05/19/2020 - Gideon: 1 Wk of Lantus - 1 unit BID- no change

Shiloh567

Shiloh567

Member Since 2020
Good Morning All- Thanks to Marge, I now have a fully functioning SS for my precious Gideon Blue. I so appreciate how she gave her time and attention to this endeavor. As you can see, after 1 week of Lantus, we are pretty much remaining in the RED zone (400's). He is eating well, and acting fine. We are doing a curve test every 2 hours today, and have a 12N check up tomorrow. I will have to tell the vet I have been only giving 1 unit, instead of his recommended 2 units twice daily. He did tell me the best chance of getting a cat in remission is to start with 2 units, but according to this group, that is not true. After tomorrow's vet visit, should I follow the vet's advice and give Lantus 2 units twice daily? Should I give the 1 unit BID a few days longer? Thank you in advance for your replies.
 
Update: Doing a curve doing and Gideon's BG at 9AM (2 hours after Lantus) was 99. So glad I am doing this curve.
Also, I am looking for a name of a human glucometer that takes the smallest amount of blood (.03ml). Thank you for any suggestions. We are currently using the Alphtrak, but strips are costly (about $1 per strip).
 
Hi. So glad you are up and running. It’s Elise here. Now you see why I suggested one unit. You are likely seeing high preshots because he was getting lower Nadirs and bouncing back up or because the depot is built or a combo of both. I used the old version of the Relion meter from Walmart. I was able to buy test strips on eBay and saved a lot of money. You need to have a good supply on hand for days when you test a lot for curves or if he’s dropped low and you need to bring him back up. The methods used here were designed with human meters. My vet had never used one but was fine with it when he saw how well Max did. It’s been over three years since I lost him so see what meters others suggest. I believe many use the newer Relion one though.
 
Just saw your second test. With a pet meter you are too low and need to feed some higher carb food, just a teaspoon or two and test in 20 minutes. He’s also earned a reduction to .75.

Please change your subject to read +3=66.
 
After getting a BG of 66 at 11AM, I gave Gideon some higher 20 carb food (and some dry). I retested at 12N and he was 138. I called the vet and he is not in today. I told the tech that I was not giving 2 units (and haven't been). Tomorrow we have a checkup at 12N. I will confess to the vet tomorrow that I have not been giving 2 units like he prescribed, but 1 unit, and the curve showed a drastic drop at 11 AM. I will give him a bit less than 1 unit tonight at 7P and retest close to 10p, before bed. Thank you Elise for following Gideon's journey and giving us a call!
 
Looks like he bouncing high now, partly from the low numbers, partly going high because of the higher carb food. You can stop testing now for a couple hours. It will be interesting to see if his numbers come down later at all.

I agree with Elise, please lower the dose to 0.75 units tonight, not just "a bit less than 1 unit". I hope you have half unit marked syringes to make eyeballing that easier.

As for your question on small blood drops, I am not totally familiar with what is available in the US, but the Freestyle meter does need a small blood drop and is available in US and Canada (where I am).
 
No I do not have 1/2 unit syringes, though the vet pharmacy told me that is what I was getting. They gave me whole unit 1/3ml syringes. I have ordered some 1/2 unit syringes, but for now will use the ones I have.
His next test is at 5p, then at 7p when he gets his Lantus dose. The 612 did alarm me, but since I have never done a curve before, I don't know what he normally is at 3p.
Thanks for telling me about the Freestyle meter.
 
Shiloh567 said:
The 612 did alarm me, but since I have never done a curve before, I don't know what he normally is at 3p.
Click to expand...
You will find that you it's quite hard to predict what a cat will be at a particular time, based on what he's done before. At least for quite a while in the beginning, until you start to see patterns in their numbers. I suggest you take a look around at other cat's spreadsheets, especially those that are also recently diagnosed. That'll give you an idea of the variability you can see at in newly diagnosed cats.
 
Yes, I have been looking. I saw a kitty mostly in the black and receives over 3 units of Lantus twice daily. This is a huge amount of Lantus to me, but I am just a newbie.
 
My vet is out of the office, another vet from the office just called me. He advised to either skip Lantus tonight, or give 1/2 unit. I gave the 1/2 unit. He said do the same in the morning...just 1/2 unit. Gideon has a checkup with his regular vet tomorrow at noon.
 
1/2 a unit is fine for a couple cycles for now.

We have a saying, ECID or each cat is different. Some cats need smaller amounts of insulin, some larger. My girl got up to 8.75 units. That is less common, but it's because of a couple secondary conditions she had.
 
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