My Leo just diagnosed today

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Tracy & Leo

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Hi there,
I'm new to the forum, my 12 year old Leo was just diagnosed today. We head in to the vet Monday so he can show me how to give injections, talk about a new diet, etc. It is definitely a little bit scary but i'm willing to do anything for my baby. There is alot of great information on here on what i can expect and hopefully everything will work out just fine.
 
Welcome!

Its a process, not an event and there will be ups and downs.

If you have anyone else cat sit or help with injections, be sure to show them how to read the syringe correctly. I had a friend who misread 10 as 1 and Spitzer spent 24 hours at an emergency vet due to the overdose.
 
Welcome Tracey and Leo. There is a wealth of info here to help you help your kitty. We advocate feeding wet lo carb food and determining insulin doses by hometesting. We poke our kitty's ears to get blood glucose levels, just like we would do if our children were diabetic.

Do lots of reading and ask lots of questions. We'd love to help you and Leo!
 
Yes a wealth of information is right, i started reading on this site just as soon as the vet called me with the diagnosis, and went right out and bought a wack load of different canned cat foods for Leo to try out, no more dry food! As for hometesting, i'm not quite sure what kind of brand to use as there are so many out there, i think i will wait to talk to the vet and see what he thinks.
I'm hoping that this journey will be full of lots of "ups" and not so many "downs". My parents will be coming with me as well to learn how to give Leo injections, they do love their grandcat and like me will do anything for him.
 
Tracey, some vets would like you to buy the pet meter-sold by vets and much more expensive than human glucometers. One of the issues, besides the price, is that the strips are available only through the vet, when they are open.

The vast majority of members here use human glucometers, with strips easily bought, even in the middle of the night. The most popular meter is the ReliOn from Walmart. It takes a tiny sample of blood and has the most inexpensive strips.
 
Ok, so i just got back from the vet. He has put Leo on Lantus, 3.5 units twice a day. From everything i've seen here on this webiste and forum, most kitties get 1 or 2 units/twice per day. I asked the Doc about this and he says that because Leo is such a a big cat this is the dose that he is recommending......for now. He has also put Leo on a diet of Royal Canin's reducing dry food, which he says is high in protein low in carbs, and a teaspoon of wet food once a day. I asked about hometesting and he agrees with it and wants me to do it, after Leo goes in for BG testing, which is in 3 weeks. He also kept stressing about being vigillent about watching for hypoglycemia, and all he did was get me super worried about it. So tomorrow is the first dose and i'm crossing my fingers that all goes well. So far our vet has impressed me, he was open to any questions i had and said that our goal is to get Leo OTJ, which he says is a very realistic goal considering that we caught this early.
 
I know it is hard to hear advice that contradicts your vet, but I disagree with him on several points. We have helped hundreds of cats into remission or regulation. We have a protocol that works - wet lo carb, start low and go slow dosing and testing at home. He is not doing any of these things.

Dry food is not good for diabetics. Check out this Feline Diabetics vet's website: www.catinfo.org. There is no more protein in the dry food than wet lo carb. If you look at the protein columns and the carb columns on this food chart, you can compare: Janet and Binky’s chart

That is a large dose. Cats are not dosed by weight as dogs are. We start low, specifically to see how the kitty is going to do and to avoid hypo. To start on a high dose and wait three weeks before testing at home is a terrible idea. You wouldn't get a dose of insulin for your child and then give it blindly for 3 weeks before going back in for a blood check. We do the same for our cats.

You do not need your vet's permission to test. I hope you will decide to let us teach you how. We have taught hundreds of people over the internet. Please let us help you.
 
it is your call but cats are not dosed on their weight. I would not start with more than 1u BID and I definitely would not feed the dry food vet gave you. you can return it and say cat will not eat it. give your cat the wet lo carb foods from janet and binky's chart. friskies, nine lives, fancy feast classics. so much better for your cat. and a lot of cats have dropped over 100 points just by switching to lo carb wet canned
 
I am game for home testing, i was going to go to Walmart to look for the relion meter. He did admit that we were doing this blind, but wanted to get him somewhat regulated before bringing him back for the BG curve. I did ask "what if Leo doesn't like this food?" and he did say that if he didn't like it, that i could switch him back to a wet food diet. I will dose him tomorrow and try testing before and after.....if i can manage to get my hands on a good meter. What if i can't find this relion meter? Do you have another suggestion? I'm just worried that since i'm in Canada (Saskatchewan) they might not sell that particular brand at my local walmart.
 
