. They said 1U was not enough and want him back in tomorrow so they can administer 2U and instructed me to give 1U tonight. I tested PMPS and he is 186 from 326 at +6. I’m concerned increasing to 2U would be too much?
 
Please don’t let the vets increase the dose of Lantus tomorrow at all.
Lantus is a depot insulin and the depot needs to fill before the true effect of the dose can be felt. Initially the dose needs to be held for 5 to 7 days.
The vets obviously do not understand how Lantus works.
I will post you information about the depot below.
And if the dose does need to be increased, it should only be in 1/4 unit increments, but not for the first 5 to 7 days

In the meantime I would get a couple of tests during this current pm cycle as the blood glucose could drop further, as Zyler is responding to the insulin.

INSULIN DEPOT

And here are a couple of other documents for you to read about Lantus
The basics and getting started

DOSING METHODS
 
kelcie said:
Zyler was given his first shot of Lantus at the vet this morning because they wanted to monitor blood glucose curve. See spreadsheet for numbers. They said 1U was not enough and want him back in tomorrow so they can administer 2U and instructed me to give 1U tonight. I tested PMPS and he is 186 from 326 at +6. I’m concerned increasing to 2U would be too much?
Click to expand...
I would not increase Zyler's units
First there is no reason for you to bring him to the vets for a curve and no reason to bring him back tomorrow for another
As Bron said above

Doing a curve on the first day will give a bit of information but lantus is a depot insulin which means it will take up to 7 days for the depot to fill and to see how that dose affects the blood glucose. Here is information about the DEPOT
And here is information about getting started with Lantus.

Do you have the U-100 syringes with the half unit markings?
We use these so we can adjust the does by 0.25 units at a time
I suggest you read the links that Bron gave you
 
Thank you for the advice. I gave 1U and +2 was 200. I will test again in a few hours and call vet in the morning to tell them I will not bring him in and will continue at current dose and continue checking at home. I have u100 syringes with 30U max and half markings. I’ve been trying to read as much as I can everyday since finding out. I also have scheduled an appointment later this month with a new vet because even prior to wanting to increase the dose I was not comfortable with the responses I was given to questions.
 
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