Napoleon - Lantus newbie

Status
Not open for further replies.
Nicole and Napoleon

Nicole and Napoleon

Very Active Member
Hello,
We are starting over with Lantus from a rough ride with PZI. Napoleon was dx December 2009. We have tried compounded PZI from Wedgewood Pharmacy in NJ and BCP 100% insulin. It's been a rough road, written all over his spreadsheet :-| Just started daily curves in April. I am starting a new job next week and won't be able to check as often. Does anyone else have any tips for what to look for etc, if you are not able to test as frequently? We made our switch to Lantus this morning and I am hoping for the success that so many have seen here and to hopefully be OTJ. I have no reservations about switching him to Lantus, I feel it was the best decision that could have been made. I have read the stickies and got myself informed as I know that Lantus is a whole different animal from PZI. Anybody have any other tips, ideas or just general knowledge they can share?

Wish us luck!
 
Hi Nicole

welcome to LL!
I saw you in health mentioning you were planning to switch.

Just a couple of questions - others will be along to offer their feedback as well, so do check back.

Have you been checking for ketones recently?
What will your new schedule be like?
Is Napoleon's profile up to date?

Lots of beans here work during the day, so usually you'll get your AMPS, and an out the door test if you can.
There may times where you may need to stall, how flexible is your schedule going to be?
When you get home, you can do an in the door test. In the evenings, we like to encourage at least a couple of spotchecks and most importantly a before bedtime check.
Plus then you have weekends and days off - you will want to try a curve in there as well, so thats best done on a day off.

Just want to add, you have a lot of data collected - good for you!
Again, welcome to LL!
 
Hello I just want to welcome you to Lantus Land others will be here to offer you more information I am still learning myself Do Lou has been on lantus since March 7 and we have made much better progress for him since I got him off dry which was so very hard for me to do. Since you have already found your way to the stickys which has so much information :-D hope to see you posting more and once again welcome to you and Napoleon :mrgreen:
 
Nimcewan said:
Hello,
We are starting over with Lantus from a rough ride with PZI. Napoleon was dx December 2009. We have tried compounded PZI from Wedgewood Pharmacy in NJ and BCP 100% insulin. It's been a rough road, written all over his spreadsheet :-| Just started daily curves in April. I am starting a new job next week and won't be able to check as often. Does anyone else have any tips for what to look for etc, if you are not able to test as frequently? We made our switch to Lantus this morning and I am hoping for the success that so many have seen here and to hopefully be OTJ. I have no reservations about switching him to Lantus, I feel it was the best decision that could have been made. I have read the stickies and got myself informed as I know that Lantus is a whole different animal from PZI. Anybody have any other tips, ideas or just general knowledge they can share?

Wish us luck!
Click to expand...


Hi Welcome to LL and nice to meet you!

You made a great decision switching over to Lantus. From what I can see, you're doing everything correctly with your switch. The dose looks good so far, the foods you feed look perfect, you already have been on the boards for a while so you home test, are all set up check check check :razz:

I see that Napolean's numbers are a little bit on the high side, which of course they could be when starting over on 1U when you were on a higher dose before. You mention in your profile that he has had ketosis before. Do you check for this at home? With his numbers you need to (if you don't already) and probably should on a daily basis so it can't get ahead of you.

That is all the advice that I can really give but you'll be hearing from others with more experience very quickly with more to say.

But I can say WELCOME again and I look forward to seeing Napoleon hopefully get regulated on Lantus and hopefully get OTJ as well!

Caryl, Alex & Jackson
 
Welcome to LL :mrgreen:

I too have read your health link. You had 24 hours from last PZI to Lantus according to your ss so no worries there. Looks like a gentle drop so far.
Sometimes beans get a quick initial response to Lantus, others don't. Try and get a +6 this is the most common nadir (lowest no in cycle) for Lantus from what I have seen. Some are earlier/later.

As Ronnie has said, must always get preshot-preferably that kitty hasn't eaten about 2 hours before hand (so not seeing an artificially high number) If OTJ is your starting goal you will come to a point where you will be shooting green numbers.

