? Need help dosing while transitioning to low carb wet food

[Alli and Bub]

Hello all,

I'm currently transitioning my cat slowly from a wet high carb food (z/d), to a wet low carb food (hound and gatos lamb) and am having issues figuring out how much to dose. It has been about a week so far and he is currently getting a little over half the new food, but I am not sure how much insulin to give him. I hate changing it up so often and want to be consistent, but his original dose of 4.5u is definitely too much for his current diet, and even though I am trying to keep an eye on him carefully during this period, I don't want his numbers to go too low when I am away.

Are there any rules about what to dose for Lantus when reducing a higher dose? I know the protocols ask for a reduction when they've earned it, but since his high carb food is slowly being taken away and replaced each day, it stands to reason the dose will change more too.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Bandit's Mom]

When there is a food transition involved, a cat's insulin needs reduce dramatically with the removal of carbs. Often one needs to skip and take larger reductions till you hit a good dose. It's hard to say at what dose he will finally slow down at, but in such situations some cats do not want to follow protocols! Since you are down to 2.5U from 4.5U, you could hold the dose for a few cycles and see if he earns a reduction by dropping below 90. With SLGS every drop below 90 is an immediate reduction.

@tiffmaxee

 

[Alli and Bub]

He tested quite high this morning and I was thinking maybe I reduced to 2.5 too quickly? Wondering if 3u is maybe best? Kind of hard to decipher his readings since they are currently changing so quickly...

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Like Bhooma indicated, you need to let the numbers be your guide. I would not increase the dose at this point. There's a good chance your AMPS reflects a bounce off of the 148 at AMPS yesterday. (The numbers trended up from the 148. In some cases, it can take a few days for a bounce to clear.)

In general, you don't want to make back-to-back dose changes with Lantus. You need to let the depot stabilize so you can see how your cat is responding to a new dose. We also don't know if that 148 is the result of the 3.5u depot still having an influence on Bub's numbers. (Sorry if that's confusing!) It's also important to remember that Lantus dosing is based on the nadir (lowest point in the cycle) and not on the pre-shot numbers. The pre-shot number tells you if it's safe to shoot.

 

[Alli and Bub]

Ah ok got it. Just gave him his morning dose of 2.5u and we will see how it goes. I guess hold this dose until his nadir numbers indicate otherwise and do a reduction from there. And I guess its also ok to reduce dose if his AMPS is low? The lantus definitely seems to have a stronger effect now that he's eating a different diet.

Hopefully I can get him on a better regulated dose once he is fully transitioned in a few more days...

 

[Bandit's Mom]

He is also not yet fully transitioned to the low carb food. We don't know where his numbers will be as the % of Z/D further reduces. From a GI point of view, a week to transition food is more than enough - in order to prevent tummy upsets from changing food too fast.