Mary and Stella: New to Lantus Group

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Mary and Stella

Mary and Stella

Member Since 2011
Hello! My name is Mary, and my fuzzy family member diagnosed with Feline Diabetes is Stella. Stella seems to be doing great on Lantus!

For Stella's full story you can search the Feline Health board for 'Mary and Stella" and read what we have gone through and what we have done since her being diagnosed with feline diabetes. It was suggested I start posting over here for your expertise. As you see, I have Stella's SS up and running. I am not sure I am ready to start experimenting with your advice; but I will take it into strong consideration being as the FDMB saved me from putting my fuzzy family member down. (If you read our thread you will find I am very honest in every step our (Stella and my) experience with Feline Diabetes up to this point. I am very grateful for the insight and cumulative experience shared among the users of this message board.

Today was the 2nd week of our 'home testing' Stella's BG curve. Here are the results from today:

Stella’s BG Curve 7/20/11 (Nadir 186)

AM Pre-Shot 3U = 365
+ 2 hours 275
+4 hours 215
+6 hours 212
+8 hours 186
+10 hours 224
PM Pre-Shot 3U = 256

Meds / Food
B12 shot (Cyanocobalamin) 250mg every Wednesday for six weeks,
B12 (Methylcobalamin) 6mg (I started with 1 tab 3mg for Stella's Neurapathy, but others seem to suggest 6mg, so I gave her that today.)
DM wet and dry food (I am keeping the dry out for her adopted fuzzy sister Boo in case you want to reprimand me).

Stella has improved overall. Less urination, more social with me and the other cat Boo. Plays with feather. Spurts of energy. What do you think of her BG numbers?

This 2nd week's BG curve was so much easier than our first go at it last week. Whew... I am so glad that first week is over! I am sure Stella appreciates it..., now that it only takes a delicate poke to get her blood drop :-D

Thanks!
 
Just popping in to say "Hi" and "Welcome" over here in Lantus Land. Great job with the testing and getting Stella's SS up and running, and it's wonderful to hear that she's starting to feel better! I'm relatively new myself, so I don't feel qualified to offer an advice on numbers/dosing, but you will find that there are many folks here who know this FD stuff inside and out...lots of support and endless knowledge that you can have the utmost faith in. We look forward to hearing from you guys!

Amy (& Trixie)
 
Welcome to Lantus Land!!

Just to make sure I'm up to speed, Stella started getting insulin at the end of June and was started at 2.0u? It looks like the dose was raised to 3.0u. Was the dose raised in steps or did you go directly from 2 to 3u?

No doubt you've started reading the starred, sticky notes at the top of the board. There is an overwhelming amount of information in the notes and the links contained in the notes. It's pretty much everything you wanted to know about Lantus and this ISG. I'd encourage you to start with the Tight Regulation Protocol and the New to the Group notes. What you will see in the Tight Regulation sticky is that based on the protocol we use, dose changes are typically made in the amount of 0.25u. (The protocol is based on research that was published in a leading veterinary journal.) If you don't already have them, we encourage that you get syringes that are marked in half unit increments.

I couldn't tell from your thread on Health if Stella was eating the dry or if Boo was the only one eating dry. The canned DM isn't terrible carb-wise (7%). There are lower carb foods available. The bigger problem with DM is that it is a poor quality food -- lots of animal by-products. It also sounded like cost is a concern. There are lots of other options that are better quality, expensive, and lower in carbs. I'm sure you'll find a food that both of your kitties will like.

It looks like you skipped the PM shots on the 15th and 16th. Was there a reason for the skipped shots? I'd also like to encourage you to get at least one test per cycle in addition to your pre-shot tests. A before bed test every night is really essential.

Given the skipped shots, if nothing changes, you could consider increasing Stella's dose. I'd suggest increasing by 0.25u.
 
Welcome to the group! I basically wrote a book, but someone beat me to it. LOL So, I deleted my post. :)

Anyway, Sienne will never steer you wrong. She, and the rest of the experts on here, are extremely knowledgeable with Lantus, and everything about the disease.

The only thing to remember is that ECID (every cat is different). What may work for 1 kitty, may or may not work for another.

I wish you great success, and I look forward to seeing your posts (aka condos) each day. :)
 
WELCOME, MARY & STELLA!!!

