TortoiseAWD
Member Since 2012
Hi.
I've been skimming through the forums off and on for a while now, but this is the first time I've felt the need to post.
First, I suppose I should tell you about the four-legged members of the household: We have Jock, a 17-yo male domestic shorthair, his sister/littermate, Boo, and our youngest, Squeakers, a 3-yo torbie female. We adopted Jock and Boo when they were little kittens, but Squeak came to us as at seven months, and was a "free-range" kitty before that. Not surprisingly, Jock and Boo are totally mellow and laid-back, and Squeak varies between a psychotic bundle of energy, and a snuggly "love ME, dammit" attitude (all on her terms, of course).
Jock was diagnosed as diabetic in January of this year . . . his blood sugar was scary high (624), and he had a five-day stay at the vet to get him regulated back to the point where I could care for him. We struggled trying to find the right dosage of PZI for about six months, but no dosage seemed to work quite right. Two units twice daily ended up with a nadir of 35, and his curves were not smooth at all. We tried going to shots once a day, but that didn't work well, either. About six weeks ago, the vet switched us to Lantus. We worked our way up to three units twice/day, but his glucose numbers were still in the 300 - 400 range. A couple of weeks ago, we upped the dosage to four units. After a week, I did a glucose curve (I test at home using my own glucometer), and the numbers were better, ranging from 315 down to 225. The vet said keep him at four units BID, and check again in a week.
Well, I took the first reading of a curve today, and with no change in dosage or diet, his first number this morning was 69. Since it's Labor Day (so I can be home to keep an eye on him), and I'm doing a curve anyway, I went ahead and gave him his normal dosage with breakfast. I'll be taking another reading in about 1/2 hr, and I have some high-carb food and honey ready just in case his numbers dive instead of pulling back up.
So, I'm not new to feline diabetes, but I am relatively new to Lantus. Have any other Lantus users out there experienced something similar? I'm rather surprised at the change over the course of two weeks. A week ago (one week after switching from 3 to 4 units BID), numbers in the 200's and 300's, and this morning (two weeks after the dosage change), double-digits? I'm a type-2 diabetic myself, and when I tested my own glucose level this morning, it was in the range that I've come to expect, so I don't think I'm dealing with a faulty meter or test strips. Also, when I got the low number from Jock this morning, I poked his ear again and took another reading, and it was essentially the same (72). About an hour later, he was at 73, so staying pretty level so far.
If his numbers dive, you may see a 911 from me in the Lantus forums. Thanks for taking time to read my wall of text. Any and all advice appreciated.
Have a safe and happy Labor Day,
Tort
I've been skimming through the forums off and on for a while now, but this is the first time I've felt the need to post.
First, I suppose I should tell you about the four-legged members of the household: We have Jock, a 17-yo male domestic shorthair, his sister/littermate, Boo, and our youngest, Squeakers, a 3-yo torbie female. We adopted Jock and Boo when they were little kittens, but Squeak came to us as at seven months, and was a "free-range" kitty before that. Not surprisingly, Jock and Boo are totally mellow and laid-back, and Squeak varies between a psychotic bundle of energy, and a snuggly "love ME, dammit" attitude (all on her terms, of course).
Jock was diagnosed as diabetic in January of this year . . . his blood sugar was scary high (624), and he had a five-day stay at the vet to get him regulated back to the point where I could care for him. We struggled trying to find the right dosage of PZI for about six months, but no dosage seemed to work quite right. Two units twice daily ended up with a nadir of 35, and his curves were not smooth at all. We tried going to shots once a day, but that didn't work well, either. About six weeks ago, the vet switched us to Lantus. We worked our way up to three units twice/day, but his glucose numbers were still in the 300 - 400 range. A couple of weeks ago, we upped the dosage to four units. After a week, I did a glucose curve (I test at home using my own glucometer), and the numbers were better, ranging from 315 down to 225. The vet said keep him at four units BID, and check again in a week.
Well, I took the first reading of a curve today, and with no change in dosage or diet, his first number this morning was 69. Since it's Labor Day (so I can be home to keep an eye on him), and I'm doing a curve anyway, I went ahead and gave him his normal dosage with breakfast. I'll be taking another reading in about 1/2 hr, and I have some high-carb food and honey ready just in case his numbers dive instead of pulling back up.
So, I'm not new to feline diabetes, but I am relatively new to Lantus. Have any other Lantus users out there experienced something similar? I'm rather surprised at the change over the course of two weeks. A week ago (one week after switching from 3 to 4 units BID), numbers in the 200's and 300's, and this morning (two weeks after the dosage change), double-digits? I'm a type-2 diabetic myself, and when I tested my own glucose level this morning, it was in the range that I've come to expect, so I don't think I'm dealing with a faulty meter or test strips. Also, when I got the low number from Jock this morning, I poked his ear again and took another reading, and it was essentially the same (72). About an hour later, he was at 73, so staying pretty level so far.
If his numbers dive, you may see a 911 from me in the Lantus forums. Thanks for taking time to read my wall of text. Any and all advice appreciated.
Have a safe and happy Labor Day,
Tort
