4/12/13 Update on Rags

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yo hon

Member Since 2013
Good Evening to all our family ! (at least we hope we still are your family)

Just wanted to let everyone know how my boy is doing. this is the second time I'm writting this, yes, my computer screwed the whole thing up. So I'm gonna try again !!
I just did his 24 hour curve and must tell everyone that since 4/06/13, Saturday he has not had a 'HI or LOW', YEAH !!!!!!! His numbers have been posted on his SS since yesterday.
YES, he IS finally on Lantus. One unit in a.m., eats three times a day. However, Doc wants to start him on two shots a day. one unit in a.m. and one unit in p.m., and only two meals a day, which he will NOT like at all !!! He hates that he can't have his treats or dry food. At night he gets up on the kitchen counters looking for his dry food. When he can't find it he sprays. God love him !! He REALLY has been such a GOOD boy since all this mess started. He doesn;t understand what is going on. Whenever I go to him, he runs away. He is petrified of me. He is sooooo afraid that I will be sticking his ears. This started when I did his curve.
He doesn't look or act sick at all. He acts the same way he always has. He loves going outside and laying by the house all afternoon. I think he is just trying to get away from me.
I like this Lantus, except the Doc didn't write it for the pen, so it cost way tooo much money especially when you can only use it for 28 days. I have NO idea what next month will bring because I just do NOT have that kind of money. I'll also need to buy those 1/2cc syringes. This is a VERY expensive disease !!!
I LOVE my boy and will NOT euthanize him because he is sick (as my friend suggested today, really made me mad !) If I see that he is actually suffering, then I will do whatever has to be done, but I REALLY do NOT ever want to do that !!!! I REALLY love my boy VERY much, after all he is my kid !!!
I am very sorry that I couldn't write sooner, my head was VERY messed up, still is, but not as bad !! Just wanted to have some news for everyone. I hope you will all find this to be good news, not the best yet, buy praying it will get ALOT better !!!
Again I would like to thank everyone that has been here to support me and my boy Rags, we REALLy do appreciate ALL that you have done for us !!! We love all of you for nall you have done, Thank you sooooooo much !

Becki & Rags
 
Hi Becki

The insulin lasts much longer than 28 days - many of us use it for 6 months or more. We've been on our current vial for 5 months and it is still fine, so don't worry about that. Just take care of it.

Leo got very used to tests when I gave him a treat (chicken for example) after *every* test. He comes when I call him because he wants the treat. Can you do that with Rags? Treats don't have to be high carb for him to like them... cats love chicken, liver, shrimp, etc. If I cook a chicken, I save the liver and cook it for him.

Thank you for taking care of him. It's a challenge getting started, but you know there are many many people here who want to see Rags get good care.

Lisa & Leo
 
Hello there

I agree with Lisa and Leo, Lantus lasts up to six months if you keep it in the fridge and dont shake or roll it. (dont keep it in the door though). It says 28 days on the label but thats for humans who get through it faster. Just watch for cloudiness, flakes or if it seems to stop working but most members here get up to 6 months out of it.

Two shots a day is standard for Lantus since it only lasts 12 hours. You need to give it almost exactly 12 hours apart give or take 30minutes.

However for feeding you can do whatever you like. I feed my guys all day long and leave a bowl of wet out for them. I just make sure to take the food away two hours before the shot so that when I do the preshot blood test I know the number isnt influenced by food. So then I test, shoot and feed. On this forum you will find all sorts of feeding regimes - from my free feeding, to mini meals to 2-3 meals a day. Personally I like more meals but smaller ones to keep the blood sugar stable.

You need to spend some time with him when you arent poking so he doesnt just associate you with that. Cuddles and play time.. whatever he likes.

Wendy
 
I'm a newbie here too so I can't say much, but I'm glad to hear that your kitty is doing well ... I will say one thing, tho... your friend would never recommend you kill a human family member... sometimes people just don't understand how we can love them like people, don't let them get to you. You can get thru this, and so can Rags, he will learn right along side of you. I wish you the very best of luck!

