Bailey - amps 9.9, +6 15.9, pmps 18.4

[BaileyUK]

We upped the dose slightly a week ago and started on pure aloe vera juice for his p'titis it seems to have worked as his coat is a lot better and he in himself is much perkier than usual. His tummy which is also usually swollen and hard is a lot better as well and has gone down a fair bit so clinical signs all good but BG's puzzling.

Could these low morning readings and steep upward climbs be rebounds from too much insulin?

Thanks for any advice hope you all had a good christmas

Barnes and Bailey

 

[cjleo]

Hi there!

I'm saying a "welcome to the board" because I haven't seen you and Bailey before.

Several people have apparently looked at this posting and not answered you. Let me make some observations

• • Bailey may be seeing some rebound.

Bailey may have started with a little too much Lantus when you made the switch from Caninsulin.

Lantus is very different from Caninsulin. It is a deposit based long acting insulin. It must build up in the body to be available to the cat. The other thing is that it likes consistency - same dose morning and night for 3-5 days.

If Bailey were mine, I would reduce his dose to 1 unit twice a day for at least 5 days. Yes, I would be testing for urinary ketones as often as you could. His tests show that he is reacting to the use of Lantus - see all the blue numbers of the year. You may need to raise his dose, but try doing it in .25 increments that you hold for at least 3 days. The body needs to adapt to dose changes.

Does any of this make sense to you? If you have questions, please ask. We' are all here to help

All the best for you and Bailey in the New Year.

Claudia

 

[BJM]

Below are some glucose reference ranges with some examples following at the bottom of how to use them.

Here are some glucose reference ranges used for decision making using glucometers. Human glucometer numbers are given first. Numbers in parentheses are for non-US meters. Numbers in curly braces are estimates for an AlphaTrak.

Unsubstantiated information for meter reference numbers has been removed by Moderator.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

How to use the glucose reference values chart:

When you get a test, look for the number on the chart that either equals, or contains, the test value you have. Read the information. As needed, make a decision and act.

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)7

 

[BaileyUK]

Thank you very much for the info.

Claudia hi nice to meet you also! We have been on here for a few months already but we don't post that often just when we hit a wall and need some advice - as you can see we do keep Bailey's BG table fully up to date as a point of reference.

It helps to understand what's going on and that you feel what we're seeing could be a rebound. We're going to adjust his dose and see if this helps. We're loathe to go too low as clinically he is a much happier cat so we don't want to shock his system too much although can fully appreciate what you're saying re his starting dose being too high and needing to build him up from scratch.

We did have him on 3.5 - 3.75 units for a fair while and this didn't seem to be enough to keep him within the desired threshold so we'll drop him back to 3 maybe and see how we fare.

Thanks again for your help and all the very best!

B&B

 

[BJM]

Switching from 1 depot insulin to another, you generally go with about 70% of the former dose. Caninsulin isn't a depot insulin though.

Th starting dose formula for Lantus is
The lower of
- current weight
OR
- ideal weight
In kilos ( pounds divided by 2.2)
Multiplied by 0.25
Rounded down to the nearest quarter unit.

Something between that and the former Caninsulin dose is likely to be the target. Also, keep in mind that the effects of Lantus build up over several days - about 5 days for the first dose, 3 days for any later doses. Checking in the +5 to +7 hour ranges to monitor the nadir is important to see how low he is going. If it is ever below 50 mg/dL, it is an automatic dose reduction of 0.25 units.