anomoly?

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Anyname

Anyname

Member Since 2010
I am trialling LB off insulin because the dermatologist said it's possible that he's allergic to the protein in Lantus. My vet also said that the skinny .5 of a unt was so little for his weight as to be pointless. LB is 20lbs (a Maine Coon) He's going ok - it's only been a few days but today he had to go about seven hours between meals and his bg reading went up to 158 when he was very hungry. He's been fed three times since then (small meals) and his number has gone down, down, down. Just checked and he's 79 at our bed time. Is there some explanation as to why their numbers would go up without small regular meals?

I know his numbers weren't really low enough to come off insulin but the biting his fur is getting worse and it started after he went on insulin. I am keeping a close eye on his numbers.
 
I don't know anything about an allergy to Lantus. As far as your vet saying that .5 dose was pointless for a 20lb cat is untrue. You can have a 10lb cat that may need 8 units of insulin.
As far as the feeding goes it is best to feed little meals throughout the day so LB's so not to overwork the pancreas.

I am not sure if taking him off insulin is the best thing or not.....he has been doing great on the dose. Is there a specialist you can take him to for a second opinion on the allergy?
 
Well, it certainly looks like his own pancreas is kicking in, and he just might be ready to be diet controlled. Keep an eye on those numbers, and keep your fingers crossed.

(BGs often go up when hungry- in human diabetics, as well, which is why we do fasting BG testing on people.)

If you do need to go back on insulin, perhaps switching to Levemir would solve the problem.

As for 0.5u being insignificant - HA! The cat I am working with- Grace- drops 200 points on 0.1u! And my own sugarcat, Rambo, was also a Maine Coon, and he never needed anything more than 0.5u

As we say on FDMB - ECID!! Every Cat Is Different!
 
Will LB free feed or will he eat everything in the bowl all at once? If he'll free feed, that may help to keep his numbers down. Like Miriam pointed out, multiple small meals will keep his pancreas working without overloading it.

I also agree that if LB needs to go back on insulin, Levemir may be a good option.
 
I'll email my regular vet about changing to levemir. Plus will be interested to see if LB itching increases today. We gave him .5 this morning after his bg was 162 @ amps. Bugger! The vet says it's eosinophilic granuloma. He found lots of spots in his mouth that we didn't know where there. WE have to give him 6 weeks of oral flea control and food trial him. unfortunately he playing hard ball re the first food we trialling which is dicy with bg. It's just so interesting that if he is fed small amounts regularly his numbers stay low off Lantus. But it makes us even more house bound than we already are with him - he probably wouldn't feed if we left him the food (he didn't yesterday!).

many thanx for your input. Really, I appreciate being able to ask advice when I'm really puzzled.
 
Re: anomoly- more questions

I am still finding this hard to understand. Little Boy was 162 @ AMPs today - (no insulin for 3 days). (hardly any food over night). So I \ started up the injections again - .5 of a unit this morning. Then at +2 he is 77. I don't think the injection would do much in that short space of time.

Last nite he had no insulin for 3 days and had several meals late in the day and was 79 at +4. (no insulin but a good number). Higher number at +4 (158) coz he was hungry with us out.

When he is hungry he goes \ high without insulin but with food he is controlled with numbers in the normal range. Is this how cats normally behave who need insulin? Does this suggest he will always need insulin to prevent higher numbers for when I can't be home to feed him. And no he won't free feed. All very frustrating. I just didn't realise that the numbers went hyper from hunger. I expected hypo!

Marilyn
 
That is why we start low and increase slowly, by small increments. As I said before, Grace can drop 200 points in 2 hours with just 0.1u, so anything is possible.

When BGs drop low- such as too much insulin or when fasting- the liver releases stored glucose to prevent hypoing, and the BGs skyrocket. That's why we check BGs during the day and don't adjust doses based on preshot values alone.

What you might want to do tomorrow, if the morning BG is the same, is give him his breakfast and hold off on the insulin to see if his own pancreas brings down the BGs on its own. If so, your boy may be well be on his way to being diet controlled. Fingers crossed!!
 
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