Welcome, Tracy!

I completely agree with Sue. I've been on these boards for a little over a year and a half, and on a daily basis I see huge drops in BG just from switching from dry to wet food. Even prescription Diabetic dry food is too high in carbs and will keep the cat's BG high. The prescription Royal Canin diabetic diet is 24% carbs. It is recommended that diabetic cats be on a diet of 10% carbs or lower. There is no dry food that has less than 10% carbs, but many, many types of wet food. As for protein, all proteins are not created equal. The protein in wet food is animal based, not plant based, and much better for your cat.

3.5 u of Lantus is way too high a starting dose! Cats are not dosed by weight like dogs are. Bandit was 13 lbs at diagnosis and he never needed more than 1u of Lantus at most. There are bigger cats here who needed even less than that as a starting dose. Shooting that much insulin to begin with along with *not* hometesting is very, very dangerous.

If you do decide to give the 3.5u of Lantus, PLEASE hometest. As it is, the only thing that might keep your cat from going hypo is all the carbs he's going to be eating in the dry food. And whatever you do, do not switch him to a wet diet until that dose is lowered dramatically. 1u would be a good place to start if you're making a switch. But again, it's going to be hard to find the right dose without hometesting.

I know it seems strange to ask that you take the advice of strangers over your vet, but everyone here has a great deal of knowledge and experience caring for diabetic cats. The Lantus User Group has had 167 cats go into remission since 2008...proof that the methods and protocols here work very well.
 
Thanks for all of your responses!

ACCCCKKKKKK I am so freaked out now!!! So all of you are saying that 3.5 is way too high of a dose?!?! I've had him on the wet food since Friday night, but just gave him some of the Royal Canin food, and he seems to like it. So all of you are of the opinion i should start at 1? and see what happens?
 
Oh and i forgot, Leo is 7 kilograms, or 15.4 lbs. He's a big boy and has lost about 2 lbs in the last little while, which is why the vet recommended 3.5 units.
 
Tracy & Leo said:
I am game for home testing, i was going to go to Walmart to look for the relion meter. He did admit that we were doing this blind, but wanted to get him somewhat regulated before bringing him back for the BG curve. I did ask "what if Leo doesn't like this food?" and he did say that if he didn't like it, that i could switch him back to a wet food diet. I will dose him tomorrow and try testing before and after.....if i can manage to get my hands on a good meter. What if i can't find this relion meter? Do you have another suggestion? I'm just worried that since i'm in Canada (Saskatchewan) they might not sell that particular brand at my local walmart.

I just did a search of the Canadian Walmart web site, and they list the Aviva Accuchek (which is what I use, and is excellent), the Aviva Compact, and the Bayer Breeze and Contour. All of these are good meters, just the strips are a bit more expensive than the Relion.

http://www.walmart.ca/Health-Wellness/P ... betic-Care
 
Tracy & Leo said:
So all of you are of the opinion i should start at 1? and see what happens?

There are people here who are far more expert at dosing than I am, but the "start low, go slow" approach works well with cats. It will be hard to give advice until you start testing and can share those numbers. The way to find the appropriate dose is to test, test, and test.

Was Leo tested for ketones? Do you have an idea of how high his blood sugar was at the vet?

Assuming that he was negative for ketones, in my opinion if you're not going to feed him the dry food (which I wouldn't feed him because it's just going to keep his numbers high), then I would start him on 1-1.5u depending on how high his BG is.

I'll cross post this in the Lantus Group so hopefully one of the experts there can give you some advice. Here is a link to the protocol the Lantus group uses: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1581
 
Hi Tracy,
Is there a Costco near you? Here was my strategy, after much research. I bought a box of 100 test strips at Shoppers Drug Mart and they gave me a metre for free. I got the OneTouchUltra2 - takes perhaps a tiny bit more blood than others, but getting blood hasn't ever been a problem - and its the same metre that my vet uses! The strips were $86. Now I buy strips at Costco for $73. I also buy syringes at Costco - several cents each cheaper than elsewhere, and at 100 per box, its another several dollars saved. I fgure that I have more than saved the cost of membership, and its only half way through the year. Most pharmacies like Shopper have the same sort of deal with the metre. Check around in your town and see who is going to meet your needs.

Good luck.
 
