Alpha Trak supplies

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Happy Sunday Everyone, Hannah is 273 this AM, 11 hours after 2 U, she was 363 at 0130, she is due any minute now for 2 more Units..................I like that she is coming down but do not want to over do it...advise please..............Priscilla
 
Let me see if anyone is over on Lantus this am, Priscilla. It looks like she is coming down, not going up? You want to only shoot a rising number.
 
I'd suggest that you stall (don't feed) for 30 min. Re-test then. Sue's right -- if numbers are dropping fast, you don't want to shoot. You want to shoot either a rising number or a flat number. (Remember when you get your next test, that there's about 20% variance in numbers due to the meter. If you get a number that's 10 points or so different, it's pretty much the same number.)

Do you have flexibility with your schedule for tomorrow? When you stall, you can't move your shot times by more than 30 min. per 24 hrs without it effecting how the dose works.
 
Priscilla,

Yes, some people just give the same dose without testing, week after week. Those cats do not usually do well - either they hypo or they don't get enough insulin and waste away. Our idea is that we would never just give our 2 legged children insulin without testing and adjusting. We do the same for our 4 legged ones.

I hope you can contact one of the two wonderful ladies who live near you and just get a basic Diabetes 101 and a vet suggestion. Then, I would suggest you start posting your dosing questions over on the Lantus forum to get advice. (Sienne is coming over from there to help out but Lantus is a busy forum and it is hard for her to break away. Much easier if you post there when you need dosing help, here when you need general answers.) viewforum.php?f=9
 
I certainly will of course test her, I agree it needs to be done, I always test her alot when I am off........Are there parameters, so I can know what to give, without bothering everyone? They do that for people, can it be done for cats ?.............I love Hannah, she was born onto my hands, I would never do anything to hurt her, I just want to know how to help her and keep her safe as long as possible....I think we are doing pretty well since it has been 4 years an all her other labs are great. anyway thanks for all your help, I'll do my best..........Priscilla
 
Here are the general guidelines for giving Lantus:


"General" Guidelines:
Hold the initial starting dose for 5 - 7 days (10 - 14 consecutive cycles) unless the numbers tell you otherwise. Kitties experiencing high flat curves or prone to ketones may want to increase the starting dose after 3 days (6 consecutive cycles).
Each subsequent dose is held for a minimum of 3 days (6 consecutive cycles) unless kitty earns a reduction (See: Reducing the dose...).
Adjustments to dose are based on nadirs with only some consideration given to preshot numbers.

Increasing the dose:
Hold the dose for 3 - 5 days (6 - 10 consecutive cycles) if nadirs are less than 200 before increasing the dose.
After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 200, but less than 300 increase the dose by 0.25 unit.
After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 300 increase the dose by 0.5 unit.

Reducing the dose:
If kitty drops below 40 (long term diabetic) or 50 (newly diagnosed diabetic) reduce the dose by 0.25 unit. If kitty has a history of not holding reductions well or if reductions are close together... sneak the dose down by shaving the dose rather than reducing by a full quarter unit. Alternatively, at each newly reduced dose... try to make sure kitty maintains numbers in the normal range for seven days before reducing the dose further.
If an attempted reduction fails, go right back up to the last good dose.
Try to go from 0.25u to 0.1u before stopping insulin completely.

Random Notes:
Because of the cumulative nature of Lantus and Levemir:
An early shot = a dose increase.
A late shot = a dose reduction.
A "cycle" refers to the period of time between shots. There are 2 cycles in one day when shooting twice a day.
Sometimes a dose will need to be "fine tuned" by adding some "fat" or "skinny-ing up" the dose.

And you asked earlier about the carb content of food. Here is the food chart: Janet and Binky’s chart We try to stay under 10% carbs, find a food our cat will eat that we can afford. There are two canned food charts - one old and one data. (Depends on whether data was available for update) Check both out to find the foods you are looking for.
 
Priscilla, please start a new topic for your next question -with Lantus in the subject line. Few people will look at this thread because few people use the AlphaTrak (in the original subject line). They don't know you are needing specific help with Lantus.

PS I think you are doing a great job. This is very hard, particularly learning all the ins and outs at first. Just keep breathing and reading.
 
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