Please help dosing Lantus for Skittles

[SkittlesMarie]

Please review Skittles spreadsheet. She is now on 2.75 Lantus twice per day, eats well (Fancy Feast pates and Pate naturals). She acts well. Her numbers go all over the place. I need someone to advise me. Thank you!

 

[Briere Fur Mom]

Have you tried asking on the Lantus and Levemir forum?

 

[Briere Fur Mom]

Copied/Pasted from the Dosing method sticky at the top of the Lantus and Levemir forum

After 1 week at a given dose perform a 12 hour curve, testing every 2 hours OR perform an 18 hour curve, testing every 3 hours. Note: Random spot checks are often helpful to "fill in the blanks" on kitty's spreadsheet. The goal is to learn how low the current dose is dropping kitty prior to making dose adjustments.

• If nadirs are more than 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), increase the dose by 0.25 unit
• If nadirs are between 90 (5 mmol/L) and 149 mg/dl (8.2 mmol/L), maintain the same dose
• If nadirs are below 90 mg/dl (5mmol/L), decrease the dose by 0.25 unit

As your cat's blood glucose begins to fall mostly in the desired range [lowest point of the curve approaching 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) and pre-shot value around or below 300 mg/dl (16.6 mmol/L)], do lengthen the waiting time between dose increases. If you decide to change another factor (e.g., diet or other medications), don't increase the insulin dose until the other change is complete (but decrease the dose if your cat's glucose numbers consistently fall below 90 mg/dl (5.0 mmol/L) as a result of the change).

Don't be tempted to rush the process along by increasing the dose more quickly or in larger increments-- no matter how high your cat's blood glucose is! Rushing towards regulation will cost you time in the long run, because you may shoot past the right dose.

Lather, Rinse, and Repeat!

 

[Juls and Billy]

I would love to see a curve (test every 2 hours for 12 hours, feed as usual) and catch what the low reading is (Nadir.) We need to see how low Skittles is going to see if those pink numbers you are getting are bounce or something else. If you can't get a full curve, grab whatever mid-cycle tests you can. We need to know the low numbers to advise on dose. For example, if she's dropping under 90 during the day, she might need a reduction. If she isn't dropping that low, she might need a small increase. But dosing changes are based on the low readings. We can't tell what to do without a little more information. And it would be awesome if you could get a test during the PM cycle, even if it's just one before bed. Or you can set an alarm and get a quick test and go right back to bed. I had to do that quite a bit when my Billy was headed for remission.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I agree with Juls and Billy, you need to test more often and especially get some at night.