Possible Lantus hypo on health ....

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6/22 Boo Dosing Help?

Hi.. My name is Carla. My cat is Boo. The 911 possible hypo tonight is me/Boo. I need some advice for what to do in the morning once I get her numbers consistant and finally go to sleep tonight.

Here is a summary of what's happened:

Boo was diagnosed May 23. Starting number was around 550.
Started on 1 unit twice a day for week 1.
Week 2.... vet took numbers.... back up to 500's ... increased to 2 units twice a day.
Week 3.... vet took numbers.....in the 400's... increased to 2 units twice a day
Week 4... vet took numbers... in the upper 300's... increased to 3 units twice a day
Week 5 ... vet took numbers... back up to 400's... increased to 4 units twice a day
Week 6 (this week).... vet took numbers ... mid 300's.. increased to 5 units twide a day.

I started home testing because 5 units scared me. Tonight was my first time. It was eventful.

6:30 p.m. I gave her 4.5 units (just couldn't make myself go to 5)
6:50 p.m. Test: 243
10:30 p.m. 53
11:00 p.m. 43
11:15 p.m. 34
(karo and dry food)
11:45 p.m. 43
12:00 p.m. 45
12:15 a.m. 45
(karo and dry food)
12:45 a.m. 52
Edited to add: 1:30 a.m. 55
(ate a little dry food)
2:15 a.m. (approaching +8): 57
3 a.m. 65

My question is... what on earth do I do tomorrow???

Thank you!
Carla
 
Hi Carla. My name is Mike. Marjorie and I are Gracies "beans". She has been on Lantus since Sept. Marjorie is the smartest of the two of us, but unfortunately she has to be up early and is already in bed. Jill, Libby and Sienne are the wise ones here in Lantus Land. They all live in the east so hopefully they will get with you early with advice. I would advise holding off on Boos shot in the morning until you hear from one of them. Boo will definitely need a dose reduction, but not sure what they will suggest. Good luck. You did very well tonight. Keep a close eye on Boo until his numbers get up a little more.
 
Mike, thank you so much. Everyone on this site has been so gracious. I've had a really scary night and I don't wish to repeat it anytime soon (and I'm pretty confident I speak for Boo as well). :smile:

I'll wait till her numbers get above 60 and then i might try to grab a nap before I have to be back up.

Hopefully I'll get some good advice for what to do in the morning. The most nerve wracking part is that if I give her any insulin in the morning, I will not be able to test her because I will be at work.


Thanks again.
Carla
 
Hi Carla!! I'm on the west coast and will probably be hitting the hay here shortly since you seem to be okay right now. I know you had a scary night!! I see you were giving Boo dry food along with karo tonight. Does Boo only eat dry or does she eat wet food also? I don't know what info you've already been given, but just a couple things...when your cat's BG is tested in a vets office, the numbers will very likely be elevated, sometimes extremely elevated, due to stress. When a vet is escalating the dose of insulin based on numbers taken in their office, there's the real possibility you will be giving your cat too much insulin. Unfortunately, you found that out the hard way!! I know that because Boo went below 50, she earned an automatic dose decreased, but because the dose is already too high, I don't know what dose the experts here will tell you to go with. My vet started Champ on 3u twice a day. I did that for 12 days until I found this site, and I immediately dropped his dose to 1u twice a day and started from there. It didn't do Champ any harm, but I'm not so sure it did him any good to do it that way. Again, the experts here will be able to advise you in the morning. You really must try to get Boo off dry food, though, and stick to a strictly low carb wet food (Fancy Feast classic varieties are a favorite around here). It may be that Boo won't need much insulin, if any, if you can get her off the dry food. If you have time tonight, try to read all the stickies at the top of our forum. It will give you a lot of information about Lantus and how it works, and how the protocol works. If you have any questions, there are a ton of people here who will be glad to answer and help you out with Boo. We are a very close knit family here. This forum and the people on it have saved my sanity!!
 
Hi Patty. Thank you for your time. I'm not sure what to do as I get ready for work. My vet's office doesn't open for another 2 hours, which is about when I will need to leave for work.

I haven't tested Boo yet this morning, and after last night, I sure don't want to.... but I know I must.

It was a really horrible night.... but I sure am glad I went through it rather than to just continue to over dose my sweet cat without knowing better.

I will wait to hear from the experts here to make a plan.

Thanks again.

Tired in Memphis....
Carla and Boo
 
Welcome Carla & Boo! :YMHUG:

You're doing great, handling a possible hypo is no picnic! You'll get all the help and support you need here.
 
Hi Carla!! I hope you got a little sleep. So we can get some eyes on this, I need you to change your subject line. Go to your first post, erase what's there, and put the date, cat's name, and "need dosing help!!" It will look like this: 6/22 Boo - NEED DOSING HELP !!! and change the 911 icon to the ? icon. Test Boo and then let me know the number.
 
I tried to change the subject, but I did not start this thread... nancy did. Will she have to change it? Should I just start a new one with a question mark?

Just tested Boo. At +12, she is 173.

Thanks!!
Carla
 
Hmmmm......I just realized you didn't start this thread so instead of changing the subject line, which you won't be able to do, you'll need to start a new topic. Type the subject line like I said and then we can link this thread to that one so people will be able to view it. I'll talk you through it once you get the new thread started.
 
Hi Carla,

Just so you realize...Boo is going to do what we call "bounce" from those low numbers last night. It can take up to 3 days to clear the bounce.

It looks to me from your post you raised the dose by whole units over the course of a few weeks. Generally we don't raise doses that fast with Lantus due to the shed action. Please, please see the stickies at the top of this forum! They contain valuable protocol information. Even my own vet has been impressed with the protocol we use here and is using it as well.

I would drop your dose back, actually...way back and more or less start over. There is a good chance you've missed Boo's ideal dose and he is now set up to 'bounce' for a while.
 
Carla,

Welcome! Sounds like you are getting good advice. The same thing happened to us in Feb that happened to you. Tarragon got stressed at the vet and whenever they did a curve it was really high and they would increase by 1U each time and we were up to 5U. Once I started home testing, I cut him back to 1U and started from the beginning with the help of the experts here. Too much insulin is more dangerous than not enough when you are trying to find the right dose. I'm sure Sienne or Libby will be on soon and give you additional info. I would definitely hold off on the dose this morning until you hear something.

Again, welcome and sorry you had such a bad night! It is scary.

Melissa
 
TRY NOT TO POST ON THIS THREAD ANYMORE. Carla can't change the subject line because she didn't start this thread so she can't remove the 911 icon. We need to let this thread die. She started her own condo this morning so please support her over there. She would love to hear from everyone, I'm sure!!!!
 
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