5/4 Jinx AMPS 426

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joe and Jinx

Joe and Jinx

Member Since 2012
Hi everyone,

Day 2 of Jinx on 1u and I was really disappointed to see the nadir at 411 last night. I really don't think it was due to a fur/missed PM shot last night either.

Tonight, I have to give him 1mg prednisolone (steroid) for his asthma so I'm hoping that doesn't throw the numbers off too much.


Joe
 
Good morning! Hopefully Jinx will start to come down for you.

On the prednisolone, I figured out that it didn't affect Tarragon's BG quite as bad if I gave it at +4 or so and not right at shot time. The insulin takes a few hours to kick in and if you give the prednisolone when the insulin really begins to work it smoothes over the affect somewhat. ECID (Every Cat Is Different), but that has helped us.

Have a great day!
 
Thanks, Melissa. I will give it to Jinx +4 and see how that works. Have a great day as well.

Also, just a general question for everyone... I just got a prescription for the Lantus pens. I want to be very precise with his doses; especially if I have to adjust in .25 increments. If anyone uses the pens or knows of someone who does, any positive or negative feedback would be much appreciated.



Joe
 
Joe, We have just switched to pens a few weeks ago after using the vial for over a year. The cost was just getting to be too much, especially when I would throw away 1/2 vial because it would lose effectiveness. The pens make much more sense cost wise.

The sticky: "LANTUS & LEVEMIR - INFO, PROPER HANDLING, & STORAGE" http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=151 has a lot of good info. You want to be sure to never blow air back into the pen since it is pressurized.
 
Joe and Jinx said:
Thanks, Melissa. I will give it to Jinx +4 and see how that works. Have a great day as well.

Also, just a general question for everyone... I just got a prescription for the Lantus pens. I want to be very precise with his doses; especially if I have to adjust in .25 increments. If anyone uses the pens or knows of someone who does, any positive or negative feedback would be much appreciated.



Joe
Click to expand...
We use syringes with the pens to get the fine dose measurements. Was that what your question was about? I don't believe anyone uses the 'pen needles' that the pharmacist tries to sell with the Lantus pen.
Regular syringes with 1/2 unit markings can be poked into the rubber tip on the Lantus (or Levemir) pen. You do that instead of screwing on the pen needle.
Like this photograph shows:

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc288/jillsphotos2/Lantus Group/4113.jpg

I apologize if you already knew this... I wasn't sure because of how you asked your question.

Best of luck!
 
It can take up 6 cycles for the dose to stabilize the shed. After that you can increase the dose. We usually do .25u increments. W/ the half unit marked syringes most usually eyeball half way between the lines. Or you can take it to the line beyond and count out drops. just try to be consistent.

Most of us use the pen and it often takes a lot of explanation, both to the vet and to the pharmacist about what we are doing. I actually had to take a pen in to show our vet we were still using syringes and how we could draw from the pen.
 
if you google "lantus solostar pen coupon" you will find a coupon for $25 off of your first prescription on a pen. really helps. we have a local pharmacy (Sav-On) that will sell one pen at a time for 1/5 the cost for the box of 5 pens. many pharmacies won't split up a box, but you may want to call around and see if you have one. i've heard some hospital pharmacies will sell one pen.

the link to the sticky that Melissa gave you has a video demo on how to use the pen without contaminating it. syringes have a coating inside the tube to make the plunger glide smoothly and you don't want that coating to get into the lantus in the pen and contaminate it.

do you know that the nadir isn't a fixed point from cycle to cycle or cat to cat? i didn't realize it at first - thought it was at +6. but it can vary, so it's helpful to get tests at different times in the cycle on different days (ie, you don't have to test every 2 hours all the time, just catch different times on different days.)
 
Lots of good info here on the Lantus pens.

Only thing I would add is - Click the purple button! It helps with releasing the pressure in the pen and you can draw out the insulin much easier.
 
Hey everyone, thanks so much for the info on the pens.

I didn't realize most people don't buy the needles and just fill up their syringes so that is really good to know. I was mostly curious to see if anyone had anything negative to say about the pens but based on feedback I will definitely get them. Also didn't know the nadir varies from cycle to cycle and cat to cat. I will start taking that into account. Appreciate the info on the coupon and trying to find a pharmacy that sells individual pens. Thanks for the info on the purple button too.

The big question is... Jinx is finishing his third cycle at 1u tomorrow. Based on the nadir levels, I'm not sure whether to increase .25, .50 or stay on 1u for a few more days, because he's had numbers that fit within each of the first 3 ranges on Phase 2 of the dosing protocol. I'm assuming the safe bet is to keep him on 1u for 5-7 days, but it really bothers me that he's had so many readings in the 400s. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Or, we can wait until tomorrow when I have some more numbers.

Thanks again everyone,


Joe
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top