Please Help..Freaking out Overdose On Lantus This Morning

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Chicken'sMom

Chicken'sMom

Member Since 2015
I wanted to start Chicken on 2.25 units of Lantus this morning and her lantus pen does not allow us to use it at 2.25 units so I brought home some diabetic syringes from work and drew it up and administered it to her. I had my husband check it because he is also a nurse and deals with that more then I do and he said it was ok. When I went to give it to her I thought...boy that seemed like an awful lot more then I usually give her and then he looked closer at it and realized that I had given her around twenty units...OMG I wanted to vomit and cry at the same time. She did eat well and I also gave her treats, DM dry food, some syrup and a couple licks of yogurt and of course called the vet, who was not in yet but who I am waiting to hear back from. Her blood sugar this morning was 220. I am going to set my alarm and wake up every couple of hours since my husband and I both work nights and we have to go back tonight also and I will check her blood sugar and I am going to lay out in the living room with her to make sure she is OK. Has anybody else made this dreadful mistake? I am so embarrassed and I will just die if something happens to her. I will never forgive myself. Right now she seems fine, I am keeping a good eye on her. I think I will hold her dose tonight to give her a break.
Any information that anybody can provide me will be wonderful. Thank you so much in advance.
 
:bighug: breath it looks like your doing the right things my name is Julia and Magellan is also using Lantus. Mistakes happen there are a lot of other people who know more but I wanted you to know you where not alone here, I know how very scary this.
 
I am thinking about what I would do and I would call an emergency vet and seek advice about what to do if your vet doesn't call you back soon. By soon I mean very soon and not in several hours. Probably I would just go straight to a vet after calling first to make sure they are open.
 
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Mistakes happen and it won't be the first time a diabetic cat has got an accidental overdose. The important thing is that you realized before you went back to sleep and left him alone for a few hours! :bighug:I would agree with making sure you speak with either your regular vet or an emergency vet as soon as possible. However, I would also agree that you really need to stay awake until after you speak to a vet and follow whatever course of action they give you - it may well be that he needs to spend part of the day on a glucose drip to counteract the insulin. The vet can do this for you and keep him safe. If your vet says you can treat him at home with sugar/carbs, then he will need frequent testing over the next few hours to make sure he isn't dropping dangerously low. Unfortunately I've only got a few minutes before I have to leave for work so can't stick around as it's my first day on a new contract, but I'll look back in when I can today.

If it's been more than an hour since Chicken's shot, can you please test her again to make sure she's not dropping quickly.
 
I agree with Voula. I would not go to sleep and I would take Chicken to the vet as soon as possible. Checking his blood sugars every couple of hours is not going to be often enough. Once the insulin kicks in it could drop quickly.
Do you have any high carb food in the house? If not I would send your husband out to get some and feed some to Chicken.
I strongly urge you to seek vet advice and don't wait until it becomes an emergency.
 
I agree....your vet should be open by now...I'd take Chicken in right now, tell them what you did and let them handle it...if she starts to crash, she could crash hard and those few minutes between you and the vets office may not be enough

They can put her on a glucose drip immediately if she should crash....Lantus overdoses can also last over 16 hours so unless you're able to stay up with her all day and keep testing/feeding, the vet is where she should be

And yes, others have done the same thing before in the past, so don't beat yourself up
 
I hope you are on the way to the vet now to get Chicken on a glucose drip. This is not something that should be handled at home. That is too much extra insulin to be managed at home.

I've even heard of vet techs making the same mistake showing clients how to shoot insulin, 2 units was really 20. In that case, the cat had a high dose condition and did OK. However, I've also seen poor outcomes for cats that have been given too much insulin and people delay getting them into the vet.

Best of luck.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I hope you are on the way to the vet now to get Chicken on a glucose drip. This is not something that should be handled at home. That is too much extra insulin to be managed at home.
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I have a lot of experience with the use of long-acting insulins (Lantus and Levemir) in felines and have been a member of this board for almost 9 years. I agree with Wendy. This isn't one of those times to try to handle things at home. Please take Chicken to your vet or an Emergency vet as soon as possible.

Long acting insulins have the potential of producing prolonged hypoglycemic events. We've seen hypos from Lantus and Levemir overdoses last as long as 16 - 17 hours. Even if the numbers are high now, kitty can bottom at any time... it can even happen much, much later in the cycle than usual. Just when you think it's safe to go to sleep... it may not be.
 
I presume you rushed Chicken to the vet, as urged by the experienced members. Praying that she will be okay.
Please be gentle with yourself -- mistakes do happen :bighug:
 
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Going forward...
Here's a little info on syringes: You'll want to get some U100 3/10cc syringes with half unit markings. They're the best to use for fine dosing. BD, Monoject, GNP, and ReliOn are just some of the brands available with half unit markings. Needle gauge and length is your preference They come in ½ inch or 5/16 inch needle lengths. Needle gauges 29, 30 or 31 (31 being the thinnest).

