? 22/3 - Lantus vs Levemir

[SwedishLiz]

We’re a few weeks into this now, with very little obvious improvement. Freya’s Lantus obviously isn’t lasting 12hrs which means that any gains we make in the short-term, we’re losing before the next dose. Do we simply keep increasing the Lantus until we find a dose which reduces Freya’s BG enough that we can then reduce the insulin enough to just maintain or do we contact the vet & ask to try Levemir instead?
I’ll admit that ‘sometimes’, Freya doesn’t eat only the LC food but in a household of 6 rescue cats, short of locking her in a room on her own, I’m being as careful as possible…
Any advice gratefully received (my spreadsheet is up to date on both WW/US pages too, despite formatting issues…)!

 

[cecile & bella]

I would continue increasing and trying with Lantus until you get better results. I cannot advise you on a dose, but it looks like you could increase soon. Was Freya tested for ketones? With high numbers like she has, you might want to do it if not. You can use urine strips for that.
You can also read the sticky about TR:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...-low-go-slow-slgs-tight-regulation-tr.210110/
I am going to tag more experienced users here. I hope Freya starts showing you results soon!
@Bandit's Mom
@Suzanne & Darcy
@tiffmaxee
@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

[Bandit's Mom]

I don't think it is Lantus. It can take a few months for a cat to be regulated. Freya is staying flat and high and possibly seeing some glucose toxicity from a dose being held too long. With TR, you increase the dose as often as every 3 days till you start seeing nadirs below 200 (11.1). If nadirs are over 300, you can increase by 0.5U rather than 0.25U.

I would increase her to 2.75U tomorrow and re-evaluate the dose in 3 days.

If she is getting into high carb food, that could contribute to the reduction in duration of the insulin.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Could you feed all of them lc canned?

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I agree with Bandit's Mom , you are holding the dose too long

 

[Wendy&Neko]

We typically suggest that people try an insulin for at least 6 months. It's too early to say it's the insulin. The reason the duration isn't good enough is that you haven't gotten to a good dose yet.

And I totally agree with what Bhooma (@Bandit's Mom ) said. Follow the TR protocol for best results. Increase after 3 days/6 cycles if all you are seeing is numbers above 200, and if over 300, increase by 0.5 units. Good luck with the new dose.

 

[SwedishLiz]

Thanks, everyone! We’ll increase Freya’s dose by 0.5u as suggested - hopefully this will make a huge difference to her!

 

[Bandit's Mom]

Good luck!
You might need to keep increasing per TR (every 3-5 days depending on nadirs) till you get to a good dose.