3/21 Leo PMPS 328 & Lev Q's

Status
Not open for further replies.
Tracy & Leo

Tracy & Leo

Member Since 2011
Howdy LL! Hello from waaaay up in the Great White North! :-D

My lil stinker is doing great at his grandbeans this week, he's been busy busy busy hunting, catching and eating mousies. DGPa says he's sometimes too busy to come in for testing and snacks! :o his numbers have been better than they have been, he's been hitting some nice blues usually at night and bouncing during the day. I'd like to leave him at this dose for the time being just because he takes so long to work his way into liking a dose.

So my question is, what does everyone think about Leo switching to Lev? If we are going to make the switch I'd like to do it early next week while I'm on holidays. So please take a look at his SS and let me know what y'all think. Levemir users feel free to pipe in and offer some of your thoughts.

Work is going well, we have unreal amounts of snow. There has been 2 blizzards in the last week alone, and 3 altogether in the last week and a half. Snow is up to my chest and I'm not a small person, I'm 5'10, I'll take some pictures this afternoon while we're out in the field and try posting later tonight.

I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say about Lev. Have a great day all!
 
Re: 3/21 Leo AMPS 392. +2.5 325 & Lev Q's

Tracy and just dropping by to say hello. I love hearing about Leo's holidays with DGPa! :-D Good luck with the potential switch and comments/advice from Beans whose kitties are on Lev. Be careful with any winter sports with the snow, but do have a great time. Hugs to you and Leo.
 
Re: 3/21 Leo AMPS 392. +2.5 325 & Lev Q's

I know some kitties are switched to even out the bouncing and I'm sure you'll get comments about that. Weezer was never a big bouncer, so I have no personal experience there. The one thing I can comment on is that she seems to feel better since the switch. Subtle things, a little perkier, a little purrier (I probably just made up that word), a little more playful. Like I said, the differences were subtle and I can't swear they weren't imagined by a bean who really is looking hard for any positive changes. Good luck with your decision.
 
Re: 3/21 Leo AMPS 392,+2.5 325, +5 243 & Lev Q's

i'll have to watch your condo for answers too - i'm curious about it myself.

just want to let you know that i've just adjusted where i'm looking when i talk to you. i've tipped up about 3". can you tell? :lol: stay warm & dry!
 
Re: 3/21 Leo AMPS 392,+2.5 325, +5 243 & Lev Q's

I do have one other observation. Weezer was also one whose BGs went up and stayed up when her dose was increased. That has leveled out some for her on lev.
 
Re: 3/21 Leo AMPS 392,+2.5 325, +5 243 & Lev Q's

TRACY !!!!!!!!!!

i've got Google Earth fired up and hovering over your neck of the woods.
Run outside and wave so i can zoom in on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

hi, leo!

celi
 
Re: 3/21 Leo AMPS 392,+2.5 325, +5 243 & Lev Q's

Holy moly, that's a lotta snow!!! Oh, I don't think you could pay me enough to work there. I'm daydreaming about retiring someplace warm, and I've got a loooong time to go before I can make that happen!

Obviously, I don't know anything about Lev, but it sounds like Leo is having a great time with the GrandBeans! How long will you be on holiday? I'm sure Leo will love having the extra time with you!

Stay safe and warm!!!
 
Re: 3/21 Leo AMPS 392,+2.5 325, +5 243 & Lev Q's

Hi Tracy & Leo,
Wow on your snow!! So that's where all the snow is this year!

Lev. is noted for even cycles and many people switch in order to minimize excessive drops and bounces. I expect that your schedule (or your father's schedule) would be one determining factor. With Lev. onset is later (Rusty's onset usually starts after +4) and the nadir is later (somewhere after +7 or +8 for Rusty, but as late as +10 or +11 with some kitties; e.g., Gracie, who often has overlapping cycles). A plus for kitties on higher doses is that Lev. doesn't sting.

I didn't switch Rusty to Lev.: he was already on it when we adopted him. But Stu had been on Lantus and I was used to how it worked. Therefore I found the Lev. cycles pretty confusing at first. I didn't know how to read them or how to "feed" them, etc. Now, however, I like having 4+ hours before onset because I can shoot a low number and know that I have 4 hours before the shot begins to kick in.

