Lower that normal preshot number

Stephboomer

Stephboomer

Member Since 2016
My info on my page hasn’t been updated. Was using this site for Harold but now my cat Zambi is diagnosed. She’s been on lantus for 3.5 days. I didn’t give her any tonight because her preshot number was lower than normal. I’ve been testing every hour and her numbers keep going down but she hasn’t had insulin.
10pm 11.9
11pm 11.3
12 am 10.2
1 am 7.8
She’s eating but it’s still going down. Not sure what to do. Never had this problem with my other cat
 
What time did you give the shot and what dose is she on? Since Lantus is a depot insulin, the depot can affect numbers for the first part of the cycle even if you skip the shot. 7.8 is still a safe number.

We will need more information to provide you with more specific help. :)
Details are in this post: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

I can help you with setting up your Spreadsheet and Signature.
 
I didn’t do her shot because she was 11.9 and that’s the lowest pre shot she’s been. She’s usually higher at preshot. And recently diagnosed so not sure how she handles a low or anything. Today is day 4. So her numbers are going down now and I didn’t give her any insulin tonight.
 
She was on 2 units for the first 3 days and numbers were still high so I increased to 2.25 this morning. She was 19.2 amps. 14.6@+5 and then 11.9 at pmps so I didn’t give her anything and waited an hour but she’s been lower every hour
 
Stephboomer said:
I didn’t do her shot because she was 11.9 and that’s the lowest pre shot she’s been. She’s usually higher at preshot. And recently diagnosed so not sure how she handles a low or anything. Today is day 4. So her numbers are going down now and I didn’t give her any insulin tonight.
Click to expand...
How many units have you been asked to give? Are you using a human meter or a pet meter? And lastly, what do you feed her?
 
The vet said 2 units but I slightly increased today because of high numbers. I’m using a human meter one touch Verio flex. She’s on ff and coming off of her hills urinary food. Been weening her off since diagnosis
 
Stephboomer said:
She was on 2 units for the first 3 days and numbers were still high so I increased to 2.25 this morning. She was 19.2 amps. 14.6@+5 and then 11.9 at pmps so I didn’t give her anything and waited an hour but she’s been lower every hour
Click to expand...

That is a large starting dose for Lantus and the depot takes a week to build. So you hold the starting dose for a week. If you can set-up your Spreadsheet and Signature, we can be of more help. We really need more data to be able to see what the insulin is doing for Zambi.

I can help you with setting up your Spreadsheet and Signature.
 
Stephboomer said:
The vet said 2 units but I slightly increased today because of high numbers. I’m using a human meter one touch Verio flex. She’s on ff and coming off of her hills urinary food. Been weening her off since diagnosis
Click to expand...

You should not be increasing. The Lantus depot takes a week to build and the diet change will cause her numbers to drop significantly. I would, in fact, take the dose down to 1U and gradually increase from there but only after the food change has been completed.
 
Stephboomer said:
Thank you for your help.
So she’s been on the ff and hills urinary for quite some time I’m just taking her off the hills because it’s dry food and obviously not good for her. Could that be why her numbers are going down without insulin tonight?
Click to expand...

Yes, the change in diet is bringing her numbers down. Even 2U may be too much for her once you switch to FF. Have you switched her completely?

Please test her before you give insulin and again 2 hours after the shot. If that is lower, like tonight I would get more tests after.
 
She’s been eating ff and the hills for like 2 years. Mostly the ff but she likes her dry lol. Since her diagnosis I’ve been slowly taking her off the hills. So that could change her numbers a bit? Yes I will test her lots. I’ve been trying to get an idea of how she handles the insulin.
 
Happy to help! :-)

You may want to look at our sticky on the Dosing Protocols we follow here. I would suggest that you follow the "Start Low Go Slow" protocol detailed here:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...-low-go-slow-slgs-tight-regulation-tr.210110/

START LOW, GO SLOW (SLGS)
Starting Dose:
  • 1u BID if kitty is not on a wet/canned low carb diet
  • 0.5u BID if kitty has been switched to a wet/canned low carb diet
  • If the cat was previously on another insulin, the starting dose should be increased or decreased by taking prior data into consideration
  • Generally, shots are to be given 12 hours apart.
Hold the dose for at least a week:
  • Unless your cat won’t eat or you suspect hypoglycemia
  • Unless your kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L). If kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L) decrease the dose by 0.25 unit immediately.
 
Lantus takes 5 - 7 days for the depot to form and stabilize. This is why you want to hold the dose, unless numbers are dropping into dose reduction range.

I'm going to guess that the Hill's urinary formula is high is carbs. If you're feeding your kitty any of the C/D canned foods, they are between 23 - 28% carb. FF is probably around 4% if you are feeding Zambi the pate style food. Switching out dry and the urinary food will have a major impact on blood glucose (BG) numbers.
 
Stephboomer said:
I was hoping for the tight protocol

shes 9.9 I’m thinking 0.5U
Click to expand...
While I can't advise on dose because I'm too new to Lantus - you can only do Tight Regulation once completely low carb. Given that it's more aggressive and aims for lower numbers, the high carb food has to be out of the picture (it can unpredictably affect BG and can result in unsafe situations).
 
OK. Give the 0.5U and test at +2 and if she is lower, more tests later in the cycle.

I would stick to 0.5U for now. Have you been able to switch her to FF completely?
 
No she ate a tiny bit of kibble last night which is probably why she bounced so high this morning. She hasn’t had any today yet so she might not have any. I have very minimal amount available to her so I don’t shock her system just taking her right off. I will do the .5 and check in a couple hours :)
 
I think you can take it off completely now. Especially if you reduce the dose to 0.5U. She has been eating FF previously, so there will not be any tummy issues from the switch either.

Do you have canned food that is HC and MC? Enough testing strips?
 
Just wanted to drop a quick note hi since your profile pic looks like Zambi could be Abby’s twin:). Good luck getting everything set up - it will get easier and everyone on the board is very nice/helpful. Abby had a rough transition away from kibble but I’m very glad I finally pulled her off as her numbers greatly improved so hopefully it does the same for Zambi.
 
Looks like Zambi is higher at +2 and could be bouncing. You don't have to stay up testing. Get one more test and unless that it is significantly lower, you can call it a night :-)

Please start a new thread tomorrow. And let us stick to one dose. Changing doses every cycle will only confuse the depot. If you are completely getting rid of the kibble (and I recommend that you do). you could take her dose down to 0.5U or 1U and hold that for at least 6 cycles (unless she earns a reduction).
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Looks like Zambi is higher at +2 and could be bouncing. You don't have to stay up testing. Get one more test and unless that it is significantly lower, you can call it a night :)

Please start a new thread tomorrow. And let us stick to one dose. Changing doses every cycle will only confuse the depot. If you are completely getting rid of the kibble (and I recommend that you do). you could take her dose down to 0.5U or 1U and hold that for at least 6 cycles (unless she earns a reduction).
Click to expand...
okay thank you for your help :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top