(OH, BINKS IS GONNA HAVE FUN WITH YOUR KITTY'S NAME :-D )

THIS PLACE WAS A LIFESAVER FOR US...GLAD TO SEE YOU!

celi & binks
 
We wanted to stop and say welcome!! There is a lot of great info in the stickies. It is very overwhelming at first. We are fairly new and don't give dosing advice. Sienne and Libby are great resources.

Again, welcome to Lantus Land and we look forward to reading your condos!
 
Welcome Mary and Stella!!

As Christie (or Julie??) will say...this is the best place you never wanted to be. We are here to help Stella get better, to answer your questions, to give you lots of support. We are a very close-knit group all working hard to
get our babies tightly regulated, healthy, and happy.

I hope we will see you posting a daily condo and letting us know how Stella is doing. Sienne has already given you some basic information and taken a peak at your SS. We have a few mantras here:
Every Cat is Different (ECID) and start low and go slow. It's too easy to miss a fitting dose by upping the dose too much, too fast so we do it in .25u increments per the Tight Regulation Protocol.

Please send us all your questions and we'll jump in to help. While all of the stickys are important, there are two that are of prime importance and they are linked in my signature. One is regarding dealing with low numbers and the other for low preshots.

Take care and hope to see you tomorrow!
 
Wow. What a welcome, Thank You... Amy &Trixie, Angela & Blackie, My Buddy Binks, Melissa & Terragon, and Marjorie & Gracie.

Thank you Carolyn & Jesse for posting the link on Stella's Health. :-D

Thank you Sienne & Gabby. :smile: As far as your question about the Insulin, Stella started on 2U. After my first curve last week the vet changed the dose to 3U (I did not make that call on my own). I emailed the vet the curve from today, and asked that they call me tomorrow in regards to dosing. Seeing Stella's BG #'s from today, what would you think the vet should be recommending tomorrow? If you give your recommendation I can bounce that off of the vet. I did read all of the sticky's...but all of the sticky's didn't stick in my brain. :lol: I think Stella is doing great considering the day the vet tested her she was at 535. Yikes! She likes me testing her much better I think. Less stress. But you all know that. ;-) Before this started, Boo and Stella would both eat wet food in the morning, and I would leave the dry food in a feeding container. Both of my furry family have been with me for 12 years and that has been the routine. Boo now refuses to eat ANY wet food. I have to keep the dry DM food out for Boo, I have read about the damage that can be done from a cat not eating. I have seen the wet cat food chart listing the carbs, and I am going down the list trying to find one Boo likes. Honestly, because of my job I may always have to leave out dry food. I am grappling with that dilemma. Please don't kick me out of the group already! I am quite pleased that Stella's Neuropathy seems to be on the mend. As my dad said, "A cat can't be a cat if it can't run around and jump on furniture and counter tops to drive you crazy with their prowess." I may not be doing everything to the 'T', but I am giving it my very best shot according to what my situation limitations are...and Stella seems to be picking up where I slack. Believe me, when I slack I feel the pain more than the FDMB or Stella. I am very committed to my furry family.

Again, thank you all for the welcome. I promise I will give my best each day in regard to Stella's health and well-being.
 
hi mary, just stopping by to welcome you and stella to Lantus Land! Glad you're here - and you're very cute to tell us all the things you're doing that you think you shouldn't be doing! :lol: nobody's going to reprimand you! we all try to educate each other about how to help our cats do the best possible - that's what it's all about! our goals are all about keeping our cats as healthy as possible, so if someone suggests something to you, they're just trying to tell you what you might not already know.

and yes, we increase by 25 units - you wouldn't believe what a difference a tiny amount of lantus can make. some people have their cats down to .25 for the dose! most vets change by 1unit, but you can make a huge difference with .25. i'm guessing that must be because other insulins needed larger dose changes, but i don't know. think of the percentage - an increase from 2 to 3 units twice a day is increasing by 50% - that's a mighty change in a little body.

here's a thought. if you're home testing, try 3 days with an increase of .25 and see if you can see a difference in stella's numbers. nothing like personal experience. and no harm done by trying it.
 
Mary - I thought the same thing about the food when we first started.

