9/27 Gandalf, coming over from Prozinc

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Helena and Gandalf

Helena and Gandalf

Member Since 2016
Hi all!
We are leaving the calm over at the Prozinc forum to come over here (whoow it's busy:eek:)!
Our plan was to go over to Lantus mid October when it is time to change the vial. But we realised that switching would mean a lot of testing, especially in the beginning, to gather data as to how he reacts. Our schedules will be a lot more busy Oct/Nov/Dec than they are now so we decided to give it a go now instead.
We have been on Lantus before (twice), but were not as well informed about the acting of insulins, dosing, bouncing etc. back then, you pick up so much here on FDMB. :bookworm: Gandalf is a bouncy cat and has proven to be very hard to regulate.

We plan to make the switch tonight (in 8 hours) or possibly tomorrow morning. and have a couple of questions before the switch:
  1. We still have Lantus left from our last run. Two un-opened Solostar pens and one that was opened 12/9-16. They all look the same when I inspect them, clear and no percipitation. The two un-opened ones have been refrigerated since we bought them and they are not past the date, so I assume they should be fine. But what about the opened one, can I use it or should I just open a new one?
  2. How long does a Solostar pen last? The instructions say 1 month in room temp before it becomes less active. Will it keep longer in the fridge or should I keep the opened pen in roomtemp?
  3. I believe we had Gandalf on 1U Lantus, it was not enough, and tried 1.5U, a bit too much. This was 9 months ago so a lot might have changed for him since then. He is currently on 1.7U Prozinc (ranges from 1.6-1.8U has given him active cycles recently, he would be bumped up to 1.8U if not for the switch). Would 1U be a good starting dose for Gandalf or should we start lower? (We have U100 syringes with halfunit markings and plan to do the SLGS method to start with)
  4. Is it important to keep the feeding schedule as consistent as possible? We are currently feeding him AM/PM and a snack mid day/before bed but will not be able to keep that mid day feeding when our schedules change.
We have been reading up on the sticky notes and peeking at some posts. :coffee: This switch has gone from plan to action in a week, so it is a bit hasty but feels necessary.
We appreciate all the help we can get!
 
Welcome (back?)! :bighug:

Can't offer any advise on dosing but I wouldn't use the "used" pen, at least to start with but see what others say. I used the last pen to the last drop (2 months). Keep in in the fridge unless you are drawing the doses.

Will Gandalf use a timed feeder? That might be an option for a mid-day snack or two. Quite a few of us use this one:

PetSafe Automatic Pet Feeder

Gandalf is beautiful :cat:
 
LizzieInTexas said:
Welcome (back?)! :bighug:

Can't offer any advise on dosing but I wouldn't use the "used" pen, at least to start with but see what others say. I used the last pen to the last drop (2 months). Keep in in the fridge unless you are drawing the doses.

Will Gandalf use a timed feeder? That might be an option for a mid-day snack or two. Quite a few of us use this one:

PetSafe Automatic Pet Feeder

Gandalf is beautiful :cat:
Click to expand...

Thank you! :D
Then I think we will open up a new pen! It feels safer.
Good to know about the durability, then we will definiyely try and use it as long as possible and keep it in the fridge.

About the feeder, he is on a rawfood diet so it would be messy with ice-packs etc to keep it cool during the day. There is also not a doubt in my mind that he would completely trash a feeder. He is ridiculously strong and stubborn, and also absolutely obsessed with food (probably no 1 reason, in combo with dry food, for him developing his diabetes :rolleyes:).
 
Welcome, Helen! Yes, it's busy here on the Lantus forum. I've compared it to driving on a multilane freeway instead of a quiet country road. ;)

I think you'll find that you can make Lantus work a lot better for you with what you know now and with help from the very experienced people here. I'll let them give you advice on dose, etc.

Have a look at the format of the thread titles people use if they post daily. Not everyone does but it might be a good idea for you to do that in the beginning. We post a new thread daily if posting regularly.
 
Based on the numbers you are currently seeing with Gandalf on Prozinc, I would start him with 1.5u of Lantus. The typical recommendation is an equal switch from Prozinc to Lantus. Be sure you can monitor the first few cycles of the switch and hold the dose for 7 days to let the Lantus depot stabilize. If he goes under 90 then you would reduce by .25u according to the SLGS method.

I also agree to open a new pen. I wouldn't trust one that has been opened for almost a year. Typically an opened pen if stored properly (refrigerated) will last about 6 months.
 
Hi Helena ! As a huge Lord of the Rings/Hobbit /Tolkien fan I had to comment on Gandolf's name . Can totally see the resemblance !!! He is beautiful !!!!
 
Welcome to L&L land. I felt a little overwhelmed at the forum activity as well in the beginning but you get used to it pretty quick. The good thing is that lots of eyes see posts and I get many more responses to questions here then in the PZI forum where Jack started.

A lot of members use the pens for a good 6 months when refrigerated. I too would start a new pen, less variables is good. Sometimes the insulin goes a little stale and can get less potent over time. This happens more often with the 10ml vials which people use for longer periods then the 3ml pens. Good job reading up and making sure to use U-100 syringes.

You are right that some extra testing during the switch is a good idea. Some cats can have a pretty strong reaction initially to an insulin switch, some just plod along like nothing happened. My furball has a few high-dose conditions and when we switched he had a strong reaction for the first few cycles then settled back down. I wouldn't expect it with Gandalf, but these cats are good at keeping us on our toes.

Jack's feeding schedule is fairly consistent, but he does not always get snacks\lunch at the exact same time. I have not noticed any ill effects. I do use an autofeeder and it has been a great tool for late night meals or midday snacks when I am not home. It is more important to be consistent with shot times, good info on this in the stickies. Lantus likes the 12 hour schedule when possible.
 
saltycat said:
Jack's feeding schedule is fairly consistent, but he does not always get snacks\lunch at the exact same time. I have not noticed any ill effects. I do use an autofeeder and it has been a great tool for late night meals or midday snacks when I am not home. It is more important to be consistent with shot times, good info on this in the stickies. Lantus likes the 12 hour schedule when possible.
Click to expand...

Good to know! Then we will not worry too much about the feeding pattern. We will also be over a month in with Lantus when that becomes a worry and will hopefully have some data to compare with by then.
 
Gandalf always seem to throw us a curveball when we make new plans. We haven't seen an active cycle in a few days and were about to up the dose before we decided to do the switch. Nice last cycle on Prozinc at least! He is so unpredictable, sigh... :banghead::rolleyes:

We just gave him his PM shot, 16.9 mmol/l and we gave 1.5U Lantus. I do not have to go to uni tomorrow so I will be home to monitor, and can also stay up late tonight. Paws crossed he will do a little bit better on Lantus!

Include a picture of our beautiful boys! :cat:
 

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Helena and Gandalf said:
Gandalf always seem to throw us a curveball when we make new plans. We haven't seen an active cycle in a few days and were about to up the dose before we decided to do the switch. Nice last cycle on Prozinc at least! He is so unpredictable, sigh... :banghead::rolleyes:

We just gave him his PM shot, 16.9 mmol/l and we gave 1.5U Lantus. I do not have to go to uni tomorrow so I will be home to monitor, and can also stay up late tonight. Paws crossed he will do a little bit better on Lantus!

Include a picture of our beautiful boys! :cat:
Click to expand...
Beautiful kitties, Helena! :)
 
Hi and Welcome to L & L ~ yes, it's busy but that means more eyes from all over the world to help you! Read all the stickies and read others post as you will learn a lot that way. And keep asking questions as that is how we all learned.
 
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