2/17 Nimo AMPS 406, +5 425

[Nimo's mom]

HI,
This is my first time posting on this side. We are very new at handling all of this.
I screwed up and tried to change his dose and feeding schedule around the same time, but now I think he's on too low of a dose. I guess we'll see what the next few days show.

Hope your kitties have good numbers today

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: 2/17 Nimo AMPS 406

Welcome to Lantus Land!

I'm including a few of the links to your posts on Health:

• Intro post
• FLUTD & diabetes?
• Dosing question

If you've not done so already, you may want to read the starred, sticky notes at the top of this board. There's an overwhelming amount of information included but it will quickly become second nature. Well, maybe not quickly but there are a lot of people here who will do whatever they can to answer your questions. This is a wonderful and very helpful community of people and their kitties.

I honestly don't think you screwed anything up. What I think you're seeing is a bounce. Nimo was in very nice, blue numbers. Unfortunately, his pancreas and liver aren't used to spending time in those numbers due to his diabetes. Nimo is used to being in higher ranges and that's his new "normal." As a result, if numbers drop quickly or are in the lower, truly normal ranges, his system panics and a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones are released and the number spike back up. We refer to this as a "bounce." The more time Nimo spends in normal numbers, the less he will bounce. While the bounces are annoying, they are part of the process. It can take up to 72 hours for a bounce to clear.

When you have a moment, could you complete a Profile and attach it to your signature? That way, we won't keep plaguing you with the same questions about Nimo's background.

What do we call you?

 

[Nimo's mom]

Re: 2/17 Nimo AMPS 406

Thanks! I started a profile, but I"m not certain I did it right.
My name is Collete
The waiting for three days to see if his numbers come back down is going to be hard.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: 2/17 Nimo AMPS 406

Some cats clear bounces more quickly than others. We'll have to see what Nimo tells you! Waiting for a bounce to clear, especially if you're new to using Lantus, is important. When a bounce clears, numbers can drop. If there's momentum with a bounce breaking at the same time you're increasing the dose, there's the chance that numbers may drop really fast. If you're not yet used to steering the curve with food or don't know how your kitty responds to high carb food, the situation can be unnerving. It's less of an issue once you have more experience with managing your cat's numbers.

 

[Nimo's mom]

I just feel bad, because I shouldn't have given him that one larger dose(3.5) when I changed the feeding schedule. It caused his numbers to go lower which was great, but then the vet wanted to lower his dose to 2 because I gave one reduced dose when his numbers were below 200. I should have just stayed at 3 units while making that other change. Now he's going to have to stay at 2 units and have high levels for a few days. I get stressed with his numbers this high.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

The beginning of the process is overwhelming. We've all made missteps. (Gabby was started on Humulin N. I lost a month or two to an insulin that the IM/ICU vet liked and my vet didn't.) It's all a learning process. You can't go back and do it over so we all make the best of it and learn for the future. The hardest aspect is that the high numbers are frustrating and the first few times, the low numbers are scarey. We're all here for you and have been in your shoes.