5/28 Pancakes Dosing Advice Needed

[Mila and Pancakes]

I've been lurking on this board for a little while now and trying to follow the guidelines for the use of lantus but I'm alot worried about what I'm doing and I think I need some advice.

My Pancakes is at 1.5 and I'm trying to hold the dose for 7 days but she seems to be going back and forth with high numbers in the 300's and real low numbers in the 30's. Yesterday, I was unable to make the pm reading and the person that was giving my kitty her shot didn't take the reading either. She must have been at a two digit number because when I got home within one hour of the shot she was at 50. When I checked her at the second hour she was at 38! I got real nervous and started giving her small HC meals which kept her pretty happy or at least she seemed pretty happy.

This morning she was at 246 and so I gave her the 1.5 again but skinny and not fat like I was before. I'm wondering though if the fact that she fell into the 30's yesterday would warrant me dropping the dose to 1.25 or maybe even drop it to 1?????

Thanks
Mila

 

[Janice & Johnny]

Mila,

I'm also new here, so I'm still in the raking-in-the-advice stage and unable to answer your questions. But, welcome! So glad you decided to post! I'm sure someone who can help will respond soon. You might want to go back into your message and select the ? icon so that your message stands out as a question.

Janice

 

[CD and BigMac]

Mila, hi!
Quick answer: Yes, I would take .25u off your dose because Pancakes dropped so low, so new dose would be 1.25u. Just taking the fat off is probably not enough. BUT you may want to 'start over' and begin with just 1 unit and work your way up in dosing if necessary. Depends on the history of your kitty.

Speaking of history:
How long has Pancakes (LOVE the name) been on insulin?
When was she diagnosed?
What was her starting dose... was it 1.5u? We usually start with 1 unit or less (depending on if kitty has been using other insulins...etc.)

Can you give us as many blood test numbers as possible?
Times and dates?
If you could start a spreadsheet it would be SO valuable for us to see how/when Pancakes is responding.

Welcome, welcome!! I'm sure you will get more responses with lots of questions, but I wanted to answer your first question quickly.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to Lantus Land! Both Janice and I are in Chicago, as well.

If you just linked Pancakes spreadsheet (SS) and Profile, than you for doing so. If not, CD missed it!! You are doing a phenomenal job collecting data and home testing. Congrats!

The one thing that stands out on your SS is that you've missed some dose reductions. I'd encourage you to read the permanent notes (stickies) at the top of the Board. In particular, please take a look at the sticky, LANTUS & LEVEMIR - TIGHT REGULATION PROTOCOLS. There is a modified version of the formal dosing protocols as well as links to those versions, included in sticky. Basically, with a newly diagnosed diabetic cat, you reduce your dose when BG is less than 50. Your reduction should be 0.25u. Some of us increase and decrease in smaller amounts because we have data that suggests our cat's don't hold a reduction well or their numbers plummet with too large of an increase.

Overall, though, it really seems like you have been doing well with managing Pancakes' FD. Personally, if I knew I was only going to be an hour late, I would have shot late last night and then slowly adjusted the shot times back over the next couple of days. It looks like you're seeing some bouncing in response to lower numbers. That's not uncommon. It's just taking a little while for the bounce to clear -- it can take up to 72 hours.

Please let us know what other questions you may have. Feel free to visit our condos (threads) and look at our SSs. It's a great way to learn.

 

[Ronnie & Luna]

Welcome Mila and Pancakes! What an adorable name! Hope we can see a pic soon!

You're in good hands by posting here in LL! CD/BigMac and Sienne among many others will help to steer you in the right direction with Pancakes.
Hope to see you posting again!

 

[CD and BigMac]

f you just linked Pancakes spreadsheet (SS) and Profile, than you for doing so. If not, CD missed it!! You are doing a phenomenal job collecting data and home testing. Congrats!

Yes, great job with the SS and profile, which you added after my earlier post. :lol:

 

[Libby and Lucy]

Welcome to Lantus Land!

I agree with CD, I would reduce Pancakes dose to 1.25 since she went to the 30's on 1.5. We do recommend holding doses for a certain number of days before increasing the dose, but that doesn't apply to dose reductions. When they earn a reduction, you need to take it so Pancakes will be safe.

Her numbers are great! I hope you'll stick around here, negotiating the dose reduction path is tricky to do on your own.

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

just wanted to stop by to say hello and welcome to the group!
pancakes is doing very well. hope to see you posting often...
good luck with the reduction!