? 7/25 Mochi AMPS 251, +1 263, +2 221, +8 220, PMPS 185, +1 157, +2 154, +6 180

Nicole and Mochi

Nicole and Mochi

Member
First post in the Lantus board to get myself situated. I'm planning on doing a curve of testing every 2 hrs this weekend (PM testing for early +8/+10/+11 on Saturday and then testing between AMPS and PMPS on Sunday 28th most likely) I also had questions about dosing in the future:

1. When would I be changing her dosage? Should I wait on my vet first? She wants me to come in to the clinic to get training on how to do home testing, as well as using a pet glucometer. I've agreed to the training just to give her peace of mind (despite the fact that I've been doing it successfully so far), but it wouldn't happen till next Friday (waiting on paycheck). I think she'd want me to hold off on any dosage changes till I get the training but I'm worried that holding the dosage that long will either delay or cause changes?

2. In addition to previous question, are people constantly talking with their vet about dosage changes or are these made on your own/with the suggestions from board members?

3. When adjusting dosage, I know it should be done in small increments of .25. Should I get calipers in order to start doing these micro changes?

TIA!

[EDIT]: please let me know if I need to fix this post somehow. Still pretty new to this.
 
Welcome to LLB. You don’t need a pet meter. The test strips are super expensive. Our methods were formulated using human meters. Vets now often put a Libre on cats and that is a human meter. Yet those same vets want you to use a pet meter.

I wish I had listened to guidance here from the beginning as I would not have stopped insulin for 3 weeks as my vet suggested. He thought Max might be in remission. At that time I was not testing which is why he had me stop. Max wasn’t in remission.

When insulin was resumed I started making rising changes based upon a method no longer used here. I sent my spreadsheet to my vet every few weeks and he never said anything negative. He said I managed Max better than any of his clients and showed his ss to his students when they doesn’t a week with him. The only curve Max ever had was after his first shot because I had the data. That saved me a lot of money.

Looking at your ss you have some nadirs under 150 but overall they are over so I think you can safely increase to 1.25. Do you have syringes with half unit markings? That makes the .25 increases easier. I did use digital calipers because tge markings on the syringes varied a lot but you don’t have to use them.

Keep asking questions.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Welcome to LLB. You don’t need a pet meter. The test strips are super expensive. Our methods were formulated using human meters. Vets now often put a Libre on cats and that is a human meter. Yet those same vets want you to use a pet meter.

I wish I had listened to guidance here from the beginning as I would not have stopped insulin for 3 weeks as my vet suggested. He thought Max might be in remission. At that time I was not testing which is why he had me stop. Max wasn’t in remission.

When insulin was resumed I started making rising changes based upon a method no longer used here. I sent my spreadsheet to my vet every few weeks and he never said anything negative. He said I managed Max better than any of his clients and showed his ss to his students when they doesn’t a week with him. The only curve Max ever had was after his first shot because I had the data. That saved me a lot of money.

Looking at your ss you have some nadirs under 150 but overall they are over so I think you can safely increase to 1.25. Do you have syringes with half unit markings? That makes the .25 increases easier. I did use digital calipers because tge markings on the syringes varied a lot but you don’t have to use them.

Keep asking questions.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the insight!! I don't have any half unit syringes. My vet was prety adamant that I buy the syringes from them and they only gave me the 1 unit kinds. I still have about 80 of those, which was why I thought I should just get calipers instead so that I could use them up. If I were to use other syringes, do you have any recommendations?

Sorry if this is a silly question but judging off of a lot of stories online, it seems like a lot of people tend to manage their sugar cats on their own without much vet input? How did you/other ppl end up getting things like insulin? I saw people saying they go to human pharmacies to get new insulin (adding discounts like from goodrx as well?) and/or using the Lantus 5 pens for $35?? It feels like me and my vet are butting heads on how to treat my Mochi's diabetes and I really can't afford the money and stress to go back and forth on these things.
 
I like calipers. I don’t understand why your vet wants you to buy syringes at the office other than for money in his/her pocket. There are lots of syringes with half unit markings. Walmart has them even. I don’t live real close to Walmart so bought mine on line from there or ADW. It’s been 7 years since I purchased.

