? Help setup Lantus

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Amsterdam1980

Member Since 2017
Hello, let me introduce myself.
My name is Andre, and i live in The Netherlands. My cat( Mandela) is a diabetic. I started with prozinc, and it doesnt work good for him, so i now decided to switch over to Lantus, However i need some help how to inject him ect as Mandela`s doctor doesnt know how this work. I have a glucose meter. I heard there are two ways men can use. There are the Germany way or the American way. I am not able to inject exactly on the minute, but there will not be a big delay. Also i heard that u can also inject one time if it is not possible for two time.

I start work at 05:30, and i only get back round 19:00... So the problem is, i cant inject every 12 hours... Anny one have some advice? My partner can inject him at 07:00, but she is not gonna take a pre test before the injection...

I hope someone will be able to understand my situation and be able to assist me.
 
Welcome. I am still learning myself and don't feel comfortable offering advice yet. But I'm sure someone will be along to help you out shortly. in the mean time, it would be helpful if you could set up a spreadsheet with the blood glucose numbers. That helps everyone know what is going on and give advice. I will find the instructions for you in a minute.
 
Here is the link with the instructions on how to set up your spreadsheet.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Also, many of us include some basic info in our signatures (at the bottom our each of our posts). Just include some basic information - cats name, what type of meter you are using, which protocol you are following (2 to pick from tight regulation or start low go slow). You can read about them in the stickies. Lots of good information there. And always ask lots of questions.
 
Try putting the question mark up also. That will get more people looking at your thread. You can do this by clicking on thread tools and then the drop down arrow.
 
Amsterdam1980 said:
I have a glucose meter. I heard there are two ways men can use. There are the Germany way or the American way.
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I think you are referring to the different units in which blood glucose is measured. The US uses mg/dL and that gives larger numbers in the 50 to 400 range approximately. Canada and much/all of Europe uses mmol/L and that gives numbers in the 3 to 30 range approximately. Most of us understand both. If you bought your meter in The Netherlands it will likely read out in mmol/L.

Amsterdam1980 said:
I am not able to inject exactly on the minute, but there will not be a big delay.
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Lantus works best if doses are given every 12 hours. This can move by 15 minutes or so without causing too much trouble. Cats need two doses of insulin per day because they metabolize it quickly. Giving insulin only once a day will leave your cat with no control over blood glucose for several hours every day.

Amsterdam1980 said:
I started with prozinc, and it doesnt work good for him,
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What signs did you see that told you ProZinc wasn't working well for your kitty? Were you testing blood glucose regularly? Did you cat have episodes of very low blood glucose (hypoglycemia)?

I don't know what to suggest for you about scheduling of insulin shots. I see that it might be possible with your partner's help to give shots 12 hours apart. It seems that the issue is that your partner will not do a pre shot blood glucose test. It's actually quite easy and we have lots of advice about learning how to do it.
 
interesting?
I found the shot harder to do than the ear test. Maybe over time you will convince your partner , who knows?

What is your preferred shot time and how much wiggle room do you have?

Most here try to get the preshot test , shoot and feed at the same time, then try to get an out the door test before heading to work because if numbers are dropping, you want to leave out food so cat can help himself. Sometimes you have to leave out higher carb foods....

The same goes for coming home from work, grab an in the door test.

Like I said, maybe over time she will change her mind, but if she shoots at 17:00 without the preshot test, you could at the very least always have a +2 as you walk in the door.
It's not ideal, but it could work.

Be sure and print out how to deal with hypos
for her because without those tests, she wouldn't have much time if he were to go too low.
Not all cats show signs of hypo until it's the very last few minutes, she would always need to have syrup sitting nearby where she can grab it quickly
and use it if necessary.
 
Hello, I can shoot anny time between 0530 and 0700 and between 1900 and 2000. So u tell me whats the best way. Thereis always food for the cats, as they dont eat everything at one time but enjoy to nibble on the food all day. At night I can always do a pre, thats not a problem. The problem is, in morning no pre can be taken. I cant expect my partner to do it, so we must get a way to do no pre in morning...
 
Amsterdam1980 said:
Hello, I can shoot anny time between 0530 and 0700 and between 1900 and 2000. So u tell me whats the best way. Thereis always food for the cats, as they dont eat everything at one time but enjoy to nibble on the food all day. At night I can always do a pre, thats not a problem. The problem is, in morning no pre can be taken. I cant expect my partner to do it, so we must get a way to do no pre in morning...
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I would say that giving insulin at 0700 and 1900 is the best schedule for you. Do a pre shot test every evening as well as one other test before bed. Do more tests through the day when you're off. You can do a morning pre shot test when you aren't at work. Try to get as much BG information as you can when you can so you can see your cat's patterns. That can help to reduce some of the risk of not having a pre shot test in the morning. You might also have give a lower dose to allow the BG to run a bit higher because you won't have morning pre shot data.

Regarding food and pre shot tests: there should be no food for 2 hours before the pre shot test so you know what the actual BG is, not a BG that's higher because of food. An automatic pet feeder can help you schedule meals while you're away at work.
 
We have three cats, they always have dry food to eat when they can... They only get in the morning and evening a packet wet food..
 
I have never used a 5 meal automatic feeder, but I think you can program what time the next compartment opens. If you can get a couple of these, instead of leaving open bowls of food out for the kitties, you could program the automatic feeder to have food out for them at specific times during the night and at 2 hours before you test in the morning it will turn to an empty compartment. Just a thought.
 
