? 5/22, Frodo, amps=534, switching to Lantus from ProZinc

[Ruth Ann and Frodo]

Frodo was diagnosed diabetic around the first of the year. We had been trying since then to get some sort of control using ProZinc, and decided last week to try Lantus and see if we can get any better results. We’re trying for the tight regulation, but his numbers are so high that we’ve got a ways to go. I have a link in my sig to the TID (three times a day) dosing of Prozinc we were trying, and to the new spreadsheet I made for Lantus. I’d appreciate any comments- we started at 2.5U BID Lantus, based on the total of 7U Prozinc per day that seemed to be less than needed.. Increased to 3U BID after 3 days, and it looks like we’ll be going up some more. Frodo seems to be a high dose kitty.

Frodo is almost 16 years old, DSH neutered male, was never overweight. He is currently fed Fancy Feast Classic pate, some Friskies Pate, and as much raw as I can persuade him to eat. He likes raw pork heart, kidney, and liver, and (whole) coarsely ground chicken, and sometimes a little beef.

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

Welcome to the other forum....
I'd say it looks like you are off to a good start... just have to be patient and work your way up. I know that's hard.

I'm not knowledgeable in prozinc but I stared at your ss and noticed that even yellows got a bounce reaction. ( to black)

So i'm wondering what might be going on in the pm cycle.

I would recommend you try to get some random testing in during the pm cycle. Without the data, you can't assume nothing is happening,
he may have made it to yellow ( hence the black preshot)

Do you have any conditions that keep you from testing then? work?

I wish I could get mine to eat any thing raw.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Hi Ruth Ann and Frodo and welcome to Lantus/Lev Land!

One observation about starting Lantus -- you generally want to hold the dose for at least 5 days when starting. Unlike ProZinc, Lantus is a depot-type of insulin. It generally takes 5 - 7 days for the depot to get established. Since you've already increased the dose, I'd not drop back down.

Lantus is very different than Prozinc and you'll need to adjust your way of thinking about dosing. Dose is based on the nadir, not on the pre-shot value. Doses are also held at least 3 days/6 cycles -- no sliding the dose unless there is some compelling reason like you can't be around to monitor or it's one of the first times you're seeing a low pre-shot number. If you're not sure what to do, post and ask of help in your subject line. There's usually someone here almost 24/7. People are very generous with their time and their knowledge.

It's also important for you to get enough test data to understand where Frodo's onset and nadir fall and how much duration he's getting from Lantus. You're doing great with getting what amounts to a mini-curve during the day. You might want to consider changing up some of your times so you can fill in some of those white spaces. I'd also encourage you to get at least one test during the PM cycle. Many cats like to drop into lower numbers at night. I'm a big fan of +2 or +3 tests.

If no one has mentioned it, you will want to familiarize yourself with the information in the sticky notes at the top of the board. There's a huge volume of information there that will acquaint you with the basic of using Lantus and managing the TR protocol. We love having people visit each other's threads. (We call them "condos.") It's a way to get to know the members here and to learn about using Lantus. It also helps to develop the wonderful sense of community you'll find here.

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

I was just reading your other thread in prozinc.

I'm so sorry about Gandalf. At least you have closure and know he's not wandering.
But it's so hard to lose them.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

Welcome to the group, Ruth Ann! I have a Frodo right here next to me - our orange long-hair kitty that we got after punkin passed away. Your Frodo is a beauty!

3.0u isn't a high dose, but he sure is high on it. If he was at 7u/day on ProZinc, he may have needed to start a little higher on the Lantus. As Rhiannon said, if you can get just one test before you go to bed it will tell us a TON about what he's doing. Some cats save all their low numbers for the pm cycle and then bounce during the days. If he's high in the pm cycle too, that would be good for us to know.

If you don't want to use more strips per day, you could test just 1-2 times in the day cycle in between the shots, and then get one bedtime test in the pm cycle. In other words, you don't have to necessarily test more, just switch up how you're testing a little bit.

We're glad you're here! Keep asking questions and we'll help you figure out how Lantus works with Frodo.