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12/23 Lee Lu - AMPS 193, PMPS 231
- Thread starter pandabur
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julie & punkin (ga)
Member Since 2011
Hi Amanda! I see the Lantus/Lev groups have been merged. I don't know Lee Lu's story - can you fill us in? I see she was diagnosed 10/2013 but it looks like maybe she wasn't on insulin til Sept 2014. Is that right? Or was she on another insulin?
Hi Julie and Punkin (love that name, I say Punkin instead of pumpkin!). Yes, it appears that the groups have merged!
Here's her story: Lee Lu is 13 yrs old (born in 2001), and was dx in Oct 2013 when she was drinking a lot of water and excessive urination. I can't remember her exactly initial readings but they were in the 500s. We went with Vestilin first, got up to 9 units x2 daily and while she was better, definitely not stable (still in the 300-400s) while feeding Purina DM wet & dry. I believe we moved to Lantus in the Spring. Finally got her off dry altogether around the same time, no more all you can eat buffet, and moved from Purina DM to BFF wet food pate styles. She loved it. Now we are feeding Friskies pate (seafood and poultry).
You can checkout her SS for historicals. Currently, we are dosing 0.65-0.75 unit of Lantus x2 daily. I just got a new order of pens 12/20, and started her at 0.5u for a few shots just to be safe, but given her most recent reads, I'm moving her to 0.75u by Xmas. I'm using the Relion reader. Except for the occasional urinating outside the litter box (like last night, ugh), her behavior is great, just like pre-dx. Eats, purrs, happy, sassy-mouth (talkative), even lost a little weight (which is good, she was heavier than she should be).
I started out trying to do curve tests once a month in April once we moved to Lantus, and I've been doing consistent AM and PM test starting in Nov.
One light bulb moment I had is the talk of stress induced diabetes. Just before Lee Lu was dx'ed, my live in LTR boyfriend and I broke up and my mom died. We adopted her together in 2001, and now I'm thinking the breakup could have been contributing factor. The new LTR boyfriend and I have settled in since July, and she seems to be doing better in the last couple months.
Would love people to review the SS to give me some insight. I'm thinking that her sweet spot dose is 0.75-0.80 unit, definitely over 0.50 and definitely under 1u.
Oh - we have two non-sugars too - Buddy (born in 2008) and Abby (born 2010), both all black
I hired Abby for a playmate for Buddy, after Lee dislocated her hip in 2009 and was ready to retire... Buddy was (and still is) a rambunctious boy!
Thanks Everyone!
Amanda
Here's her story: Lee Lu is 13 yrs old (born in 2001), and was dx in Oct 2013 when she was drinking a lot of water and excessive urination. I can't remember her exactly initial readings but they were in the 500s. We went with Vestilin first, got up to 9 units x2 daily and while she was better, definitely not stable (still in the 300-400s) while feeding Purina DM wet & dry. I believe we moved to Lantus in the Spring. Finally got her off dry altogether around the same time, no more all you can eat buffet, and moved from Purina DM to BFF wet food pate styles. She loved it. Now we are feeding Friskies pate (seafood and poultry).
You can checkout her SS for historicals. Currently, we are dosing 0.65-0.75 unit of Lantus x2 daily. I just got a new order of pens 12/20, and started her at 0.5u for a few shots just to be safe, but given her most recent reads, I'm moving her to 0.75u by Xmas. I'm using the Relion reader. Except for the occasional urinating outside the litter box (like last night, ugh), her behavior is great, just like pre-dx. Eats, purrs, happy, sassy-mouth (talkative), even lost a little weight (which is good, she was heavier than she should be).
I started out trying to do curve tests once a month in April once we moved to Lantus, and I've been doing consistent AM and PM test starting in Nov.
One light bulb moment I had is the talk of stress induced diabetes. Just before Lee Lu was dx'ed, my live in LTR boyfriend and I broke up and my mom died. We adopted her together in 2001, and now I'm thinking the breakup could have been contributing factor. The new LTR boyfriend and I have settled in since July, and she seems to be doing better in the last couple months.
Would love people to review the SS to give me some insight. I'm thinking that her sweet spot dose is 0.75-0.80 unit, definitely over 0.50 and definitely under 1u.
Oh - we have two non-sugars too - Buddy (born in 2008) and Abby (born 2010), both all black
I hired Abby for a playmate for Buddy, after Lee dislocated her hip in 2009 and was ready to retire... Buddy was (and still is) a rambunctious boy! Thanks Everyone!
Amanda
julie & punkin (ga)
Member Since 2011
Thanks for the background story! There definitely can be stress-induced diabetes. Add in dry food and lack of exercise and if the cat is susceptible, here comes diabetes.
