My vet is FINALLY SWITCHING DO LOU TO LANTUS HELP

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Lisa and Do Lou (GA)

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Hello Lantus group well my vet has finally made the switch so I am nervous about it I have been trying to read up on it as much as possible but still feel kinda lost sure hope this helps him get regulated he has not responded well to Novolin at all is there somewhere to read about how long to keep it surely it can last longer then 28 days I just picked up my vial from walgreens
 
Hi Lisa,
Welcome to the Lantus forum.

I'm going to link your first thread from the Health forum when you posted about Do Lou, from Jan 23, even thou you were on Novolin back then, the thread has good info on your kitty's background.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3750&p=35882#p35882


From the stickie (threads with the "star" icon) up above, Proper Handling & Storage:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=151

The manufacturer of Lantus recommends discarding the insulin after 28 days of use.
However, many Lantus users have been able to use a vial/cartridge/pen for as long as six months


28 days is not written in stone, we do suggest you make a note of when you begin a new vial in your spreadsheet. This helps keep track of how long you are on the current vial.

What size vial did you get? 10ml or the 5 pack/3ml ?

What is your schedule like? Are you able to spotcheck thru the day cycle? The evening cycle? Weekends?

What is Do Lou's current food?

Others will be along to get you going, have you received advise from your vet for a starting dose on lantus?

In the meantime, you will want to review the "starred" threads up above, that we call "stickies" and familiarize yourself with Lantus and this forum.

For posting, you'll keep one thread (otherwise known as "condo") per day, this keeps all info, feedback in one place,,,,anytime someone replies or you update, your thread gets "bumped" to the top.

Again, welcome to the group!
 
Thanks so much I got the 10ml vial and my vet advised I start at 2U bid and was wondering if this was too high as of yesterday he was on 5/4.5U of N and before that 4.5/4.5U for a couple of days anyway he is on FF flavors from the J & B list that I am able to get him to eat he likes some raw I did place a felines pride order on thursday to see if he likes it better then the nuggets I have been getting he seems tired of those. I have had a lot of trouble getting him to eat off/on for 3 weeks. He still gets dry yes I know BAD but until I can get him to eat better not much I can do. Been trying the blue buffalo wilderness dry he liked it for like 3 days. Eats his old g/d which is way too high in carbs so trying to get away from that.
Yes I have tried evo and wellness but he will not touch. Anyway should I do a curve for my first 24hours on lantus??? nailbite_smile confused_cat
 
I forgot to answer your ?? about checking him yes I am off this week until friday so whatever you advise me to do for a curve or checking this week each day I can do
 
Please have a look thru this stickie: New to the Group: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=157

in here you will find this chart:

Learn how YOUR kitty is responding to insulin:
Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
Duration - when the insulin is strongest or works the hardest

Example of a typical curve:
+0 - PreShot number.
+1 - Usually higher than PreShot number because of the last shot wearing off. May see a food spike in this number.
+2 - Often similar to the PreShot number.
+3 - Lower than the PreShot number, onset has started.
+4 - Lower.
+5 - Lower.
+6 - Nadir/Peak (the lowest number of cycle).
+7 - Surf (hang around the nadir number).
+8 - Slight rise.
+9 - Slight rise.
+10 - Rising.
+11 - Rising (may dip around +10 or +11).
+12 - PreShot number.

This is an example, doesn't mean test every hour, but your key times would be +3, +6, my personal favourites +9 and +11
You may not see anything significant in the first cycle, Lantus takes a bit of time to build up a "shed" like a storage depot...more on that in this stickie: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=150

There are quite a few experienced users here who can guide you with the dose, so I will leave that to them. Libby is one them! :-D

Can you tell us how many hours till your due for the PMPS (PM preshot)?
 
Ronnie & Luna said:
Please have a look thru this stickie: New to the Group: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=157

in here you will find this chart:

Learn how YOUR kitty is responding to insulin:
Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
Duration - when the insulin is strongest or works the hardest

Example of a typical curve:
+0 - PreShot number.
+1 - Usually higher than PreShot number because of the last shot wearing off. May see a food spike in this number.
+2 - Often similar to the PreShot number.
+3 - Lower than the PreShot number, onset has started.
+4 - Lower.
+5 - Lower.
+6 - Nadir/Peak (the lowest number of cycle).
+7 - Surf (hang around the nadir number).
+8 - Slight rise.
+9 - Slight rise.
+10 - Rising.
+11 - Rising (may dip around +10 or +11).
+12 - PreShot number.

This is an example, doesn't mean test every hour, but your key times would be +3, +6, my personal favourites +9 and +11
You may not see anything significant in the first cycle, Lantus takes a bit of time to build up a "shed" like a storage depot...more on that in this stickie: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=150

There are quite a few experienced users here who can guide you with the dose, so I will leave that to them. Libby is one them! :-D

Can you tell us how many hours till your due for the PMPS (PM preshot)?

I have already did my pm preshot its posted on my sheet I think but it was 291
 
ok, so u shot 5u of N for AMPS and 2u of Lantus for PMPS

in your comments, u can add that LANTUS AT PMPS, or even in the cell where u fill in the units's, that keeps the 5u of the other insulin separate from the Lantus start tonite.
 
Ronnie & Luna said:
ok, so u shot 5u of N for AMPS and 2u of Lantus for PMPS

in your comments, u can add that LANTUS AT PMPS, or even in the cell where u fill in the units's, that keeps the 5u of the other insulin separate from the Lantus start tonite.

