discoveries and question

[Vtambo & Rex]

discoveries and question
Discussion in 'Feline Health - (The Main Forum)' started by Vtambo & Rex, 30 minutes ago.

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1. 
   Vtambo & RexMember
   Joined:
   Feb 27, 2017
   Hello again all - it has been a while since I posted and things have changed somewhat. firstly, my attitude about all this has changed. before I was so unbelievably stressed about the whole situation, food, shots, testing, etc. So, I decided to step back a bit and reevaluate. what I determined is that for Rex and I the at home testing multiple times a day just isn't going to work. both of us were getting very stressed out by this and his numbers were reflecting it, as was his behavior. so what I decided to do was contact my regular vet (and in case any of you remember the story, there were two vets working on this - my regular vet and a "substitute" vet from when my vet was unavailable - who I incidentally didn't really care for or trust). anyway - I contacted the regular vet just to have a consult with her and reevaluate the whole situation. she also did a fructosamine while we were there. the fructosamine numbers were, let's just say, not ideal. I also expressed my concerns to her about using the Lantus pen (as a pen - as per the "substitute" vet's instructions, and not using a syringe). i guess this is kind of a long story, but the substitute vet prescribed the pen and told me to give it in the scruff. she never said anything about holding it in, etc. well, of course doing my own research i found out you are not supposed to give in the scruff because there is not as much blood flow, and you are supposed to hold the pen in for at least 10 seconds. i did a little experiment and did a test by doing an "air shot" just to see what was coming out, how fast, etc. since Rex really did not seem to be improving at all over the span of almost four months, and in fact, his numbers were going up if anything, he was not eating, etc. When i did the air shot, i got out about the equivalent of 2 drips that were the size of a pin head and that was after holding the button in for 60 seconds (he is on a 1 unit dose 2x a day), with small drips continuing to come out for much longer than that - up to 90 seconds. so my regular vet said that she never liked the pens and herself would never prescribe them, and did some research into it. she then instructed me to bring in my pen and she would take out what was left and put it in a vial for me. she said she did not think the rubber on the pen itself was thick enough to ensure sterility when using syringes. so she filled up a tube with a thick rubber stopper and gave me syringes/needles and said to check his numbers only 2x a week. she wants to do another fructosamine in a month to see the numbers. i was also able to narrow down the food choice. i found out from the Nutro company that their canned food (not Max Cat, but just the regular Nutro canned) has less than 1 carb. and Rex loves it. so we are going with that. i am still trying to get him to eat Tiki Cat as well, but we are not there yet. i also considered the Young Again kibble, because i got the sample and he LOVED that, but upon further research and discussion with my vet, decided against using that as his main staple, however am using it as treats. i just didn't feel comfortable with the dry food and the water consumption issues. anyway, he seems so much happier now that he is getting one kind of food regularly that he actually likes and i don't have to do anything special to get him to eat it. i also occasionally give him TruFood broth (Wellness) which he seems to like just to freshen up his food a bit. at any rate, i have been using the syringe with Lantus now for a week and i just did his first test (4.5 hours after AM shot) since beginning the syringe versus the pen - the number was 115 - down from high 300's/low 400's. I was/am stunned. now i am wondering if i need to be worried about going too low. and should i contact the vet now after doing just one test, or wait and do a few more to see what the numbers are and then call her? i would like to post this thread on the Lantus site, if anyone could instruct me on how to do that, i would appreciate it. i certainly don't want to have to retype this book.....
   

 

[Mandy & Rex (GA)]

Hello again! I have been wondering where you have been!!

Do you think with using the syringes, you would be more willing to try and do more tests? I would be concerned about going too low if you are testing only 2x a week. I use the Lantus pen, but with syringes, not the pen needle. It has been working great. I'll keep you both in my thoughts!!

 

[Tracey&Jones (GA)]

I started out with the Lantus pen and injecting that way. It was an easier way to start but like you, I found that 1) I always had some on the fur 2) I couldn't really confirm for myself if the dose was right and 3) well - you can only do whole units - so when you get to a fine dosing situation it becomes useless.

I found once I got the syringes (the ones with the half dose marks) and started to just draw from the pen - I was more certain about the dose, could fine tune the dose and most importantly I have never had a any insulin on his fur after.

I am not sure about the repackaging of the insulin though, I thought that was a no-no.

I would always worry about going to low if you are injecting insulin - I worry and I am on a F 1 drop.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

A huge number of us use the pens but use the pen as a mini-vial. The rubber stopper is just fine. I've used a pen with a syringe for over 3 mos without a problem and did so for 6.5 years. It's a personal choice between a vial vs pen. The biggest concern I had with a vial is that if you dropped a vial, you lose a lot of insulin. If a pen is damaged, it's much less costly.

If you are seeing lower numbers, it's in your cat's best interest to test. Testing is the only way you can keep your cat safe. If you can get comfortable with the process of testing, it will also make Rex less upset. Kitties react to our emotions. Basically, if you can test before giving a shot and at least one time during each cycle (providing your kitty isn't dropping into low numbers), you will be doing great.

And the manufacturer of Lantus does not recommend repackaging the insulin. There's probably a greater chance of contamination by transferring the insulin than using a pen.