Lantus dosage question - first time posting

[andyprchrd]

First off - thanks for all the amazing info on this site, the hours I've spent reading here have helped me immensely. I have a newly diagnosed cat who has been doing relatively well (he's about 6 weeks out from diagnosis). After switching him to exclusively wet food, I was able to put most of the weight he had lost back on, and he seems to be doing much better. I've been home testing him and watching his dose closely. I started on 2 units, which was much too high for him, and am currently in the 1 unit/1/2 unit area. I tested him numerous times during the day yesterday, and here are some numbers that I'm hoping to get some feedback on:

Initial reading: 219, +7=54, +9=57, +12=50, +14=105. These all looked great to me, and I gave him another unit (just to be clear - he was given 1 unit at 8am, 1 unit at 10pm - I was concerned he was too low at 8 for his shot so held off). Still concerned he might be too low, I got up early (5am) to check him - only to see he had jumped to 255, then to 270 3 hours later (this was after he had eaten). Now, 6 hours post shot, he is back down to 198. My question - why the sharp rise? On the hunch that he had gone too low overnight and this sparked a reaction, I dropped him to .5 this morning, and plan on sticking to that tonight.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. His name is Boreas, btw, and he's an adorable all white fluffball we've had for 10 years.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Welcome! Glad you have done a lot of reading and glad you decided to post. I do not use your insulin, but yes, it could be a bounce from the lower numbers. In your reading, have you seen the Lantus support group forum? There are some stickies (starred) topics at the top that are full of valuable information on how best to dose and work with Lantus. The info explains what to do when you get a low number midcyle, the importance of giving shots 12 hours apart (otherwise, the dose is considered an increase or a decrease) how the shed works as a carryover of insulin and how to adjust the dose based on your numbers.

Here is the page: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

The other thing that will really help us help you is to set up a spreadsheet. It is a great, color coded tool that lets you and the Lantus folks see your history of numbers and doses at a glance. Here are the directions: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

 

[Tara & Buster]

Welcome! Great job with the home testing! If you would like to post over on the Lantus forum we can continue to help you with dosing advice and any other questions you might have. If you notice, most folks have a link to a spreadsheet in their signatures, as well as a link to a basic profile of their sugar kitty. As you do more testing and get more data, it's helpful as a quick reference for those giving advice. Many people post their numbers daily.

Here's the links on how to set up the spreadsheets:

Spreadsheet: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

Profile http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopi ... =6&t=79123

Lantus forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

I am not experienced enough to offer dosing advice, but I'm sure someone will come along shortly. Good luck to you and Boreas! :YMHUG:

 

[Tara & Buster]

LOL - looks like Sue beat me to it! Love the name Boreas, btw!

 

[andyprchrd]

Thanks very much, wasn't sure if I should post here or there (the lantus board) since I'm new. I definitely have more to learn, still trying to sort things out. This isn't my first diabetic cat, we had another 10 years ago. She was also on insulin, but there was much less info out there at the time than there is now, and her glucose management was all done via the vet doing testing. Despite that, and the fact that she was much sicker than he is, she made it for 4 years (to age 15) before passing away.

Oh, and Boreas, just in case anyone is curious, is named after the Norse god of the north wind - because, as a kitten, he used to race around our (circular floor plan house) like a maniac - and he's all white.

Thanks again, Andy

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

You can usually get Lantus answers here as you first start out. Eventually you may want to post over on the forum, after you have a spreadsheet up and have all the other beginning stuff down. Just reading the information will answer a lot of your questions.