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JohnnysMom

JohnnysMom

Member Since 2015
Hello everyone! My cat was diagnosed with diabetes 1 month ago. His twin was also dx in September but passed away that same day while they were flushing his system. He was too far progressed and we had no knowledge of feline diabetes. Since we caught Johnnys fairly early we are looking to treat, treat, treat... He is currently on Glargine 2 units. I met with a wonderful lady who gave me lots of advice and suggested Lantus Solostars and provided me with some new pens. When looking online it seems that Glargine is the generic form of this medications and I haven't been able to find out the exact differences and was wondering if anyone knew? Additionally, we purchased an IPet meter but ran out of strips and I am thinking of getting a human meter too to help with reducing cost; especially since we are in the beginning stages of regulation. I am wondering how they compare with pet readings? I have not yet done the curb and am waiting for new test strips for the IPet to come in. Has anyone done their glucose curb with a human meter? Is it better to wait and do it with the pet meter? I am also working on switching him to all wet but we have two other cats and one in particular cannot get behind the two meals a day and won't eat if anyone is around so we are dry feeding SD M/D and Fancy Feast Classic... Any other suggestions? I am concerned bc the other day Johnnys sugars was 480(IPet) and then 59 3.5 hours later after food and Insulin... Is it normal for them to drop that quickly? Any and ALL advice is appreciated. Thank you!!
 
Glargine, aka Lantus, is not currently available as a generic in the USA. The patent has expired, though, and there may be biosimilars in a few years.

Is the dose 2 units twice a day? Based on the low number you report, I'm guessing 2 units twice a day. Please drop it down to 1.5 units twice a day - you want the glucose no lower than 68 mg/dL on a pet meter and no lower than 50 mg/dL on a human meter at any time. See my signature link Glucometer Notes for feline specific reference ranges and meter info.

Many of us use the WalMart ReliOn Confirm or Confirm Micro. If you abhor WalMart, pop out on the web and go to ADW for the Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini, made by Arkray USA - its the same thing. Much less expensive than a vet curve, or a pet meter curve (the strips are quite pricey!)

Our nutrition bible is Cat Info and there is a downloadable food chart. I feed the 16 at my place Friskies Pates, mostly the poultry ones, as I've yet to see a domestic cat take down a cow or go fishing for salmon. I put the food down twice a day and let everyone graze. This lets the food go in slowly, which keeps the glucose more level. And for the cat on insulin, her insulin is gentle and works for about 12 hours, so the food needs to come in and match up with it. If you must feed some dry, consider Young Again 0 Carb from an internet site (if you're in the US). Pricey, but they don't eat much, so it works out for some folks.


 
Welcome to the FDMB Johnny's Mom! (We'd love to know what to call you too!)

"Insulin glargine" is Lantus...it's not a "generic" (it's still under patent so nobody can make a generic). I'm not sure why, but that's just the way they name a lot of insulins...here are some other examples:

Insulin detemir (Levemir)
Insulin lispro (Humalog)
Insulin aspart (NovoLog)

As for the meters, the vast majority of us use human meters due to the cost of the replacement strips. Both human and pet meters are equal as far as accuracy...the FDA allows a 20% variance in both. You can't really compare them side by side but generally, the pet meters read about 35% higher than the human ones, but the key is just understanding how to "read" the numbers for the meter you use. It's kind of like temperatures....both Celcius and Farenheight are correct, but you have to understand what each one means to know if 32 degrees is hot or cold.....LOL

The favorite meters are the Relion Confirm or Micro from WalMart. They take the smallest sample size and the strips are affordable ($35.88 for 100)...it's also important at 3am on a Sunday morning when you're cat's blood glucose is 45 that you can get more strips if you need them. With the pet meters, you either have to get them from a vet or order them and that doesn't help if you're in a hypo situation in the wee hours of the morning

There's also no reason you need to feed only twice a day. Most of us feed several small meals a day because it's easier on the pancreas to deal with small meals than to deal with big ones. Just like humans are told to eat 6 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones!

You are right to be concerned about Johnny's numbers the other day too! On a pet meter, anything under 68 is TOO low and means they need a reduction in dose.

Really happy to see you've found the FDMB! The people here have years of real life experience with feline diabetes and love to pass along the knowledge they've learned!
 
Thank you!! From me and Johnny. My name is Lauren btw
 

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If you go up on the top right side of the page where your name is and put your curson on top of your name, a box will come down with the choice "Avatar"...Go there and follow the directions and you can add your pretty kitty's picture as your avatar!
 
When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback without having to go look in all your past posts.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name,
cat's name,
date of Dx (diagnosis)
insulin
meter
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.
 
Yes, glargine is lantus. Having said that, I would recommend feeding more than 2 times daily. Small frequent feedings support a more stable blood sugar. I have my diabetic kitty and the other 3 on her feeding schedule. It took a some time and a little finessing to get the job done. But, now all is well with the schedule. I feed 5 times a day and administer insulin twice daily. I feed friskies pate or fancy feast pate. Any amount of dry food cause her blood sugars to skyrocket. Sheba canned food also elevated her blood sugars. When you make significant changes in their feeding times, portion sizes or product fed, it will take a number of days to level off. Good luck from jane and stewey
 
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