On a side note (maybe this isnt the place to ask?) ..... regarding making sure the insulin isn't cloudy, is that only for Lantus insulin? The prozinc the vet gave me IS cloudy... and I was TOLD to roll it every time I give it, oy... is this vet screwing me up, or is the prozinc just different?
 
Prozinc is different. Both last up to six months if you keep in the fridge. However prozinc is a suspension and so you do need to roll it. Lantus is not. Lantus should not be rolled or shaken.
 
Sueet said:
I'm a newbie here too so I can't say much, but I'm glad to hear that your kitty is doing well ... I will say one thing, tho... your friend would never recommend you kill a human family member... sometimes people just don't understand how we can love them like people, don't let them get to you. You can get thru this, and so can Rags, he will learn right along side of you. I wish you the very best of luck!

On a side note (maybe this isnt the place to ask?) ..... regarding making sure the insulin isn't cloudy, is that only for Lantus insulin? The prozinc the vet gave me IS cloudy... and I was TOLD to roll it every time I give it, oy... is this vet screwing me up, or is the prozinc just different?
Click to expand...
To Sueet: I just know that Lantus (and Levemir) is not to be rolled or shaken. I'm not sure about Prozinc.

Yo hon: Thank you for the update. Nice work on the spreadsheet. Lantus does work best in cats, if given twice a day, 12 hours apart, same does each time. If you want, you can start a new Sheet on your spreadsheet just for the Lantus dosing since it will be different than the TID you were doing with the N. Just click on the + sign at the bottom left of the spreadsheet to start a new Sheet, if you want. You can rename the new Sheet as "Lantus" and the other one was "Humulin N" if you want. Mainly, I just wanted to say good luck with the new insulin, and get those mid-cycle tests in (day and night if you can) because the dosing for Lantus is based on the nadir (the lowest point in the 12 hour cycle).

Let us know if you have any questions. Read and Re-read the stickys on the Lantus forum. Skritches and :YMHUG: Hugs.
 
Lisa, when nyou say you give him some chicken, how much dom you give him??

Doc didn't tell me to do any pre-test.. Just the curves.

Becki & Rags
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
Prozinc is different. Both last up to six months if you keep in the fridge. However prozinc is a suspension and so you do need to roll it. Lantus is not. Lantus should not be rolled or shaken.
Click to expand...
Whew, thanks .. I was worried for a moment there.
 
HI Becki

I give just a little piece, like the size of a dime. You don't want to fill them up with the treats, especially if you are doing a curve or taking more frequent tests. It's better to give them a little smaller treat than a larger one. The only time I DON'T give treats like this is when values are low and I am surfing with food. Then the food is the treat.

Good luck!

Lisa
 
Wendy & Tiggy, how much food and what kind ? My Doc says I can only feed him twice a day. Says nothing about testing him only when I do the curve. He can only hace two temptation treats a day. I feel soooo sorry for him cause he likes his treats.


Becki & Rags

how do you put the icons on the posts ?
 
Are you still feeding fancy feast classic pâtés? Those are fine.

What weight is he? Would you say that's his ideal weight or does he need to lose or gain? Once we have that we can work out how much food he should get a day.

No temptations treats.. Sorry. Go get some low carb ones. Freeze dried chicken is popular and low carb so rags can have it more often.
 
Becki

I have two diabetics Maxwell and Autumn. As well as 12 civies (non-diabetics) Maxwell went into remission on Lantus it is an excellent insulin for kitties, Autumn is on Levemir which acts very much like Lantus. All of my cats are fed 4 times a day and they get treats, just low carb ones, for treats for everyone is just human grade meats...boiled chicken, tuna, steamed shrimp, boiled liver etc.

