New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jetta

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Jacspets

Jacspets

Member Since 2011
Hello all. After a few panicky posts in the regular feline health boards, I was invited to stop by here, so here I am.

Jetta - 13 1/2 yo DSH was dx with CP and Diabetes on Tuesday. After 2 days of treatment at the vet with short acting Insulin (Humulin R I think) Jetta started today on 1.5 u Lantus BID. I gave her my very first ever injection at 8 pm. I went shopping today with the Binky's wet food list and will be working to convert Jetta over to wet foods (she's been dry Iams original free feed her whole life). For now she's eating a/d. She's also on Cerenia, and a medicine I can't remember how to spell to heal her inflamed intestines (Budesonide or something like that).

So now my questions. If there's a problem- as in she's going to go Hypo- how quickly will that happen after an injection? Being her first night home with my doing an injection, I'm fairly panicked about that.
Also- I did a stupid. I dropped the insulin bottle. My 4 month old kitten (Olivia- she is a little devil) jumped on the counter, I freaked and dropped the bottle. Thank god I didn't make it to the floor and I caught it. BUT dropping it, bouncing on the counter, can't be good right? Did I ruin it?
And also, is everything my vet and the licensed tech told me about my Lantus wrong? They told me to roll the bottle, they told me to draw up way more than I need and flick the bottle a lot to remove air, then keep pushing the extra back in to the bottle. But I read here, all those things are no-nos.
Then finally, I asked my vet about home testing and they said they don't recommend it. But I can tell you I'm desperate to receive my newbie kit with the meter. Everytime Jetta blinks funny I'm afraid she's dying on me now, so having a meter will help me get my sanity under control I think, in addition to helping her. But I just really found it interesting that my vet office poo-pood the idea.

Well, thank you all for having me here. This seems like it's going to be quite a journey for Jetta and I.


-Jaclyn
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

vets just don't know lantus - follow what i told you last night about not shaking, rocking or rolling the insulin and not shooting the insulin back into the bottle. promise. it'll last you a long time if you do that. i doubt you hurt it any in the drop. don't worry anymore about it.

too funny on the no's about home testing. i guess i would consider 2 things. in a million years i wouldn't inject insulin into me or my child without testing. and second - if you're not hometesting you have to have the BG checked weekly at the vet's. my vet charged $24 for that, as i recall. cha-ching. you also would end up doing fructosamine tests every so often at the vet's office, another charge for the vet.

i'm not meaning to say they're in it for the money, but we are here to tell you that checking jetta at home is the very best thing you can do for him. is it him? or her? whoops.

i have this horrible urge to ask you if you're keith! :lol: just kidding.

hopefully your kit will arrive quickly - i know lori seems to get them out at the speed of light. in the meantime the 1u is low enough and hopefully will keep jetta safe. i shot punkin for 2 months without hometesting :shock: always aware that he might be getting too much. i suspect most of us here started that way as well.

you probably just need to breathe til the meter arrives. the good thing is that the way lantus works, initially part of each shot is just building a "deposit" under the skin. when you inject it as a liquid, it turns into a solid and then as the solid disperses a slow release gets into their bloodstream. it takes a few days to build up enough to act, so you're probably fine for now.

glad you made it over! :lol: it's a nice neighborhood!

ps - here's your post from yesterday: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=50200
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

julie1220 said:
vets just don't know lantus - follow what i told you last night about not shaking, rocking or rolling the insulin and not shooting the insulin back into the bottle. promise. it'll last you a long time if you do that. i doubt you hurt it any in the drop. don't worry anymore about it.

glad you made it over! :lol: it's a nice neighborhood!

ps - here's your post from yesterday: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=50200
Click to expand...

Thanks! I need to print the info you sent me last night. My printer is on the fritz at the moment though :(

Jetta is a she :-D

Thank you so much again. I'm so glad I found this website.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Jaclyn,
Please read this. Often over the next few weeks. Everytime he blinks funny, or sneezes, or cries, or goes off and hides somewhere. It will get you through it...
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=33671

If there's a problem- as in she's going to go Hypo- how quickly will that happen after an injection? Being her first night home with my doing an injection, I'm fairly panicked about that.
Click to expand...

If anything remotely like that happens, please post - even if it is 3am - in Health or Lantus (one or the other, otherwise you'll be trying to follow 2 sets of advice at the same time), and use the "911" icon to mark your thread. That will get people's attention. If nobody answers in the next few minutes, go to the bottom of the page you are on and look for "who is online". Click on that and it will show you everybody who is currently on the board. PM one of them asap. People are here 24/7, but sometimes you have to grab their attention. If anything goes "bad", somebody is here to help you.

Carl in SC
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

good advice, carl! yes, there is almost always someone online - that's the good thing about an international website. the things you would think "i have to wait til tomorrow to ask my vet - it's not a 911" you can ask here and get an answer within a few minutes, most times of the day.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Welcome to Lantus Land!!

