Hi and welcome Mayellah. I am so glad you researched and found FDMB. Yes, we can help!
First, the 4 units of insulin is a very high dose and actually we do recommend starting dose of any insulin of one unit. Then with consistent testing (always before an injection and then at least once during the 12 hour cycle between shots) you can see how the insulin is working and if it is not effective over a period of time, then it can be adjusted by 0.25 Unit, so you don't pass by the best dose.
Have you increased the dose yourself or has the vet made this recommendation?
Too much insulin can look like not enough because the cat's blood sugar will "bounce".
Here's an explanation of what we call "bouncing". It explains why a kitty's BG can go from low to sky high: (possibly contributing to your kitty's high BG at the high dose he's on)
BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing at all or home testing consistently.
Lantus is a good insulin for cats, it's longer lasting and more gentle. However it works differently than Caninsulin and you can read about how it works in the yellow tagged sticky notes at the top of the Lantus forum
HERE. Read about Lantus being a "depot" insulin, because you will not see an immediate response using this insulin. It takes time to build the depot and patience is required.
And please, do not inject 4 Units of Lantus 2X a day. That's a huge dose and might do harm to your cat by causing the BG to drop too low. We don't want the "bounce fuel" to be depleted and the cat have a hypoglycemic event.
I am tagging some very experienced members to look in on this thread and provide more input.
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@MrWorfMen's Mom
Here's the basic testing routine we recommend: (do what you can on work days - before bed is useful along with the essential pre shots)
test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
if indicated by consistently high numbers on your spreadsheet, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
Please create a signature and set up the spreadsheet so that we can see your cat's information right away each time you post:
Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the country/time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.
Spreadsheet: You will see how the trends and patterns emerge, and members can review his/her progress before offering suggestions or advice:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/
There is a treasure trove of information here on the board, and a very supportive community. There are members at every stage of this diabetic treatment experience and we will help all we can.
Going forward, please start a new thread in the Main Health forum
HERE so that more members can read and respond. This is a peer reviewed message board and I would not want to be the only one providing information, or worse yet, providing incomplete information. This Introduction forum is only the welcome mat and you deserve the full benefit of the experience and knowledge available here.
