Mala and Lantus

[Hroswitha]

I have not got a spreadsheet started yet - nothing to chart yet. I'm beginning one tomorrow.

Mala is an 11 year old who has been in remission since June of 2006. She was diagnosed in May of that year and, with the help of Vetsulin and good advice from this board, she went OTJ quickly.

She has been in remission until very recently. She developed an ear infection a month ago. Nasty pus, horrible stench. The vet found that an infection had caused her ear drum to burst. He put her on antibiotics and ear drops which contain steroids. Now, her bgs are above 300.

Yes, she could have been high but a-symptomatic before the infection. I recognize that. Or this could be a reaction to the steroids. Regardless of the why, she is now testing at 350 at 6+ hours at a week after ending the steroids.

I have a prescription for Lantus. The vet has recommended a starting dose of 2 units, which I believe is too high. When we had her on vetsulin before, we started at 1.5 units, and her rebound was terrible. I know Lantus is a gentler insulin, but I want to start lower.

I'm looking for recommendations. Right now, I'm working on a dissertation at home, and am available to both test and shoot when necessary. Mala has been on a low carb wet diet for 5 years now. I will test her tomorrow around 6 AM, and give her a first dose.

What should it be?

Thanks from us both.

 

[Blue]

Here's the Lantus info for you..... starting at 1u BID will be plenty high enough till it settles and the shed is filled.


Tight Regulation Protocol
Lantus & Levemir – Insulin Depot –AKA- Storage Shed
Lantus & Levemir – Data Ready to Shoot Low Numbers
Lantus & Levemir: Info, Proper Handling & Storage has picture of syringe and insulin pens.

 

[Ronnie & Luna]

someone beat me to the links! :lol: thanks Gayle!

Welcome to Lantus Land, would you like us to call you Hroswitha?
I hope you're reading the links also known as the stickies (with the starred icon, plus a few floating around)
How did Malo get her name?
I believe in Spanish that word means "bad" - oh-oh! :razz: cat_pet_icon
What she look like?

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

You can use a weight based formula to calculate starting dose: initial dose = 0.25 x ideal weight in kilograms. Unless Mala is really big or really small, the starting dose is generally in the neighborhood of 1.0u. that's given BID.

 

[Georgia and Simon (GA)]

Sorry about poor Mala's ear infection and high bg numbers again. My cat Simon has been on lantus since November 2010 and the beginning of March was ready for an OTJ trial. He then had ear problems due to allergies and was put on an ear medicine that was a steroid. Within two doses of the ear drops, his bg rose very quickly. Once he stopped taking the ear drops, his bg went back down to more normal numbers. Hopefully, Mala will be back down to the normal bg after a week or so after you finish the medicine.

 

[Hroswitha]

Mala is 9 lbs. 1 oz as of last week. She's ideal weight for her size - she's a beefy farm cat, but has little extra mass. Bow-legged, ornery, sweet-n-sour, a sugar kitty for sure.

Her full name is Yemala, commonly spelled as Yemaja or Yemalla. This is a Yaruba spirit associated with the sea and with motherhood. I chose her name because Yemala is often called the Keeper of Secrets (as the sea keeps all the secrets), and I love the idea of a secret-keeping kitty. She and her sister are dark patterned tortis, nearly identical, so we gave them names from two sides of the African diaspora. Yemala is the African side, her sister is Erzuli, named for the voodoo loa who rules over matters of sexuality and the heart.

She can be a naughty cat, but she's simply more willful than evil.

We will test her as close to -1 AM shot tomorrow and start charting. I'll keep her initial doses close to 1 unit and see how she does. We plan to do a curve on Saturday.