Also as has been said, may need a ittle more dedication out of you at night if you can't get those checks in during the day. Involving a little alarm clock action :mrgreen: But most certainly you want to get +1's or 2's before you go to bed so you know which way kitty is heading or whether you need to stay up and check again.

Lantus dosing is based more on nadir than preshot. He's still a relatively newly diagnosed kitty so anytime in cycle he goes under 50 he will earn a dosecrease (reduction) We recommend those in .25u increments. Likewise for increases (on occasion beans will do a skinny or fat which is less/more again,but that comes with practice)

The great thing about LL i there are so many beans and kitties here so lots of advice and support.

where you could do sliding scale dosing on PZI don't tend to here (are the exception that are on a unique pattern where they are being followed very closely and should not be copied without in depth discussion.)Here is majority 12/12 schedule, with some manourverability.
If people know times need to change they can plan ahead and move shot times gradually. You'll see as you go along.

As not regulated and high bg's-are you testing for keytones?
Good thing to do fairly regularly until kitty fairly well regulated.

Good luck on your sugar journey with Lantus :mrgreen:
 
Welcome Nicole!!

Thanks for having your SS and Profile linked. That helps tremendously. It also sounds like you've done your homework by reading the stickies. Probably the ones to concentrate on for now are the dosing protocol and shed.

Many of us work or are in school. What you can do will depend on your schedule. I have my schedule organized so I have a chance to get at least a +1 if not a +2 before I leave in the morning. At least with Gabby, her +2 will usually tell me how the cycle is going to go. Some days I can make a mad dash home at lunch - some days it's not possible. I'm usually home by +11 to get an 'in the door' test.

If you haven't gotten one already, many of us use an automatic feeder. They are very helpful if you can't be at home to feed the curve.

The only other thing to keep on hand are some cans of high carb (HC) food. Most of us use Fancy Feast varieties that have gravy. You can spoon off the gravy, which is where the bulk of the carbs are. We use canned HC to bring numbers up if necessary.
 
Welcome Nicole!

You and I are in this together, I switched Lucy from PZI to Lantus 2 years ago and she went OTJ (after a bit of drama, but she did it). This week I got a foster kitty and I switched her from PZI to Lantus on Friday evening. We're in similar boats in that we just started our cats over on a lower dose than their PZI dose, so we'll have to be mindful of ketones, and we might have to be aggressive with dosing as we work up to whatever dose our cats need.

I hope Napoleon has a lot of success. I think he will. :smile:
 
Libby and Lucy said:
Welcome Nicole!

You and I are in this together, I switched Lucy from PZI to Lantus 2 years ago and she went OTJ (after a bit of drama, but she did it). This week I got a foster kitty and I switched her from PZI to Lantus on Friday evening. We're in similar boats in that we just started our cats over on a lower dose than their PZI dose, so we'll have to be mindful of ketones, and we might have to be aggressive with dosing as we work up to whatever dose our cats need.

I hope Napoleon has a lot of success. I think he will. :smile:
Click to expand...

Good luck to you with your new kitty, Libby :mrgreen:

(did you read the stickies)? JUST KIDDING!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I'll comment on the being away during the day at work - it is very DOable. While most people are not away longer than the 12hours, there are a few who are, so you would not be alone in that case if your new work involved longer absences.

For me, I am away for at least 10 hours during the day and sometimes, it's give the am shot, leave for work, get home, get the pmps. When you have an idea that your cat reacts in a certain way, you know ahead of time what will likely occur while you are at work. Just pick your 12/12 shot time to fit with your work hrs. I get up at 5am, get Oliver's +11, prepare for work, get amps for Shadoe and Oliver, then prepare their shots. If you are ever concerned about the BG and your current dose, just post on the board saying you have to leave soon, give the time, and someone is usually around to give you a hand in the decision.
Always go with what feels comfortable to you, even if it means a lesser dose or even none. You can always worry about getting back on track later.

