3/14 Tiger AMPS 293 +3 261 thoughts on dosecrease? ;)

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gigiviolet

Member Since 2014
Hi Everyone!!

Tiger completed 10 cycles on 2.25u (w/ break on dental day) as of last nights dose. There were some nice numbers the first day of this dose (and some after dental) but otherwise most are over renal threshold. I very much want to keep him under RT as much of the time as possible.

The past two days BGs reflect the infection that flared after dental (despite being on 150 mg Clindamycin for 7 days prior). The infected abscess area appears to be completely drained as of this am. The antibiotic seems to affect BG, too - and he will be on it for another 10 days. There were some nice blue numbers in the week before dental while on the AB.

I was thinking of increasing dose 0.25 to 2.5u to see if it will keep BG below RT much of the time - realizing this may need to be reassessed once off AB. I'm wondering if my Lantus is losing potency, especially since I was given incorrect care instructions initially.

Also, Tiger tends to be highest at AMPS, although he hasn't eaten all night! What's up with that?

I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks so much from me & Tiger!!
 
Hi Gina,

Sorry to hear about the additional abscess. I hope it's all gone now and Tiger is on the road to health. I'd wait another 24 hours before an increase. He got down in to greens on the night of the 11th, and bounces can take 6 cycles after that to clear. So, if after tonight's cycles he's not coming down any, I think you'd be fine to go up .25U tomorrow morning.

How long have you had your Lantus and what do you think you were doing wrong to it? If it's clear with no floaties there's a good chance it's still fine.

It's quite common for cats to be higher at AMPS and for those numbers to be the last to come down.. Might be something to do with the dawn phenomenon or cats being nocturnal and naturally having higher adrenaline at night which could increase BG.
 
hi gina!

how is Tiger doing with the clindamycin? is he getting diarrhea from it or is his tummy ok?

i'd probably do the increase in the am as wendy suggested.
 
Gina wrote regarding how she was told to handle the Lantus:
The vet tech who instructed me how to use Lantus told me: roll vial between hands, invert a few times, draw 5 units when giving 1 unit and push 4 units back into vial, etc
My research told me different 2-3 days after dx - but I've been worried I damaged this little $100 bottle of stuff! Can it lose some degree of potency? Or it's either "good" or "bad"?
Click to expand...

The vet tech is out of date. The instructions she gave you are for some of the older insulins. However, you are definitely not alone in receiving bad advice on how to handle Lantus. If you stopped following those instructions after a couple of days, you may be OK. We've had other members do the same and be fine. As long as the insulin looks clear with no floaties, I think you might be OK.
 
i would tend to think that if the Lantus were bad, Tiger wouldn't have gotten into the 90's. It might not last 6 months, but i think i'd keep using it until i saw floaties, threads or cloudiness in the Lantus itself.

the reason Tiger is highest in the morning is because of something called a Dawn Phenomenon. Non-diabetics can handle the rise in hormones that happens in the early morning, but in diabetics, it increases the BGs. When a cat is going off of insulin, that's usually the last BG that comes down.
 
Wendy,
Thanks for being so generous with your thoughts as always ;)

Julie,
Thanks so much for checking in on Tiger and sharing your thoughts. No diarrhea so far, I try to squeeze in some probiotics when I think of it. Luckily, unlike most cats I've known - Tiger will eat his food no matter what I stir into it ;)
 
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