Cat not responding to Lantus

M

M3m

Member Since 2020
Hello-
I have a 14 year old cat that has been on asthma medication most of his life. He tested with a blood sugar level of 360 in November during a check up and started on Lantus with 1 unit per day. He's now on 2 units per day (we're two weeks in) and his numbers are not responding. This morning he tested 399 before breakfast, and they're not dropping much. He's been on wet food for years and I changed to all Fancy Feast classic. Anyone have any suggestions? He weighs 17 pounds and his not losing weight, but drinking a ton of water.
 
This is normal - you just haven't reached the right dose yet. I remember years ago posting on here about Salem and saying I might as well be injecting him with water. Months later he went into remission.

No specific advice except to be patient - others more qualified will be along to tell you how to set up a spreadsheet for your test results so they have the information to give dosing advice.
 
Welcome!!! One of the more experienced members should be along shortly to help get you "setup" so to speak. Have you had a chance to take a peek at the yellow stickies at the top of the lantus/levemir forum page? They are helpful at getting you started with the spreadsheet and some basic information. The amount of info can be overwhelming at first.....we've all been there. Don't let it discourage you:bighug: We're all here with the same purpose....to help our sweet furry ones:cat:
I'm not the best at articulating things so, I'll just say hello for now and point you to the very first yellow sticky that I've linked....it's the highlighted blue yellow stickies in the second sentence. Again welcome and I can't wait to read about your kitties progress on Lantus!!!:):cat:
 
I just have time for a few quick points:

First, welcome to the group! Lots of great help and support here.

Lantus works best when dosed twice a day, 12 hours apart. It sounds like you are shooing only once a day - correct? If so, I suspect that shooting once a day could be part of your issue.

It's great that you are home testing. Are you getting tests at any other point during the day? With Lantus, we base dosing on the nadir (lowest point in the cycle), not preshot values. Just as an example, we've had cats in this group who have had preshot values over 400, then they dropped to the 40s during the cycle, and then were back in the 400s when it was time for the next shot. Without mid-cycle testing, it would look like the kitty's BG wasn't budging when it really was. So, if you're not getting any tests during the cycle, there is no way to know for sure how your kitty is responding.

How long ago did you make the switch to Fancy Feast Classic? Does he eat anything else at all?

Asthma meds will come into consideration, too, but they are necessary and insulin can be worked around that.

We do need a spreadsheet to be able to help with dosing ideas. Without a spreadsheet, we can't see patterns and trends. Additionally, setting up a signature with pertinent info is very helpful. You'll want to include things like date of diagnosis, other special considerations (like the asthma), diet, brand of meter, etc.
 
Thanks for everyone's responses, just to add a few details my cat gets two shots which are 12 hours apart (6am and 6pm). He just switched to Fancy Feast classic a week ago, he was previously on wet food but on closer inspection they had more carbs than I thought. I was hoping that would lower the numbers but so far they're still way too high. I use an Alphatrak to test at home and I'm doing a glucose curve today for my vet. So far here's what I've seen:

5:50am - before meal, 399 (then fed breakfast)
6:00am - one unit Lantus
6:30am - 396
8:30am - 398
10:30am - 391
11:00am - fed 3oz meal
1:30pm - 408
 
Hi and welcome to the group. What’s your kitty’s name? Would you be able to set up a signature with all pertinent info? We look for name , age of kitty, date of diagnosis , and any other health issues . And would you be able to set up a Spread sheet and attach it to your signature. The instructions for both are in New To The Group sticky at the top of this support group.

That will help us help you with dosing as we are looking for patterns,

If your kitty is on a steroid for the asthma, the dose will have to be increased in a systematic way until you reach the dose that starts bringing the number down. Look over the sticker that addresses the 2 methods of dosing, either Tight Regulation protocol or the Start Low Go Slow method to see which one fits your lifestyle better.

We are here to help.
 
Last edited:
So at this point you are shooting one unit twice a day, correct?

Have you had a chance to look into getting a spreadsheet set up? When was he diagnosed and when did he start insulin? Aside from the high BGs and excess water consumption, how is he doing - good appetite, social, playful, grooming?

Have you had a chance to check out the stickies on TR and Start Low, Go Slow? Those are the two methods folks here follow when it comes to deciding how to increase/decrease insulin. They are structured for safe dosing adjustments. But, the spreadsheet really is the key to it all. If you need help setting up a spreadsheet there are folks here that can help you with that as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top