New member, stressed!

D

Darqe

Member Since 2026
Hello All,
Our 11yo male cat Asimov was diagnosed a few days ago, and we've started him on insulin.

Our vet recommended 3I/U every twelve hours, and a switch to diabetic food.

Ive done so much research and yet I feel so blind. He's currently fitted with a freestyle libre 2, and it's hard not to get obsessive over the numbers.

How do I know if he's dropping too fast ?? His insulin was 21mmo/l this morning before feeding, then we fed him and it was 19, and gave him his insulin. 2hrs later and it's down to 11, is that good? bad?

Edit 1/2hr later and it's bounced to 15.6? I'm just stressed because I have to head off to work 😅

We live in Australia and we are using the lantus injector pen thingo.

Thanks! ❤️
 
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Hello and welcome, Darqe!
I'm new here too. It is indeed quite a journey. I hope you start to feel more at ease soon. Stick around - you'll learn a lot.

I can relate. In the beginning, I was obsessive about checking my cat's numbers. So take good care of yourself too, along the way.

I suggest taking a look at the links below. Step by step, things will start to make sense, and you'll get to know Asimov's BG patterns and how he responds to Lantus.

To help us all speak the same language:
BG Convert - Felinediabetes.com

And here is the link to the Lantus group:
Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars

As a start:
Sticky - The Basics: New to the Group? Start here!

Wishing you and Asimov all the very best progress. 💫🙏 Be patient - it will come.
 
Darqe said:
Hello All,
Our 11yo male cat Asimov was diagnosed a few days ago, and we've started him on insulin.

Our vet recommended 3I/U every twelve hours, and a switch to diabetic food.

Ive done so much research and yet I feel so blind. He's currently fitted with a freestyle libre 2, and it's hard not to get obsessive over the numbers.

How do I know if he's dropping too fast ?? His insulin was 21mmo/l this morning before feeding, then we fed him and it was 19, and gave him his insulin. 2hrs later and it's down to 11, is that good? bad?

Edit 1/2hr later and it's bounced to 15.6? I'm just stressed because I have to head off to work 😅

We live in Australia and we are using the lantus injector pen thingo.

Thanks! ❤️
Click to expand...
Hi Darqe,

Maria has tagged Wendy, and she (or someone else) will stop by to discuss Asimov's numbers soon.

In the meantime, and before you post over on the Lantus forum, there are few things that will help us in guiding you in Asimov's care. I'll repost this link (Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!) as it provides some instructions for setting up a spreadsheet, if you don't already have one, and in setting up your signature. The spreadsheet is key for giving us a picture of how much insulin Asimov is receiving and how he is managing it. Please populate it with the numbers you've already collected on Asimov. The signature gives us a quick-glance of important information related to Asimov. If you have problems with setting up either the spreadsheet or signature, please don't hesitate to let us know, and someone will help.

Which diabetic food are you feeding?
 
Hello and welcome. Most people over this side of the pond use syringes to give insulin, but I think it's difficult to get the half unit marked syringes in Australia. Or at least at one point it was. Those half unit markings allow us to give the smaller changes in insulin dose, not 1 unit changes at a time.

As Dyana said, most people start their cats on smaller than 3 units per dose. How much does Asimov weigh? What food was he eating when he was diagnosed? Any other medical conditions at the time of his diabetes diagnosis?

A drop in BG (blood glucose) from 19 (342) to 11(198) in two hours is a fast drop. On Lantus, the onset or time when the insulin starts to take effect is typically 2-3 hours after the shot. A drop of more than 10-20% means a very active cycle (time between shots) and you'll need to monitor more closely. Since you did see him go back up, that could have been his body reacting to the fast drop with what we call a bounce.
Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).
Click to expand...
 
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