Syringe scales:

SYRINGE SCALES.JPG


Thoughts and prayers are with you.
Please update when you can...
 
Thank you all for you prayers and help and advice. I layed in the living room and she layed right beside me and I woke frequently to check on her. I did her initial injection at 0800, along with the food etc she ate then repeated it at 1200 and it was 49, I then gave her another can of food that she ate, some DM dry kibble and some temptations treats. Then at three she was 38, still very alert, ate dry DM, cool whip (anything I had that she would take with high sugar) and treats. She is cleaning herself right now and acting fine... But I am not thinking we are out of the woods... I am going to check her again at five before work and feed her then check again at six before I leave and God willing it will be coming up. Thank you all for everything. I did not know where else to turn. I hope everybody had a great day and thank you again for all the wonderful reassurance and help. Xoxo
 
When a cat is in the 30's we recommend testing every 1/2 hour. A lot can change quickly - you do not want to go two hours between testing. I still HIGHLY recommend taking her to the vet. As Jill said, overdoses can last more than one cycle. A vet would be a much safer place for her, especially while you are gone to work.
 
If her reading was 38 you should be checking her every twenty minutes. This would be the case even if she had the correct amount of insulin as this glucose level is too low and as many members of this board have said a cat can seem fine one minute and the next be in serious trouble. I am glad that your Chicken is okay so far but I still stand by my statement that you should take her to the vet. I am not usually forceful about giving advice to people and I try always to be respectful in how I give advice but this is a very serious situation. Checking every few hours with a dropping blood glucose after so much insulin is very unsafe. I pray your Chicken will be fine and perhaps I am not understanding if there is a reason such as finances for not taking Chicken to the vet in which case my apologies if I have been insensitive but this is a very serious situation that needs veterinary attention as others have said.
 
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If she was at 49 at noon and at 38 around 3pm after all the stuff she ate, she is still dropping. You really need to get her to the vet NOW! She may take a dive and if you are off at work there won't be anyone there to help her! If as you suspect she got 20u of insulin instead of 2.25u that's almost 10X the correct dose. That is huge. If you gave it to her around 09:30, her nadir (low for the cycle) may not occur until 4:30 or 5:30pm., so she could drop even further.
 
Please, please do take your cat to a vet.
The blood glucose can suddenly drop faster than you will be able to bring it up; and, given the extent of the overdose this could easily be fatal or could leave the kitty with organ or brain damage. I'm really sorry to be blunt, but this is an extremely serious situation.

Everyone here is keeping fingers and paws crossed for your kitty....
 
Please, please, I beg of you, take Chicken to the vet. Many of those above who have given that advice are very experienced and know what they are talking about. I for one trust these people and seek advice from them about FD. If they told me to rush my kitty to the vet, I`d be on my way in a heartbeat.
 
I hesitated to add to all the words of wisdom that have been given to you. Even with giving REGULAR doses of insulin a cat can suddenly drop and go into a hypo state, which if not treated promptly can be deadly!!! With the amount that Chicken was given, albeit in error, this is a CRITICAL situation. Chicken may seem fine right now and maybe for a few hours in the future, but insulin is a hormone and can totally change the whole endocrine system. It may not happen at 4 or 6 or 8 hours after injection, but that is a LOT of insulin for Chicken to try to assimilate. The effects may come 12 or 24 hours later and could be serious or deadly. Please do not wait...if Chicken is able to survive this massive dose, then you can get back to the rest of the world. Please listen to the advise that has been given!!
 
Thank you for giving us an update. We don't think that you don't love Chicken. We are just very, VERY worried! When we didn't hear back from you, we didn't know if you had talked to vet at all! Is the vet willing to be there, no matter what the time, or do you have quick access to an ER vet?

ETA: This was in response to a post from Chicken's mom. Not sure where the post went.
 
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My housemate misread a syringe and OD'd Spitzer with 10 units instead of 1. Spitzer spend 2 days on a dextrose drip to fight the overdose.
 
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We know you love your baby, that was so obvious in your original posting. I`m so happy you took her to the vet. I`ve heard of a few cases where a dosage was given which was 10x the required amount -- one of them was a vet tech who was instructing someone on how to administer an injection! We`re human, mistakes happen. We all wanted your little girl to be safe, thus the numerous urgent posts. Please keep us posted and hugs to you :bighug:

P.S. Her pic is so cute!!
 
I am SO glad that you took her to the vet. You obviously love your Chicken a lot and in this case better safe than sorry. Good luck with her treatment.
 