Just wanted to say hello and welcome. My cat Max was diagnosed in January and I was right where you are now. I'm sure you're already figuring out that you've come to the best place for help with your diabetic cat. I knew next to nothing at first and was overwhelmed and stressed. This forum and following the great advice/protocol really helped me turn Max's health around. I really like my vet but have to admit that I deviated from his recommended diet after not making a lot of progress. Once I found this forum and changed Max's diet to the low carb wet, he really turned a corner and started doing much better. I would definitely start with a lower dose than what your vet recommended. Think of it this way. With home testing, you'll know how your cat is doing. If the dose is not enough, you can go ahead and increase it. If the dose is too much though, you can't take it back once it's shot. IMO, it's safer and easier on the nerves to start low and go slow. Sounds like your vet is willing to listen and work with you and that is good. Read all you can and keep asking questions.
 
Glad you are going to try hometesting! Here is a shopping list:


A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 25-26 gauge is good. Any brand will work.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats
 
The initial dose of Lantus can be based on weight. The formula is: initial dose = 0.25 x ideal weight in kilograms. For a starting dose of 3.5u, your cat's ideal weight would be approx. 31 lbs (14 kg). You may have a big cat, but I doubt that your cat is that big. Using this formula, most cats end up starting out at a dose in the neighborhood of 1.0u. You might want to share this article I've attached with your vet. It describes the Lantus dosing protocol we use and should go into issues regarding initial dose.

I'm honestly not sure if any of the Royal Canin dry foods are low in carbs. Their diabetic dry food is 24% carb --- and that's among the lowest in carbs of their foods. We consider low carb to be less than 10% carb.
 

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You people and this forum are heaven sent!! Thank god someone knows what me and my Leo are going through.

I just got back from walmart and purchased the Aviva Accuchek along with 100 strips, the kit was only 4.97, but the strips were 83.00. Now do when do i test? Before feeding, and after? The same with his dosing too? Is it ok to use my 29 gauge syringe instead of the lancet on his ears?

I figure i'll stay on the safe side and start off with 1.5 unit dose and see what happens from there.

The vet didn't mention anything about his ketones when he was tested, but his glucose level was 26.4 mmol/L (i'm in Canada).

I think for now i will stick to the low carb wet food diet, but also leave out some of the Royal Canin food (he's an all day grazer and doesn't have set "meal" times).
 
He can graze on wet food. Some of us freeze it and leave it out to thaw. Other people use an automatic feeder. You can also add water to it and leave it out for a day. It won't go bad or get crusty. Lots of cats like it crusty.

The strips are expensive in drug stores. We had a brand name meter and bought our strips on ebay. Just be sure you are dealing with a reputable seller and that the expiration dates will work for you. We usually got them at least 50% off the price in the store.

You test before every shot to make sure it is safe to give the amount of insulin you are planning to shoot. Then test mid cycle to see how low the insulin takes him. We have this great spreadsheet that is color coded and makes it easy to see what is happening - both for you and for us, when you ask for dose help. If you need help getting it set up, just ask. Setting up a spreadsheet. If you choose the World version, it will convert the numbers for you.

You are the amazing person here. Trusting crazy cat people over the internet, doing the research and figuring out how to best help Leo. Many people decide it is too much work and put the cat to sleep. It takes a dedicated mommy to do the work to help Leo out!
 
I love my Aviva! The strips are definitely the expensive part of testing. I often bought mine on Ebay for half the price they cost in the store for the accucheck. It's a popular meter so people are always selling the strips.

I would not use your syringe to poke, that seems a little dangerous (safety-wise) and a waste of a syringe when lancet are so much cheaper. If you can make it back out to walmart or a drug store, lancets are the way to go. They are cheap, and much safer. I started with a 26g for Bandit because the 29-31 just wouldn't give me a big enough drop of blood.

Check your Aviva box, though! Most glucose meters come with a lancet device and a few lancets, so you could try those until you make it back out.

To convert to mg/dl you multiply your number by 18. We use mg/dl on the board, so Leo is about 475. I think 1.5u is a much better starting point, especially if you're not going to feed the dry food. Many cats drop 100 points or more just from eliminating the dry food. However, if it were me I'd start at 1u. Most cats do not need more than 1u, and you don't want to skip over the right dose. Too high a dose of insulin often looks the same as too low a dose, because glucose is constantly being dumped in the blood to compensate for the low blood sugar.