First, a few deep breaths will help.

It would be best if you could start home testing now that you've started giving shots. The Walmart ReliOn meter and strips are inexpensive and many people here use them. As you're switching Jetta over to a lower carb food, being able to test is essential.

I'm not sure what your vet told you about Humulin R. It's very different than Lantus. R works to rapidly bring numbers down and it's period of activity is short (roughly 4 hours). Lantus is much gentler. It lasts for roughly 12 hours. It also takes 5 - 7 days to build up a depot (we call it a "shed" and it's like a reservoir of insulin). While it's possible for a cat's numbers to drop during this initial period, it's less likely than once a cat has been on Lantus for a while. In addition, the budesonide is a steroid. It's likely that Jetta's numbers will be higher due to the influence of a steroid. So, it will be important to get home testing under your belt once Jetta has completed the course of steroids.

I suspect you're Lantus is fine. It's not as fragile as nitroglycerine! It sounds like you're using a vial. It's less of an issue with shooting insulin back into the vial. However, most of us use the Solostar pens. (They are like mini-vials.) They are more cost effective. Because the pens work on a negative pressure system, you do not want to shoot anything back into the pen. The primary reason to not shoot insulin back into the vial is that the inside of the syringes contain a coating and you don't want to risk the coating going into the vial.

You do not need to roll Lantus. It is a solution. You don't need to mix it. Other types of insulin are suspensions and you do need to roll the bottle in order to get the insulin back into suspension.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Hi Jaclyn and Jetta-

Welcome to LL! This is the best place to be...so much support and knowledge - you will never feel alone! It sounds like you've had the same experiences with your vet that many of us have had, too. Like Julie said, I don't think it's because they're in it for the money, but - because of the nature of their jobs (having to know about of lot fo illnesses for a lot of animals) - by default, they just don't know feline diabetes like the folks here do.

Aside from reading all the stickies and the "Dear Mom" note (which hits home with all of us), it's a good idea to also pop into the condos (threads) of other kitties to see what's going on...a lot of valuable information is passed along that way! There is much to learn, but we've all been where you are, and we're all here to help. Feel free to ask any and all questions!!!

Once again - welcome aboard!

Amy
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Just wanted to chime in and say welcome and let you know that my cat Boomer (GA) was on Budesonide for IBD and was able to go off insulin within a few months after starting Lantus. Budesonide is great because although it's a steroid it's different - it's localized in the body - someone else can probably better explain that. Diabetic cats who take budesonide can go OTJ.

I laughed when I read that your vet doesn't advocate home testing. Like someone else already said, maybe they aren't in it for the money (your cat will have to be tested by SOMEONE and if you're not doing it they will get paid to do it) but if not than they are ignorant! Lantus is powerful stuff, you need to be testing. My mom's vet said the same thing - no need to test - and (not to scare you) but her cat had a hypo. If you can't wait for the mail to get your kit - go out to WalMart and buy a ReliOn Micro meter and strips. With blood testing supplies it's the strips that are expensive so you try to buy a meter that uses inexpensive strips and ReliOn is very cheap. That's what I used to use "back in the day". Now I have an asthmatic cat who gets puffs from an inhaler!

Good luck. You are in the BEST hands and will have access to 24 hour help most of the time.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

hi - I just wanted to say welcome aboard! you've fund a great group caring people. I am so glad that you found us!

HI JETTA!
 
Re: New here and Day 2 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

I can't thank you all enough for the warm welcome. And Carl- thanks for the reminder of the Dear Mom letter. I had read that on Day 1, but I think reading it daily might be good for me. Traci- Awesome news on the Budesonide! How long was your cat on it?

Jetta is taking her injections SO WELL. I'm more worked up over them than she is.

We just had her 6 hours post shot BG test and it was 226. She's getting 1 1/2 u , still high I know but at least we're heading in the right direction. Yesterday on 1u she was 297 PS+6, so today's reading is better. The vet's going to call me later to discuss moving her up to 2u.

Have a good rest of Friday everyone. I feel like I could fly I'm so happy that Jetta's doing better (um- :oops: and so is her mom)

Jaclyn
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Hi there and welcome!

From reading your thread it looks like Jetta has bee on Lantus only since yesterday. Below is information from the protocol most of us here follow:
General" Guidelines:
Hold the initial starting dose for 5 - 7 days (10 - 14 consecutive cycles) unless the numbers tell you otherwise. Kitties experiencing high flat curves or prone to ketones may want to increase the starting dose after 3 days (6 consecutive cycles).
Each subsequent dose is held for a minimum of 3 days (6 consecutive cycles) unless kitty earns a reduction (See: Reducing the dose...).
Adjustments to dose are based on nadirs with only some consideration given to preshot numbers.

