01/02 Chanel AMPS 250

Laura & Chanel

Laura & Chanel

Member Since 2019
01/01/2019

Not a bad start, not a great one either.
@Wendy&Neko Would be wise to start the Levemir on Friday evening so I can monitor her BG values? I do not want to go to work and leave her alone on the first few days until I figure out how she reacts. What would be the best approach to make sure she is safe?
 
Ti-Mousse said:
Always a good idea to be home and monitor when we start them on something new ! :)
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@Ti-Mousse I know and already freaking out a little. If it were not for the discomfort I see in her before and at the time of injection, I would stay with Lantus. My vet already got scared saying that Levemir is 10x stronger than Lantus and she does not think it is wise. Oh well, it is more important for her to have an insulin she will tolerate without changing to Mr. Hyde.:)
 
Breathe. Vet only sees the 10x stronger part. And vet probably doesn't tell other parents to home test to know if kitty is safe to begin with. Yes it is stronger but you will be starting lower. You might reach same dose you are with lantus and maybe go higher, but guess what.....the lantus dose would be even higher and more uncomfortable.

As long as you are home testing, following one of the methods, not going willy nilly, it will be fine. Once you have data on your spreadsheet, you can show it to vet. Vet will see (if printed out in color) the results. Vet will also see that you are responsible pet owner and taking all safety precautions.

As with any insulin, there will be times you get those pesky limes. Guess what they mean a reduction in dose, we all like that. But it does happen and you need to have everything in house to deal with it. Always, always have mega number test strips on hand, honey, syrup and hc food. It's really not much different than lantus.

Does this look like a cat (taken just now) in trouble who is on lev for over a year and been as high as 9 units???????

ETA- Ollie started reacting to lantus by becoming aggressive when she reached 7 units.
 

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Olive & Paula said:
Breathe. Vet only sees the 10x stronger part. And vet probably doesn't tell other parents to home test to know if kitty is safe to begin with. Yes it is stronger but you will be starting lower. You might reach same dose you are with lantus and maybe go higher, but guess what.....the lantus dose would be even higher and more uncomfortable.

As long as you are home testing, following one of the methods, not going willy nilly, it will be fine. Once you have data on your spreadsheet, you can show it to vet. Vet will see (if printed out in color) the results. Vet will also see that you are responsible pet owner and taking all safety precautions.

As with any insulin, there will be times you get those pesky limes. Guess what they mean a reduction in dose, we all like that. But it does happen and you need to have everything in house to deal with it. Always, always have mega number test strips on hand, honey, syrup and hc food. It's really not much different than lantus.

Does this look like a cat (taken just now) in trouble who is on lev for over a year and been as high as 9 units???????
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@Olive & Paula I am not scared too much :) just a little like every new beginning. But I know the Levemir specialists are here, so I will not worry too much. She is the FLUFFIEST cat I've ever seen. How long does it take with the brushing? Do you have an industrial-sized brush?:smuggrin:
 
I have heard Levemir is stronger than Lantus in dogs. Cats are not dogs. :rolleyes: As Paula says, we have seen several vets comment about Lev being stronger. Not so much the experience here. Doses are often very similar to the Lantus dose. If you are interested, Fa just switched end of last month. She was on higher dose Lantus so now we are trying to get her back up in dose as quickly as safely possible, before her caregiver goes back to work.

Yes, changing insulin when you can monitor closely the first few cycles is a good idea. Most of the time it’s a non event due to the reduced dose, but we are dealing with cats. :cat: Who love being unpredictable.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I have heard Levemir is stronger than Lantus in dogs. Cats are not dogs. :rolleyes: As Paula says, we have seen several vets comment about Lev being stronger. Not so much the experience here. Doses are often very similar to the Lantus dose. If you are interested, Fa just switched end of last month. She was on higher dose Lantus so now we are trying to get her back up in dose as quickly as safely possible, before her caregiver goes back to work.

Yes, changing insulin when you can monitor closely the first few cycles is a good idea. Most of the time it’s a non event due to the reduced dose, but we are dealing with cats. :cat: Who love being unpredictable.
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tell me about it, she seems to increase her BGs when she is sleeping (in humans that is normal if I still remember the traces of biochem). But I think it will be a good opportunity to make her less jumpy and friendlier. Nowadays, she stays in the closet and I have to go and drag her out for everything. :(
Definitely Chanel is not a dog, she is a cat with an agenda like any other. So yes, I expect any kind of surprises from her lately :)
 
Laura & Chanel said:
@Olive & Paula I am not scared too much :) just a little like every new beginning. But I know the Levemir specialists are here, so I will not worry too much. She is the FLUFFIEST cat I've ever seen. How long does it take with the brushing? Do you have an industrial-sized brush?:smuggrin:
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We have a cat rake, different size combs and brushes. But she doesn't allow her belly to be touched. Only recently has she allowed her full back to be done, tail is iffy. She has nerve pain all down her spine. Vet has mentioned more than once she think Ollie has had some kind of spine injury, but no way of knowing for sure. When she first arrive you could not touch past her neck, could only touch top of head. I don't push it. In the summer I shave her back and sides.
 
Laura & Chanel said:
tell me about it, she seems to increase her BGs when she is sleeping (in humans that is normal if I still remember the traces of biochem). But I think it will be a good opportunity to make her less jumpy and friendlier. Nowadays, she stays in the closet and I have to go and drag her out for everything. :(
Definitely Chanel is not a dog, she is a cat with an agenda like any other. So yes, I expect any kind of surprises from her lately :)
Click to expand...

She also doesn't feel well, that counts for a lot.
 
I've not noticed any particular reaction as far as the strength of Lev vs Lantus was concerned. I did however follow suggestions/advice to reduce the dose just to get started - which I did. I believe you've already studied Luci's transition (July 2019) to Levemir. We were on Lantus for over a year - I don't believe I get any more lime greens now than I did on Lantus. Luci's personality didn't change from one to the other either.

Just sharing my experience with the transition - obviously ECID - so Chanel may react differently. I agree, that being home and monitoring closely the first few days is important - as it would be with any change - food, meds, etc.

I do hope after you switch there will be the desired effect - for both of you.

Have a great afternoon Laura!
 
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