In my opinion, you should not give him the dry food at all. If he's a grazer, you can leave wet food out for up to 12 hours, longer if you freeze it or add some water. The reason why I say this is because the dry food is going to keep his BG high despite the insulin. Then you're going to have him on higher, more dangerous doses to try and regulate him. When you do finally try to eliminate the dry food, you'll have to start completely over from the beginning to adjust his dose (because he's going to need a higher dose than he should be on because of the carbs, and taking away the dry on insulin can send him hypo). He is never going to go into remission if he's eating dry food. Some cats go into remission in just a few days or weeks of the wet diet/insulin combination. The more quickly you can get him regulated, the better your chances are of remission.
 
Tracy & Leo said:
Now do when do i test? Before feeding, and after? The same with his dosing too?

At the very least, you should be testing before each feeding/shot (the order is test-feed-shoot, or you can shoot while Leo is eating. That's what I did with Bandit and he never even felt the shot!), and you should also get a test in 6 hours after either the morning or evening shot. However, the more data you have, the easier it will be to find the correct dose and catch hypo incidents.

I work two jobs and go to grad school, so believe me, I understand tight schedules! During the week, I would do the am test/shot, work all day, do the pm test/shot, and then test again 4 hours and 6 hours after the shot. On the weekends when I was home during the day, I would do a curve and test every 2 hours for the 12 hour cycle.

You're doing an awesome job being so proactive about testing and dose adjustments! He's a lucky kitty. :-)
 
You're doing great. Leo is so lucky to have you. There's a learning curve at first, but things do get easier. Just goin' to add my 2 cents with the rest on the food question. Every cat is different. My cat Max is really sensitive to carbs, so even a little dry food made a big difference for him. Before I found this site and started following the advice, I was feeding him a mix of low carb dry food recommended by my vet and trying him on the low carb wet food. Max was still on a pretty large dose of insulin and unregulated. He finally turned a corner when I went to only low carb wet food and eventually went into remission. I didn't realize what a difference the food would make or I would've gone "cold turkey," low carb wet much sooner. I add a little water to the wet food to help it stay fresh during the day while I'm at work.
 
Well its good to hear stories about your Max's remission, it gives me hope that Leo can do the same!
I successfully poked Leo's ear for a glucose reading, it took me 2 tries and he didn't even notice when i actually did get the right spot. So i'm hoping all goes well tomorrow! ***fingers crossed*** His reading was 23.8 mmol/L, so its pretty much the same it was when we were at the vet's office. Thanks everyone and i will let you all know how it goes tomorrow.
 
Spreadsheet looks good. It makes it so easy for us to see the US numbers and you to be able to put in yours.

I would head over to the Lantus support group now that you have numbers. They can look at your dose and history and help you with dosing. Be sure to read all the starred stickies just under the grey line first (because they will ask if you have :mrgreen:) and then post as a Newbie Needing Dose Advice. It is a busier forum than this one, so be patient. And you can always bump your thread back up to the top by posting again. viewforum.php?f=9
 
Ok the first shot is done!

And the vet made it look easy when he demonstrated for me, when i shot Leo up while he was eating he flinched....i jabbed it in there pretty hard, poor thing. I tried like 5 different times to get a glucose reading and had no luck, i poked him and got some blood then he flinched his head and the blood smeared all over my fingers. Is it ok to get a glucose reading only once a day? Just until he gets used to me poking his ears? And what time would be best for it?

I
 
Congrats on the shot.

Next time he moves, get a drop on your fingernail. You can test it from there.

It is hard at first, but it does get easier. (It has to - look at all the people here who do it several times a day. Trust us, it gets easier.) If he is jerking away, use a firm grip on his ear. You want to be able to hold the spot you poked for a few seconds anyway to minimize brusing. We put a towel down and wrapped Oliver up in it until only his head was showing. It made it harder for him to get away.

You really have to test before each shot. If you don't, you may give too much insulin. Don't give up. You'll be a pro in no time and offering tips to other newbies.
 
Tracy & Leo said:
Is it ok to get a glucose reading only once a day? Just until he gets used to me poking his ears? And what time would be best for it?

Testing can seem so hard at first, but it will get so much easier for you soon! And the only way for it to get easier is for you to keep at it and practice. Both you and Leo just need to get used to it.