I did manage the dose using the method I chose which for you is SLGS according to your ss and if I needed help posted for dosing advice. I bought my insulin with an RX from my vet. As I mentioned I would email him the spreadsheet every month or so.

It’s much cheaper buying in your own. I dud not have pet insurance so it was all out of pocket. My vet never said I needed to buy from his office. I bought meds with an RX from him on line too. I believe you have that right in Chicago too. Taking care of a cat with fd can be expensive and to demand you use your vet for supplies is just not right. Maybe have a frank talk about this. I basically managed the fd and my vet managed everything else Max needed.
 
Thats what I also thought when they told me about the syringes. I may need to find another vet soon cuz it seems like my current vet will be arguing with me about things aaaahgh
 
Hi, I see you're in Chicago. I'm in a suburb of Chicago. So just thought I'd say hi and let you know that, like others have said, the beginning is the hardest. Once you get used to things it gets way easier, and in my opinion, cheaper. If you're testing at home and doing curves at home, then you won't need to go into the vet as much. When Snickers was first diagnosed we went into the vet a lot for testing and stuff, but as I learned what I was doing, and as Snickers got better, we didn't need to go as much.

Personally, I get my syringes from Walmart because I've found they're way cheaper than other places. I started out at Walgreens, where I think I paid about $20 dollars for a box of 100. Then Walgreens ran out one day when I need them so I went to Jewel-Osco, who charged me $40!! It was a different brand, but otherwise the syringes were identical. Now at Walmart, I pay about $12 for a box of 100. And they always have them on hand when I go.

Like others, I use the Lantus pens, though I tend to buy one pen at a time. Just because Snickers is on a low dose, and one pen lasts us for months. I get it at Walgreens and pay around $20 for a single pen.

I also use the Relion Premier meter and strips, from Walmart. But unlike many others I also have an Alpha Trak 3 that I keep on hand for emergencies and to make my vet happy. Personally, I like having the Alpha Track in case her number drops really low or we get a funky reading from the Relion. But that is a strictly personal preference and not at all necessary. On a day-to-day basis I just use the Relion, so you should feel comfortable with that.

When I shoot Snickers with her insulin, I do it while she's eating. Other cats might not respond well to this, but she loves food and does not even bat an eye. Sometimes, I even test her (poke her ear) while she's eating. The ear pokes don't bother her, though I think they did at first when she was getting used to it. You can rub coconut oil on her ears to help them heal a bit faster. There might be other things you can use. Sometimes I use pure lanolin, but it's really sticky. I just happen to have a jar of it lying around that I use for myself, and it seems to work well for Snickers.

Also, after you poke her ear, try to hold a piece of paper towel or cotton or something down on the poke site for a few seconds, with light pressure. The pressure will help prevent bruising. Others mention warming the ear up with a rice sock, but I just rub her ear between my fingers for a few seconds. It works well for us.

One of the things I've found most useful is to not make a big deal out of the testing, meaning that I try not to draw Snickers' attention to it. I don't grab her and put her on the couch, or burrito her in a blanket, or anything like that. Wherever she is, that's where I test her. On the bed, on the floor, at her food dish... whatever she's doing, I just let her keep doing it while I poke her ear. Did anyone mention that after you poke your cat you can try getting a drop of their blood on your fingernail, so that you can let your cat go, then just draw up the blood from your nail? I've also done that when I accidentally get her blood on my fingertip or arm or some other random place.

When Snickers was first diagnosed I frequently communicated with my vet with regard to testing and dosage adjustments. I would just email her the results of my at-home BG tests, and she would email me back. But now we hardly ever talk about it. As I got used to everything, and as my vet saw that I was taking control of the situation and educating myself, she was more than happy to let me make dosage adjustments on my own. Now she just lets me know that she's here to give advice should I need it, but doesn't really ask for curves or reports or anything like that. We only talk about it if I bring her in for something else, or maybe if I'm asking for a new prescription.

Anyway, these are just my personal insights. Hope they help in some small way.
 
This is all really helpful, thank you so much! So far the beginning feels like I'm stuck on a rollercoaster and my cat is watching from the sidelines lol, better yet she's operating the darn thing. It's been real tiring and I think the thing that I'm 'mourning' about the most and having to grapple with more is things like money and worrying about situations like... what if something happens in the middle of the night? Can I afford it? How can I bring her to an emergency hospital at night if I don't have a car? Or stuff like, I need to read everything and know everything so that I'm completely prepared in an emergency, but there's just so MUCH stuff lol.. Overall, it HAS been getting better since I started a week ago but I just catch myself thinking all that and getting a little depressed lol.

