14/3 Lantus 0.5U every 12 hours with 0.3 syringes

K

kenfalco

Member Since 2026
Hello from Italy, I have a 16 and a half year old cat who started Lantus three days ago (today the 4th), and last night the alarm sound at 67 mg/dL, even though the graph didn't show it.
Do you experts think this 0.5U is too high?
Have FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus
P.S We had previously tried 0.5 units with ProZinc but it was too strong.


Thanks.
Gabriel



1773562898832.png
 
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kenfalco said:
Hello from Italy, I have a 16 and a half year old cat who started Lantus three days ago (today the 4th), and last night the alarm sound at 67 mg/dL, even though the graph didn't show it.
Do you experts think this 0.5U is too high?
Have FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus
P.S We had previously tried 0.5 units with ProZinc but it was too strong.


Thanks.
Gabriel
Click to expand...
Hello and welcome!! 🤗 I can't advise but maybe @Staci & Ivy can help??
 
Welcome to FDMB
Lantus and ProZinc are the best insulins for cats they are a 12-hour insulin both easy on cats, every cat is different and a small dose should have not been a problem though. The Libre has the flaw that on low numbers it reads them lower than reality . This is why we recommend to also manually test with a human monitor if you get a two-digit number, when you compare with a manual monitor, you will notice that the levels will be quite different. use as reference the manual reading, this is important before shot time as well you want to be able to shoot at safe numbers, so you do not need to spend a lot of money with a Pet Meter with Lantus you should not let the glucose level go lower than 90 you are just beginning to learn how your cat reacts to insulin, What food are you feeding? a diabetic cat needs to have a diet of wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs if you are feeding kibbles /dry food, you will need to make the transition a slow one, you do not want to upset the stomach, as well as lower carbs will take a dive on the glucose levels; you will need to create a HYPO KIT this will include : some medium carb foods between 11-15% carbs some medium arb foods between 11-15% carbs some Karo syrup or honey, this is in case the glucose level dives lower than 50, the syrup and honey are a quick fix given by rubbing on a small amount on the gums.
you can download a cat carb calculator, and use the ingredients in the food you are using, and the dry matter carbs are the correct carbs to look for 🤗
 
kenfalco said:
Hello from Italy, I have a 16 and a half year old cat who started Lantus three days ago (today the 4th), and last night the alarm sound at 67 mg/dL, even though the graph didn't show it.
Do you experts think this 0.5U is too high?
Have FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus
P.S We had previously tried 0.5 units with ProZinc but it was too strong.


Thanks.
Gabriel



View attachment 77370
Click to expand...
Hi Gabriel, it appears that Libre erased that lower reading you saw earlier from the graph.
It also appears from this photo the dose is not taking your cat too low (from just seeing this one graph). We need more information to know if the dose is too high.

Please fill out a spreadsheet and complete your signature with more information so we can help guide you.

We understand it’s a lot to figure out when your cat is diagnosed with diabetes.

Below is information we have compiled about using a Freestyle Libre. Please ask questions if you have them.

Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats
 
CORKY said:
Welcome to FDMB
Lantus and ProZinc are the best insulins for cats they are a 12-hour insulin both easy on cats, every cat is different and a small dose should have not been a problem though. The Libre has the flaw that on low numbers it reads them lower than reality . This is why we recommend to also manually test with a human monitor if you get a two-digit number, when you compare with a manual monitor, you will notice that the levels will be quite different. use as reference the manual reading, this is important before shot time as well you want to be able to shoot at safe numbers, so you do not need to spend a lot of money with a Pet Meter with Lantus you should not let the glucose level go lower than 90 you are just beginning to learn how your cat reacts to insulin, What food are you feeding? a diabetic cat needs to have a diet of wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs if you are feeding kibbles /dry food, you will need to make the transition a slow one, you do not want to upset the stomach, as well as lower carbs will take a dive on the glucose levels; you will need to create a HYPO KIT this will include : some medium carb foods between 11-15% carbs some medium arb foods between 11-15% carbs some Karo syrup or honey, this is in case the glucose level dives lower than 50, the syrup and honey are a quick fix given by rubbing on a small amount on the gums.
you can download a cat carb calculator, and use the ingredients in the food you are using, and the dry matter carbs are the correct carbs to look for 🤗
Click to expand...
Carb Calculator - Felinediabetes.com
 
Hello, thank you to all for the responses.
I update the signature.
This is the today graph.
CORKY i have already bought a manual monitor and i have food with high carbs for emergency + Honey.
Unfortunately, having IBD I cannot change his diet so he has to stay on Renal Special kibble



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A question: 0.5 is already very difficult to do, plus there are bubbles I can't get rid of.
The procedure I follow is:

1) Draw up more, for example, 3 units
2) Squeeze the syringe with the tip pointing upward
3) Return the excess insulin to the vial until you reach 0.5

Despite this, there are still bubbles as you can see in this photo



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Make sure you do not shake the vial turn it in your hand slowly 3-4 times draw the fluid slowly here are several syringes I cannot distinguish the syringe you are using so pick the right one
 

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kenfalco said:
A question: 0.5 is already very difficult to do, plus there are bubbles I can't get rid of.
The procedure I follow is:

1) Draw up more, for example, 3 units
2) Squeeze the syringe with the tip pointing upward
3) Return the excess insulin to the vial until you reach 0.5

Despite this, there are still bubbles as you can see in this photo
Click to expand...


