Hi Thelma: glad to see Calistica is coming down this evening.
He also said that Lantus was a slow acting insulin and that I didn't have to worry about Calistica's glucose level dropping rapidly after an injection
I disagree. ECID but if a cat is clearing a bounce, if the pancreas kicks in, and if they just want to be a cat ;-) , they can come down very fast. One of the great things about this group is looking at other cats' SS and I encourage you to do this. One reason that Ann (Tess) and I moved our kitties to levemir was to stop the dives. Gracie could go from 300 to 80 in two hours. And then we'd have to try to get the brakes on her so she wouldn't end up in the 30s by the next hour. There are many kitties on lantus in LL that are divers. Some of the SSs you might want to look at are Tess's and Gracie's LANTUS (not lev) SSs, Mannie (but back maybe a year ago as he's stopped his diving), Gabby.
Please take a look at the links in my signature block for handling low numbers and also the one on low preshots. If at PRE-SHOT, you get a number lower than the 166 that you've already shot, please do not feed but post and ask for help. If you feed, you will elevate her BG and then we have to wait for those effects to wear off before you can shoot her. What might happen if you do not feed is that she will start to bring herself up. So, for a PS lower than 166, do not feed, post and ask for help.
If you get a number below 60 during the cycle (not at PS), then post for help. There is usually someone around to help out. But the link in my signature block for Dealing with Low Numbers will help you if there is not. We typically try to give the kitty some LC/MC and see if that brings them up. We use karo (on the gums or in the food if they are eating) to bring them up from really low numbers (30s/40s) if HC gravy will not bring them up. You should have karo or honey available at home just in case. It usually works fast to bring them up but then you must stay on top of the testing as it will also clear quickly and the kitty's BG could come back down.
I don't see any reason to call your vet if she's in the 300 range. Some cats bounce and they bounce even higher than that sometimes. I'm afraid if she does that, your vet's inclination will be to have you increase her dose. We give a bounce six cycles to clear before we raise the dose. If you don't wait and you raise the dose before the bounce clears, two things can possibly happen (1) the kitty is at too high of a dose OR (2) the bounce clears and the kitty comes racing down into very low numbers very fast which can start a dive/bounce kind of pattern when what you want is flat.
I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have questions.
