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Maresydotes

Maresydotes

Member Since 2011
Hi,
My first time posting to the Lantus forum. My cat, Missy was dx'd in March of 2011. She remitted in April :-D and relapsed in August :cry: when I noticed her asking for more food. So we are back on the juice. She has been on Lantus both times. She is eating EVO wet Chicken and Turkey. We are not sure why she relapsed, her teeth are ok, she was checked for a UTI and that was negative. The only thing we can figure is possibly a flare in chin acne (although she had that even before she went into remittance) that we are treating with Duoxo and Clavamox. I had her on pyoben, but it dried her out too badly and actually seemed to make the acne worse. Duoxo has calmed it down a lot, although it is not totally cleared up.
I just started using a SoloStar pen and was wondering if anyone else had problems with air in the syringe when withdrawing from the pen. I know you are not supposed to inject air in before withdrawing the dose, so I haven't been. But, I get a lot of air and it is difficult to know if I have withdrawn the proper amount of insulin, before getting rid of the air bubbles. I hate to take the syringe out, expel the air and withdraw more insulin. I am used to handling needles as I self inject for my MS, but always injected air into the solution before withdrawing. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to better do this?
Also, if anyone would care to look at my spreadsheet, I am attempting to get on board with the TR. I didn't test a lot during her first bout with insulin. I was still reeling from the diagnosis at that time and then she went in to remission so quickly, it was a moot point. This time around, for various reasons, I did not manage to do a curve until now. I am kind of confused by what I see......her numbers weren't really in a curve.....they were pretty flat all day. I guess that is good :? but it kind of confuses me, especially because her numbers are as high as they are. My vet and I discussed taking her up to 4.50 units and I think that is what I want to do. Any comments? Bear in mind she is a hefty kitty, overweight, but losing.
Thanks for any hints you can give me!!
 
Re: SoloStar Pen use

Hi guys .. well I already know I'm not going to be of much help here! My DH peter always drew up the insulin for us and I am uncomfortable with dosing questions for other kitties .. but just wanted to tell you to hang in there, I'm sure someone with more experienced eyes will be here soon!
 
Re: SoloStar Pen use

Thanks....we are hanging in there :-D One way or the other she is getting her insulin!!
 
Re: SoloStar Pen use

Hi Welcome to Lantus Land. I'm not going to weigh in on the dose except to say that Lantus is dosed based on the lowest point in the cycle not the preshot, so you have got to start getting those numbers in order to get good advice here.

The Solostar pens are pressurized, especially when you start a new pen it takes a while for the syringe to draw the insulin in. There is a stopper at the far end of the pen that sometimes seems to stick a little when you first start to use it. Start w/ the plunger pressed all the way up when you insert the syringe into the pen, slowly draw the plunger slightly past you dose and then wait as the pressure slowly equalizes. You will see that big bubble slowly fill.
 
Re: SoloStar Pen use

Hi Ann,
Thank you for the help. I will try that tonight......that big bubble was what I was seeing.
I am going to try to be very vigilant on getting her numbers. What do you make of the fact that she was pretty close to the same numbers throughout yesterday? No big leaps up OR down. I did one back in March/April and you could see a curve. that has me a little baffled...and worried about insulin resistance. It makes me nervous because she seems to be having less and less blue/green numbers, not more.
Well, we will keep at it and gather some more data.
 
Re: SoloStar Pen use

Moonie also has had many bouts of feline acne--I used Hibiclens(antimicrobial and antiseptic cleanser) wash area with a tin diluted drop on a cotton ball & wash it off, then apply Oxydex, and this works great..Use These every other day, but wash area every day & it clears right up-Also, feed your kitty off a glass bowl or plate only! That's what causes it. Non Glass plates...and bacteria!
Yes You are also right about the bubbles in the pen! Makes me nuts, but I know it's coming! :lol:
You just learn to deal with it!! Good luck, it will get easier....
 
Re: SoloStar Pen use

Welcome to Lantus Land!!

With regard to the pen, I would be careful to keep a grip on the syringe plunger, especially when you're withdrawing the syringe, to make sure that air isn't being sucked back into the pen.

Do you know how your vet came up with your cat's starting dose? Looking at Mares' weight on your spreadsheet, the starting dose of 3.0u seems high. For a weight of 22 lbs, the starting dose would be 2.5u. In addition, we increase doses typically by 0.25u (the most is 0.5u). It's possible that your cat is getting too much insulin.