Don't put the extra insulin back into the bottle / pen :eek: That's a good way to ruin the entire bottle / pen.

Sticky - Insulin Care & Syringe Info: Proper Handling, Drawing, Fine Dosing

For 0.5 units, I wouldn't draw up more than 1.5 units of insulin. Tap the syringe to float the air bubbles towards the needle. Then pull back on the plunger slightly. May have to do a few times to get those stubborn air bubbles to disappear. Then very slowly push the plunger to expel the air and extra insulin.

Some brands of insulin syringes are more prone to air bubbles than others. Try a different brand of syringes if you have more than one brand available in Italy. BD / Embecta is a big name sold nearly world-wide.

I assume you have syringes that have half unit markings? If 0.5 units seems too much, you can give 0.25 units instead. You have to eyeball it on the syringe, between the zero line and the 0.5 unit line.

Cats that have both diabetes and IBD don't need any special prescription diet. A novel protein low carb canned food or a raw or home cooked diet is ideal. My diabetic also has IBD and I feed him a commercially available freeze dried raw food in rabbit. I give canned food in rabbit for snacks. It's ok to disagree with the vet about food :)

Why is your cat on a renal diet, especially a dry one? Does he also have kidney issues?

An Italian member's old post on what she feeds her diabetic/IBD cat: ? - New Member, May 2, 2023: Lantus dose changes There are other food suggestions in that same thread.
 
squeem3 said:
Don't put the extra insulin back into the bottle / pen :eek: That's a good way to ruin the entire bottle / pen.

Sticky - Insulin Care & Syringe Info: Proper Handling, Drawing, Fine Dosing

For 0.5 units, I wouldn't draw up more than 1.5 units of insulin. Tap the syringe to float the air bubbles towards the needle. Then pull back on the plunger slightly. May have to do a few times to get those stubborn air bubbles to disappear. Then very slowly push the plunger to expel the air and extra insulin.

Some brands of insulin syringes are more prone to air bubbles than others. Try a different brand of syringes if you have more than one brand available in Italy. BD / Embecta is a big name sold nearly world-wide.

I assume you have syringes that have half unit markings? If 0.5 units seems too much, you can give 0.25 units instead. You have to eyeball it on the syringe, between the zero line and the 0.5 unit line.

Cats that have both diabetes and IBD don't need any special prescription diet. A novel protein low carb canned food or a raw or home cooked diet is ideal. My diabetic also has IBD and I feed him a commercially available freeze dried raw food in rabbit. I give canned food in rabbit for snacks. It's ok to disagree with the vet about food :)

Why is your cat on a renal diet, especially a dry one? Does he also have kidney issues?

An Italian member's old post on what she feeds her diabetic/IBD cat: ? - New Member, May 2, 2023: Lantus dose changes There are other food suggestions in that same thread.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this informations!
 
squeem3 said:
Don't put the extra insulin back into the bottle / pen :eek: That's a good way to ruin the entire bottle / pen.

Sticky - Insulin Care & Syringe Info: Proper Handling, Drawing, Fine Dosing

For 0.5 units, I wouldn't draw up more than 1.5 units of insulin. Tap the syringe to float the air bubbles towards the needle. Then pull back on the plunger slightly. May have to do a few times to get those stubborn air bubbles to disappear. Then very slowly push the plunger to expel the air and extra insulin.

Some brands of insulin syringes are more prone to air bubbles than others. Try a different brand of syringes if you have more than one brand available in Italy. BD / Embecta is a big name sold nearly world-wide.

I assume you have syringes that have half unit markings? If 0.5 units seems too much, you can give 0.25 units instead. You have to eyeball it on the syringe, between the zero line and the 0.5 unit line.

Cats that have both diabetes and IBD don't need any special prescription diet. A novel protein low carb canned food or a raw or home cooked diet is ideal. My diabetic also has IBD and I feed him a commercially available freeze dried raw food in rabbit. I give canned food in rabbit for snacks. It's ok to disagree with the vet about food :)

Why is your cat on a renal diet, especially a dry one? Does he also have kidney issues?

