New Member Introduction-Jasper | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB

New Member Introduction-Jasper

Lolli&Popi

Lolli&Popi

Member since 2025
Hi all. I’m very thankful to have found this board.

My little guy, Jasper (M, 10) came out of remission in September 2025. We noticed he had lost some weight and bingo-glucose was 444. He had his 1st Freestyle Libre 3 off in a matter of 10 minutes after getting home from the vet and we had a new one on 4 days later.

He started his Lantus on Tuesday evening (1.0 unit, twice a day). His numbers are still high which is so confusing. They are dipping during the day (his lowest has been 215), but at night he has only been reading as High-this is confusing. We just can’t understand why his nighttime number isn’t budging. So, if anyone has advice-I’m open for suggestions.

He doesn’t go back to the vet until 10/14.

The poor little guy has lost so much weight and he can’t even jump up on the bed.

Thank you for such a great resource of information.
 
All the Lantus newbie info to read is here: Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars

Have patience while the depot fills. It's only been 4 days since your cat started Lantus. 1 unit may not be the right dose for your cat but that's ok. It'll take patience to find the right dose for your cat. Unless you have a hot mess of a weirdo cat who doesn't follow the typical Lantus rules like mine:facepalm:

Blood glucose levels will fluctuate daily. Time, amount of food eaten, stress, etc can all affect numbers. A fur shot (happens) can also affect numbers. Keep track of your cat's blood glucose levels. Members here use a Google based spreadsheet which is easily shared with the vet and others https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

Was Jasper on Lantus before he went into remission?
 
Hi @Lolli&Popi, Sorry that Jasper has come out of remission! My Jude was in remission for only about six months, and then he came out too. The spreadsheet is super important, as the experienced folks here will want to see Jasper's numbers that you'll be tracking; let us know if you have any difficulty setting that up. Also, please set up your signature. The information for doing that is here: Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!.

It can take a bit to get numbers lowered on Lantus. Take a look at Jude's spreadsheet, and you'll see how we struggled to get his numbers down when he came out of remission last October. Eventually he hit the correct dose and also became more comfortable with lower numbers and then began to stay in a mostly-regulated range. Most of us on the board follow one of two dosing methods: Tightly Regulated (TR) or Start Low Go Slow (SLGS). In following these methods, we make increases and decreases following a specific set of guidelines. The explanation for these dosing methods is here: Sticky - Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR).

Finally, we have several members here that use the Freestyle Libre. I'm going to tag a couple of them in case you have specific concerns related to the CGM: @Staci & Ivy @Lauren & Esse @Brianna & Xander.

We're glad to have you here and look forward to Jasper's improvement.
 
Mary & Jude said:
Hi @Lolli&Popi, Sorry that Jasper has come out of remission! My Jude was in remission for only about six months, and then he came out too. The spreadsheet is super important, as the experienced folks here will want to see Jasper's numbers that you'll be tracking; let us know if you have any difficulty setting that up. Also, please set up your signature. The information for doing that is here: Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!.

It can take a bit to get numbers lowered on Lantus. Take a look at Jude's spreadsheet, and you'll see how we struggled to get his numbers down when he came out of remission last October. Eventually he hit the correct dose and also became more comfortable with lower numbers and then began to stay in a mostly-regulated range. Most of us on the board follow one of two dosing methods: Tightly Regulated (TR) or Start Low Go Slow (SLGS). In following these methods, we make increases and decreases following a specific set of guidelines. The explanation for these dosing methods is here: Sticky - Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR).

Finally, we have several members here that use the Freestyle Libre. I'm going to tag a couple of them in case you have specific concerns related to the CGM: @Staci & Ivy @Lauren & Esse @Brianna & Xander.

We're glad to have you here and look forward to Jasper's improvement.
Click to expand...
Lolli&Popi said:
Hi all. I’m very thankful to have found this board.

My little guy, Jasper (M, 10) came out of remission in September 2025. We noticed he had lost some weight and bingo-glucose was 444. He had his 1st Freestyle Libre 3 off in a matter of 10 minutes after getting home from the vet and we had a new one on 4 days later.

He started his Lantus on Tuesday evening (1.0 unit, twice a day). His numbers are still high which is so confusing. They are dipping during the day (his lowest has been 215), but at night he has only been reading as High-this is confusing. We just can’t understand why his nighttime number isn’t budging. So, if anyone has advice-I’m open for suggestions.

He doesn’t go back to the vet until 10/14.

The poor little guy has lost so much weight and he can’t even jump up on the bed.

Thank you for such a great resource of information.
Click to expand...
Hello and welcome.
🤗
If you will be using a Libre CGM, the below linked document we have created is very helpful with lots of useful information to help you successfully use a sensor.
I use one on my cat continuously as she won’t allow me to poke her multiple times a day. Most cats do to tolerate that but not mine so we have found a way to use the Libre and I am able to poke her if she is particularly low and I want to make sure of what her numbers are
If you have any questions about using a Libre, please feel free to ask any of us who were noted in Mary’s post earlier. We are happy to help.
 
@Staci & Ivy - did you forget to provide the link to the Libre info?

What is different about Lantus is that is is a depot type of insulin. You won't see much of a response for the first 5 - 7 days due to the depot needing to form. You'll also see that once the initial week is over, it can take several cycles to see a response to a change in dose. The basics of the depot are that every time you give a shot, the insulin forms microcrystals that are deposited in fat tissue. Over the course of the 12-hour cycle, most but not all of the crystals dissolve. The crystals that remain, ultimately do dissolve but take longer which allows for overlap between the cycles thereby giving Lantus its gentle, long duration. The shorter acting insulins, such as Vetsulin, act much more quickly, don't last for the entire cycle, have an earlier nadir, and often cause numbers to plummet. This is a long winded way of encouraging you to be patient.

Without seeing a spreadsheet, I'm going to make an assumption so please forgive me if this doesn't bear out once you have a spreadsheet set up. I suspect what you're seeing at your evening dose time is that Jasper's numbers are bouncing. He's not used to being back in closer to normal blood glucose levels so when he drops into the 200s, his liver and pancreas panic and secrete a stored form of glucose and counterregulatory hormones that cause his numbers to spike upward. It's likely more dramatic due to the depot not being fully formed but lots of cats experience bounces until their body gets reaccustomed to being in better blood glucose numbers. Bounces routinely occur is numbers drop low, drop fast, or drop into a range your cat isn't used to.
 
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