Tarragon was free fed dry food forever and was a crunch addicted kitty. We had to gradually move him over to all wet. He wouldn't touch it the first time I put it out. We would mix the hard and soft together and he would pick out the hard but get some soft in the process. Also, we are gone all day and still free feed wet food. You can leave the wet food out for up to 12 hours. Some people will also freeze wet food in pucks and put one out when they leave as well as a bowl of unfrozen food. It will keep it fresher longer and will give them some food once it melts (and they have already eaten the other). Then there are some that use auto feeders. Tarragon is really skittish and would never go back in that room again if I tried it, but there are a lot of members who have luck with it.

Our vet really pushed the prescription wet food. However, you don't need those and they can be pretty high in carbs. You will just have to do process of elimination for what kind of food your kitties will eat. I went and bought a can of everything at Walmart and started from there. Fancy feast is like crack to a lot of the kitties, mine included. It is the only flavor that they will consistently eat. Also, to change things up with them, I buy the classic chicken/turkey/beef and also buy the flaked or chunky cans of chicken, beef, fish, whatever. I put half a can of each in each of their bowls and then mix them up with about 1/2 can of water. That is the only way they will eat it now. One other thing you can try is fortiflora, chicken dust, salmon dust, etc. A lot of people use those on the wet food to entice the kitties to eat it a little more.

Every cat is different, so you will have to find what works best for you, but it will be well worth it. Those are some things that have worked for my house though and our kitties only had dry food for 14 years and are very picky.

No one will kick you out! :lol: We all just want what is best for our kitties and want to help others as much as we can. It is so overwhelming and easy to feel like you are all alone. Coworkers and friends look at you like you are crazy for putting so much time and money into a cat. "It's just a cat right?" It is just great to have a place where you can ask the stupid questions and not be treated like you are a leper. :lol:

Good luck good luck! If you ever have a question, just be sure to put it in your subject line so it flags people to read it.
 
Thank you Julie, and Melissa & Terragon for welcoming me. Thanks for the assurance that everyone will just be trying to help. :smile: I did not mean to offend anyone...I just want everyone to know I will do my best according to what I have learned. I have to re-read the threads again (4th time... I hope it starts to stick!) I think I am supposed to only post once a day...so I guess this is it. I have to go back and read what a 'condo' is. Do I drop this thread now and post Stella's BG #'s? I will figure it out.

The .25 makes a lot of sense to me. When I speak to my vet today, do you think she will have me keep it at 3U or try lowering it? If she wants me to change it, I will suggest a smaller change.

I am lucky Stella is eating the wet food as she should. She rarely goes for the hard stuff now that she gets the wet food all of the time. My healthy Boo finally tried the wet DM today! She licked her chops and stepped away. I will take it! I think this whole time Boo has been giving me 'attitude' because Stella is what appears to her to be getting so much extra attention (blood testing, shots etc.) Boo knew I wanted her to try the new wet food so she refused. I think she is rethinking her strategy now. :lol:
 
a condo is a daily thread - and we open a new one every day just to keep things from getting too confusing, then we add the link for yesterday's condo so a person helping you can go backwards to get past information if they need to. if i were you, i'd just keep this one today and start a new one tomorrow.

then throughout the day we edit the subject line of the first post. the format is date/name of cat/BG number. so today's might be

7/21 stella amps 200 +3/150 +6/100 pmps 250

whatever stella's numbers are. that way people can see at a glance how stella is doing and can stop by to offer ideas or suggestions for you to improve her blood sugar. if you need help you can also edit to add a ? before the subject line and something like this

7/21 stella question on dose?

or 7/21 stella help needed on wet food?

people will stop by to help you.

we've been here since february and i have to say that the folks on this site know a ton more than my vet about feline diabetes and managing it with Lantus. people here "do" feline diabetes 24/7 for years on end and nearly every week we see a cat go off of insulin because of following the protocol. my vet's entire practice (3 vets) has one other diabetic cat and my vet made some huge mistakes with punkin and the insulin - including having us use needles for another insulin which resulted in 3 times as much insulin being given as he should've had. you might ask your vet how many other diabetic cats he/she has and how many other cats they have had on glargine (lantus). nothing wrong with asking how experienced they are.
 
hmm, somehow that posted while i was off giving punkin his shot. i was going to tell you that punkin's been diagnosed with acromegaly - a tumor on the pituitary gland that causes the need for increased insulin. i asked for the test because i saw over and over here that other cats with similar needs had it. my vet had never even heard of it, neither had one of his partners that has only been out of vet school for 3 years.

i'm sharing all of this not to diss vets, because i adore my vet, but to point out that vets have to know a lot about many animals and every disorder, and most people won't treat a diabetic cat. they just put them to sleep. so vets mostly (not all) don't seem to have a lot of experience with treating a diabetic cat.
 
