from Caninsulin to Lantus

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tamsin

Member Since 2014
Hi -- new user here :)

My cat has been on Caninsulin for almost a year. A few weeks ago when he went in for a lion shave (his mats were uncontrolable) the vet did some tests and we decided he would switch to Lantus. We were going to ease him over at the end of the vial of Caninsulin but unfortunatey i dropped the Caninsulin vial last night and it shattered. So off to the vet we went today and we now have a new vial of Lantus.

I have 60+ u40 needles left over from the Caninsulin. I looked at the charts and they are all to use u100 needles with u40 insulin. I'm going the other way. Can I just devide? So 2 units of Lantus would be 0.8 on the u40 needles? Just want to make sure I have it right . . .

Thanks in advance :)
 
Yep you can use the conversion charts in reverse...however 2u is too high of a starting dose for Lantus. Lantus is started at 1u normally. What was his previous dose on the caninsulin?

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Hi and thanks for the quick response! His previous dose of Caninsulin was 4 units. He's approx 13 pounds (post shave). I was going to give him his first injection in about 45 mins . . .
 
Personally I would start at 1u and work up from there my two that are still insulin dependant are 14lbs and 25lbs. Even my big guy is only on 1u and my little girl is flirting with remission is on a mere drop. Both are well regulated and my 3rd has been OTJ now for 3 years but he's 17lbs and never went higher than 1u.

Remember Lantus and Caninsulin work completely different from each other. You will more than likely see much response right away from the Lantus as it takes about 3-5 days for the depot to form.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Thanks for the advice! I did half a dose (of the 2 units recommended by the vet) last night and again this morning. We'll see how that goes.

If only getting the blood sample for the glucose reading was easier! He hates having his ear held . . .
 
Does he like his feet played with? If he does you can test on the big pad on his footsie.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Hon, you're starting a new insulin, you need all the testing you can manage.

We recently switched insulin too, so I understand the confusion, I feel like a newby again! But, I have tested almost constantly, since I have no idea how the new insulin will work on my Lucian (and I'm home all the time). It is absolutely necessary that you test, at least a preshot test or you don't know if it's safe to give, never shoot blind. You need a test before each shot, 1 in between and if you can, 1 before bed. That's only 4 a day. If he doesn't want to sit still, make him a kitty burrito with a towel, he'll get used to it.

If you work and can't test during the day, then get that before bed test and run your curve when you have a day off and can manage it. Kitty's numbers are all you have to go on to know what's happening, it is so important. You would never ever give insulin to your child without testing, nor should you with your kitty.

Mel is your Angel on this board and everyone will help you in any way possible. Changing insulin is a bear, at least for me going to PZI, but hang in there.
 
Thanks -- I will test as much as I can. Yes I work all day and am gone from 6:15 in the morning to 5:30 in the eve. I guess I'll be getting up 15 mins early for the next while. . .

I really don't know what I'm aiming for with the glucose readings. Every board has different info. In the past I had called a couple days readings into the vet when I thought something was off but we're at a new vet so not sure what protocol is there. We have a "human" glucometer and readings have been anywhere between 17 to 29 in the past . . .
 
Hello there neighbour - waving at you from down the highway. :-D We switched from Caninsulin to Lantus a couple years ago. What my vet told me when I made the switch is that an idea curve would be around 10-12 at the start and somewhere from 5-7 in the middle. That's a bit more conservative than what most people here aim for, but it depends if your goal is remission or regulation. Oh, and cats very seldom follow the rules. :lol: A number of us follow the Tight Regulation Protocol.

Which human meter are you using? I have a Bayer Contour as a backup, but I periodically head down the the Walmart at Bellingham and pick up strips for my main meter which is a Relion Confirm. The strips are WAY cheaper in the US for those brands. And you are even closer to the border than I am. When you switch to the U-100 syringes, you'll want the BD Ultrafine II Short, 8mm needle, 31 gauge needle, purple and yellow box. Cheapest place I've found them locally is Canadian Superstore, but I haven't tried Walmart yet. Someone from Alberta found them cheaper there.

A tip on the numbers, most people posting here are from the US, so we use mg/dL numbers instead of mmol/L. To switch to mg/dL, just multiply your numbers by 18.

Lots of people here work during the day, so they'll get addition tests in the evening before bed or on the weekend so they can get an idea how the dose is doing.

Good luck with your kitty. If you have questions about local stuff, feel free to PM me.
 
My cat Max just started on Lantus in December, so I'm still learning about it. You've come to a great place for help! The members here have really helped me with Max. I work too and do the best I can with tests. I get the pre-shots and then try for a before bed test around +4 or +5 at night. The pre-shots help you know if it's safe to give insulin and the +4 through +7 tests help you know how the dose is working on your cat. For Lantus, you're trying to catch a reading around the lowest BG in the cycle as that helps determine dose. I can test a little more on the weekends, and when just starting on Lantus, ran a BG curve on a Saturday a couple times to see how Lantus was working throughout the 12 hr cycle. I can sympathize with difficulty in testing. My Max was really hard to test at first. He hated holding still, so I had to have someone help hold him for me. He loves treats though and has finally gotten a lot easier to test. For what you're aiming for in #'s, that partially depends on you and your situation. There are some that can test more often that tightly regulate their cats with close monitoring. If you work and aren't home during the day, you'll probably want to leave yourself some cushion with the #'s, so your cat doesn't drop too low while you're not home. Some of the other more experienced members can probably give you more guidance on that.
 
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