? 7/1 Nelson AMPS 326, +5 306, +10 315

Nelson and Taz

Nelson and Taz

Member Since 2020
Ok, so his numbers just aren't coming down. I spoke to the vet whom I have a lot of faith in but it's not the same as actual experience in this situation. So he wants to take an agressive approach to increasing Nelson's lantus to bring his numbers down. Now Nelson coped really well with being in the red ( reading LO) on the Libre monitor, I sat with him all day and night and he never went hypo. I gave him small amounts of bikkies to keep him from hypo. I'm tempted to raise his dose to 3 units as vet suggested, a little faster than you would like. It's been over a fortnight since his pancreas has had a rest and I don't know what is more important right now. We can deal with low numbers but how long can he stay this high without permanent damage to his organs. Please excuse the PMPS because he's high and difficult to test on my own. I have help in morning. Thanks in advance and I appreciate the time difference from Australia, I'll probably be asleep. I'm trying to weigh up what is more important right now, dealing with low numbers or organ damage.
 
Hi Taz,
First of all feline diabetes is a marathon not a sprint and if you try and rush things you won’t get anywhere. Plenty of us have tried and it just doesn’t work that way.
You are already taking a more aggressive approach as you are doing TR although you are not following it properly. You only stayed on 2.25 units for 3 doses before increasing to 2.5 which didn’t give the depot time to fill and show the potential of that dose.
Now after 2 doses of 2.5 you want to increase to 3 units.
I do understand the worry and frustration of not seeing results sooner but Nelson is a really newly diagnosed FD kitty and most people don’t see quick results. A few lucky ones do but most don’t. It usually takes months.

As far as weighing up what is more important right now........we have a saying here.....it is better to be too high for a day than too low for a minute. Hypos kill.
If he dropped into really low numbers do you think you could manage to be testing every 20 minutes or 30 minutes if he dropped into ‘hypo” numbers to check that he hasn’t dropped lower? That is what you have to do if the numbers drop really low. You can’t just give some bikkies and think he will be OK. And cats can look absolutely fine with no hypo symptoms even though they are very low until they suddenly become unconscious or start to have a seizure. Often by the time symptoms appear, the cat is dangerously low.
Testing is the only way to keep them safe. I am not trying to scare you, just want to give you the facts.
At the moment you are saying you are having trouble getting the tests done.
I am quite confident you will be able to do them easily soon but while you are still learning to manage them I dont think that is the time to try a more aggressive approach than TR.

High numbers are not great but cats can manage to stay in them for quite a while and have no damage done. Nelson has only had 2 red and no black numbers, so that is good
When Sheba fell out of remission in 2014 I could not get her numbers down for ages and she was in really high numbers for months. I had to learn to wear my patience pants. So I do understand your concerns, but rushing to increase the dose too soon is counterproductive.

If Nelson was my Cat, I would stay with the 2.5 you are giving now for 6 cycles, then if needed I would increase to 2.75 units for a further 6 cycles and keep doing that after each 6 cycles if necessary. This way you will not go past the best dose and it will be much safer for Nelson.
I’m sure your vet is a great vet but most vets don’t have much experience with feline diabetes.
Keep asking questions.
 
Yes I do understand and tend to want to do it slowly. He did have the libre monitor on for the first month and I have told the vet the moment his numbers become low or erratic I will put it back on. Yes I worry, 2 months seems like nothing and the 2 weeks of high numbers seem like an eternity. My leanings are to follow the 3 days/6 cycles but I will be very strict. He needs to come down and I saw no response from the fortnight of 2 units. Thank you, you're advice has been helpful in my decision making and I welcome all advice and experiences that fit with these stubborn numbers.
 
Nelson and Taz said:
Yes I do understand and tend to want to do it slowly. He did have the libre monitor on for the first month and I have told the vet the moment his numbers become low or erratic I will put it back on. Yes I worry, 2 months seems like nothing and the 2 weeks of high numbers seem like an eternity. My leanings are to follow the 3 days/6 cycles but I will be very strict. He needs to come down and I saw no response from the fortnight of 2 units. Thank you, you're advice has been helpful in my decision making and I welcome all advice and experiences that fit with these stubborn numbers.
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I really do understand how you feel. I was at my wits end when I came to Fdmb. No one had been able to help me after Sheba fell out of remission after 2 1/2 years. Her numbers were terrible and I used to spend all day stressing about them.
My vet didn’t know what else he could do. And he was a great vet with all other things.
Within a fairly short time I had got Sheba into much better numbers and so many things made sense finally..
Hang in there......I think you are very wise to decide to follow TR.
Post every day on the Lantus forum for feedback and support. That will give us a chance to also see how he’s going.:)
Better days ahead!
 
I remember my sister came to visit me once and have lunch and we spent the whole visit with me talking about Sheba’s numbers and how I didn’t understand why she was so high all the time. My poor sister didn’t have a clue what I was talking about but it was good having a sounding board.
Most likely you have just not found the best dose yet. And holding the 2 units for the 10 days was a bit long. If you follow TR I am sure you’ll get results.
 
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