Both my mother and my father in law are human diabetics, they would never think of giving themselves insulin without first checking their blood sugar first. Nor will I give Autumn her insulin before I test her, because while I've been giving her insulin for almost a year now, she will still every now and then throw me a curve ball and give me a very low number like this morning when I tested her and she was a whopping 52! And that was on a mere .1u

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Hi Becki,

I have never posted to you, but I have read some of your threads too. I'm happy that you're back! I like your vet so far! He has started you on a low dose of a good insulin. It looks like Rags is already liking Lantus too. :smile:

Let's keep things simple to start with. We can worry about the spreadsheet later. We can work with what you have for now. Let's focus on one thing at a time.

Temptations - yes, they have carbs, but I think they are just fine to use a couple as a testing treat. Maybe that will help Rags look forward to his tests if he knows he gets goodies afterwards.

I agree with your vet that curves are good, but I would still like to see you test before every shot. Can you do that? It's important to know what the numbers are before you give a shot.
 
My vet wanted me to only feed Charlie twice a day. He is a grazer, and I just couldn't do it. I don't believe in starvation as a way to get you cat to eat. Plus his belly wasn't used to big meals and could only eat a little anyway. I do think my vets believes that's best for the cat but like we say here ECID (every cat is different) Charlie lost weight and was always hungry. So I'm doing what I want.
Glad to see you're back!!!
 
Hi Becki & Rags,

I haven't posted since you started, but I'm so glad to hear things are on the right track for you both. I know how expensive things can get, but do the best you can for Rags - it sounds like you already are. Great Job!

I look forward to hearing more good updates.
 
Hi Becki and Rags

Regarding feeding only 2 times a day - that depends on the cat. The vets often say that to make sure there is food in the cat's system when the insulin begins to work so yes, it is important to feed some food at shot time after you test. However, like many people here, we feed several smaller meals. Leo got some at shot time, some about an hour later and some about 3 hours after the shot. That's because we did some curves and found out that spreading the food out helped keep Leo's glucose values from dipping as much during the middle of the cycle. I think everyone plays around with the timing after they are doing this for a while.

Whatever you chose to do, be consistent for a while so you see the effects of when you feed. After you get a better idea, you can spread out the food at different times if you need to.

Lisa & Leo
 
Hi Becki & Rags.

Awesome news.....Sooooooo glad to hear Rags is finally doing better....AND...YOU too. :-D

I have been giving Rumpelteazer 2 PureBites Chicken Treats after her tests during the day. These treats are Freeze-Dried Chicken Breast and nothing else...so...it is like giving her real chicken.
I don't have time to cook chicken for treats. :lol: Hardly have time to cook food for myself! :lol: I got these treats at PetSmart.

I have been 'poking' RumpelT's ears every 2 hours from AMPS to PMPS to see how her numbers look throughout the day. I set the alarm on my cell phone for the time to test....She has gotten so used to hearing the alarm....which means .... YAY...TREAT TIME....that when she hears it she actually comes to me for her 'poke' and treat. She will lay down in the 'ear-poke' position and be still while I test her. Just have to keep the treats out of view until I am done :lol:

It took a while, but her ear has 'learned to bleed'. This makes it a lot quicker to get blood and do test. Rags' ear(s) will eventually 'learn'.

RumpelT only eats twice a day but, she in on Prozinc. I don't want to mess up anything for you & Rags since you use a different insulin....but...she gets (1) can Fancy Feast after AMPS and then about (2) cans after PMPS. I was feeding her 1 tsp Fancy Feast after her tests as a treat during the day, but that may have been messing with her test numbers. Seems like the PureBites treats are working well so far.

Looking forward to more updates.

Big Kitteh-Hugs from me & Rumpelteazer
 
Hi Becki!

Yeah--another Lantus kitty!!!

As for feeding: Gobbles and civvies get all the low carb, wet food they want EXCEPT two hours before shot time. If Gobbles can go without food for 2 hours, so can the civvies.

As for treats: I would give him one-half of the temptations (or other dry treats) at a time, due to the carbs--they are easy to break in half and I'm sure Rags won't care. So if you test him four times in one day and you give a treat after each test, he is only actually getting 2 treats total!

