Lantus once a day?

Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Lucy

Member Since 2012
Hi everyone,
I am beginning to wonder if once a day is normal for some cats. It seems that my cat's numbers are just barely high enough in the morning for a shot (.25) and too low in the evening for one. She has only been back on the juice for a few days or so. I thought she was in remission for a couple of weeks but I now realize that she simply wasn't eating. I have a new food she loves so her weight is creeping up but so were her numbers. However, she responds really well to the tiniest mount of insulin it seems. I would be haunted for ever if she died of hypoglycemia one day while I was at work so I hate for numbers to get too low.
Thanks!
 
I don't think she was ready to be off insulin. A lower dose, yes. But you can see that after you quit shooting, she eventually climbed back up. The depot from a dose can last at least six cycles. She gradually started climbing in BG once her depot was empty.

Generally speaking, 160 and 135 are shootable numbers once you have some data. Most of us that have been doing this a bit will shoot any number above 50 as long as we have supplies, will be home to test, etc. We try to teach new members how to gradually shoot lower numbers starting at 150 until they are able to shoot the 50s.

What I would suggest is that you practice shooting 0.1u and shoot that twice a day. I'm suggesting this for a couple reasons:

1. You aren't getting enough tests to make me feel comfortable with you continuing to shoot .25u twice a day. I think your kitty is going lower at some point and bouncing back up but you aren't catching those numbers. So for safety, you should reduce.

2. You don't have the data to shoot below 150 without help from someone in the forum to talk you through it. We usually ask new members to post for any PS number at 150 or below or which makes them concerned to shoot. We will then help you shoot it. If you aren't able to post for assistance, it's better to be safe by reducing the dose.

Also, it is not safe to shoot blindly as you did PM cycle 12/12 and AM cycle 12/13.

Here is what 0.1u looks like.
 
Geez, my vet keeps telling me to spot check a few times a week, that I am checking too much. She also prescribes .5 twice a day. I am not comofrtable with either. I just started trying the .1. It really is just a few drops.
Thank you for the advice!
 
I agree with Marje. We like to taper a cat off of insulin gradually so you're able to provide your cat's pancreas as much support as possible for as long as possible.
 
Hi, are you Lucy or Lucy's bean (as in human bean)? Welcome to LantusLand, the greatest place you never wanted to be. :lol: :lol: We are all pretty much cat-crazy and some of us (Marje is one of them) who are absolutely brilliant at dealing with cat issues, feline diabetes in particular. Most vets, bless their hearts, do not not deal with FD 24/7 like everyone here. So I'm glad you are here to get another viewpoint.
Liz, Zener's other mom

ETA: We started out with the alphatrak meter too but eventually switched to a human meter. Human meters are fine for cats and much, much cheaper. I wish we had done it much sooner. Oh well.
 
One thing I better add....the numbers I mentioned are on a human meter, not an AlphaTrak. So for an AT, the lower number we would generally have you shoot would be around 80. There is roughly a 30 mg/dL difference between the AT and a human meter with the human meters running lower.
 
Thanks for the welcome! You have all been a huge help already. My vet is pretty tight lipped.

So you would shoot .1 at 80 on an AT?
 
I would if I had data. But what we'd like to have you do is post here if she is at 180 or lower and we'll help you learn to shoot lower gradually. Again, there is "roughly" a 30 mg/dL difference between the AT and human meters; the ATs tend to run about that much higher.

Here's a very interesting post on the difference between the meters: AT vs Human Glucometers.

The Tight Regulation protocol we use here just assumes a 30 mg/dL difference. It can vary but we try to be consistent.
 
Lucy said:
Thanks for the welcome! You have all been a huge help already. My vet is pretty tight lipped.

So you would shoot .1 at 80 on an AT?
Click to expand...
t would take at least a few weeks to get enough data to shoot that number, IMO. Another issue is your cat's appetite. If she is a good eater, then you can be more aggressive. If there are any appetite issues, you have to be more careful. Zener has been a picky eater in the past and still has his moments but we shoot a 60 on a human meter with him.
Liz
 
Lucy's bean said:
Geez, my vet keeps telling me to spot check a few times a week, that I am checking too much.
Click to expand...
You're not the only person who's vet has told them to not test with any degree of frequency. When I first arrived here and was lurking, someone pointed out that if this were a child, there is not pediatrician or parent that would get a test only a couple of times a week. In your vet's defense, most vets figure that the bulk of their clients won't home test. Of course, if the vet doesn't encourage home testing, most people won't realize how important it is.

In order to use Lantus effectively, you need to get a test at minimum, 4 times a day. You need to get a pre-shot test to insure it's safe to give insulin. In addition, you need to get at least one test toward the middle of the cycle. Lantus dosing is based on the nadir. So, unless you get those tests, you won't know whether to increase or reduce Lucy's dose. It's also important to get enough tests for you to determine when Lantus onset and nadir fall and what kind of duration you're getting.
 
Ok, she just tested at 146. Her shot this morning shows .25 on my spreadsheet but it was really closer to .1. If I don't hear otherwise I will give her .1 in a bit.
 
Before you shoot, do you have plenty of test strips? Do you have HC food and or karo/honey? Can you stay up and test?

If you have all the above and you decide to shoot, you should get a +1 and a +2 test to see where she is headed. Be sure you feed her after her shot.

You might want to review "Handling Low Numbers" linked in my signature block.
 
Sienne, I typically work m-f so those mid- day numbers are pretty infrequent for me unfortunately.
 
Well, I just encouraged her to eat but she had none of it. Perhaps I better wait until the morning numbers? I have plenty of test strips but hate to take a risk. Really, she has a neurological disorder that will force me to put ber down sooner than later. I am more i terested in keeping her as long as I can, than I am in remission. I don't want to be haunted by my killing her with insulin. What to do?
 
Thanks! Also, I have a cold and may not have the energy to stare at her all night. Ha ha. :)
 
Lots of people work or go to school and can't get mid-day tests. What we suggest is that you give some thought to your test times to make sure they fit your schedule limitations as best they can. If you can get some early tests in before you're out the door in the AM, that will give you some indication if numbers are heading down. Since you can't get daytime tests, getting tests in the evenings and on weekends/holidays is especially important. You do the best you can!

You mentioned that Lucy has some medical issues. If you have a chance, can you complete a Profile on Lucy? This will give us background information so we don't keep plaguing you with the same questions.
 
Well shoot, I am restricted by my sister's schedjle as well because she gives her shots when I am out of town. I can't move it up any earlier before I go to work because my sister is herding her young kids off to school. Luckily we live together for the moment so I don't have to worry about skipping shots unnecessarily.

She just tested at 199 after no shot last night and a .1 yesterday morning. I could give her a shot now because I can be around all day.
 
Also, I don't have a name for her neurological problem. The vet just says 'it's neuroligical' . She referred me to specialists who say they need a CT scan to diagnose her. I thought that outting her under for that is too invasive at her age, especially considering that my vet says that likely nothing can be done. She has been slowly using the use of ber legs for the past 6 years. I will put her down once she is no longer mobile. :(
 
The problem with giving a shot now is how far off schedule will you be? If you shoot now, you can move Lucy's shot time by 15 min. at each subsequent shot time until you're back on schedule. Will that work?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top