I would also strongly encourage you to get some tests during the PM cycle. Many cats have lower numbers at night and you don't want to miss those numbers. In addition, not testing at night means you're missing half of your data.

As for a flat curve, that is typical of Lantus. Once a cat is getting closer to remission, the cycle begins to flatten out.
 
Roni,
Thank you so much for the ideas on the acne. I know of Hibiclens, but would never have thought to try it. Is Oxydex an OTC human acne treatment? This acne has been a pain in the **** for her and me. She doesn't mind testing or her injections, in fact shows up anytime I use the microwave, thinking it is her rice sock :lol: but she HATES me messing with her chin, poor kitty. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get this cleared up! She (and her civvie bro Phoenix) has a shallow ceramic food and water dish, so I don't think that is an issue....and I wash their dishes twice a day, too. I think the Hibiclens in addition to the Duoxo might be a good combo. I tried peroxide, but that dried her out too much, like the pyoben. And thank you for letting me know I am not the only one who struggles with bubbles! :roll: I just started using the pen and since I am used to using syringes, was getting kind of frustrated....not the way MY meds work. The pen seems so much more economical....I made sure to mention it to my vet, so she can pass the info along.
Sienna,
To be totally honest, I am not sure how my vet arrived at that dose, other than that was the dose she was on before remission. I did mention one time about the amount, but they said she is a big girl and needed the higher dose. Do you think I should consider decreasing the dose? I know I need more data...and will get it, but I am so confused. I don't know if she has elevated numbers because I have her on too much insulin. Wouldn't her body eventually adjust? I read the post
today in the general forum about rebound and I THINK I get it, but would that reaction continue on and on? She has been on 3 units or more since August when I found that she had relapsed. Should I consider backing her down slowly and see what happens? I don't want to cause her body damage because of my inexperience.
I can only HOPE that her flat 'curve' means she might be headed for remission again. It certainly confused me. I will try to get more post PPMS readings, but I have fatigue issues with my MS and it is hard for me to stay up too late. The couple I have gotten were shooting her on a low number (she had a BIG bounce from skipping an injection on a low number...my bad :sad: ) and I am terrified of a hypoglycemic episode.....she had one back in March/April.
I want her back where she was, if possible. She seems to be feeling ok...still bug hunting, but she is definitely not feeling as well as she was in remission. I miss seeing her that way. :cry: She is such a sweet, amiable kitty and I want her to feel GOOD. Any help/advice will be happily listened to. Thank you all so much. I worry about my baby girl.
Mares and Missy










Mares and Miss
 
Well, making sure the plunger was completely 'closed' definitely helped. Way less air. Lots easier to get the right dose. Thank you!
 
Hi Mares, I think your vet started Missy on too much lantus. She was free-falling down the units much faster than you would normally see. Then she came OTJ without a good period on a low dose - this so her pancreas could adjust/fully heal. I did the exact opposite. I should have had Little Boy OTJ but instead I kept giving him tiny amounts, dropping from 1 unit to .25 over many weeks, with numbers that were wonderful (in hindsight). Sadly we have brilliant hindsight understanding. So IMO you started with too much and were forced to drop too quickly and went off too quickly. I think this means her pancreas was forced to look after her body before it was fully healed.

The low numbers you've just experienced suggest you should drop her back but do it by the the protocol. Test at critical times now that she's on the move. +4, +6 +8 (every other day) would help you to get a handle on how she's going - but you can also get a sense of how she's going by her behaviour. If she's not too hungry she's doing ok. If she's demanding of food it's likely she's heading south in a hurry. I found myself picking up on LBs behaviour and if in doubt I tested! I was very good at picking low numbers by his behaviour.

This time, don't rush to get her into remission. Make sure she's established at a lower level before dropping too again. It's a bit like setting a slow and steady course for recovery.

Now if only I could have as much confidence in how to look after my own kitty!

BTW we gave LB Clavamox for months for chin acne - it did nothing.

Marilyn
 
Hi, Booster was diagnosed with Diabetes a few weeks ago and is not on insulin. Using information & videos from this forum, I created this document. We wanted to have it for reference. I hope this helps others.
 

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