Changing Insulin from Humulin N to Lantus

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Noreen&DC&Frisky

Noreen&DC&Frisky

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Hi Everyone

I need some help. My cat DC numbers are all over the place. He has been on Humulin N since being DX in 2007. He had no problems until May of this year. His numbers were perfect and he used to be on 7 U b.i.d.
In May he had an extreme low and was almost comatose. The vet changed his food to Purina DM and lowered his insulin to 2 U b.i.d. and gradually increased then to 4 U b.i.d. He weighs about 15 pounds. His numbers are still all over the place.
I have recently changed his food again. He is now eating both Wellness and EVO dry food and I am feeding him just under 1/4 cup of wet food (same brands as dry) 20 minutes before giving him his insulin.
The vet suggested I look into changing his insulin, possibly to Lantus. But he's not sure the best way to do it as he's never switched insulin before.
I'm hoping someone has been through this and can give me some ideas as to what dose to start him at. Do I continue b.i.d. or change that too? Also, what do I need to watch for while changing insulin?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Noreen-

I recently switched from Humulin to Lantus...3 weeks ago and we just earned our first dose decrease!! So glad you've decided to make the change!! Someone with more experience will be along to offer advice, but I will tell you a little bit about my experience and share what I know.

We also had crazy numbers with the Humulin. The best success we had was on a sliding scale (adjusting the dose depending on her numbers). That's neither here nor there. You're making the change and that's what's important. I do believe you can just jump right in with the new insulin at your regular shot time. Humulin is a short acting insulin, so you don't have to worry about any overlap. The protocol would be to start at 1u BID and move up or down gradually if needed. Have you read all the stickies on the Lantus board? I would start there for sure! There are stickies about appropriate handling (you don't roll or mix the lantus like you do with other insulins), as well as stickies describing the dosing protocols. Did your vet prescribe the vial or cartridges? If it was the cartridges, your prescription would say Lantus Solostar.

For sure, peeps will be telling you to chuck the dry food. Is your kitty averse to the wet food? The proper low carb, high protein diet will do wonders for your kitty's numbers!

Welcome to Lantus Land...and don't worry...there will be lots of folks stopping by to share their wealth of knowledge. I'll be around for a bit tonight if you have any questions...I'll do my best to answer them!!

Cheers!!

s
 
Thanks for taking the time to answer. I will be picking up the cartridges not the vials. You don't need a prescription here for insulin for a cat. My pharmacy is very good. The cost for the Lantus cartridges is $62 only about $4 more than the Humulin.
I've been trying to get the cat to eat more wet food, but he won't. He only likes it for a treat. If I take the dry food away, and I've tried, he won't eat at all. He's gone 18 hours without eating any food and then I put the dry back. The Wellness and the EVO have the lowest carbs I can find for any dry food. My non- diabetic cat won't eat any wet food at all, he just tries to bury it.
As for the Lantus, I have a friend who is diabetic that uses it, and she has told me all about the handling procedures.
I have read some of the stickies but not all of them yet.
 
Hi! Well, if he won't eat it, he won't eat it. Perhaps some other folks can share some things that worked for them in switching their kitties from dry to wet. I was super lucky in that department, because wet food was like kitty crack to her!! :-D

Good for you for getting the cartridges. They'll last a lot longer! When do you think you'll make the switch? You want to post a new condo (conversation) every day on the Lantus board. My first post this morning looked like this:

8/5 Harley: AMPS=83

You can wander around my posts to see how they are updated throughout the day to let people know how the tests are going. When you update your subject line, do it from the first post. That way when you post a response, the new subject line will show.

I'm going to search around in my old posts to see if there was anything I missed about making the change, but I'm 99% sure that you'll be good to go at your next shot time if you wanted to...starting at the 1u, though, not at your current dose. Are you testing for keytones when the numbers are high? That will be another questions the peeps with more experience will be asking.

Ciao for now!!

s
 
I probably won't make the switch until after the weekend. We will be leaving for the lake about noon and won't get home until Sunday evening. I don't want to make any changes before we go.
Even though he loves going to the lake, if I have a problem while there I'm an hour from our regular vet and I don't know where any of the vet clinics are around there. The closest one is probably about 20 minutes.
 
That's a good call. Well, post again before you make the change so you can get a little more input. You are in the right place! There are lots of people here to provide you with tons of support. Cheers!

s
 
Hello Noreen in Alberta!
Welcome to the FDMB.

You've gotten good feedback from Sherry.
As a former Humulin user, have a look at her spreadsheet link and you'll see her current progress with Harley.
Keep in mind, Sherry collects a lot of data. Not everyone can. Some work during the day or night, but that's why there's evening's and weekends.
So don't let that scare you away from learning how DC is doing on insulin.

There's no problems switching from one insulin to another. When you're ready to begin, you're more than welcomed to post in the Lantus forum for assistance with Lantus. You can even post the nite before you begin Lantus to get further feedback on starting dose

Shooting BID works best with Lantus.
So along with that, you'll want to make sure you're schedule allows you to shoot on a 12/12 schedule.
Here is a link to the dosing protocol we follow in the Lantus forum: Tilly's Protocol: Modified Version

One thing I would add is about the food.
Wellness and EVO dry are about the only two dry foods out there that are lower in carbs than most dry food. However, along with insulin, you may not see numbers improving. Some kitties just need a lower carb % to lower their numbers.
Do consider a low carb wet food option.

Have a look thru Dr Lisa's link on Feline Nutrition and the section on transitioning from dry to wet. Dr Lisa's Feline Nutrition
That transition doesn't always happen over-nite, and kitties will put up a big stink about their precious dry kibble :lol:,however, you should be around to monitor numbers when the transition begins.

Many kitties take a while to move over to something tasty they will eat, a lot of it is trial and error. Trying different brands like Fancy Feast, Friskies, Wellness and EVO too.
In the end, if DC is really fussy about it, you feed whatever he will eat, even if it's dry.

Have a look at Janet & Binky's food charts (Fancy Feast is listed in the "old canned list" by the way) Janet & Binky's Food Charts Compare the carb % - as you experiment with varieties and are home testing, you may see a change in DC's numbers.

Are you home testing on a regular basis? Pre-shots and mid cycle spot checks?
Just in case you're not, here is an excellent link: Home Testing Links

Have a nice weekend at the lake and hope to see you soon!
 
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