? 5/26 Getting Lantus today! Dose help

Brandi & Taco

Brandi & Taco

Member Since 2020
We are finally getting Lantus!! It should be arriving by 8pm tonight.
Two questions....
Should I give first dose tonight or wait till AM?
What dose should I start him off at?
I've been reading a ton on here but still feel a little lost. His SS is below.
(I am well aware that I need to start doing Amps testing, especially with starting Lantus. That WILL definitely start happening! My husband has been giving the AM shot while I'm still asleep.)

ETA: When I check Taco's SS on my signature, it only goes up to the 15th but it's updated on my end. :( I'll try to fix it. The numbers have been roughly the same since the last shown update though. Novolin is awful. :(
 
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I agree...Novalin is a fast acting insulin.

Please put a nice big row - all the same color across your SS - indicating that you're switching to LANTUS. You can begin this evening as Lantus is a nice slow acting insulin.

Perhaps some of the other experienced members will chim in - but I think I'd start Taco on less than your current dose of Novalin. I wouldn't give more than 1 unit - but let's see if you get some other input.

You may also want to use the '?' icon in your title to get more 'eyes' on your question...

You can click on the 'Edit Thread' link on the right hand side of your comment:

And set your title up like this: ? 5/26 Taco AMPS ### Switching to Lantus - need help with dose.
 
Hello and welcome! We take the existing dose in mind when starting Lantus. Since you haven’t seen anything below 200, I think you’d be fine starting at 2.5 units of Lantus. As for when, maybe tomorrow morning. We do recommend trying to test at +3, +6, and +9 to start, and as long as you are a day person, that should work. Some cats show a strong reaction to an insulin change so you want to be able to monitor closely at first. Due to the nature of the depot the first few cycles can also be a non event as the depot builds. Hard to predict, we are dealing with cats after all!

Is Tux eating any dry food now, or just a/d? It’s not really low carb food.

We strongly recommend always getting an AMPS test and a PMPS test before you shoot, to make sure it’s safe to do so.
 
Sue and Luci said:
I agree...Novalin is a fast acting insulin.

Please put a nice big row - all the same color across your SS - indicating that you're switching to LANTUS. You can begin this evening as Lantus is a nice slow acting insulin.

Perhaps some of the other experienced members will chim in - but I think I'd start Taco on less than your current dose of Novalin. I wouldn't give more than 1 unit - but let's see if you get some other input.

You may also want to use the '?' icon in your title to get more 'eyes' on your question...

You can click on the 'Edit Thread' link on the right hand side of your comment:

And set your title up like this: ? 5/26 Taco AMPS ### Switching to Lantus - need help with dose.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your reply! I will definitely add the Lantus line to my spreadsheet.
I just gave him his first dose!!! I may have teared up a bit. Lol. He's been doing so, so awful on Novolin. I just did 1 unit and will monitor him and see how he reacts.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome! We take the existing dose in mind when starting Lantus. Since you haven’t seen anything below 200, I think you’d be fine starting at 2.5 units of Lantus. As for when, maybe tomorrow morning. We do recommend trying to test at +3, +6, and +9 to start, and as long as you are a day person, that should work. Some cats show a strong reaction to an insulin change so you want to be able to monitor closely at first. Due to the nature of the depot the first few cycles can also be a non event as the depot builds. Hard to predict, we are dealing with cats after all!

Is Tux eating any dry food now, or just a/d? It’s not really low carb food.

We strongly recommend always getting an AMPS test and a PMPS test before you shoot, to make sure it’s safe to do so.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply! Taco has been on a strictly wet food diet for the past month (Friskies Pate). I just gave him his first dose of Lantus and started with 1 U. I'm a night owl so will be able to monitor him and test him tonight. I was nervous starting with 2.5U right off the bat. How quickly can you go up on doses though? How long should I stay at 1U before going up to 1.25 or 1.5? I'm sure it depends on his numbers the next couple days. I'll be posting daily from now on.
I am so stupid excited to finally have Lantus. I cried when it came in the mail and teared up giving him his first dose. Lol.
 
Welcome. Lantus usually kicks in between +2-3. It’s a depot drug that needs to build up so you wouldn’t increase sooner than every 6 cycles. How often you increase depends on the numbers and which method you follow, Start Low Go Slow or Tight Regulation. Read the stickies at the top of the forum page to see which seems best for you. TR is more aggressive but I think gives a better chance of remission. You definitely test enough for TR. Since you started with a pretty low dose you might want to reconsider that tomorrow morning.
 
If we see early on that the dose is clearly too low, you can increase faster and by larger amounts. Keep posting here and we can help you with that.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
If we see early on that the dose is clearly too low, you can increase faster and by larger amounts. Keep posting here and we can help you with that.
Click to expand...
I already think his dose is too low. His +5 is 400. His PMPS number was 371. Should I already up his dose for the AM??? Maybe 1.5? You might be right starting at 2.5.
 
Brandi2022 said:
I already think his dose is too low. His +5 is 400. His PMPS number was 371. Should I already up his dose for the AM??? Maybe 1.5? You might be right starting at 2.5.
Click to expand...

One thing you need to remember...Lantus is a totally different type of insulin than Novolin. It can take 5-7 days before you see the true effect of the dose.

That being said, I do think you started at too low. Lantus is a gentler insulin than Novolin so if he wasn't dropping too low on 2.5 of Novolin, he probably wouldn't on lantus (now some cats can react sooner, but that's more unusual)

If he were my cat, I'd probably try 2 units and hold it for the next several days (unless he were to drop below 50)
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
One thing you need to remember...Lantus is a totally different type of insulin than Novolin. It can take 5-7 days before you see the true effect of the dose.

That being said, I do think you started at too low. Lantus is a gentler insulin than Novolin so if he wasn't dropping too low on 2.5 of Novolin, he probably wouldn't on lantus (now some cats can react sooner, but that's more unusual)

If he were my cat, I'd probably try 2 units and hold it for the next several days (unless he were to drop below 50)
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply. I completely understand about Lantus being different and I do think I started too low. I guess I was just nervous about starting a new insulin. I am going to shoot 2 units in the AM and monitor him all day. We do extensive home testing so I feel pretty confident doing that.
 
Please update your spreadsheet. What did you decide to do? Instead of responding here please start a new condo for today.
 
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