New to the Lantus Board -- need some help with dose

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heidi

Member Since 2012
Hi, everyone.
Some fabulous people on the general health board suggested it was time I started posting over here, so here I am!
A quick intro: I am a single mom of twin-three year olds, a PhD student in environmental economics, a writer, a gardener and an animal rescue volunteer. My 13-year-old kitty, Frodo, was diagnosed with diabetes in Dec. He is a former feral (tamed as a kitten but still shy) and testing has been rocky although we seem to have come to an understanding with each other and with the twins and we have consistently gotten some tests in over the last few days.

Here is my problem. Frodo had a mild hypo event on Tuesday. No shot Tuesday evening, and then I dropped the dose by 0.5 units starting the next morning. (His SS is up-to-date. It starts with my first testing--the rest of his info is in my signature line). Since then he's stayed pretty low and I keep feeling like I have to skip the evening shot (don't want to be awake and worrying all night). I'm trying to come up with a strategy for going forward tonight and this weekend. I can stay home tomorrow and get a few more tests in, so I can start getting a better idea of how he reacts to the insulin. Any dosing ideas? I was thinking maybe dropping to 0.5 tonight if I get another test in the high 100s, so he at least gets a shot . . . But after that I'm pretty lost.

Thanks, everyone.
Heidi
 
Hi Heidi,

It looks like a great plan to drop him back to .5u twice a day and hold that dose for at least a week or more to see how he will do, right now it looks like he is doing a lot of bouncing from going really low during the day and then having to skip shots because he is too low in the evening to give a shot to. But stay on top of him as much as possible with the testing to make sure that even on that .5u he isn't still going really low during the day.

If it prove to not be enough insulin you can always go back up, but you can't get the insulin back out once it is in the cat. I would much rather see you giving not enough insulin right now than too much. It is way better for him to be a little high for a few days than too low for a minute.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Hi, Heidi ~

WOW...sounds like you have a busy schedule!

"He is a former feral (tamed as a kitten but still shy)" -- How wonderful that you had the patience, Heidi, to tame Frodo and give him a home! Thank you for doing that. Our kitty, Butters, was a semi-feral, acting more like a feral, when he appeared in our back yard in 2006. He is the sweetest cat in the world now :-D .

Did you switch Frodo to a low carb canned food diet when he became diabetic, or was he already eating that way, Heidi? You're seeing such a strong response to the Lantus for Frodo that I'm wondering if a diet change is playing a role in that.

Mel's suggestion for you to back off to the .5U twice a day dose sounds good. With that lower dose, you may be able to be more consistent with the same dose AM and PM. With regular testing (as your schedule allows, Heidi), you'll have an idea in a week or so of how well that dose works for Frodo. Of course, if he goes too low on that dose, then you'll need to make another decrease. It's always safer to start low, go slow holding the dose, and then evaluate and make any dosing changes.

Nice to "meet" you Heidi...wish it didn't have to be for Frodo's diabetes.

TGIF,
Eva
 
I switched him to the low carb canned died a few days after his diagnosis in December. The switch was slow over the course of about 1.5 weeks. So he's been on only low carb canned or "meat-only" treats for about 4 weeks now. The only time I deviated from this was with the hypo on Tuesday when he was given a little dry kibble and some honey mixed into his normal food as his treats while I was monitoring the low BG. I imagine that like humans, cats need many weeks or months to fully adjust to a major diet change like that, although of course there are some instant changes too. I'm hoping this bodes well for a low insulin need or possible remission!
Thanks for your ideas. I was pretty sure last night that switching to 0.5 twice a day was probably what he needed but it's good to get feedback from experienced care-takers.
Heidi
 
"I'm hoping this bodes well for a low insulin need or possible remission!" -- And we're all hoping this for Frodo and you, too, Heidi!!! :-D

Eva
 
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