7/22 Moondance, starting insulin tomorrow

[Sherri & Moondance]

Hi. I’m Sherri, Moondance’s person. I posted an introduction on the main health board a few days ago. You can see it here… https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-about-starting-dose.249907/

Insulin arrived in the mail today, so Moondance will be getting his first dose of Lantus in the morning. I have a couple of questions before we get started…

1. I plan to follow the TR protocol. According to the protocol, his starting dose should be 1.25 units (5 kg @ .25/kg) I am a bit concerned about this dosage because his current non-insulin BG numbers are relatively low, between 178-327 for the last week. Wondering if it would be better to start with 1 unit or .5 unit. He is on a homemade raw only diet. Vet prescribed 1 unit twice/day.

2. Our AMBG routine has been that I test him in my bed (he sleeps next to my pillow), then he eats a bit from the timed feeder in my bedroom (filled with a frozen chunk of food the night before). Can I fill the insulin syringe the night before and keep it on my bed stand overnight? The Lantus packaging says the current pen can be stored at room temperature (though I am keeping it in the fridge), so I assume keeping the syringe at room temp overnight would be ok?

3. I have been trying to shift his major meal times to line up with AMPS and PMPS, but he just isn’t interested in eating much at those times. I give him 2 oz at 6 am (AMPS) but he only eats about 1/3 right away. He finishes the rest by +3 or so. At 6 PM I’m lucky if I can get him to eat half of his meal (1 oz), but at 9:30 (+3.5) he get his final 1.5 oz for the night (this he usually polishes off). I used to give him an overnight snack of freeze dried raw, but stopped so that he would be hungrier at the AMPS. He rarely ate the snack, anyway. Is this going to cause a problem when we start insulin? I’m thinking that because Lantus is so long acting, he should be ok as long as he eats a bit throughout the day. And I’m pretty confident I can get him to eat some MC or HC canned food if needed to boost his BG. I made sure I had some that was tuna based, which would be a real treat for him.

Thanks for all the help, support, and info. Wish us luck!

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

Hi. I’m Sherri, Moondance’s person. I posted an introduction on the main health board a few days ago. You can see it here… https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-about-starting-dose.249907/

Insulin arrived in the mail today, so Moondance will be getting his first dose of Lantus in the morning. I have a couple of questions before we get started…

1. I plan to follow the TR protocol. According to the protocol, his starting dose should be 1.25 units (5 kg @ .25/kg) I am a bit concerned about this dosage because his current non-insulin BG numbers are relatively low, between 178-327 for the last week. Wondering if it would be better to start with 1 unit or .5 unit. He is on a homemade raw only diet. Vet prescribed 1 unit twice/day.

2. Our AMBG routine has been that I test him in my bed (he sleeps next to my pillow), then he eats a bit from the timed feeder in my bedroom (filled with a frozen chunk of food the night before). Can I fill the insulin syringe the night before and keep it on my bed stand overnight? The Lantus packaging says the current pen can be stored at room temperature (though I am keeping it in the fridge), so I assume keeping the syringe at room temp overnight would be ok?

3. I have been trying to shift his major meal times to line up with AMPS and PMPS, but he just isn’t interested in eating much at those times. I give him 2 oz at 6 am (AMPS) but he only eats about 1/3 right away. He finishes the rest by +3 or so. At 6 PM I’m lucky if I can get him to eat half of his meal (1 oz), but at 9:30 (+3.5) he get his final 1.5 oz for the night (this he usually polishes off). I used to give him an overnight snack of freeze dried raw, but stopped so that he would be hungrier at the AMPS. He rarely ate the snack, anyway. Is this going to cause a problem when we start insulin? I’m thinking that because Lantus is so long acting, he should be ok as long as he eats a bit throughout the day. And I’m pretty confident I can get him to eat some MC or HC canned food if needed to boost his BG. I made sure I had some that was tuna based, which would be a real treat for him.

Thanks for all the help, support, and info. Wish us luck!

Hi Sherri, it is not recommended to pre-fill syringes. You should get Moondance’s insulin ready right before it’s time to administer it. I will tag some people with more experience to help you out. Wishing you both the best of luck and welcome to the forum.
@tiffmaxee @Sienne and Gabby (GA) @Wendy&Neko
@Diane Tyler's Mom

 

[Butters & Lyla]

Welcome! Moondance is adorable. Butters is a fellow lap cat.

So great that you are already getting the hang of BG testing. Way to go!

Many of us feed our cats several small meals throughout the day. Moondance doesn't have to chow down on a big 2oz meal with Lantus. It's generally better if he will eat smaller portions more often. Butters, for example, gets about 4.5oz of food total in a 24 hour period. I break that up into around eight small portions that I feed every three hours. At AMPS & PMPS she gets a shade more than 1/2 oz of food with her insulin. I use food to try to keep her numbers nice and steady throughout the cycle, but I also feed as frequently as I do because she is prone to pancreatitis flares. Once you get advice on a starting dose and you actually start insulin, you will see what his BG does and with help from people here, you will learn to feed his curve. Hopefully he will be open to eating some snacks overnight if needed. For the longest time, I was waking up throughout the night to get Butters to eat her overnight snacks.

