Autumn soon to be a Lev Cat...Maybe

[MommaOfMuse]

Well took Autumn in to see her vetty bean on Thursday to get her script for insulin (since she was never truly prescribed insulin I just started her on Lantus because it was what I had on hand). Well we were given a choice..Levemir or Prozinc, and since I know Lev of course I opted for Lev. Even got a brand new free pen for her that someone had donated to the office.

Now here is where the maybe part comes in...Autumn has a raging infection in her mouth and several rotten teeth that need to come out as well as several more that are broken off at the gum line. So with as low as she is right now on Lantus, with everything that is going on in her mouth once we get that fixed, we might not need to touch the Lev, as I just might have a broken my toy..lol.

The plan right now is to continue with the Lantus until her current pen is used up, start her on Antibotics for the infection, and get her in for a dental, after that switch her over to Levemir should she still need insulin at all. Since she already has a late nadir on Lantus Dr. Rick didn't want to do the insulin switch until after her dental so we don't start her out too high and I didn't want to trash a half pen full of Lantus.

But I thought you would all be happy to hear that there is at least one vet clinic that is now opting for Lev over Lantus for those that can shoot a 12/12 schedule and Prozinc for those that need a more flexible shot schedule.

Plus I thought I would share a new picture of her.

She looks just a little different now from that skinny matted kitty that arrived here back in April

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

[Maresydotes]

Beautiful numbers! I hope the ab's and dental will get her off insulin altogether. If not, hope the Lev agrees with her!!

 

[Grayson & Lu]

I'll be curious to see the impact of the dentals. If it's as bad as you say, she'll probably be feeling a WHOLE lot better afterwards!
dancing_cat dancing_cat dancing_cat

I know the ABs can affect the insulin needs as well. I have a foster that appears to have been an antibiotic-induced diabetic. Either that or she went OTJ after a month of overdosing.

Transition shouldn't be much of a challenge from Lantus. I think they usually start at .5 to .75 the dose; but with the dentals done, you may want to wait before you crack open your new pen! Wouldn't THAT be nice!

 

[hmjohnston]

I'm rooting for a broken toy over here!

But nice to know Lev is a number one choice for a vet out there as well.

 

[Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin]

This makes me smile, although I know poor Autumn has nothing to smile about until her mouth gets better.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

She looks so good! Can't believe it was back in April that you got her - so much has happened since, I just lost track of time.

That is great that the vet is offering levemir. Did you ask her why? I mean, wouldn't it be nice if there had been a paper published or something....?

Hope the dental goes well and she feels much better afterwards. When is the dental?

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Yep I asked why and the reasoning that I got was because it was less fragile than Lantus, has a longer shelf life and most cats that he has used it on are less tense on Lev as well as normally taking a lower dose and getting a smoother curve. His wife's cat is also diabetic and was started on Lantus and became very tense and hostile on it, so he switched her to Levemir and within a month not only was she calmer but OTJ. That sold him on Levemir. So now he likes Lev better than Lantus when it can be dosed on a 12/12 schedule but said they still use Prozinc where either a more flexible shot schedule is needed or the owner will only test at preshots (yep they stress home testing as well) Not too shabby for a tiny vet clinic in a half a horse town.. :lol:

Haven't set the date for the dental yet, he wants to get the infection under control first since it is in her upper teeth and said if they went in to remove them right now it could spread the infection into her sinuses. And he had asked me what antibotics to start her on since they normally use amoxicillian but theirs has sugar in it and he didn't want to use that on a diabetic, so we went with an injectable (forgot its name, its in her notes which aren't handy atm, but not Convenia) for now and I got a recommendation from Venita today so I have to pick it up for her on wednesday (they are closed on tuesdays). But I'm betting it will be at least 10 days on antibotics and a recheck before they will schedule her for a dental.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

[Maresydotes]

Sounds like you have a dream come true vet!! I have noticed Missy seems happier and more interactive on Lev, so far, along with more playful. It is awesome your vet sees and puts weight on those things instead of just numbers! (not that I wouldn't like better numbers, but QOL counts for a lot!)

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Yeah, great vet. What town is that? Maybe I'll move there next...

The only thing I would argue about is that he would not recommend lev for people that can only test at PS. ALL insulins need to have spot checks taken, and curves, to find the nadir BG level.

I did a lot more testing with Beau than with Jeddie, which is weird since I worked FT when Beau was on insulin and worked from home starting 5 months after Jeddie went back on insulin. Point being that I think lev can still be used with only PS tests a few spot checks. And it can be used with some flexibility. More data just makes things easier, but again, that is with all insulins.

I really wish ALL vets would get on the home testing band wagon. It's making me crazy when I hear of any vet thinking a couple of tests a week are fine - not your vet - just 'other' vets.