BaileyUK
Member Since 2013
First of all as a new-comer I hope this is in the right forum we ideally want to be on the Lantus pages but understand that newbies should post first on this page so here goes:
This post is about our 13 year old beloved white and fawn Maine Coon BAILEY who was diagnosed with FD in January this year.
Following 9 turbulent months on Canninsulin and blind dosing (only options presented to us by our vet at the time – we are in the UK) last month we managed to get him onto Lantus and started home testing. He seemed a lot more himself almost as soon as we started him on Lantus. He has been on it now for just over a month and his Diabetes is currently under good control. His fructosamine is around the 350 mark and bordering on the low side if anything.
He had a hypo earlier in June as a result of blind dosing whilst on Canninsulin (and whilst unaware of the dangers of blind dosing). We think that he has had chronic Pancreatitis for some time (perhaps the cause of the Diabetes) and that an acute flair up knocked his blood sugars out which led to the Hypo.
Following the Hypo it was then very difficult to get him regulated again. Urine readings were showing glucose off the scale and spot check readings pre insulin at the vets varied but were usually in the high teens (mmol/L). He was also getting very dehydrated and was having to go to the vets for IV fluids - at one point twice in just 4 days. We feared that the end was nigh and so took the plunge to get him onto the new insulin we had read so much about on this forum.
Since changing over to Lantus we’ve been very pleased with the results and the control that we currently have and hope that it can stay that way if not improve towards some sort of remission but we shall see. Compared to how Bailey was this is a massive step as he was literally at death’s door and it was very touch and go prior to getting him onto Lantus. At the moment his nadir is usually around 5 and pre insulin checks his blood sugar around 12 but this does fluctuate a little from day to day. He is currently on just under 4 units of Lantus twice a day (@ 12 hour intervals) - he started on 6 units and we managed to bring him down after only a week or two.
Aside from the Diabetes Bailey’s body shape has changed considerably, he has a lot of muscle loss along with a very pronounced belly. We’re a little worried that his ballooning belly is putting a strain on things but are reluctant to put him thru further tests / ultra-sounds etc to determine exactly why this belly is so pronounced. Our vet says that it is fluid which we know can’t be good but are hoping that it is related to the Pancreatitis and not something else on top of this.
As his clinical signs are currently really good we are just waiting to see if the fluid around his tummy goes away but we’re concerned that if it doesn’t then it could progress to the lungs or put a strain on his heart. It’s such a dilemma as he seems so much happier and relaxed (he was a different cat for the months that he was on Canninsulin - very withdrawn and showing no interest in us at all) we are holding out that the fluid clears and are also waiting on a further round of blood tests to determine what his Pancreas function is like now that he is regulated. We should have the results in the next couple of days.
This is a great site and it has been very helpful to us to read other’s stories on here we have been reluctant to post anything until now as we have had such a rough ride. I hope that this can be of some use to other UK owners who are wanting to take the plunge with Lantus it’s certainly not something UK vets seem to have a lot of experience with but seems to be so much of a better alternative to the Canine Insulin which most vets seem to favour here in the UK. If anyone has any experience with the pot belly side effects of pancreatitis then please let us know we are very interested to hear what could be done without putting the poor little guy through more tests and the like.
Thanks for taking the time to read this we shall keep updating as and when we know more.
Bailey's Dad, (Barnes)
This post is about our 13 year old beloved white and fawn Maine Coon BAILEY who was diagnosed with FD in January this year.
Following 9 turbulent months on Canninsulin and blind dosing (only options presented to us by our vet at the time – we are in the UK) last month we managed to get him onto Lantus and started home testing. He seemed a lot more himself almost as soon as we started him on Lantus. He has been on it now for just over a month and his Diabetes is currently under good control. His fructosamine is around the 350 mark and bordering on the low side if anything.
He had a hypo earlier in June as a result of blind dosing whilst on Canninsulin (and whilst unaware of the dangers of blind dosing). We think that he has had chronic Pancreatitis for some time (perhaps the cause of the Diabetes) and that an acute flair up knocked his blood sugars out which led to the Hypo.
Following the Hypo it was then very difficult to get him regulated again. Urine readings were showing glucose off the scale and spot check readings pre insulin at the vets varied but were usually in the high teens (mmol/L). He was also getting very dehydrated and was having to go to the vets for IV fluids - at one point twice in just 4 days. We feared that the end was nigh and so took the plunge to get him onto the new insulin we had read so much about on this forum.
Since changing over to Lantus we’ve been very pleased with the results and the control that we currently have and hope that it can stay that way if not improve towards some sort of remission but we shall see. Compared to how Bailey was this is a massive step as he was literally at death’s door and it was very touch and go prior to getting him onto Lantus. At the moment his nadir is usually around 5 and pre insulin checks his blood sugar around 12 but this does fluctuate a little from day to day. He is currently on just under 4 units of Lantus twice a day (@ 12 hour intervals) - he started on 6 units and we managed to bring him down after only a week or two.
Aside from the Diabetes Bailey’s body shape has changed considerably, he has a lot of muscle loss along with a very pronounced belly. We’re a little worried that his ballooning belly is putting a strain on things but are reluctant to put him thru further tests / ultra-sounds etc to determine exactly why this belly is so pronounced. Our vet says that it is fluid which we know can’t be good but are hoping that it is related to the Pancreatitis and not something else on top of this.
As his clinical signs are currently really good we are just waiting to see if the fluid around his tummy goes away but we’re concerned that if it doesn’t then it could progress to the lungs or put a strain on his heart. It’s such a dilemma as he seems so much happier and relaxed (he was a different cat for the months that he was on Canninsulin - very withdrawn and showing no interest in us at all) we are holding out that the fluid clears and are also waiting on a further round of blood tests to determine what his Pancreas function is like now that he is regulated. We should have the results in the next couple of days.
This is a great site and it has been very helpful to us to read other’s stories on here we have been reluctant to post anything until now as we have had such a rough ride. I hope that this can be of some use to other UK owners who are wanting to take the plunge with Lantus it’s certainly not something UK vets seem to have a lot of experience with but seems to be so much of a better alternative to the Canine Insulin which most vets seem to favour here in the UK. If anyone has any experience with the pot belly side effects of pancreatitis then please let us know we are very interested to hear what could be done without putting the poor little guy through more tests and the like.
Thanks for taking the time to read this we shall keep updating as and when we know more.
Bailey's Dad, (Barnes)
