Re: Dosing Advice Sought, Moving from PZI Vet to Lantus
Hi Maureen & Sammy, and welcome! My post has crossed with all the replies you just received. The experts are concerned!! The following is what I wrote before I saw the above responses to your post:
You have come to the right place. The dosing experts will want to know how much Sammy weighs and will want to see his chart. So if you can get a spreadsheet and profile up and running, they will be happy. Instructions for setting up a spreadsheet in Google Docs can be found in the Tech Forum. The template we use has already been made and all you have to do is set up a free account in Google Docs and link your Google Docs spreadsheet to your signature. If you keep your spreadsheet up to date, the people here can see how Sammy is doing and make recommendations for dosing.
Stu was also diagnosed in 2006 and was on PZI Vet until last November, when we switched to Lantus. His initial dose was set too high and we had quite an adventure until I found this forum! Lantus works very differently from PZI Vet. It is given every 12 hours and there is very little wiggle room with regard to the timing of the shot (you don't have that hour or two of leeway that you have with PZI Vet). Also the dosing is based on the blood glucose number at nadir (when the number is lowest and the insulin is peaking), not at the pre-shot number. After the initial dose has been decided upon, we follow a modified version of the Tilly Protocol (see the informational "stickies" above). When making dosing changes, we go very slowly, raising or lowering the dose by .25 of a unit, or .5 of a unit (depending on the cat and a bunch of other factors). We then hold the new dose for a number of 12-hour cycles to let it "settle". Lantus like this go-slow approach. It sounds finicky, but it really does produce results.
There are many very knowledgeable people on this board who will give you sound advice with dosing. Someone will be along soon. In the meantime, read as many of the "stickies" at the top of the Lantus forum as you can. It's a lot of info. and Lantus has has steep learning curve, but it's worth it. And, again, welcome!
Ella & Stu
