? No shot since 6/29, but more blue than green on my sheet. Are we heading toward remission?

[Tahirah & Fidget]

Hello!

Fidget's last insulin shot was the morning of 6/29 and his BG has been mostly consistent since then. He's eating FF and I'm still testing twice a day, but can we still achieve remission with numbers in the 100-200 mg/dL range?

If not, how can I get him there, if at all?

I made a thread last week with a bit more detail about his situation if that helps, it can be found here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/7-3-fidget-im-back-and-confused-again.216377

Thanks!

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Remission is usually mostly greens and an occasional blue, to help really getting into remission and so that he has a better chance for the remission to stick I would suggest you try and shoot a very small dose 0.25 for a few days as long as possible and if he falls low on that dose try 0.1 or even a drop before discontinuing insulin, but I suggest you post this question on the Lantus forum so that more Lantus experts get to see it and see what they think

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Using an AlphaTrak, the 'normal' range is approximately 75 to 150.

 

[Myrtlesmum]

It would be good if you could test in the middle of the day to see if she is dipping into the greens then or very low blues - that is how I decided Myrtle was in remission back in 2017. (I stopped using the spreadsheet after a couple of months so you can just see it in June/July 2017). They way I figure it is if she is dropping low on her own in the middle of the day, I'm not going to add insulin to it. Myrtle stayed in remission for 2 years and has only recently been back on insulin.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Fidget's last insulin shot was the morning of 6/29 and his BG has been mostly consistent since then. He's eating FF and I'm still testing twice a day, but can we still achieve remission with numbers in the 100-200 mg/dL range?

Hi,
The number's you're seeing 'are' in normal range on Alphatrak. Well done, you!

I think we need to remember too though that not all cats run in the low end of the normal range when in remission. I recall an experienced member here whose cat was typically around 8.3 in remission (human meter), but whose blood glucose, despite her best efforts, couldn't be got down any lower than that safely.

My own old boy finally went into remission after nearly 11 years on insulin. But his numbers were mainly between 5 and 8 (human meter).
He was on a long-lasting insulin, but became far too insulin-sensitive to give even the smallest insulin dose (needle juice) at those numbers. He remained in remission for about a year and a half, until he died aged 20.

I may end up in a similar situation with my new girl, Bonbon, who can sit for a number of days in the (mostly) higher end of the normal range without insulin, but who is very insulin-sensitive and difficult to get into lower numbers safely with insulin.
Not only is she insulin-sensitive, but she can also drop her own blood glucose by several mmol in a couple of hours after eating a snack (for example, from 10.1 to 5.5, from 8.3 to 4.8, from 7 to 3.9). This, plus her insulin-sensitivity, makes giving even the tiniest doses difficult.

There are folks too on faster-acting insulins, who may never be able to get their cats into a lower normal range while on insulin because it simply isn't safe to do so. And yet some of these cats still go into remission.

While there are guidelines and 'received wisdoms' about what is 'ideal' with regard to remission. It's important to also bear in mind that cats are individuals; 'Every Cat Is Different', and every situation is different. We have to work with what we have. And that's OK.

Good luck!

Eliz

 

[Tahirah & Fidget]

It would be good if you could test in the middle of the day to see if she is dipping into the greens then or very low blues - that is how I decided Myrtle was in remission back in 2017. (I stopped using the spreadsheet after a couple of months so you can just see it in June/July 2017). They way I figure it is if she is dropping low on her own in the middle of the day, I'm not going to add insulin to it. Myrtle stayed in remission for 2 years and has only recently been back on insulin.

Thank you! I'll be home most of Sunday, so I'll be able to get some extra tests done then. I'm also on my last strip and need to swing by the vet tonight to pick up more, so I'll get my before bed tests done again too. Congrats to you and Myrtle, two years is a long time, even if she's back on insulin now!

 

[Tahirah & Fidget]

Hi,
The number's you're seeing 'are' in normal range on Alphatrak. Well done, you!

I think we need to remember too though that not all cats run in the low end of the normal range when in remission. I recall an experienced member here whose cat was typically around 8.3 in remission (human meter), but whose blood glucose, despite her best efforts, couldn't be got down any lower than that safely.

My own old boy finally went into remission after nearly 11 years on insulin. But his numbers were mainly between 5 and 8 (human meter).
He was on a long-lasting insulin, but became far too insulin-sensitive to give even the smallest insulin dose (needle juice) at those numbers. He remained in remission for about a year and a half, until he died aged 20.

I may end up in a similar situation with my new girl, Bonbon, who can sit for a number of days in the (mostly) higher end of the normal range without insulin, but who is very insulin-sensitive and difficult to get into lower numbers safely with insulin.
Not only is she insulin-sensitive, but she can also drop her own blood glucose by several mmol in a couple of hours after eating a snack (for example, from 10.1 to 5.5, from 8.3 to 4.8, from 7 to 3.9). This, plus her insulin-sensitivity, makes giving even the tiniest doses difficult.

There are folks too on faster-acting insulins, who may never be able to get their cats into a lower normal range while on insulin because it simply isn't safe to do so. And yet some of these cats still go into remission.

While there are guidelines and 'received wisdoms' about what is 'ideal' with regard to remission. It's important to also bear in mind that cats are individuals; 'Every Cat Is Different', and every situation is different. We have to work with what we have. And that's OK.

Good luck!

Eliz

Thank you so much for responding with such detail, that's a great point of reference! In that case, should I just keep on not shooting? I got 5.2 on the AT2 this morning, I'm also wondering if he stays a bit higher throughout the day now that I've been leaving his leftover food out until I get home from work. Either way I've been pretty happy at seeing how back to normal he's been acting those first few weeks were really hard.

Best of luck to you and Bonbon, sounds like she's in good hands