So relieved Chicken is getting the care she needs. We know how much you love her and we could all "hear" your pain of regret in your original message and just wanted to help you keep her safe. Mistakes happen but she is in good hands now. Go do something nice for yourself for a bit. You must be wound up in knots! Please keep us posted!
:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Only just got home from work - I'm so glad to hear you've taken Chicken to the vet. That will definitely be the safest place for her while you have to work tonight. :) :bighug: And my apologies to Chicken for calling her "he" while I was rushing to try and post on my way out the door this morning - I hope she wasn't too offended by my mistake! ;) Please do keep us posted on her progress. :bighug:
 
Lori & Lulu said:
We know you love your baby, that was so obvious in your original posting. I`m so happy you took her to the vet. I`ve heard of a few cases where a dosage was given which was 10x the required amount -- one of them was a vet tech who was instructing someone on how to administer an injection! We`re human, mistakes happen. We all wanted your little girl to be safe, thus the numerous urgent posts. Please keep us posted and hugs to you :bighug:

P.S. Her pic is so cute!!
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Thank you!! I do love her very much.. My husband took her and they have her kayro syrup and checked her sugar they got it up to 119 and said she was good to take home. I called them crying my eyes out and telling them that my husband was on his way, they were all set up for her when they got there : ) I am so glad her vet is open until 2100. I asked them if they were sure she was ok to come home and they said yes! My husband said she is back to acting like her normal self and I think we all feel much relief : )) Me, Chicken, my husband, Casper and our son Connor thank everyone on here so much I just can't tell you xoxo
Shiloh & Rhonda said:
Thanks Stacey for that info...did she go super low?
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Hi, the lowest she went was 38. At 1800 she was up to 53, my husband stayed home with her tonight but I was getting very scared reading the posts from everyone and I really respect everyone here so we took her to the vet : ) She is doing fine Thank you.
 
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Julia Rae said:
:bighug: breath it looks like your doing the right things my name is Julia and Magellan is also using Lantus. Mistakes happen there are a lot of other people who know more but I wanted you to know you where not alone here, I know how very scary this.
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Thank you so much for that, I knew I would look like an idiot writing that on this forum but I knew that there are a lot of very educated and experienced people on here also so I had to ask for help and I am so glad that I did : ) :cat:
 
Chicken'sMom said:
I knew I would look like an idiot writing that on this forum but I knew that there are a lot of very educated and experienced people on here also so I had to ask for help and I am so glad that I did : )
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Not at all - I think you'll find every one of us has made mistakes with our sugar kitties (many of us more than once). And the only stupid question is that one that doesn't get asked until AFTER things start going badly wrong. And it sounds as though Chicken is going to be just fine, which is the most important thing of all! :) :bighug:
 
I am so glad to hear that Chicken is safe and well. You did exactly the right things for your beloved kitty. Everyone can make a mistake, but you were home testing AND you asked for advice. Chicken is most fortunate to have two such caring petparents. :bighug: :bighug:
 
Bron and Sheba said:
I agree with Voula. I would not go to sleep and I would take Chicken to the vet as soon as possible. Checking his blood sugars every couple of hours is not going to be often enough. Once the insulin kicks in it could drop quickly.
Do you have any high carb food in the house? If not I would send your husband out to get some and feed some to Chicken.
I strongly urge you to seek vet advice and don't wait until it becomes an emergency.
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Thank you!
 
Jill & Alex (GA) said:
I have a lot of experience with the use of long-acting insulins (Lantus and Levemir) in felines and have been a member of this board for almost 9 years. I agree with Wendy. This isn't one of those times to try to handle things at home. Please take Chicken to your vet or an Emergency vet as soon as possible.

Long acting insulins have the potential of producing prolonged hypoglycemic events. We've seen hypos from Lantus and Levemir overdoses last as long as 16 - 17 hours. Even if the numbers are high now, kitty can bottom at any time... it can even happen much, much later in the cycle than usual. Just when you think it's safe to go to sleep... it may not be.
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Thank you very much for the information, I truly appreciate it!
 
That is wonderful news that Chicken will be alright and you and your husband must be so relieved and it is good you took Chicken to the vet too. As others have said similar situations have not ended so well so always best to be safe.
 
Chicken'sMom said:
Thank you so much for doing that for me, that was so sweet of you, I really appreciate it :bighug:
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Hi Stacey. I was so worried for Chicken and you and your husband too. I also worried maybe I was being too forceful in my posts but it was because I felt so anxious for all of you and wanted Chicken to be safe. I am so pleased Chicken will be alright and I can only imagine how you must have felt when you realised your mistake.
 
