2/7 George AMPS 273 ?

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Girlface

Girlface

Member Since 2013
I hope I am doing this right, this is my first post here. My name is Whitney, I have a newly diagnosed Maine Coon named George.

So we have been on Lantus going on 3 weeks now. We did a curve on Saturday, the numbers are in my signature. I have more AMPS and PMPS #'s in my written book, and I'll update my spreadsheet when I get home from class this afternoon.

Yesterday, my veterinarian tells me to use this: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1qdx...sZhn26r6pRjjGt63IKHSs1sY7ajI/edit?usp=sharing

Last night's PMPS was 400, so he received 2 units instead of his previous dose of 1. I dosed him this morning with 2 again, as he was ravenous and his AMPS was 273. Am I doing something wrong, using this scale?
 
Re: 2/7 George AMPS 273

Welcome to Lantus Land Whitney & George :-D

Others with more experience will advise you, but I can say we don't usually increase the dose that much at one time,
we usually increase by .25u or .5u at a time. That way you won't "miss" the right dose.

You can add the "?" to your subject line by editing your first post in the thread, so others will know you have questions.

the link "Yesterday, my veterinarian tells me to use this" didn't work for me...
 
I edited the post, and the link should work now. Unfortunately, I have the lantus pens, so I can't really do those kinds of increments.
 
Hi, Whitney and welcome to Lantus Land!

It looks like your vet is using a sliding scale approach to dosing Lantus. Based on the current research, this is an approach that is best used with shorter acting types of insulin (e.g., PZI/ProZinc) rather than Lantus of Levemir. While I can appreciate that you may need to adjust one dose if your kitty isn't eating, that is a very atypical situation. Also, we don't use the needle tip for the pens. We use a syringe. A dose adjustment of a full unit may work for a human but it is way too large for a cat. It is very easy to put your cat over a good dose using that size change. There are times when a dose needs to be adjusted by a drop. If you look at the Lantus: Info, Handling, Storage sticky, you'll see how a syringe can be used with the Lantus pens. If you look at our spreadsheets, you'll see how we dose

Lantus is what's called a "depot" type of medication. The insulin depot is what gives Lantus its long duration and allows for overlap between the doses. If you keep changing your dose from shot to shot, you never allow the amount of insulin in the depot to stabilize. As a result, you won't be able to tell how well any given dose is working. In fact, there's a good chance you'll get very wonky numbers.

I'd encourage you to read the starred, sticky note on the Tight Regulation Protocol. This dosing protocol is based on feline research and has been published in a leading veterinary journal. You may want to share the article I'm attaching with your vet.


If you're already using the spreadsheet template that we all use, could you attach it to your signature so we can take a look? If not, I linked the template. The only document that's in your signature is George's Profile.

You may also want to put a note in your signature line that you're using an AlphaTrack meter. We adjust our cut-offs for dose reductions for AlphaTrack users since the meter is calibrated differently than a meter that is built for humans.
 

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Hi guys ... just wanted to stop by and welcome you to lantus land! I hope we can eventually see a pic of george, bet he is handsome! Have a great day guys!
 
OK, I have fixed my signature to make the spreadsheet more easily available, and I've added a picture of my George.

I will email my Vet with the paper and talk about dosing, and update spreadsheet #s this afternoon

**Edit, spreadsheet is updated.
 
Welcoem to lantus land. When you say you use the pens, does that mean you are using the needles that are designed for the Lantus pens? You know that you dont need to use those right? You can remove the needle and inject a regular syringe (with smaller increments) into the grey rubber stopper and withdraw the insulin that way.
 
Thank you for linking George's SS!!

Since you're a pharm student, I suspect you can find some good information on Lantus dosing. Likewise, you'll want to find some U100 syringes that are in half unit increments!

With Lantus, the dosing regimen is different in humans than cats. Cats require BID dosing due to their faster metabolism. Lantus dose adjustments are also based on the nadir -- not on you pre-shot values. This is a fact your vet is overlooking in the sliding scale instructions. Because dosing is based on nadir, it's important to get spot checks whenever you can. It looks like you may not be around during the day. If this is the case, it's even more important to make sure you get some tests during the PM cycle. At the very least, can you get a test every night before you go to bed? If you can test before you leave the house, when you come home, etc., it will help to fill in the blanks. Getting a curve, like you did on 2/2 will help you to see where Lantus onset and nadir fall. However, the nadir can shift which is why spot checks are very useful.
 
You've gotten some great info so far, so I'm just stopping in to say "Welcome to LantusLand"...this is the best place to be for you and George - who, BTW, is mighty handsome! Keep asking questions...there is tons of support and knowledge here!

Have a great night, Whitney!
 
Hi you two! Just wanted to welcome you to Lantus Land! :YMHUG: You're in the right place with some brilliant people here to help. I don't know what I would be doing without them. :-D
 
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