With respect to your question about dose, I don't think Stella needs less insulin -- at least not yet. I would help if you could work in at least one test during the PM cycle. Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, not on your pre-shot values. You don't have that many tests during the cycle so it's hard to know whether Stella's numbers are lower than what we're seeing at shot time. This is why those spot checks are so important.

If you've not seen the site, Lisa Pierson, DVM has a great site on feline nutrition. She discusses transitioning a cat from dry to canned food. It may help with Boo. Also, if you're going to keep dry around, there are lower carb varieties available than DM.
 
Welcome! Mary and Stella....very nice to meet you. You will get loads of great advice here....nobody will reprimand you here, but suggestions will be given to help you care for Stella the best way you can.

My Zoe was a dry food addict, but I was finally able to transition her over to an all wet diet and she is just fine with it.....I will admit it took a while :roll:

Best of luck with Stella.....and welcome to Lantus Land!
 
This group is like none other on the web. You and Stella (love her name) are in amazing hands. They made our five months with diabetes just a routine instead of an overwhelming disease. Maverick was almost off insulin - only on a drop when I lost him suddenly. I couldn't imagine dealing with the vets (who had very poor knowledge of diabetes and even less of lantus) and diabetes without everyone here. Trust what they say. They help thousands of kitties vs the handful that your vet sees. Welcome to lantus land. Sending hugs.
 
julie1220 said:
then we add the link for yesterday's condo
Click to expand...
How exactly does one do that? I am trying to remember how I got the Stella SS in my sig. :lol: (Still in overwhelm) Thanks for the info!
 
Sienne and Gabby said:
It would help if you could work in at least one test during the PM cycle. Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, not on your pre-shot values.
Click to expand...
I agree completely. I just looked at her SS this morning and I noticed 'the gap' of information. Stella and I are just starting our 2nd week of BG testing at home, so it seemed like we were doing it alot...but no... Anyway...thanks for confirming what I was thinking. ;-)
 
Thank you Sherry, and Karrie for giving your validation of the FDMB. I try to research a lot before I act, which is why it took me a week after Stella's diagnosis to register here. I agree about vets not as specialized in this area, and my vet seems to know Stella is doing well with my bouncing ideas and info between them and here.

PS. Stella picked her name. I adopted Boo during October/Halloween and knew I had to find her a friend. I finally found her furry friend in the form of an anorexic cat with gorgeous big green eyes at another shelter in December. I had intended to call her Scout (Boo and Scout were in 'To Kill a Mockingbird') but she wouldn't respond to Scout. I tried so many names and she snubbed her nose to all of them. Finally one day I was so frustrated that she would remain nameless I cried, "Stella!" aka Marlon Brando. She trotted over and sat in my lap. She sees herself as theatrical apparently. ;-)
 
hahaha, that is an awesome story on her name!

when you have time you might find it helpful to look at other kitty's condos. i learned a ton from doing that - just following the questions and answers given to others helped me to understand the whole diabetes dance so much better.

some of us are testaholics - i confess i am one. i test punkin pretty much every 3 hours from 7am til 11pm - you don't have to do that every day but it sure does tell you a lot on how your kitter is doing on the insulin.

oh - and the way you add the link to yesterday's post:

see the "URL" button above the box when you're writing a response? Click that and you'll see appear. Now go to your post from yesterday, copy the url (address in the www line) and paste it in between the ][ brackets.

if you want to be fancy, you add an = sign after the first letters "url" and then paste the address immediately after the equal sign. [url=paste address here]and here you can name it anything you want[/url]

try it and if it doesn't make sense, ask again. we like to repeat ourselves. :lol:
 
Karrie and Julie I am so glad Stella's story made you smile. I love to tell it... many people don't understand how smart cats are.

Julie thanks for explaining the link. I will start reading other condos... I am so busy trying to learn I haven't gotten that far! :smile:
 
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