Julia Rae said:
:bighug: breath it looks like your doing the right things my name is Julia and Magellan is also using Lantus. Mistakes happen there are a lot of other people who know more but I wanted you to know you where not alone here, I know how very scary this.
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Thank you so much, I really needed that : ) You all are so very kind, thank you so much.. It has been such a stressful day...I so appreciate you all :D
 
I would like to share a handy hint in case it helps anyone avoid a similar mistake which can really happen to anyone. Because I do suffer from anxiety I sometimes have doubted if I had the correct insulin dose in the syringe and sometimes if I have had to get up in the middle of the night if we are off schedule it is easy to forget in a drowsy state whether insulin was given especially if we have been off schedule so this is what I do. When I fill the syringe I place it down and take a photo of it on my iPhone. The beauty of modern smart phones is that you can magnify the photo and this helps also with dosing because we don't have half unit syringes here. So taking a photo of the syringe helps in that it helps with accurate dosing, it provides a time and date for when I gave that dose, and it makes me recheck the amount of insulin I have drawn into the syringe. It also eases any anxiety I may have later if I find myself wondering if I drew the correct dose.
 
Voula said:
I would like to share a handy hint in case it helps anyone avoid a similar mistake which can really happen to anyone. Because I do suffer from anxiety I sometimes have doubted if I had the correct insulin dose in the syringe and sometimes if I have had to get up in the middle of the night if we are off schedule it is easy to forget in a drowsy state whether insulin was given especially if we have been off schedule so this is what I do. When I fill the syringe I place it down and take a photo of it on my iPhone. The beauty of modern smart phones is that you can magnify the photo and this helps also with dosing because we don't have half unit syringes here. So taking a photo of the syringe helps in that it helps with accurate dosing, it provides a time and date for when I gave that dose, and it makes me recheck the amount of insulin I have drawn into the syringe. It also eases any anxiety I may have later if I find myself wondering if I drew the correct dose.
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Very smart : )) I usually just use her Lantus pen, but I can't give .25 units on there so that is why I was using the syringe. I think we will just stick with the 2 units from the Lantus pen from now on! Thank you for the helpful tip though, great idea!
 
I just read this now. I am so relieved that Chicken is okay. Most of us use syringes with the pens. Now that you know how to measure you will be fine. Chicken won't always need 2 units so it's good to get used to using them. :bighug:
 
Chicken'sMom said:
Very smart : )) I usually just use her Lantus pen, but I can't give .25 units on there so that is why I was using the syringe. I think we will just stick with the 2 units from the Lantus pen from now on! Thank you for the helpful tip though, great idea!
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I am coming to this late in the process but, I had my heart in my mouth for you all and am SO happy to hear that Chicken is doing ok! I'm also so glad that you took her to the vet's as better safe than sorry. I've made mistakes too and I find that sticking to the pen injector makes it really hard to make a big mistake. I also find that not being able to dose in more than whole units on it, is a pain but, I would prefer to be low on the dose than to go too high anyways.

We all make mistakes as it's so easy to do. I like the idea of taking a photo of the needle though! Great idea as there have been times when in a groggy, tired state, I've thought I've dialed up 1 unit to find that I dialed up 2. I'm glad that I caught it and discharged it and dialled up again to the 1.

I think using the injector pen right now is a good idea and if you need to go down by a half unit or so, perhaps, making it a rule to double check before you inject to be double sure. We all have "Duh Moments". Thankfully, Chicken is ok.

I'd just keep an eye on her for the next 24 hours and keep checking her levels to ensure that there's not another hypo coming after all of the sugar wears off. Perhaps, keeping her on higher carb foods for 24 hours to be sure might be wise???? As our vet has said, "better to be higher than to go too low".

Let us all know how she is doing. :)
 
So pleased it has all worked out all right. Don't worry you make a mistake....we all do at one time or another. The important thing is you acted on it immediately and took the advice given...that was smart! And Chicken is safe.
I think I called Chicken a he in an early post.....sorry Miss Chicken.
Before I give any insulin, I always check it again just before I actually give it....a hang over from my nursing days.....I once found I had drawn up 10.25 instead of 5.25 units and found it just as I had pulled up the skin and rechecked the dose!
Please keep posting and set up a Spreadsheet when you feel up to it! Here is the link
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/

Well done today.....
 
I would not try to stick with the pen. I think you will be right drawing now that you've made such a huge boo boo, can't see you doing that again! My understanding is that the dose drawn by the pens is not very accurate when it is refrigerated - as we need to keep it for our kitties so it lasts the distance. Also 1 unit dose changes are too large going up or down (with the exception of high dose kitties) when using lantus.

We do have a saying better too high for a day than too low for a minute but it must be remembered that if the BG is too high for an extended period that will also kill your cat. So you need to be able to dose appropriately. I have a sample dose made up using coloured water (you can also use cold tea) and compare the dose I have drawn to the sample before I shoot. This avoids errors in dose and also helps me to be more consistent in dosing.

In case your vet didn't mention it - after an episode like this cats can be extra sensitive to insulin. Depending on her numbers you may want to skip the next dose, if she's okay to shoot monitor carefully. So glad your Chicken is okay. It would be great if you could get a spreadsheet up for her, the instructions are in the tech forum.
 
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