12/20/10 Sebastian Humulin N

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graeskies

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Good evening,

My cat, Sebastian, was diagnosed with diabetes the first week in October. Since then it's been a whirlwind of glucose curves and insulin that doesn't seem to work. Sebastian was first prescribed Lantus (Glargine) and seemed to be unresponsive to it. His blood sugar dropped down to 300, but never in the healthy range. The vet upped his insulin to 2 units once a day and still, barely any difference. As of Friday, the vet tried Humulin which seemed to be working. It brought down his blood glucose levels to the 170 range. I am to give him 1 unit twice a day. I can't really tell if it's working. He seems to still drink a lot of water. At the same time, I don't know how many more blood glucose curves I can afford. Any advice? I'd hate to have to put him to sleep simply because I ran out of money.

Thanks.
 
To save money you can do you own curves using almost any human blood glucose meter. It usually days days for Lantus to work and in almost all cats it is dosed twice a day. Very frequently a cats; blood glucose gets elevated when at the vets so curve done at the vets is not that accurate or representative of normal, at-home levels. WHat town are in in? Somebody might be nearby to help with learning home testing.
 
I don't think your vet is very knowledgeable on feline diabetes as cats dosing is generally twice a day, so if you were giving Lantus once a day, it's no wonder you have poor results!

Lantus is a much better insulin and if given twice a day, I am sure you will see positive results in Sebastian's numbers and attitude.

There is absolutely no reason to take Sebastian to the vet for curves; it's a ridiculous expense when you can just pick up a regular human blood glucose meter some strips and lancets at your local pharmacy and poke Sebastian's ear to test yourself at home. You will get true numbers at home because the numbers at the vet office are likely very high because of stress.
Below is some info on Lantus you can read, and please ask any questions you have.
Tight Regulation Protocol
Lantus & Levemir – Insulin Depot –AKA- Storage Shed

With the Lantus, if you were to start at 1u twice a day, and continue to give that dose for 5 to 7 days, you will start to see Sebastian responding, starting with drinking and urinating less, and other improvements. Lantus needs to build up in the system before you will begin to see the improvements so give it some time and very soon, you will see a happier Sebastian.

Diet is very important so be sure that you are feeding low carb wet food if possible - see the below links for listing with foods :
Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

Just by improving the diet, you may see big changes in Sebastian and his numbers.
 
Sebastian seemed to be more responsive to the Humulin N in the vets office. I'm in Austin, TX and still feeling overwhelmed. He's eating Purina DM and seems to be playing today (which I haven't seen him to in a few weeks). Tired. Discouraged.
 
graeskies said:
Sebastian seemed to be more responsive to the Humulin N in the vets office. I'm in Austin, TX and still feeling overwhelmed. He's eating Purina DM and seems to be playing today (which I haven't seen him to in a few weeks). Tired. Discouraged.
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Cats cannot be regulated at the vet honestly. He instantly reacted to the Humulin N at the office because it is a harsher, faster acting insulin. Lantus takes about a week on the introductory dose before you can really see any difference, but it is much longer acting in the system. So, once it builds up in the system, you have a much more gentle drop with longer lasting effects. The Humulin will give you a very steep drop and will be out of kitty's system 6-8 hours after the shot - way before your next shot will be given. Very few cats can be regulated on Humulin - please give Lantus another try. It really sounds like your vet doesn't know the protocols written by the vets at the University of Queensland. There is a lantus specific section to this forum and there are threads posted at the top of that forum that include lots of really good information on the insulin, including the vet developed dosing protocol.

I also second the advice on hometesting - WAY cheaper than vet glucose curves!!!!!
 
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