Increasing the dose:
Hold the dose for 3 - 5 days (6 - 10 consecutive cycles) if nadirs are less than 200 before increasing the dose.
After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 200, but less than 300 increase the dose by 0.25 unit.
After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 300 increase the dose by 0.5 unit.
Click to expand...
It would be best if you set up a spreadsheet (ss) to track Jettas dosages and numbers. Instructions to do so are here:
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207
This allows those who are willing to help to better help you.

Have a good look at the "'stickies" (posts with stars in front of them) toward the top of the page. Tons of information here, from years of experience. And ask questions.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Please don't increase her dose of Lantus yet. You don't know how she'll respond to lower carb food. Why go there yet? You don't have enough information, IMO.

Boomer had lots of issues, the poor guy. But even with all his stuff he was still about to go OTJ while on bude. He was on bude for about a year I think. It's a great alternative to pred.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Welcome to Lantus Land.

A couple things... the group here is amazing. I did all of Maverick's curves at home and followed the protocol with handholding from everyone here. He was down to .1 unit - a teeny tiny drop of insulin. But the vets got extremely defensive when I brought up getting advice on the internet. This group knows feline diabetes and helps thousands of cats with diabetes where a vet would see a handful a year. Our vet gave very bad advice and had a big ego on top of it. If you have a good relationship with your vet, once you become knowledgeable yourself it will be easier to have the hard discussions with them.

So maybe when you talk to your vet about dosing you can say that you are reading everything you can on feline diabetes so they know you will be an advocate for him. But run things by the group first - don't go blindly on vet advice. Thank God you are home testing. Maverick would have been in trouble without this group. His vet started him on two units. Start low and work up slowly - the shed has to build before you know what a dose is going to do. Shooting lantus blind without home testing is crazy.

This group made diabetes easily manageable and not a scary thing. I couldn't imagine having gone through it without them and have made some wonderful friends. You are in great hands.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Welcome to Lantus Land--You have received good advice here-We have the most extensive amount of information about feline diabetes from so many FD cats & their beans who have passed this way..and the most up to date info as well..We are like a family, and we all help each other..
Please read all the Stickys at the top of the page, they are chocked full of info.
Ask questions, be active on the board, & know you have come to the best place you could be with your FD kitty. Not to worry there is always some one around to help you..
 
Re: New here and Day 2 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Karrie- thanks for the great advice. I'm about to download the spreadhseet and get it ready. We'll start home testing tomorrow. I figure once I have a week charted and take that in with Jetta for her check up the vet can't really argue :-D We do have a pretty good relationship, we've been through cancer together already this year (RIP my little Fagin buddy) and last year I lost a 6-month old kitty (RIP my angel baby Oliver) to a genetic heart defect. Anyway, I think he'll be ok with it- he has to be right?

How ever do you absorb all the info? I've been reading and re-reading the stickies and cruising the boards and all the info seems to run over itself. I've definitely learned a lot in the past few days but there is so much! -I know- deep breath. lol

Jetta's doing well this evening. I've had her locked away in the bathroom since she got sick because she's so weak. This afternoon she wandered across the house when I had her door open for a bit. She's shown me more life today than she has in a week- what a relief.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

The amount of information to absorb is absolutely overwhelming -- in the beginning. It's also why the community that's here is so important. Keep asking questions and we'll keep answering. We'll help you puzzle through things. A lot of this will become second nature but it takes time for everything to be absorbed.
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Hi Jaclyn and Jet!!

I'm new as well- (Dx on 08/05/2011) and I can tell you without a doubt you have found the right place. FDMB and LL (Lantis Land) are AMAZING. Best wishes to you and jet. and WELCOME!! cat_pet_icon
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

Hello Jaclyn and Jetta: boy I am late welcoming you to Lantus Land but you have gotten a hearty welcome from members of our family. I think it is Christie who says that LL is the best place you never want to be :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: How true in many respects but dealing with FD teaches us so many things....mostly for me, patience :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: ask anyone in LL!! We have the Sisterhood of the Travelling Patience Pants and I'm the keeper so when you need them, you know who to call!

The learning curve is steep but we ARE here to help you and you'll be surprised at how fast you pick up the basics. We have lots of fun but stay focused on the most important thing: the health and safety of our beloved babies.

Welcome aboard....looking forward to seeing your first condo tomorrow!!
 
Re: New here and Day 1 on Lantus - I'm Jaclyn, my cat is Jet

HI Jaclyn and Jetta and WELCOME! We're glad you're here and will be home testing. It's the only way to know what's going on with your kitty. The protocol we use here really works. In my experience, vets are very quick to raise a dose if they see a higher number than the previous number. Don't do it! Lantus dosing is based on the nadir (the lowest number of the cycle, usually around mid-cycle)--not on a pre-shot number. Do read the protocol and be confident that following it is the safest way to get your kitty regulated. We are all here to help.

Again, welcome to LL,

Ella & Rusty

p.s. the Walmart ReliOn meter and strips are very good and inexpensive when compared with other brands.
 
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