New bottle Lantus

[Wally]

Hi,

I am a bit of a newbie, Wally being diagnosed in April. He is an older tuxie "street cat" that I finally brought into my home after he spent the summer in our neighborhood unclaimed, so I don't know a lot about his background.

He is now on Lantus, recently moved to 8u. He seems to have some muscle/nerve issues still in his back legs and we are it hoping will improve with control. He is also ravenous - resorting to eating paper towels at one point. (We make sure everything is tucked away that he can get to now!)

Friday was the last of his first bottle of Lantus, opened mid April, kept in the refrigerator. I checked his BS at 2 pm (insulin at 6:30 am) and it was almost 300! His control has not been great yet, but this was high for this time of day.

Saturday was time for the new bottle, I gave him 8u and checked his level again at 2pm - it was 88. I went back to 7 for the time being since he is home alone during the day.

His diet was the same both days. Thoughts on the big difference as I learned Lantus should last several months? Thoughts on helping with his hungries?

I have to say, learning about feline diabetes with Covid restrictions in place at the vet has been a challenge - no more popping in with quick questions!

Thank you in advance!

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

WELCOME TO FDMB! I havent seen you post before this so I just wanted to say hello and glad you did post.

It seems to me (and I am NO expert) that the old bottle lost some of its efficacy. I know a vial refrigerated should last a few months. Did your power go out at some point? Seems it should have been fine. Like I said I'm no insulin expert so I will stand aside for others to comment.

I see you have no signature or spreadsheet . Are you interested in either? I know our experts cant give proper advice without being able to look at a spreadsheet and see how the insulin has been tracking.

Again welcome to the forum!
jeanne

just in case, you can find both spreadsheet and signature creations here:


Suggestions, Tech Support & Testing Area

 

[Wally]

Thank you for the info! I just read that Lantus must not be rolled...sheesh. I bet that is where I went wrong.

I figured out the sig - the spreadsheet looks like it will take a little more time! Curious - my vet only asks for at-home curves - in reading posts and taking a quick look at the spreadsheets it seems members do more frequent testing?

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB.

That's a large dose of Lantus! What are you feeding your kitty? I'm truly hoping the vet told you that carbohydrates are bad. Low carb, canned food is a far better choice for a diabetic kitty! However, not all canned foods are created equal. Lisa Pierson is a vet who has done a huge amount of research on feline nutrition. She has a chart of most canned foods available in the US along with nutritional info, including carb amounts. You want a food that is less than 10% carb -- although most people here feed closer to 5%.

This post on 'helping us to help you" will also provide some additional information for getting started.

Lantus is a solution, not a suspension. There's no need to roll or shake. It's also a little more fragile than some insulins. If you ever see crystals or "floaties" in your insulin, it's time for new Lantus.

Curves give you a one day snapshot of what's going on. If it happens that your kitty's numbers drop low on a given day that isn't a curve day, how will you know? With Lantus, dosing is based on the nadir -- the lowest number in the cycle. Given that cats do not like to be predictable, it's quite likely you could miss a dose reduction if you were relying on curves. The minimum amount of testing you will need to consider is a test prior to every shot to insure it's safe to give insulin and at least one test during both the AM and PM cycles. (Then there are people like me who are testaholics. You do not need to test like I did but I had a kitty that liked to drop early in the cycle except when she didn't. She was a bit of a diva.)

There is a huge volume of information on the Lantus board about handling Lantus, dosing methods, etc. You may want to read the sticky notes at the top of the board. Once your spreadsheet is set up, you may also want to consider posting there.

 

[Wally]

Thank you! He is a Fancy Feast classic guy, I try hard to eliminate carbs!
?I wonder why the vet does not ask for more testing?

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Theres all kinds of reasons:
1 You will stress your cat out and get HIGH as a result
2.It will ruin the bond you have with your cat
3. Your cat will run and hide in fear.
4. A combination of the above.

PKEASE KNOW THIS Trouble absolutely HATED testing. It took TWO of us. Yet right after testing he would rub up against my legs and follow me around acting his goofy self.