In the beginning, I put Bandit in a basket and wrapped him in a blanket if he fought me. I also held his ear with a tissue behind it, so as soon as I was done I could put pressure on so it didn't bruise or scab. Then I put a tiny dab of antibiotic ointment + pain relief and gave him a treat. Pretty soon he didn't even flinch, and even came running when he heard the meter turn on. It's so funny when I think back to those first days when I was in tears and thinking I was going to kill my cat because I couldn't get the test done, to today where I can do it it one handed, on the phone. :smile:

You do need to test at least before every shot, and preferably more. I used to test before each shot, and then at +4 and +6 in the PM, and then do a curve (test every 2 hours) on the weekend. Believe it or not, testing will make your life easier, not harder! With the testing you'll be able to find the correct dose more quickly, and you won't be freaking out as much about hypo incidents because you'll know what his BG is.

What did you decide to feed Leo? Did you end up not feeding the Royal Canin (I hope)?
 
Yeah testing is definitely harder on me than on Leo. I tried jabbing myself yesterday on 3 different fingers and did not manage to get enough blood out of my finger to test, so i wasn't feeling 100% confident that i could test Leo, but i got it on him yesterday in just 2 tries! This morning was a different story tho, i'll try again tonight before the PM shot. I'm just using the lancet that came along with my meter, i tried finding out what gauge needle it has but i couldn't find it. I'll head to the drug store sometime today to get some different ones to try out. I would give him treats after testing, but he's never been big on the treats.

I did give him a cup of the Royal Canin diabetic food yesterday to try and he ate most of it, but now its just strictly FF and Whiskas canned food for him.
 
My cat is a big cat too at 20 pounds but was down from 27 from the previous annual visit. He is a large cat - 2 feet tall and 2 feet long (not counting his tail) but we started on 2 units twice a day. In hindsight, I would not have started that high. We eventually went to 4 units twice a day and it was shortly after that when he had a seizure. I was not home testing at the time. I think that by getting him off the dry food to a high protein low carb food, his BG level decreased a lot as well as his need for insulin. With the high dose, his shed filled up quickly. With the change in food, the high dose, and his shed filling up so quickly, I believe that is what caused him to hypo. He had no symptoms - just went straight to a seizure. The vet wanted me to continue with the 4 units but only once a day after the seizure. I could not and did not do that. And he said that we could expect at least one more seizure! I gave him a much smaller dose. It was only a very short time later that he was off the juice because after the seizure, i would not give him a shot until I checked his glucose level. I also went to a new vet who said that if he had some problem at the time of the initial visit to the other vet, it may show up as diabetes in the blood tests. According to the vet, he had blood in the urine at the intial visit. So I do not really know if my cat was really diabetic or not at the time. My suspicion is that he may have had the infection and might have been prediabetic at the initial diagnosis. The new vet said that she usually starts her diabetic patients at a low dose. My cat has been off the juice for a few months now. He still needs to lose weight and we will try to work on that. With the new high protein low carb diet, his muscle tone looks so much better, his fur is so much softer, his energy level is up, and his problem with dander is gone. I think that starting with 1 unit and only making minor adjustments to the dosage is the best way along with home testing frequently. I also got a timer feeder to make sure that he had 4 smaller meals a day instead of just two. I believe that helped his pancreas heal. I started with the Accucheck Aviva but went to the Relion because it required a smaller blood sample. I also had to use the lancets without the device since i could not get blood with the device. I found freezedried chicken treats that he loved so that made testing and shoting easier. Just my experience... Good luck.
 
Tracy & Leo said:
Yeah testing is definitely harder on me than on Leo. I tried jabbing myself yesterday on 3 different fingers and did not manage to get enough blood out of my finger to test, so i wasn't feeling 100% confident that i could test Leo, but i got it on him yesterday in just 2 tries! This morning was a different story tho, i'll try again tonight before the PM shot. I'm just using the lancet that came along with my meter, i tried finding out what gauge needle it has but i couldn't find it. I'll head to the drug store sometime today to get some different ones to try out. I would give him treats after testing, but he's never been big on the treats.

I did give him a cup of the Royal Canin diabetic food yesterday to try and he ate most of it, but now its just strictly FF and Whiskas canned food for him.

The lancet that came with your meter was probably the same one that came with mine, and believe they were 30 gauge. I found I needed 26 gauge lancets with Bandit because the 30 g were far to small. You also don't have to use the lancet device if you don't want to. About half of us like to use the device and the other half like to free hand poke with just the lancet. I use the lancet device that came with my Relion because I like it alot, but I didn't like the Aviva softclix one.

I'm glad you ditched the dry food now! :-) So much easier than doing it later on.
 