I don't understand your question, and have to run to get ready for work. Are you asking about the feeder or the insulin? I'm sure others will respond throughout the day, and if you want more responses or don't understand, you can bump your post up to the top by Replying to your thread.
 
lantus doesn't work that way. It needs to be injected every 12 hours.

Insulin is not a drug. It is a hormone.

Yes you could start.
How long has he been without insulin ?
And what dose was he on?

Please get a test and give us some numbers as to where he is right now so we can help you pick a starting dose.
 
I am going to suggest you start at 1 unit because looking at your chart there have had some low numbers.

Your chart only has 6 hours for the pm cycle so you need to fix that.
If you need help, there are others here who can do that with you.

Make a colored stripe across the chart saying " starting Lantus"

and please keep it updated.
It takes a few days for the lantus to build a depot.

Lantus dosing is determined by how low they go in the cycle.
 
Let me tell you what is possible and not possible. Because I leave verry early for work 05:30 my partner will have to inject mandela. She will NOT do a pre sugar test. At night I will be able to do a pre test and inject him again. So will it be possible to inject mandela at 07:00 WITHOUT a pre test and then at 1900 I will do a pre test and inject him again. Or do u guys have a better idee??
Maybe one time p.d will be better??
 
No . One time is not better, you will get very wonky cycles.

If you would get a test somewhere between 5 am and 5:30 am before you leave for work, that will have to suffice. That way you know if he's already low from the night time. Don't feed him from 5 am to 7 am, except for his reward treat for getting the test.
If his number is below 150 , tell your partner not to shoot at 7 am. ( I say this for Madela's case only)
You are not a complete newbie, newbies don't shoot below 200 until they have been guided by someone who stays with them here on site.

Then when you get home, shoot at 7 pm and try to test so you get more data.

Anytime you get up in the night ( or day if you sleep days) try to get extra tests. The more data you have , the better you will know how he is doing.
So on holidays, days off, try to get more tests.


And we will cross paws that eventually your partner will be willing to test to keep Mandela safe.
After all , a little ear prick is so much easier to do, then give shots.
 
Amsterdam1980 said:
Ok, so howmuch must I shoot, and will it be always the same or how do I know what I must shoot
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The usual starting dose for Lantus is 1 unit twice a day. The way to learn whether this dose is a good one is by testing as much as you can. We gave you some ideas about that in earlier posts (above). The dose will probably change once you see the test results. There are guidelines in the yellow stickies at the top of the Lantus forum main page. I suggest you take some time to read these. Because you won't be testing as much as we recommend I think the SLGS (Start Low Go Slow) is the routine for you to try.
 
start a 1 unit.


If you would get a test somewhere between 5 am and 5:30 am before you leave for work, that will have to suffice. That way you know if he's already low from the night time. Don't feed him from 5 am to 7 am, except for his reward treat for getting the test.
If his number is below 150 , tell your partner not to shoot at 7 am. ( I say this for Madela's case only)
You are not a complete newbie, newbies don't shoot below 200 until they have been guided by someone who stays with them here on site.

Then when you get home, shoot at 7 pm and try to test so you get more data.

Anytime you get up in the night ( or day if you sleep days) try to get extra tests. The more data you have , the better you will know how he is doing.
So on holidays, days off, try to get more tests.
 
Is it possible for me to shoot Lantus only once a day, as the mornings will be verry hard for us to shoot. I readed that lantus has a depot and that some people shoot once a day. Please share your opinions
 
Humans use it once a day. Cat's metabolism is faster and Lantus is given every 12 hours. How did you give the other insulin you were using?
 
Prozinc I shooted twice a day, but never had to do checks. Lantus I must check everytime the bloodcount, and in the morning this will not be possible for us. Anny suggestions??
 
Can you test at 4:30am and then again at 5:30am and compare those two tests, and then know at least if he is going up or down or staying the same? You'd almost need to take his food away (or use an automatic feeder) at 2:30am, so the you wouldn't have food influence affecting those tests.
 
No sorry, I not gonna test at those times. I wanna shoot him once a day with lantus. It will be better yhen nothing and lantus has a depot so I heard it will be possible. Anny idee howmuch I must shoot once a day??
 
Amsterdam1980 said:
will be better yhen nothing and lantus has a depot so I heard it will be possible. Anny idee howmuch I must shoot once a day??
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Shooting once a day with lantus is unlikely to work. You are very unlikely to get the duration to keep the numbers down for 24 hours, you will likely see the numbers rise at around the 12hour mark.

It is a depot insulin, but, in cats it takes at least 6 cycles shooting every twelve hours for that depot to fill, stabilise, and impact the numbers, and lead to a flat curve that lantus is so famous for.

By shooting once a day, you are not really giving the depot a chance to work, and by the time you shoot 24 hours later you will likely be facing very high numbers.

One other thing, most dry food is very high in carbs, and whilst your kitty still has access to it it's going to be difficult to manage/regulate her diabetes.
(
(NB if you decide to withdraw dry food please do it slowly as it can impact bg numbers greatly once it's out of a cats system we have seen, time and again, insulin needs reduce greatly)

I'm sorry I know you want to hear us say that once a day will be fine, but that has not been our experience on this board, I can't think of any member that is doing shots once a day. Trying to regulate your cats diabetes takes a lot out of you, I shot my cat at 7am and 7pm, but most mornings I would get up earlier and test at 5 or 6am as well as getting a test just before shot, I'm not a morning person, this was hard for me. I would go to bed at 12 or 1am, getting a test just before I called it a night.
It was hard, and at times I was exhausted, but I was able, with the data I gathered, to dose George effectively following the dosing methods used in this board, this allowed me to get him regulated (and eventually into remission).
 
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