I think the bulk of my worry is trying to get my vet on my side right now. I haven't heard back from them yet since I was trying to convince them to let me use a human glucometer and to continue doing at-home testing (they want me to come in so that they can show me how to do it, but they'd also be charging me to do so, so I've been hesitant). I'm trying to keep in touch with them and to convince them that I'm capable and willing to do all this stuff, but I'm worried that they're going to be against me all the way. I'm looking at other vets in the area, but it's hard since the ones that ppl have recommended to me are in the suburbs (I've no car unfortunately), so it's been a bit stressful on that front.

Regarding testing and insuling shots, I think I've established a pretty good routine with my little one that when she gets put on the couch, it's time for a prick/shot. When I tried to do it while she was eating, she'd slip away, glare at me, and then walk away lol.. Cats are such sassy creatures sometimes.

As for supplies and costs, for us, our dosage is pretty low as well so I'm thinking that insulin won't be as hefty of an expense. I'm just worried again about my vet and getting a prescription, especially if I'm planning to adjust my dosages on my own (with the forums help of course). I might be over thinking all this though. But good to know that Walmart carries all that stuff.. Walmart is pretty far out where I'm at, so I'll probably just have to get everything shipped to me despite the hefty shipping/delivery costs. What do you feed your cat if I may ask? I'm a little worried about food costs at the moment.
 
All you are feeling is totally normal. I had many the same thoughts when I joined the forum. My sister and friends had diabetic cats that they just gave shots twice a day and went to the vet for curves. That’s why their cats peed all over the house as both were never regulated I suspect. Food and testing will keep your cat safe. A wet food diet will help get her regulated. Many here feed fancy feast and friskier pates which are low carb. There are food lists I think Walmart has free shipping over a certain amount. I used a Relion meter from there and often bought test strips on eBay auctions but you can buy those from Walmart as well. There are online places to order from as well but it’s been too long for me to tell you where but others will.
Just keep asking questions. Our members will help.
 
I think, but may be wrong, that Walmart shipping is free for $50 and over, and about $5 if less than $50. You can order syringes from Amazon too, if that's easier. You can order Relion test strips on Amazon as well, but they're way more than if you just order directly from Walmart. But you can get decently priced syringes from Amazon at least.

Regarding your vet, I don't want to tell you to lie, so I'm just going to tell you what I did. My vet is great, but when I asked years ago about using a human meter she said it had to be a pet specific meter, aka Alpha Trak. I did buy an Alpha Trak, but with the strips so expensive I switched to the Relion and just never told her. She is wonderful, but she still doesn't know that I use a Relion. Maybe at this point she'd be fine with it, but I have no reason to rock the boat.

There's no reason your vet needs to show you how to use any meter. They're so simple and there's a bazillion YouTube videos on it.

Regarding dosage changes, I got my initial prescription for Lantus, communicated with my vet frequently about dosage the first few weeks, and then just started making my own adjustments. I didn't tell her I was going to, I just started doing it and then let her know after the fact.

And finally, with regard to feeling panicky about something happening to your precious kitty while you're asleep or not at home, here's what helped me.

1. An auto feeder. I use the Cat Mate C500, about $60 on Amazon and includes ice packs to keep wet food fresh. A bit of an upfront investment but then you're set. I set the timer for nightime snacks which keeps Snickers' blood glucose from dropping too low.

2. A hypo kit. Did anyone link you to how to set one up? It's like an emergency kit in case kitty's BG drops too low. Mine includes 2 cans high carb food, 2 cans medium carb food, extra test strips, and corn syrup. Also a needless syringe, which I got for free from the Jewel Osco pharmacist. I just asked for one and explained why I needed it, and they gave it to me.

3. The food chart listed on this site somewhere helps to identify high, medium, and low carb foods. It also lists the phosphorus content.

4. The spreadsheet, which helps you learn how your cat reacts to insulin so that you start feeling more comfortable giving it. Over time, you'll have a better idea of what to expect.

Hope some of that helps.
 
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