Giving the shots and testing really does get easier. When people told me that, I didn't believe them in the beginning (thought to myself: no way...my cat is not an easy cat to do this kind of stuff to). Add that I'm kind of squeamish so poking was like you said probably harder for me than the cat. When I was done testing, I would notice my hands shaking a little bit, and it would generally take several pokes for me to hit the "sweet" spot and get a nice drop of blood. With a little practice though, Max and I are both much better at it now (no more shaking), and I can usually get a drop on the first poke. Keep trying and don't get discouraged. You are doing great. BTW, a different lancet gauge (as has already been suggested) might make a difference. There have been a couple people that were like "wow" when they changed. Couple other tricks include: Warming the ear and rubbing (gently 1 direction from base to tip). I wrap Max in a blanket, not that tight anymore. In the beginning, it was cause he was a wiggler and wouldn't hold still for anything and now he seems to have learned blankey means hold still time. So funny how quickly they pick up on things. Max also loves the treats. The meter beeps and he jumps up for his treat.
 
13.6 mmol/L!!!!! Yahoo!!

OMG i cannot tell you how badly i have been freaking out all morning. Not being able to test his sugar with the crappy lancet i had. I just went to the drug store and bought some hand held lancets....28 gauge is all they had, and now Leo's sugar has come down over 10 mmol/L. Whew.....thanks for your help everyone, hopefully it will continue to come down to a normal range!!!
 
Woo hoo! It's gonna be smooth sailing from here! flip_cat

That is a great number to get! Lantus takes a while to build up and take effect (see here to learn about the "shed" http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=150), so this lower number is probably *just* from removing the dry food.

I think getting that number before the insulin even is kicking in means that 1.5u is too high a dose. I would lower your dose to 1u for your next shot, and hold that dose for a while and see what happens. I'll bump this up in Lantus Land, too, so that you can get some more opinions.
 
Oh wow, just imagine if i had followed the doc's advice and given him 3.5 units.
He has been on FF wet food since Friday night, and i did manage to test his sugars yesterday before i gave him a little bit of the Royal Canin diabetic food, and got 23.8 mmol/L, so is it possible that this is from the Lantus? It has been 6 hours since i gave him his shot. I think i will go to just a 1.0 unit dose tonight instead of the 1.5 like this morning, i don't want to give him too much and end up with him being hypo.
 
I don't think this is the Lantus. It takes about 24 hours for Lantus to take effect (see the link I posted in my last post). When you shoot, you don't see the effect of that shot until 2 cycles later. So the 1.5u isn't going to work on his BG until tomorrow.
 
Also remember that vet stress can have a huge impact on raising BG! Many people find their cat's BG is much lower at home because the cat is relaxed. That's why it's much better to dose based off of home testing data than vet numbers.
 
Yes that is my thinking as well. I was planning on giving Leo the 1.0 dose tonight and see what happens, now should i set an alarm to check his BG tonight sometime.....+6?
He is doing awesome this afternoon by the way! Not drinking nearly as much and has only gone pee twice today!!
 
Sounds like you are right on track! That is great! I agree with doing a lower dose and that the change in food probably dropped the BG level quite a bit. Be sure to read about the shed that Julia and Bandit gave you the link too. That is important to know since once that is full again, the need for insulin drops too and you need to be aware. Also read about hypos and get all your stuff ready in case you need it. I had Karo syrup and a liquid medicine dispenser ready along with some high carb gravy food. I had the instructions on what to do posted on my refrigerator and the number to the emergency vet ready too. When Bo had the seizure, we followed the directions. Once the seizure was over, I gave him Karo syrup to raise his BG level quickly and then got the high carb food for him to eat because the Karo syrup wears off quickly. While he was eating, i called the emergency vet and got his carrier. We took him to the emergency vet (along with the Karo syrup in case he had another one on the way). He had to stay until morning and then we took him to his regular vet to stay most of the day. It was very scary but we were ready because of the information on this board. After his seizure, I had a liquid medicine dispenser and small packets of honey in all the other rooms in addition to the Karo syrup in the kitchen. Keep up the good work.
 
Wow, your poor kitty....and poor you too. Must have been so scary!

And yeah the vet warned me about hypo and i've got the emergency number and bought some honey for just in case. I've gotta say i'm hypervillgilent about him having hypo or even pre-hypo so i've been watching him like a hawk. His numbers this morning were the same as last nights pre-shot, which aren't too terribly bad, he's not in the red at least. ******fingers crossed******* I'm going to take a +6 number in about a half hour so we'll see how that goes!
 
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