Lantus from Novolin N - higher numbers

hummys

hummys

Member Since 2019
Recently diagnosed on July 30, 2019. My guy was on Novolin N, for one week and then started Lantus Tuesday morning this week. Both of them were 1 unit twice a day. His BG at diagnosis was 455. A week later at the vet's office it was 317.

Got our home testing kit and used it for the first time yesterday. And he's had three readings so far of 447, 389 and 415. A little surprised at the high readings since when he was on Novolin N, his BG levels seemed to be going down. Could this have something to do with switching insulins? We're a little over our heads here, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much.
 
Lantus is a depot insulin and needs time to build up the depot. Much different than Novolin which hits harder and faster, but doesn't sustain like Lantus. Please take some time and read the yellow tagged stickies at the top of the page. It's very confusing at first, but you are doing well to be testing and transitioning off the high carb food. One thing I have read many times is: It's a marathon, not a sprint" and it's ever so true.

One step, one day at a time. Be sure to test before every injection, I know Puss is high right now, but you never know when that will change.

Read the info, ask questions and keep doing all the good that you are doing. :bighug:
 
Thank you Idjit's mom. I have read the stickies, but I think the info just isn't sticking in my brain. Will re-read again. Quick question (another one...) - we've been testing before each injection, but also before he eats. Is that correct?
 
Hi! I was treating my Alice with Novolin N too... except I tried for so much longer and it didn’t last long enough unless I gave it three times a day. I’m glad you’ve made the switch to Lantus.
I support everything @Idjit's mom said. It will take time for everything to stick, so it is very helpful to go back and read the same stickies sometimes. When you gain more experience, parts of the info become even easier to digest, if that makes sense? There is a steep learning curve at first but it will get so much easier!
Lantus can take 6 cycles/3 days at least to start showing proper full action from any dose change. If you’d like to go back and look at the beginning of my Lantus spreadsheet, you can see how Alice sort of took some time to even out and start showing lower numbers more often.

Do please keep asking questions! :)
 
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hummys said:
Thank you Idjit's mom. I have read the stickies, but I think the info just isn't sticking in my brain. Will re-read again. Quick question (another one...) - we've been testing before each injection, but also before he eats. Is that correct?
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Before you give your shot you will want to test. You also want to make sure he hasn’t eaten in the past two hours before that particular test, so that you know that test is not influenced by food. Otherwise, in general I don’t see a reason to need to test before every meal. Unless you have a specific medical condition with your cat* of course. (Besides “just” diabetes.) Many people feed lots of small snacks through the day. I don’t test before each one, I just focus most of all on testing around +2 or +3, then somewhere between +5-+7 to try and catch the most likely low time. Of course, ECID (every cat is different)!
 
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I always tested, fed and shot while Idjit was eating. I don't know what your schedule is, testing before a shot and then feeding later? I think in the stickies it does advise, test/feed/shoot. Then you just feed as usual during the 12 hour cycle and try to test at different times of the day, to see how the insulin is working, like you did at +5 today. Just read Cassandra's post, and it's what I have been trying to say. :)
 
Eventually you get more familiar with your own cat and get an idea of the most useful testing times for your situation! As a general rule, if you will test two hours (+2) after each shot, you can try and get an idea of where kitty is heading that day. A large drop from PS would indicate that you might want to monitor more during that cycle. And sometimes “just for fun” it’s helpful to grab an extra test at any old random time in the day, just so you have more data. :)

I was so confused at first, but the longer I stayed the course the more it all started making sense.
 
hummys said:
Thank you Idjit's mom. I have read the stickies, but I think the info just isn't sticking in my brain. Will re-read again. Quick question (another one...) - we've been testing before each injection, but also before he eats. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Oh I remember that, pouring over what seemed to be some foreign language into the wee hours of the morning, and saying to myself WHAT??:confused:o_O
But, as you go along, things do start making more sense and falling into place. Right now, read, ask questions and trust that you are going in the right direction. It's always a steep learning curve and it's all new information. Deep breaths, you are actually doing great!
 
Here, maybe this will make looking at my spreadsheet even easier. No need to even click on a link! :D Sometimes I find other people’s confusing at first, but this way you just focus on the color patterns. I tested A LOT when we switched because Alice had had a recent DKA episode:
64816EA9-83EC-4183-BAEE-A725307AEC6F.png
 
The sticky post at the top of this sub forum titled "What is the insulin depot?" is a must-read. You're doing great and in the right place!
 
As others have noted, Novolin and Lantus are very different. Novolin has less duration than Lantus and it's onset and nadir are much earlier than Lantus. Lantus is also a depot-type of insulin. A small amount of every dose forms crystals that are deposited in fat cells. The crystals gradually dissolve giving Lantus it's long duration. It takes roughly 5 - 7 days from when you start using Lantus for the depot to become established. Likewise, any change in dose effects the depot and it can take 3 days for the depot to stabilize again.

That's the longwinded way to saying that Puss' numbers may not look that great for a few days. Also, because Lantus onset isn't until around +2, you don't have to have food on board before you shoot. Most of us test, feed, and shoot all within about 5 - 10 min.
 
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