? Lantus 1 times a Day

Mazi's Mom

Mazi's Mom

Member Since 2024
Hello!

My cat Mazi is newly diagnosed and is currently on Lantus 0.5 units twice a day. However he tends to go low 2 to 4 hours after his morning insulin injection. I'm assuming its due to the over lap that happens with Lantus.

He manages his night time dose well. For the past 3 mornings his pre meal blood sugar has been 136, 127, and 147. All three days he has gone low between 2 to 4 hours.

I'm new here and I understand a spreadsheet of Mazis blood sugar numbers would be most helpful. I plan on getting that up for everyone to see this weekend.

This is just a general question and topic that I want to run past my vet, but I wanted to post here and get some feedback from you guys too.

Is it possible to have decent blood sugar control with only 1 injection of Lantus?
 
We can't help you without that spreadsheet. And a few things that we request people put in their signatures. More detail here:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You! For example, I don't know what type of meter you are using and what you define as "low".

To answer the question directly, no, at Mazi's size of dose, one shot a day has not something I've seen work in my time here. I have seen one or two kitties only just on a drop insulin that tried it for a while, one of them was more properly a "drop when needed". Some cats have early nadirs, some drop hard at onset, you could also be seeing that. The spreadsheet will help answer those questions too.
 
Good Evening!

I just set up my signature and spreadsheet. I dont have a lot of data because I just started logging about a month ago.

When you have time, could you please take a glance at Mr. Mazi's spreadsheet and let me know your thoughts.

Also, please let me know if I need to make any changes to make Mazi's spreadsheet easy to interpret.

Thank you so much for all your help. I am so grateful I found this community and to know that I am not alone!

Theresa and Mr. Mazi
 
Thank you for putting together the spreadsheet. A couple comments. First, the U column should list the dose you shot. Last night it says 0.5, but your comments in the Remarks field said 0.25 units. What did you shoot this AM?

Also, we don't shoot that much early with Lantus/glargine. You can shoot 1/2 hour early once per day, or 15 minutes per cycle. Otherwise the earlier dose can act a bit like an increase, which might not be a good thing.

Are you only feeding Mazi twice per day? We find that cats on Lantus do better with more small meals spread out, typically in the first part of the cycle. Just like human diabetics do. It's easier on a healing pancreas. Plus having a little food later in the cycle closer to nadir, can help even out their numbers and prevent those lows.

One final thing, many cats go lower at night, so it's very important to try to get at least one test after the PM shot. Perhaps a before bed test if you go to bed at least 2-3 hours after the shot. We determine how to change the dose based on the lows, so that's why a peak into the night time numbers is important.
 
Ok I believe I corrected everything..Let me know if I missed something and need to make more adjustments.

I tried to make my notes more detailed in the SS.

In Yesterday's notes I put that Mazi only ate 1/2 of the 3/4 of a can of Friskies Pate, so I reduced his AM dose to 0.25U to avoid a Hypo episode and then I added that I gave 0.5U for his PM dose (I went back up to his normal dose because he ate his entire 3/4 of a meal.

Thank you for the advice of not giving Mazi his shot 2 hours early and instead only give 30 mins early due to the shots overlapping and acting as an increase. I was just a little worried because his numbers were above 200 and I wanted to slow it from increasing further, but next time I will wait. Its safer that way.

Our vet instructed me to feed Mazi twice a day and to feed him 3/4 of a can of pate. After Mazi had his 2nd hypoglycemia episode I then asked my vet if it would be okay if I gave him a small snack near his peak/nadir (which seems to be at +3/+4, atleast in the AM), I was thinking the remaining 1/4 of a can of pate that was left from the can. However, he said he didn't want me to do that because he wanted to shoot for the tightest glycemic control.

Not sure what to do about giving snacks or not. Right now I am able to stay home and keep a close tab on his blood sugar and intervene right away if Mazi goes low. But in the next month or two I am going to have to get back to work and won't be home during Mazi's Peak. That said, I'd feel more comfortable leaving some food out for him to snack on. Or at least get him on a dose that I don't have to worry about him dropping too low on while I'm gone at work. My gut tells me leave a little food out for him. What's your thoughts?

Above the comment/remark section of the SS I wrote his Diet and how often he eats and I also put down the types of treats I give him if he ever goes low (treats are only given for lows). Also, I do have Karo syrup for those hypo episodes as well.

This morning I gave his normal 0.5U because he ate all his meal. Tonight, I just fed him 3/4 can of friskies pate and he ate everything so in 15 mins I'm going to give him his 0.5U PM dose at 9pm. His PMPS number was 157, which i just put in the SS.

Lastly, I'll start testing him +3 after his PM shot so we can see how well he does at night. Again, thanks for that suggestion.
 
Mazi's Mom said:
I then asked my vet if it would be okay if I gave him a small snack near his peak/nadir (which seems to be at +3/+4, atleast in the AM), I was thinking the remaining 1/4 of a can of pate that was left from the can. However, he said he didn't want me to do that because he wanted to shoot for the tightest glycemic control.
Click to expand...
Tight glycemic control is much more possible with those smaller snacks. At least from our experience with the over 600 cats that have gone into remission here. Your instinct on feeding something around +3 in the AM (and PM too) is spot on.

Many people get automated pet feeders that will open up when you want them to eat if you are away. The Catmate and Petsafe 5 compartment feeders are popular ones here. If he's a grazer you an just leave food out for him. Or even freeze a water food combo in an ice cube maker and leave it out to thaw in hotter weather. More ideas in this post here: Is Tight Regulation Possible with a Full Time Job? Yes!
 
Thanks for the link!

I feel more comfortable giving him a small snack around peak time. I just graduated from nursing school and am waiting to start my career till Mazi's blood sugar is regulated and mostly predictable so I dont worry while at work and can focus on my patients and learning my new role.

From what I learned in school we would never give insulin without telling a patient to snack after an injection, so it only makes sense to me that I give my cat a snack near his peak. Why would I treat my cat any different than a human patient?! I wouldn't. Thanks for the reassurance.

This "new normal" has been overwhelming but this community has helped! Sometimes, we just need a little advice and some reassurance. Thanks for confirming that +3 would be a good time for a snack.

My last question, is the remaining 1/4 of the friskies pate enough for a snack or do you have a better recommendation?

Theresa and Mr. Mazi (Maserati)
 
Mazi's Mom said:
is the remaining 1/4 of the friskies pate enough for a snack or do you have a better recommendation?
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Hard to say at this point. Some kitties are more carb sensitive than others. Your job is to feed, record what you feed (%carbs and amount), and figure out how food is impacting him. Getting to regulation is a balance between insulin and food. I would start with your 1/4 can plan and try it for a while to see how he does on it, then tweak if not getting the results you want. Food experiments can take a couple weeks, so don't rush the decision.
 
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