Once I get home, I will test or if it's close to the ps time, I'll just wait till then. If I get home at 515pm and ps it 6pm, I just wait. Depending on that number, I'll try to get in a couple tests in the evening and it's always good to know what the number was when you go to bed. That way you know if you CAN go to bed :lol: There have been a few people who test just before bed only to find a pretty low number so bedtime gets postponed till the number can be brought back up.
Not sure if you have already seen this list. It's just a rough generalization and some kitties decide to blaze their own paths (my own two), but it gives you an idea of what to expect:
How to do a Curve
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.

I think balanced and regular feedings will go a long way to help with regulating and even attaining OTJ status.
The timed auto feeder are amazing! Because it's much better for the body to eat small more frequent meals, the timed feeder is perfect. Here's the one I have:
Petsafe 5-meal Auto Feeder

You can set the times to turn so that the next meal is exposed every 2 hours or something. What I like about it the best is that I can tell exactly when Shadoe ate some food and what timeframe she likely just slept through the food. It's a great tool.

That's it for me for now.
 
Hi Nicole, good to see you over here! You've gotten great advice from everyone here already. The only thing I want to stress is that it may take awhile for Napoleon to adjust to Lantus. Buzz went OTJ on PZI Idexx for a month, but then she went back and that is when we switched to Lantus. The first month was VERY stressful for me because it took that long for the Lantus to really start working (see Buzz's SS beginning on 1/9 if you want to see what was going on). I was so impatient, and on top of feeling like I had no idea what was going on (because of the differences in Lantus and PZI), I had to look at these pinks and reds for 3 weeks. However, it resolved itself and I have been very happy with it. The settling-in period may not be that protracted for you, but I just wanted to let you know it's possible and to try not to get frustrated (operative word being "try" :lol: ).

Everyone here is great and there are so many experienced people. PZI forum has been getting more traffic lately, but you will find that here in LL there is nearly always someone available to answer your questions/worries. Definitely read the protocol so you understand why you are doing what you're doing/what other people suggest.

Good luck with the switch; I have no doubt Napoleon will do great. :-D
 
Wow! You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for the welcome and advice. I can finally say I feel hopeful after this nasty 6 month battle that he might actually go into remission. And to answer your questions -I am a ketone super tester. My poor boy gets no privacy when he takes a leak :lol:

I will post his numbers on his spreadsheet and his numbers for the day on the board whenever I can do a curve. Thank you all so, so much.

Libby, I am glad to know there is someone else who is starting out like me - we'll get through this together! And Sarah, I am sure checking out Buzz's SS with get me through those frustrating days to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel :-)

All the best to your and your furbabies!
 
Hi Nicole! Just wanted to welcome you! We recently went otj and I have to tell you lantus worked so well for us! The first month and a half was hard but once Scrabble adjusted he went down the dosing ladder pretty fast! I think the main thing with lantus is to keep the dosing as close to 12/12 as possible. I work nights and long hours so I was not able to test a lot at night but I collected a lot of my data during the day when I was home. As others have said, you do what you can do and try to get as many tests in as your schedule allows. Good luck!!! Nice to have you here!!!
 
Thank you Michelle! Thankfully the 12/12 schedule should not be an issue for us, I will absolutely make this a top priority.
Congratulations to you and your kitty for going OTJ!
 
Hi Nicole,
I wanted to welcome you and Napolean to LL. We switched from PZI in March. The first month was a little rough with lots of high numbers for Blackie, but now he's doing great and getting regular dose reductions. I hope Napolean does as well on Lantus.

Just in case someone hasn't mentioned this, in LL we post a daily "condo" for each kitty. You'll want to put the date, kitty's name and bgs in the subject line. Also a link to the previous day's post in your message. This way we can all see where you and Napolean are and it's easy for others to get your information.

You'll get lots of support here - its a very busy board. I hope to hear more about you and Napolean.
 
Thank you Ele. It seems like in a lot of cases with Lantus, especially after a switch, people are seeing their cats have High BG #'s before the lows. Must be their bodies adjusting. I will post our condos also.

Congratulations on getting Blackie regulated, this does seem like a great insulin!
 
Hi Nicole and napoleon! No advice here, just wanted to let you know you will be dealing with a great group of people, and I hope the transition to lantus is a smooth one for you guys, and you soon see the numbers you are hoping for!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top