Newbie! question about doses~

[Louieorangetabby]

I'm so thankful to the advice I got from this community to lower Louie's doses as prescribed by the vet. I'm actually feeling like I can do this with your help~not relying on the vet I was using to have all the answers!
Should I stay at 1 unit for now? This 5 kitty household has had to undergo a big change in diet, but feeding wet low carb canned food is turning into the new normal. For now I'm feeding FF classic, but I'll try some other varieties after a while (from the low-carb list)
testing is getting a little easier too~
THANK YOU!
Tracy & Louie

 

[Sherry & Zoe (GA)]

Hi Tracy and Louie.....

Welcome to FDMB and LL......I don't think I have said hello before.

Here is what it says in the sticky about the tight regulation protocol......Louie's numbers sure are looking better at the lower dose! Good luck and keep asking questions.....

"General" Guidelines:

Hold the initial starting dose for 5 - 7 days (10 - 14 consecutive cycles) unless the numbers tell you otherwise. Kitties experiencing high flat curves or prone to ketones may want to increase the starting dose after 3 days (6 consecutive cycles).
Each subsequent dose is held for a minimum of 3 days (6 consecutive cycles) unless kitty earns a reduction (See: Reducing the dose...).
Adjustments to dose are based on nadirs with only some consideration given to preshot numbers.

Increasing the dose:

Hold the dose for 3 - 5 days (6 - 10 consecutive cycles) if nadirs are less than 200 before increasing the dose.
After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 200, but less than 300 increase the dose by 0.25 unit.
After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 300 increase the dose by 0.5 unit.

Reducing the dose:

If kitty drops below 40 (long term diabetic) or 50 (newly diagnosed diabetic) reduce the dose by 0.25 unit. If kitty has a history of not holding reductions well or if reductions are close together... sneak the dose down by shaving the dose rather than reducing by a full quarter unit. Alternatively, at each newly reduced dose... try to make sure kitty maintains numbers in the normal range for seven days before reducing the dose further.
If an attempted reduction fails, go right back up to the last good dose.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

IMHO, at these high numbers, I'd probably think about an increase after six cycles....if they stay this high and flat, I might also think about raising him .5u. Let's see how he does as you go.....he might come down and not need an increase or only need one of .25u.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Here's the link to your post on the Lantus board from yesterday: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=55627&p=602584#p602584

Before we can make any recommendations about dose, is it possible for you to get some additional spot checks? Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, or the lowest BG test in the cycle. Dosing is not based on your pre-shot numbers. It's very important to get tests both during the AM and the PM cycles. Cats often have lower numbers at night so getting at the very least, a test before you go to bed, is very helpful. Right now, with only 2 tests during the cycle since you started Louie on Lantus, I don't feel like I'm in a good position to make a recommendation about dose. Since you've seen some lower numbers, and not knowing just how low those numbers went mid-cycle, I would not want to put your cat in jeopardy.

You might want to take a look at this post on whether to increase the dose.