Dec 17, Willow, switching to Lantus, advise on starting dose?

nslade001

Member Since 2018
Hello everyone, my girl Willow has been on caninsulin for just over a month, and I will be switching her to Lantus in the next day or two.

We moved to Ontario recently, leaving Nov 24 and arriving on the 26th; during this time her caninsulin was stored in 5-6 different refridgerators as well as was jostled from the travel. I am not sure if it lost some efficacy from this or not, but her bg has increased some and we increased her dose on the 12th of december.

Could someone please recommend a starting dose of Lantus from looking at her SS? (I'm thinking 0.5 units, but not sure if this is too high?) Also, any tips/advice for the transition, recommended testing regimen first day, etc?

Will probably be following the TR protocol as outlined in the sticky.

Thanks so much! With love,
Nikki
 
Welcome to the Lantus ISG!! You will like it here :D
Someone else will be able to give more qualified dosing thoughts — I'm still very new to this. Just wanted to say hi from me and my sugar-kitty, River!
 
Welcome to the Lantus ISG!! You will like it here :D
Someone else will be able to give more qualified dosing thoughts — I'm still very new to this. Just wanted to say hi from me and my sugar-kitty, RivIer!
Thanks and Hello :)
I'm sort of nervous about switching because Willow has been doing fairly well on Caninsulin, but also hopeful that she might go into remission on Lantus. A girl can dream :)
 
Out of curiosity, and since you want to follow TR, how much does Willow weigh? Is that her ideal weight? Given her numbers in Caninsulin, I think 0.5 is a good starting point, if you switch when you can monitor closely.

Hello and welcome from a west coast Canuck whose kitty also started on Caninsulin. I think you’ll like the switch.
 
Hello and thanks :)

Willow was 11 lbs last month, which was up a bit from her usual range of around 10.5. Her ideal weight is probably 10. She may have gained a tiny bit since the diet change to FF as well (we have to buy a scale to monitor her weight as we *really* don't want to see much change either way).

We can monitor closely; I just hope I can handle dealing with low numbers.

Am I correct in thinking that she is more likely to achieve remission with TR as opposed to SLGS? Even if not, the closer to "normal range" she can get, the better for her, I guess.
With love,
Nikki
 
TR allows you to keep her longer in good numbers, which can help the pancreas heal. The sooner you can get her into good numbers, the greater your odds. And you are right, target regulation first, as it’s a prerequisite for that other R word.

Out of curiosity, does she still have IBD? If now, how did you get her over it?
 
Welcome Nikki! You've got a beautiful girl there! Lou and I started on Vetsulin (Caninsulin) as well. We went to Basaglar (similar to Lantus), and just recently switched to Levemir. We are soo happy that we switched! I think you'll love it as well, although there is a steep learning curve. The folks here are fantastic though, so you'll be well taken care of when you need help! Welcome to the LB&L forum! :bighug::bighug:
 
Out of curiosity, does she still have IBD? If now, how did you get her over it?

Hi, Willow no longer has IBD. She was on metronidazole for years, which stabilized her BMs from liquid to more-solid-than-mush until she had what we refer to as her near-death-experience. She suddenly became quite nauseous, showing great interest in food but refusing to even taste it, immediately licking her lips. When we brought her to the vet (a horrible experience for her at the best of times) she got a cerenia injection. Just one shot, no pills; yet her appetite improved, her attitude *totally* changed from a mean, bullying cat you could only pat on her own terms to a sweet, loving happy less-bullying cat, and we were able to successfully take her off the metronidazole with never another bout of diarrhea. Yet. So we called it her miracle injection.

Just before and during our move here, she had a bout of possible pancreatitis (symptoms, but never did a blood test); treated with multiple cerenia injections as well as bupe and famotidine. Not as miraculous, but she's doing very well all told :)

With love,
Nikki
 
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