An Italian member's old post on what she feeds her diabetic/IBD cat: ? - New Member, May 2, 2023: Lantus dose changes There are other food suggestions in that same thread.
Click to expand...
Thankyou Squeem3 i try this " For 0.5 units, I wouldn't draw up more than 1.5 units of insulin. Tap the syringe to float the air bubbles towards the needle. Then pull back on the plunger slightly. May have to do a few times to get those stubborn air bubbles to disappear. Then very slowly push the plunger to expel the air and extra insulin." and works fine!

I started with Lantus at 0.5u on March 12, then on March 17 I switched to 0.6u, and it finally entered the green zone. But in the following days, 0.6 didn't work.
Today, March 19, I did 0.75u(no bobbles), but as you can see from the graph, it dropped slightly and after 4 hours it was already at 400
This is all very strange, why?
1773927737490.png
 
Welcome to the FDMB. Since you are feeding dry food you will hold each dose for 7 days and reevaluate then unless the bg falls under 90, it takes 5-7 days for the depot to build after the first dose of lantus. Some cats have a big reaction at first. I would shoot .50 as we don’t see that it has dropped under 90. Sometimes the sensor reads lower than an ear prick so it’s good you are getting a meter. Why renal dry food for IBD? IBD usually is due to a reaction to the protein being fed. Sometimes a novel protein fixes that. Other times hydrolyzed protein does the trick.

Do you need help setting up a spreadsheet and signature? Do you have labs? How was your cat diagnosed with diabetes? Was a fructosamine run?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Welcome to the FDMB. Since you are feeding dry food you will hold each dose for 7 days and reevaluate then unless the bg falls under 90, it takes 5-7 days for the depot to build after the first dose of lantus. Some cats have a big reaction at first. I would shoot .50 as we don’t see that it has dropped under 90. Sometimes the sensor reads lower than an ear prick so it’s good you are getting a meter. Why renal dry food for IBD? IBD usually is due to a reaction to the protein being fed. Sometimes a novel protein fixes that. Other times hydrolyzed protein does the trick.

Do you need help setting up a spreadsheet and signature? Do you have labs? How was your cat diagnosed with diabetes? Was a fructosamine run?
Click to expand...
Hello, if your read my previous message we start with Lantus on 12 March so are 8 days.
As for IBD, the vet had tried many single-protein foods several years ago but they hadn't worked.
Yes, diabetes was diagnosed by the vet.
We started with ProZync next to Lantus.

ProZync started on February 21, 2026

February 23, MIN 147, MAX 336 0.5u
February 24, MIN 60, MAX 329 0.5u
February 25, MIN 69, MAX 376 0.5u
February 26, MIN 153, MAX 352 0.5u
February 27, MIN 75, MAX 327 0.5u
February 28, MIN 67, MAX 345 0.5u
February 1/2, MIN 228, MAX 335 0.5u
February 2/2, MIN 218, MAX 367 0.5u
February 3/2, MIN 156, MAX 350 0.5u
February 4, MIN 85, MAX 350 0.5u
February 5, MIN 192, MAX 358 (No insulin. Luna didn't eat and had diarrhea. She ate something in the evening (insulin 0.3).
6/2 MIN 194 MAX 403 0.5u
7/2 MIN 192 MAX 403 0.6u
8/2 No insulin at the end of the sensor
9/2 No insulin at the end of the sensor, reactivated in the afternoon
10/2 MIN 174 MAX 399
11/2 MIN 247 MAX 356

Lantus started on 12/3/2026

12/3 MIN 230 - MAX 350 0.5u
13/3 MIN 230 - MAX 370 0.5u
14/3 MIN 170 - MAX 350 0.5u
15/3 MIN 160 - MAX 380 0.5u
16/3 MIN 205 - MAX 350 0.5u
17/3 MIN 142 - MAX 383 0.6u (ate quite a bit at night and in the morning)
18/3 MIN 228 - MAX 388 0.6u (bubbles in the dose) (new system for avoid bubbles)
19/3 MIN 252 - MAX 484 0.7u (no bubbles) (ate quite a bit in the morning)
 
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Please set up a spreadsheet. You said you started at .5,and the next day gave .6. That is why I said the initial dose is held for 5/7 days. Looks like only 2 days at .6 and then raised to .7. Again you need to hold for 7 days if feeding dry food and following SLGS. I will link the methods sticky.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Sticky - Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the guide.
The vet wanted to start very conservatively with 0.5 since the cat weighs about 3.5 kg. So the starting dose would have been about 1 u.

Let's say we started with 0.5, then increased to 0.6/0.7; it's not easy to tell the difference on the syringe; it's very small.

Starting tomorrow morning, the vet told me to increase to 1 u.

Since today we had a Nadir of 252 and a Maximum of 486,

I'll tell my vet to maintain the same dose for 7 days.
 