I'm so happy to hear Rags is doing better :-D
 
Thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement !!!
I really do not know what Rags ideal weight should be, but I think he is fine at 13 lbs. He was 16 lbs. before this all started.
I'm just worried about him and his feeding schedule. He seems to get REALLY hungry at night. I was giving him his last feeding at 11:30 p.m., but it still doesn't hold him. He is up ALL night looking for food. When I start the two times a day, he will REALLY go crazy. He never was a big eater. I only feed all my kitties twice a day wet food. Kept dry food down 24 hours a day. Now there is NEVER any dry food around and that is a REAL problem for my girl, Freeway who just turned 17 on 4/01/13. This past year her appetite has changed greatly. She only has front teeth now so she can't chew so good, but she likes her dry food. (she is eating his dry diabetic food) Sometimes she won't even eat her wet food at all, she just wants her dry. She gets up in the middle of the night crying and screaming because she wants her food and it's not there. So needless to say I do not get much sleep cause it's all night long. I feel so bad for her as well.
Rags would only eat a can of ff, sometimes wanting more at breakfast, but dinner time 5:30 he would only eat one bowl 1/4 can. That was it. I guess the rest of the night he ate his dry food. I just have NO idea how this will go.
I'm also concerned about him getting a shot at night. If you saw his SS you'll know why. You say Lantus only works for 12 hours, well what happened with the other 12 ? ya know ? Yes, I'm starting to get panicky again !!!

Becki & Rags
 
Becki,

Please don't panic dear. We are here for you. Have you migrated to the Lantus Tight Regulation board yet? It would be extremely very beneficial for you and Rags if you start posting there because A LOT of very experienced members are there and probably more cats are on Lantus (here at FDMB) than any other insulin.

Can we get you moved over to that board?

I looked at his SS just now, and it is not updated. Which day exactly did Rag's start Lantus?
 
Ok so at 13lbs my math says he can have 247calories a day. If you are feeding fancy feast classic pâtés, that's about 2.5-3 cans a day. I would try him on 2.5cans and see how his weight goes.. If he is losing weight or gaining you can adjust accordingly.

And lantus is supposed to be given twice a day, once every 12hours...
 
Sometimes, when my girl kitty gets a tummy ache, I'll put her in the bathroom with a small bowl of dry kibble. She likes to go in the bathroom, because that's where she gets her special "treat" of dry food. I shut the bathroom door so J.D. doesn't go in there, and only keep her in there for about a half hour or less. Maybe your girl would be comfortable in the bathroom for a wee bit of time at night, too, if she got some of her dry food and also had a small warm bed in there with her to lay down on. Just a thought. Hugs. It will be okay. You'll figure it out.
 
Hi, Bowhuntress, thanks for writting. Rags started Lantus on 4/07 13. Doc said no testing until his 24 hour curve, which is on my SS. He runs when I come anywhere near him or if I tell him to come eat his dinner. Guess she wanted his stress level down a bit, I really don't know !!
He will be starting on twice a day shots next week, I hope ! I have to transition him ti twice a day feedings which is going to be REAL hard. She told me not to test him for a week after he is taking twice a day inj., if he seemed to be doing good, then I could wait two weeks before I do the 12 hour curve. I'm GOING to test him before his inj. I DON'T like starting him on twice a day without knowing what is going on through the night especially.

No, I guess I'm not on the Lantus site, I thought they were here because alot of people have been posting about it. Where do I go and how do I get there ?

Thank you for your advise !!!

Becki & Rags
 
Deb, Freeway's paw has finally stopped bleeding. I keep it clean with peroxide and the neosporin. She is a VERY good girl and actually lets me take care of it !!!

Thank you for asking.

Becki & Rags
 
Hi Becki!
I see you've joined us at the Lantus group :RAHCAT I will be looking for you there; that's where I usually post, too.
 
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