4/23 - General Suggesstions DKA noob

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Michaellh33

Michaellh33

Member Since 2015
If you look at my sheet my cat isn't going down over the last few days. I know there are gaps in the morning but I am at work all day so I cannot monitor during that time. He seems to drop a little bit in the evening but not much.

Could it be the insult my vet gave me? He gave me some they had left over until they ordered some more and it seems like the membrane on the top might leak a little air, not really sure though.

Should I up the dose or just try the new insulin container?

Old thread
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...dka-newbie-advice-please.136566/#post-1408610
 
I think you have enough data to show that you could increase his dose. I'd increase by 0.25u.

Hard to say about the insulin. It did get him into the 100's a week ago, so that would seem like it's ok. He just might need more. I'd try increasing the dose and then see what happens. If the insulin was older, or not refrigerated, or had gotten contaminated, it might be compromised. Have you looked at the sticky on taking care of your insulin? It's so expensive it's important to know how to take care of it.

You don't have to monitor all day, but it's a great idea to have food available for Brody in case he does go lower.

By the way, you don't have to put DKA in the subject line - just know that it means that you don't want to skip shots at this point. You've got it in the signature line, which is good. People might be thinking you're asking for advice on DKA the way it is now.

As far as moving ahead with the insulin, I would not buy insulin from your vet. Lantus should not be repackaged and as a human insulin, it's available through regular pharmacies. Ask for a prescription and take it where you want it filled. We did have one cat with an issue with insulin repackaged by Wedgewood Pharmacies and sold by the vet.
 
I am somewhat paranoid that I am some how messing up the shots. I can't seem to get the technique down like I have the testing down so maybe I have been "missing" with some of the injection. I am not sure. Sometimes there is a small bead left on the end which would suggest that is the case. I do refrigerate it but I will check the sticky tonight for sure. I will be sure ot omit that from now on, thanks for the feedback.
 
Definitely been handling it wrong. I have been injecting air into the vial before withdrawing.Pretty sure the instruction sheet the vet gave me said to do that. Will double check.
 
It's ok to inject into the AIR of the vial, just not into the liquid. Even if you did, however, Lantus isn't as fragile as we used to think. So it might or might not be ok. I wouldn't discard it just because of that but just be aware that its lifespan might be shorter because of it.

The reason that it might contaminate the insulin is because our contemporary syringes have a lubricant in them to make the plunger slide easily. Back in the day, nothing in the syringe so it probably would've been fine.
 
If you're using a vial, it's fine to inject air...it helps to equalize the pressure....just inject it into the "air" part, and not the liquid part.

If you can get a new script from your vet for Lantus Solostar pens, you can get it a lot cheaper by buying it from Canada. The last post in the "Insulin from Canadian Pharmacies" explains who to go to. There are a LOT of us buying from there and very happy with them!

The pens you do NOT shoot air into because they're already pressurized....but they're a better deal than the vials because you get 5 pens (with 3ml each...that's 300 units) and you'll be able to use every last drop. With the vials (that are 10ml or 1000 units) you're probably going to end up throwing some away because it'll lose it's punch before you run out.

The pens are also cheaper per unit!!
 
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