Question about teeny doses

[Chris & Queenie]

So in the past 6 weeks Q has gone form 2U to .5 and is due for another dose reduction for her very next shot. I have been following the TRP to the best of my ability. Here are a few questions about the next steps....


1. At these teeny doses I worry about accuracy.
2. Is there a way to dilute the lantus safely for easier measuring?
3. Is lantus the right thing?
4. Does it make any sense to go to a once a day injection if her BG never gets out of the blue on the high side?
5. If I did a once a day shot would it make the most sense to do it in the evening when she's doing more sleeping or during the day when she eats more?

Thanks all!

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

No diluting .

tiny doses are where many of us go to calipers. The syringes aren't consistent in their markings anyway so sometimes you have given more or less just because the lines
aren't correct. Even a ruler, or a piece of paper where you mark the line that you are shooting....so you have a reference to keep it the same.

Lantus doesn't work that way.... you need the every 12 hour dose.... that's why you get to even a smaller dose.

The reason you continue as long as you can is for a stronger remission. You are giving support to the pancreas as long as you can.


And when I got to the tiniest dose, I actually counted drops in my syringe.
I practiced and found at one drop , nothing came out of the syringe at all, I had to make 2 drops my lowest dose so I knew she was getting that one drop.

 

[Chris & Queenie]

What do you mean by a caliper? and as for counting drops. I have been playing with that. I have noticed the way the syringe is held makes a difference. I guess at that point it becomes a matter of what you feel you can best control.

 

[BJM]

Drop dosing

Using a colored liquid, so you can see it more easily, fill a syringe to 0.5 units.
Slowly squeeze out equal-sized drops, maybe by twisting the plunger, until you can get the same number of drops per 0.5 units every time.

Now, you can draw up more than the amount you need, and squeeze out drops to the dose you want.
You discharge the excess into the sink.

Decreases may be done a drop at a time.

 

[Chris & Queenie]

Drop dosing

Using a colored liquid, so you can see it more easily, fill a syringe to 0.5 units.
Slowly squeeze out equal-sized drops, maybe by twisting the plunger, until you can get the same number of drops per 0.5 units every time.

Now, you can draw up more than the amount you need, and squeeze out drops to the dose you want.
You discharge the excess into the sink.

Decreases may be done a drop at a time.

Yes, I have read this a number of times. I feel that I can get 4 drops out of .5 U (more or less). Now I have to determine if I am going to give 2 or 3 drops today. She just tested 75 for AMPS so I'm definitely going to shoot..

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I didn't find that counting drops was particularly accurate -- at least for me.

Here's a link for digital calipers. Marie has a post (and maybe a video, too) on how to use them. They will allow you to be far more accurate since it gives you a fixed scale to measure against.

Lantus cannot be diluted. Neither can Lev. Because they rely on a particular chemical reaction to form the depot, you can't dilute them.

Dosing should still be twice a day otherwise you're going to get wide swings in the numbers.

Keep in mind, we've had lots of cats go OTJ with Lantus and by microdosing. It's hard to measure the smaller doses but it's possible.

 

[Vicki]

Trying to get the correct dose with those tiny partial units (drops!) about drove me crazy. I did a lot of testing with the water and food coloring. I even wasted some syringes doing tests with the Lantus. Now I'm much more comfortable with it and find it easy to get the plunger on that zero line, which I determined after my testing, is one drop. Sometimes it might be a big drop, and sometimes a small drop, but that's the best I can do! (Other times I've wondered if there's anything in there!)
Good luck!!