Advice needed ASAP

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Rascalsmom3

Member Since 2019
My cat has been off his lantus for 5mths in remission. He started acting off last night (excessive drinking and wobbly) so we tested and he was 261. Then this morning 324. We do have his old lantus pen but only pen needles. Called into bet but it almost always takes multiple hour before hearing back. They advised if 200 to give 1 unit but I’m so nervous.
 
Hi! Welcome back - I'm not one to give dosing advice but if you do give insulin, please test and you can post here and people can help. Are able to monitor, have test strips, medium carb (11-15%) food, high carb food (>15%), and syrup/karo?

Are you saying you don't have syringes and use the pen to inject? Of course that would work if you do 1u but we do adjust dosing here by 0.25 increments so you may want to get u-100 syringes with 1/2 unit markings (they don't make ones with 0.25u markings) - lots of info here - including links to syringes.

Here's what I think is your previous post - you may consider reading through that too for advice from folks - https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/does-this-mean-remission.238853/

Good job on getting our spreadsheet going - if you keep it up to date throughout the cycle, people will also be able to advice with more clarity :bighug:
 
Certainly the numbers from May are not remission numbers. The test data on Rascal's spreadsheet from last year are also higher than what we typically look at for remission. (We like to see a lot of numbers in the 50 - 120 range; mostly green on the spreadsheet. )

I'd check the expiration date on your Lantus. I'm not sure that I would trust an opened container of Lantus from November. I'd also suggest getting a prescription for syringes. Dispensing Lantus directly from the pen, usually in small amounts, isn't always reliable. In addition, the pen only dispenses in full units. We adjust doses in 0.25u increments. From your spreadsheet, there's no way to know how much insulin you were dosing previously.

Using syringes with a pen, cartridge, or vial:
  • U-100 3/10cc syringes with half unit markings are the best to use for drawing Lantus, Basaglar, or Levemir from vials, cartridges, and pens.
  • BD Ultra-Fine, CarePoint Vet, Monoject, GNP, UltiCare Vet Rx, Sure Comfort, and ReliOn are just some of the brands available with half unit markings.
  • Syringes come in ½ inch or 5/16 inch needle lengths. Needle gauges are 29, 30 or 31 (31 being the thinnest)
 
Thank you everyone! I appreciate it so much. I’m so overwhelmed. I need to update the other numbers. I did order the syringes mentioned above and I’m awaiting the call back from the vet for a new lantus order. Last we spoke she told us to stop the lantus unless numbers were higher than 200 again. I’m so nervous. We have a long drive coming up and we were planning on having a sitter but now I don’t feel comfortable. He doesn’t let anyone else test or give him insulin other than me. We tried multiple sitters including a vet tech .
 
I had a similar problem with Gabby. My typically docile cat would threaten my cat sitters with bodily harm. She would let them shoot -- mostly because her head was in her bowl and she was a very food motivated kitty. But, it meant that the sitter (also a vet tech) was shooting blind. I would reduce the dose when I was traveling.

Also, Lantus is very pricey. Many people are ordering from Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Canada. The cost is about 1/3 of the price in the US.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
I had a similar problem with Gabby. My typically docile cat would threaten my cat sitters with bodily harm. She would let them shoot -- mostly because her head was in her bowl and she was a very food motivated kitty. But, it meant that the sitter (also a vet tech) was shooting blind. I would reduce the dose when I was traveling.

Also, Lantus is very pricey. Many people are ordering from Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Canada. The cost is about 1/3 of the price in the US.
Click to expand...
 
Oh thank you! How do you go about getting it there? Do I need a physical rx or can my Vet call?

Our vet tech couldn’t even shoot blind. He turns into a feral cat and then we worry about the stress level with his age too. So last time we drove home and cut our trip short back in 2019.
 
If you're going to order from Mark's Marine, ask your vet for a written Rx or they can e-mail you a PDF. You can keep the PDF on file but Marks will take the copy and keep it on file, as well.
 
Spoke to the vet who doesn’t think his numbers are really high. She said not to give unless above 250. Doesn’t think the wobbly legs is due to diabetes and could be thyroid or kidney related. I’m so confused.
 
If you haven't had a complete blood work done recently, might be time for that. Low potassium can also cause wobbly legs.

Your spreadsheet remarks says "starting back at 1 unit". Do you might putting the 1 unit in the Units column for the days you gave insulin? 250 is above renal threshold and too high for a non diabetic.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
If you haven't had a complete blood work done recently, might be time for that. Low potassium can also cause wobbly legs.

Your spreadsheet remarks says "starting back at 1 unit". Do you might putting the 1 unit in the Units column for the days you gave insulin? 250 is above renal threshold and too high for a non diabetic.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I’m trying to understand so I hope it’s ok to ask. Is the 250 ok for a diabetic to get that high? She said his numbers really weren’t that concerning for him.

I apologize for the note mess up. I’ll fix that.
 
Thanks for the spreadsheet update. You can just put "1" instead of "1 unit" if you want, or 1.0. Looks like the 1.0 units was taking Rascal down into better numbers. With a human meter, cats not on insulin are typically in the under 100 range with the odd test up to 120.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Thanks for the spreadsheet update. You can just put "1" instead of "1 unit" if you want, or 1.0. Looks like the 1.0 units was taking Rascal down into better numbers. With a human meter, cats not on insulin are typically in the under 100 range with the odd test up to 120.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your help! Soonest appt they had was 3 weeks out so I’m nervous about our upcoming trip. Your help has been so appreciated!
 
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