Check out as many spreadsheets as you can and you'll get some good intel on how often people are feeding, what they're feeding and what their cats' BG is doing.

I don't think it is recommended to prefill a syringe that far in advance. There is lubricant inside of there and also it is a plastic syringe as opposed to the glass bottle it comes in.

I'm sure others will weigh in with their thoughts. Best of luck to you and Moondance.

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

Welcome! Moondance is adorable. Butters is a fellow lap cat.

So great that you are already getting the hang of BG testing. Way to go!

Many of us feed our cats several small meals throughout the day. Moondance doesn't have to chow down on a big 2oz meal with Lantus. It's generally better if he will eat smaller portions more often. Butters, for example, gets about 4.5oz of food total in a 24 hour period. I break that up into around eight small portions that I feed every three hours. At AMPS & PMPS she gets a shade more than 1/2 oz of food with her insulin. I use food to try to keep her numbers nice and steady throughout the cycle, but I also feed as frequently as I do because she is prone to pancreatitis flares. Once you get advice on a starting dose and you actually start insulin, you will see what his BG does and with help from people here, you will learn to feed his curve. Hopefully he will be open to eating some snacks overnight if needed. For the longest time, I was waking up throughout the night to get Butters to eat her overnight snacks.

Check out as many spreadsheets as you can and you'll get some good intel on how often people are feeding, what they're feeding and what their cats' BG is doing.

I don't think it is recommended to prefill a syringe that far in advance. There is lubricant inside of there and also it is a plastic syringe as opposed to the glass bottle it comes in.

I'm sure others will weigh in with their thoughts. Best of luck to you and Moondance.

Thanks Lyla

 

[tiffmaxee]

Welcome to LLB. Has he recently switched to a raw diet or always been fed one? It will take time for the depot to build over the first week. I think it’s fine to start on 1.0. The others are right that profiling syringes is not a good idea. I also fed Max several small meals. You just need to to eat a few spoonfuls at shot time.
You want to keep the insulin in the fridge and then it will last you 5-6 months.

 

[Katherine&Ruby]

Hi Sherri, Welcome! My Ruby rarely ever eats all of her 2 ounces of food at shot time. Thankfully Lantus doesn't usually start to kick in until about +2 or 2 hours after the shot, so as long as you have her nibbling between shot time and +2 all will be ok. Do you have medium carb and high carb food on hand to feed in case Moondance goes low? I like to use Weruva foods in those instances because they list the exact carb content of them on their website. My Ruby also eats raw that has basically zero carbs, so I have the cooked commercial foods on hand to prop her up if I need to in case her numbers drop. ETA: I see you do have those foods. You are well prepared!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Welcome Sherri, just seeing this now, I just wanted to wish you luck tomorrow,
You are doing great with testing Moondance.
I would not pre fill the syringes either
Do you have the syringes with half unit markings?
We adjust the dose by 0.25 units so it's easier to eye ball with half unit markings
Will be watching for you to post tomorrow , best of luck

 

[Sherri & Moondance]

Wouldn’t you know, tonight for the first time in a week I failed at getting the PMBG. Last night he growled at me and squirmed after the poke, but I managed to get a reading. But tonight, when he started growling and squirming I let him go. I didn’t want to reinforce the negative connotations. He is still ok with our morning testing routine, so I will try to do the other tests the same way.

Welcome! Moondance is adorable. Butters is a fellow lap cat.

Sometimes it seems like Moondance can only relax when he is on my lap. I wonder how he gets any sleep at all when I’m not around. Lucky for him, I’m almost always around.

I don't think it is recommended to prefill a syringe that far in advance. There is lubricant inside of there and also it is a plastic syringe as opposed to the glass bottle it comes in.

Ahh. That makes sense.

Has he recently switched to a raw diet or always been fed one? It will take time for the depot to build over the first week. I think it’s fine to start on 1.0.

He has been eating raw for years.

Do you have the syringes with half unit markings?

I do!

Thanks, all, for the reassurances and the recommendations. It helps so much to know that you are here to call on if I need you. I will wait until morning to draw up the dose, and I will go ahead and start with 1 unit (with plenty of testing throughout the day to keep an eye on things). I’ll keep you all posted!

 

[Taishi_Ci]

Just wanted to say welcome Sherri & Moondance. I'm also new here and just started my kitty Taishi on Lantus yesterday, also following TR. Here's hoping both of our kitties do great <3

 

[A Fae]

WELCOME, you found the perfect place for help with your fur sugar baby!

 

[Sherri & Moondance]

Just wanted to say welcome Sherri & Moondance. I'm also new here and just started my kitty Taishi on Lantus yesterday, also following TR. Here's hoping both of our kitties do great <3

Thanks Taishi! While all of the experience and knowledge on this board is invaluable, it’s great to have someone to follow that’s at the same point in the journey as me. Best of luck to us both!