I would encourage you to set up your cat's spreadsheet and to choose one of the Lantus dosing methods. Both will make it much easier for us to provide feedback. It's very difficult to adjust doses by 0.1 unit. We typically suggest dose adjustments by 0.25u. Given that syringes are broken into 0.5u increments, some members even struggle with a 0.25u dose change.
 
Hello, thank you i started the spreadsheet and added to signature.
Since we are having strange behaviors and there is a possibility that the Lantus is ruined, as I have removed and reinserted the liquid from the syringe several times and also my refrigerator was at 3 degrees and the Lantus near the wall.
Today i get new Lantus
 
Renal special dry food you are feeding is very high in carbs, between 18-20% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, diabetic cats need to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs, grazing is not an option, he should be on a schedule of 3-4 small meals during the day and the two main meals before shot, if you are not home during the day a wet food feeder is important. I do not give dosing advice, but I can say that increasing the dose according to what the levels are is not a great idea, first it takes about 3 cycles (days) for the insulin to get used to the increase or decrease in the cats' system. There's no explanation for this but a cats' glucose levels usually are lower at nigh, you are using the Libre, it reads low numbers lower than reality, this is why we recommend to have a manual human monitor most members use the ReliOn Premier handy a re-test if you are uncomfortable with the BG numbers,
I will tag a couple of members that an help you with Lantus and dosing, below is a Drs approved food list with many brands to choose from, the third column contains the carb %
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@Wendy&Neko

Info - Dr. Pierson - new Food Chart
 
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Yes, I know he should be eating diet food, but since he has IBD, the vet doesn't want to change his diet for now, so as not to risk diarrhea.
 
kenfalco said:
Yes, I know he should be eating diet food, but since he has IBD, the vet doesn't want to change his diet for now, so as not to risk diarrhea.
Click to expand...
is not diet food, there's no such thing! is eating low carb foods cats cannot digest carbs, he is diabetic, you can find low carb foods with some high calories, but the food you are feeding is worse, the transition from high carbs to low carbs is a slow process, 1 tsp at a time not to upset the stomach, as well as there can be a dive in the glucose level from the sudden switch from high to low carbs, there ae many members that their cats have IBD and they feed wet low carb foods, not to knock out the vets, but please realize that a sales person sales these so called "prescribed" food to the vet, the sales person makes commission, the vet sales it to you, he makes commission, you are paying your vet you are in control of your cat, you want what's best for him, having these high glucose levels damages the pancreas even more causing other organ illnesses. the important thing also is to regulate those level, and with high carbs it will never happen.
@squeem3
perhaps you can give a better light regarding the renal dry food
 
I think to try...Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets Diabetes Management do you think is a good choise for IBD+Diabetic or exist more specific product?
1774261886502.png

Regards
 
kenfalco said:
I think to try...Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets Diabetes Management do you think is a good choise for IBD+Diabetic or exist more specific product?

Regards
Click to expand...
Ok, I will copy what hellen_maggie and Wendy&Neko wrote me at my first post and I really hope that you will find it helpful! :bighug:

This is a Spreadsheet for calculating food (carb) values from product data
It helps estimate the carbohydrate percentage and calories in cat food by entering the nutrient values from the label.
Also here is a food list that some people in Europe use. UK Cat Food List It is for the UK, but many brands are available in Europe too.

One feature we have here is a members map. You can look up other members Italy and look for ones that are currently active and contact them if you wish. . They might have ideas on testing supplies and food.
 
To specifically answer your question about ANY Pro Plan “PRESCRIBED” Diabetic wet foods
I put the ingredients in the calculator, we want the “Wet Matter Carbs”. this food has 15.3% carbs as you can see there’s nothing “ diabetic” or “prescribed”. That is good for a diabetic cat that need to have a diet between 0-10% carbs
 
CORKY said:
To specifically answer your question about ANY Pro Plan “PRESCRIBED” Diabetic wet foods
I put the ingredients in the calculator, we want the “Wet Matter Carbs”. this food has 15.3% carbs as you can see there’s nothing “ diabetic” or “prescribed”. That is good for a diabetic cat that need to have a diet between 0-10% carbs
Click to expand...
1774273840025.png


Hello Corby, using the calculator:

1774275740764.png

Where is 15.3 carbs?
Anyway now is food is Royal Canin Renal Special with 22%+ carbs they take it for IBD..but i wanna try to change
 
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kenfalco said:
View attachment 77504

Hello Corby, it's not clear..if i do (100-13.8+4.9+0.6+2.2+77.5) result is 2.2% carbs or i wrong something?
Anyway now is food is Royal Canin Renal Special with 22%+ carbs they take it for IBD..but i wanna try to change
Click to expand...
This is not the way to calculate. In my previous post I sent you a link to a Spreadsheet for calculating food carbs.
Here is the online calculator. Try to put the values in there to find the real carbs percentage.
 
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