Because Lantus dosing is based upon how LOW the dose takes a cat, we really encourage people to get a mid-cycle test every cycle, but especially in the evening cycle. You wouldn't believe how many cats show all their low numbers in the night cycle and their higher numbers in the day cycle. If I were you, I think I'd hold the dose while I got some nadir checks. The just-before-bed test is probably the very most important test of all. If you're able to check one midcycle during the day and one in the evening, we could re-evaluate her dose after 3 days of that and there would be enough information to be confident about how to change it.
Maybe you know all of this already, but just in case you don't, i thought i'd explain it. I've gotta run out now but will check in on you later.
Because Lantus dosing is based upon how LOW the dose takes a cat, we really encourage people to get a mid-cycle test every cycle, but especially in the evening cycle. You wouldn't believe how many cats show all their low numbers in the night cycle and their higher numbers in the day cycle. If I were you, I think I'd hold the dose while I got some nadir checks. The just-before-bed test is probably the very most important test of all. If you're able to check one midcycle during the day and one in the evening, we could re-evaluate her dose after 3 days of that and there would be enough information to be confident about how to change it.
Maybe you know all of this already, but just in case you don't, i thought i'd explain it. I've gotta run out now but will check in on you later.
Thanks for the background. It's helpful!!
Is there any possibility that you can get at least one test during both the AM and PM cycles in addition to your pre-shot tests? While some vets will suggest that doing a curve once a month is adequate, it's really not -- especially since you know how to home test. While Lantus is a much gentler insulin than Vetsulin, kitties can still run into low numbers. Getting tests closer to nadir will give you a better idea of whether Lee Lu is dropping into lower ranges and whether you need to intervene.
It doesn't matter whether your planning on following Tight Regulation or the Start Low Go Slow approach, Lantus dosing is based on the nadir. Without more information about what's happening mid-cycle (or whenever Lee Lu's nadir is), IMHO, it's very difficult to make an informed decision about changing the dose.
ETA: It looks like Julie and I cross-posted. Please let us know if you have questions, need more info, of if you're already familiar with all of what we posted!
Is there any possibility that you can get at least one test during both the AM and PM cycles in addition to your pre-shot tests? While some vets will suggest that doing a curve once a month is adequate, it's really not -- especially since you know how to home test. While Lantus is a much gentler insulin than Vetsulin, kitties can still run into low numbers. Getting tests closer to nadir will give you a better idea of whether Lee Lu is dropping into lower ranges and whether you need to intervene.
It doesn't matter whether your planning on following Tight Regulation or the Start Low Go Slow approach, Lantus dosing is based on the nadir. Without more information about what's happening mid-cycle (or whenever Lee Lu's nadir is), IMHO, it's very difficult to make an informed decision about changing the dose.
ETA: It looks like Julie and I cross-posted. Please let us know if you have questions, need more info, of if you're already familiar with all of what we posted!
Thanks for the info. I have done mid cycle tests on the weekends to see how she's doing. Her doses are at 8a and 8p, and her tests are usually 7am (pre meal) and right before dose at 8pm (evening meal happens around 930pm). I leave the house at 8:15am and don't get home until at the earliest 6:30pm. Would it behoove me to get a test before I feed them when I get home? I work too far away (and take the bus) for midday tests, so I'm limited.
I have to be honest that am discouraged at her recent increases. I thought it could be the insulin losing its potency, soI had hoped she would be back in the blues by now with with the new batch. Doesn't seem that way.
I have to be honest that am discouraged at her recent increases. I thought it could be the insulin losing its potency, soI had hoped she would be back in the blues by now with with the new batch. Doesn't seem that way.
Most of us test, feed, and shoot (TFS) all within about 5 min. A lot can happen in the hour between when you test and shoot. If you were to shoot around 7 AM, as long as you're home by around 7:30, (30 min. shouldn't have much of an effect on your cat's numbers) a slight change in your shot schedule might work and give you some time to get an out-the-door test in the AM. If numbers are dropping, you can leave lots of food and even HC out for Lee Lu and be less worried about how she's doing during the day. Is your boyfriend on the same schedule as you and can he (or will he) test? Having a second set of hands can be a bit help!
julie & punkin (ga)
Member Since 2011
Try to not get discouraged. One thing we've noticed with most cats is that skootching up in dose often doesn't work as well as increasing by full quarter units. Skootching or shaving works well when you decrease the dose, but for some reason it's less effective than full increases.
In your case it's possible that the recent higher bgs could be from hitting some lows in there somewhere. We don't know, but a few days of consistent midcycle checks will let us know.
In your case it's possible that the recent higher bgs could be from hitting some lows in there somewhere. We don't know, but a few days of consistent midcycle checks will let us know.
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