newbie - lantus

[jbeausoleil]

Hi,
I have a 12yr old female at ideal weight of 8.25lbs.
she was on Hill's Science Diet her whole life until last Thursday when diagnosed as type II FD.
She went 100% wet by Sunday afternoon on Nutro grain free turkey loaf.
Today I finally received my order of Evo 95% and she has been eating that since noon.
I am planning to stick withe the Evo.

Last Thur she had BG of 437 at the clinic.
Friday and Saturday I read and bought so many different wet foods that were not being eaten.

Sunday BG 209, 216, 214 & 221 respectively - approx 6hr intervals and before feeding.
Monday BG 190, 166 & 171 and fully off dry for 24 hrs by noon.
Tuesday BG 158,156 & 163
Wednesday 155 & 151 but totally blew the evening test. tried 4 times then gave up for both our sakes.
Today - one week later with the food switch at lunch BG 205,, 159 & 169

No insulin ever injected at this time. we were given a week to see what a diet change would do. Prescribed Lantus.

Tomorrow we go to the vet to test my meter with their equipment to make sure the meter numbers are reasonably accurate and get lessons on insulincare, ketone info and injection lesson.

I kept my vet updated on her success so far. She appears to be a little fighter!

My first question to you experienced folks:
Given how well she is doing without insulin yet AND the switch to Evo only today - should I wait on the insulin another day or so to see how she does on Evo?
It seems she would benefit from the insulin to help healing along so maybe a very low dose for a week?

I'm anxious about the TR because I am single and working and do not feel I can provide sufficient testing.
I have been feeding approx. 1.5 oz of food 4 times per day. I think I can put down more food though. She seems to self manage quite well on a free feed basis.

2 cats in the the household and the other switched right away. of course. Both are now on the same diet so I'm not worried about the feeding aspect.

Thank you in advance!
Izzy FD

 

[Deb & Wink]

Welcome to the FDMB, the best place you never expected to be.

Congratulations on the food change. It seems to have made quite a difference in the BG numbers already.

Given how well she is doing without insulin yet AND the switch to Evo only today - should I wait on the insulin another day or so to see how she does on Evo?

You certainly could. Your choice. It's also a good idea, when you first start insulin, if you can be around for the first day or so to monitor. For most working people, this means the weekend.

It seems she would benefit from the insulin to help healing along so maybe a very low dose for a week?

Your cat will probably need a small dose of the Lantus insulin to help support and give the pancreas time to heal. Starting dose for most cats with the protocol we use is usually around 0.5U to 1U. We'd rather start low and let the depot fill for 5-7 days before increasing the dose. It's easy to increase the dose if needed. It's stressful and nerve wracking if you have a hypo the first day on insulin.

I'm anxious about the TR because I am single and working and do not feel I can provide sufficient testing.

TR only requires 4 tests a day. AMPS, PMPS, and two other tests, somewhere around mid-cycle if possible. you obviously can't get those mid-cycle tests on days when you are working. Some night time tests are helpful. It is the low point or nadir at mid-cycle that we base dose changes on. There is also the SLGS (Start Low, Go Slow) protocol. People with full time jobs and full lives can usually find some time on the weekend to test.

I have been feeding approx. 1.5 oz of food 4 times per day. I think I can put down more food though. She seems to self manage quite well on a free feed basis.

Free feeding is fine. The only time we like the food to be taken up is 2 hours before the pre-shot tests. This is so we know that test number is not due to food influence.

You may be needing to shot at low numbers from the start. Please read this sticky and ask any questions you may have. http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=147
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[jbeausoleil]

Thank you very much for the break down and especially the link.
Fortunately it is a Friday, we go see the vet this afternoon and I have the weekend to figure this out.

I am most fortunate in that I can usually get home around lunch time and been able to test then already.
Seems the next step will be getting the online log ready. Then figuring out the step after that. I think a 6am to 6pm time frame will allow me the most flexibility if I need to test several times in the am before work.

Just to be sure I understand correctly, of a low number morning is not clearly coming up before I need to go to work out sounds like a skilled dose is safer. But I also recognize it is premature to know since we have not even started insulin.

I will be back this evening. Vet visit at 2pm California time. We will be there awhile so we can test my monitor along with all my lessons. I have a note book all ready!

Thank you!
Jean and Izzy fd

And no more trying to post from my kindle since the auto spell is terrible!

 

[Deb & Wink]

Just to be sure I understand correctly, of a low number morning is not clearly coming up before I need to go to work out sounds like a skilled dose is safer.

Think your kindle did a little kerfluffle here. Not sure what you mean by 'skilled dose'.

Instructions for creating the on-line SS (spreadsheet) we all use are here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207 Ask for help here in your post if you are having problems with any of the steps. There are people here that can set things up for you or help you through any problems.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

Welcome to the board!

You have made a great start, good change of food, testing etc. With those numbers (under 200) we wouldnt recommend that you shoot as a newbie but its still higher than ideal. Can you test the urine for sugar ( urine glucose test strips)? I am trying to see if she is over her renal threshold and if she is then we might need to start on a very low dose of insulin to give the pancreas that final push.

What meter are you using?

Wendy

 

[KPassa]

Hi there! I'm also in California (Orange County). How did the vet visit go? Any news?