Ok will do this and should do a curve tonight or wait and do one tomorrow what do you recommend I want to do whats best for him
 
I would start with a +1 and a +3 and go from there, post if you need help.
depending on how late you plan to stay up, a +6 would be good too.

good luck!
 
I'm glad you reduced the Lantus dose a bit from your N dose, that's what I was trying to ask without sounding accusing. ;-) 2 units seems like a good starting place.

I don't think you need to do a curve tonight, often the first dose of Lantus doesn't show anything. If you can get a test in about 3 hours, or before you go to bed, that will be enough to let us know if Do Lou has any surprises planned for us tonight. Get spot checks whenever you can the next few days, then in about 2-3 days would be a good time for a curve if you're able to do it then. Otherwise just get spot checks whenever.

I'm glad you're switching to Lantus, and I hope you will be too. :mrgreen:
 
Ronnie & Luna said:
I would start with a +1 and a +3 and go from there, post if you need help.
depending on how late you plan to stay up, a +6 would be good too.

good luck!

Ok will do and thanks for all the help and support :-D ~O)
 
Libby and Lucy said:
I'm glad you reduced the Lantus dose a bit from your N dose, that's what I was trying to ask without sounding accusing. ;-) 2 units seems like a good starting place.

I don't think you need to do a curve tonight, often the first dose of Lantus doesn't show anything. If you can get a test in about 3 hours, or before you go to bed, that will be enough to let us know if Do Lou has any surprises planned for us tonight. Get spot checks whenever you can the next few days, then in about 2-3 days would be a good time for a curve if you're able to do it then. Otherwise just get spot checks whenever.

I'm glad you're switching to Lantus, and I hope you will be too. :mrgreen:

I have been wanting to switch him for about 2 months but my vets I work for a group of 13 and anyway when my cat was all over on N and I had found this forum and saw all the pos++ aspects of lantus for so many cats I asked my vet the main one who I work with one on one for my cats and he words were he does use lantus but would rather get him regulated on N if possible so I did not mind trying but my cat has continued to go downhill and so glad we are finally switching and I also still need to work more on his diet but getting him off all dry if next to impossible we had a low incident about 2 weeks ago and it was due to him not eating. Thanks for the advice on curves
Lisa
 
Libby and Lucy said:
I'm glad you reduced the Lantus dose a bit from your N dose, that's what I was trying to ask without sounding accusing. ;-) 2 units seems like a good starting place.

I don't think you need to do a curve tonight, often the first dose of Lantus doesn't show anything. If you can get a test in about 3 hours, or before you go to bed, that will be enough to let us know if Do Lou has any surprises planned for us tonight. Get spot checks whenever you can the next few days, then in about 2-3 days would be a good time for a curve if you're able to do it then. Otherwise just get spot checks whenever.

I'm glad you're switching to Lantus, and I hope you will be too. :mrgreen:
I wanted to add that I did not take your ?? wrong about what my dose was I need all the help I can get you know since my vet told me tonight this is his first lantus cat in a year he really needs to use this more I think he would see more pos results if he prescribed it more often for his patients
 
Hi and welcome to LL! Lantus works very differently from N - so please take some time to read and reread the starred posts at the top (also linked in Ronnie's posts). It will answer most of the questions you have about Lantus.

And please use your "condo" - which is what we call your daily post - to ask any and all questions. The procedure here is one condo per cat per day. This helps to keep track of everyone and keep all your posts together in one place.

Have a look at others "condos" so you can see how we post here.

For subject line starting tomorrow write it as follows:

3/8 Do Lou AMPS #, +1 #, etc.

Then when ready for PMPS - go back to your original post and change the subject to reflect the PMPS information.

Oh and there is a lot to learn and understand. It takes time to figure it out. So, please be patient with yourself as you start to learn. Also - forget everything you thought you knew about insulin - as I said Lantus works very differently than N and you will be giving information that will be in conflict with your N knowledge. So, in a sense you are starting over and need to relearn.

But it's ok - we are all here to help you! You're not alone in this process. And there are folks from all over the world here - so if you have issues at 4 am - there will be someone around to help!

Patience is key, ask questions is vital and help is in this forum.

Welcome!
 
Hillary & Maui said:
Hi and welcome to LL! Lantus works very differently from N - so please take some time to read and reread the starred posts at the top (also linked in Ronnie's posts). It will answer most of the questions you have about Lantus.

And please use your "condo" - which is what we call your daily post - to ask any and all questions. The procedure here is one condo per cat per day. This helps to keep track of everyone and keep all your posts together in one place.

Have a look at others "condos" so you can see how we post here.

For subject line starting tomorrow write it as follows:

3/8 Do Lou AMPS #, +1 #, etc.

Then when ready for PMPS - go back to your original post and change the subject to reflect the PMPS information.

Oh and there is a lot to learn and understand. It takes time to figure it out. So, please be patient with yourself as you start to learn. Also - forget everything you thought you knew about insulin - as I said Lantus works very differently than N and you will be giving information that will be in conflict with your N knowledge. So, in a sense you are starting over and need to relearn.

But it's ok - we are all here to help you! You're not alone in this process. And there are folks from all over the world here - so if you have issues at 4 am - there will be someone around to help!

Patience is key, ask questions is vital and help is in this forum.

Welcome!
:mrgreen: thanks so much and yes I have been reading and reading about lantus for some time but still intend to do more until its really sticking good in the brain
thanks for the help on how to post for the condo
 
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