These are just my subjective reflections. I know nothing about whether or not Lev. would be preferable to Lantus from a medical standpoint. I hope you get some better feedback!

Enjoy your snow. It was 80 degrees F. here today. Snow is completely gone. We paddled for the first time today on a lake that was almost ice-free (most of them are still iced in, however).

Ella & Rusty
 
Thanks everyone for stopping by! Thanks Linda for offering yours and Weezer's experience with Lev, it does help to hear that she's feeling perkier on Lev. I would love it if Leo would stop going so high at his pre-shots, if anything i hope that Lev would help even that out. Plus it would be nice if he stopped bouncing......but don't we all wish for that anyway? :-D

I do know that Lantus forms a precipitate under the skin, but how does Lev work?

What a horribly exhausting afternoon i had, we went out for a 40 kilometre skidoo ride to take a lake sample and we got stuck in the snow every kilometre (or so it felt!) so digging, pulling and pushing wasn't my idea of a great afternoon.

Celi, google earth McClean Lake, Saskatchewan and that's where i am! If you can't find McClean Lake then google Wollaston Lake, Saskatchewan and we are about 20 kilometres away from there......i'll go wait outside and wave! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Good points Ella, very helpful as well! For me the Lev schedule wouldn't be too big of a deal, since whenever Leo and i are together i have the whole week off and don't have to worry about work, the same goes for my father, he's retired and spends most of the nights awake due to his chronic back pain. Leo does think that Lantus shots are very owie, i have often thought its because Lantus is slightly acidic, its not as owie when i warm up his syringe with the insulin with his rice sock. I'm sure Lev being neutral would make it a little bit better.

Amy, i am off work for 3 weeks!!!! My sister would love it if i went to visit her in Calgary, my parents think it would be a great idea if i took Leo along as well, we'll see i suppose.
 
We switched Tess because she had such early drastic drops and that has evened out beautifully. Ella is right, the different schedule does take some getting used toI still often test at =3 even though i know I will probably still see a rise. :? Tess onset is some where between +4 and +6, nadir often around +10.

Here is a video showing how Lev works.
 
Tracy:

Just a quick note and you can ask other questions.....we are about to eat dinner.

Lev adheres to itself under the skin and then slowly disassociates and binds with albumin in the bloodstream where it then disassociates slowly. Gracie has probably the most "interesting" lev cycle of any of the lev cats. She onsets at about +7 but sometimes a little later and she nadirs at about +16 from the previous shot which is +4 from the current one. She typically gets really nice overlap although she might rise a little around +5/+6. Lev has flattened her out immensely; she rarely dives anymore...has done it on occasion but not like lantus. Lev kitties can also still bounce but even her bouncing has minimized. Because of the late onset of lev, it's easy to shoot low numbers. I don't even think twice about shooting a 50 because I know that shot is not going to kick in for 7 hours. She has also become more predictable so unless it's a time when her shed has gotten really, really full, then we actually get more rest even though we do have to get up and check her at onset. We have loved it and it has worked reallly well for her. Check out her SS. Her latest bounce this morning ....I think....was because I lowballed the dose last night. GRRRR.

Also lev in the pen is supposed to last 42 days as opposed to 28. It's thicker than lantus and took me a while to be able to draw it well. Also....if you flick the syringe, you will have bubble city. Don't expect to see immediate changes....it can take weeks to see it but ECID. It also takes a while to see a pattern and adjust to it....it is very different from lantus. However, I wish I'd made the switch much sooner...in fact, I wish I had started her on it.

Let me know if you have more ???
 
I really think we are going to make the switch, i just don't know when yet. Next week? Plus i've gotta convince Leo's vet that its a good idea and we need a new script, i'm not sure how she's going to take it..... :?:
 
Hi Tracy - can't help with the Lev... no clue, but I wish you luck with the witch.

It is great to read that Leo is having a grand time at DGP's. Way cool!

I look forward to the pics - I bet it is beautiful there.
 
Wow, and we thought that our snow over the weekend was impressive! ohmygod_smile

No advice or experience with Lev, but I see you are getting the best advice from the best advisors. Good luck with making your decision! :YMHUG:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top