Questions about Lantus

[Suzi_S]

So, my vet approved my request for Lantus but only gave us the prescription, no directions, no food schedules, nothing. All I have is one unit, 2x daily.
My first question is do I have any time leeway? Do I have to give her the shots exactly 12 hours apart on the dot? What if with my work schedule I have to give her evening shot 15 minutes early?
My second question is can I feed her breakfast at 8 am and change her shot times from right after breakfast at 8 to giving her shot to her at 10:30? (and then, of course her 2nd shot at 10:30 pm) Or does it have to be given to her with her breakfast? Or does it just have to be given to her with food because I can give her a small feeding then.
One other thing is with the Vetsulin I had to feed her only twice a day with her shot. How do several mini meals work with the insulin. We have always just fed our cats at designated times rather than let them free feed. But with my sugar kitty's increased appetite I sometimes give her a couple small snacks to help.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

The closer to 12 hours apart, the better, but if you can't do that, 15 minutes one way or the other isn't that bad. Remember that an early shot can act like a dose increase, and a late shot can act like a dose decrease.

We generally Test/Feed/Shoot....all within 5-10 minutes....you test to make sure they're high enough to give ANY insulins, then you feed to make sure they're eating "normally" and then shoot.

With mini meals, you just break up their daily portion ....I give most at the PS meal, but then she gets a snack at about +3 and +6. If you're not home to be able to do that, I suggest buying an autofeeder like the PetSafe 5 that lots of us use, or you can make "foodcicles" by adding some water to canned food and then putting it into ice cube trays and freezing them. Most cats won't eat what they can't smell, and frozen food isn't supposed to have much of a smell....but several hours later when it thaws, it's just like a fresh out of the can meal.

The only thing we really suggest is that whenever you want to shoot, that they've had no food for the 2 hours prior to shot time so when you test, you get a non-food influenced number

 

[Suzi_S]

Thanks for answering. It would be so much easier if I could do the shots at 10;30/10:30 vs 8/8 because I don't sleep well at all and it's been hard getting up at 8 every day when I barely fall asleep at 4am. We seem to have two completely different feeding schedules when my husband is home and when he is at work. When he is home he gets up earlier or the cats will actually wake him up. When he is at work they will patiently wait til I get up around 10. But if it would be better to just leave her at the 8/8 schedule I can. We still have a some time to figure this out while I wait for the Lantus to come in.

 

[BJM]

Pick the times that work best for you - 10:30/10:30 is fine.

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

The reason you want to feed at shot time is so they'll have food on board when the insulin begins it's cycle. The insulin is working to help convert food into useable energy. If they don't eat, the insulin will still begin working bringing the BG down too low. As others said above, just do the schedule the way you want to do it. As long as your hubby is aware that you need to test a non-food influenced number before shooting, he should be able to work with the feeding schedule. Maybe give sugarbaby just a touch of really low carb food while others get their normal portions. Maybe hubby can do a test before feeding??? That would give you an idea of where the number will be at shot time. You'll learn this by testing to see what changes have what influence because every cat is different. I can test Dakota at +11 and feed (unless he's low) then still shoot safely at +12. I ONLY know that from testing that change frequently. I could NOT do that with KT, our previous 'extra sweet' baby. I'm NOT advocating going on a +11 number to shoot - just describing different options for different kitties. That's why testing is critical.

HUGS! Your kitty is just beautiful!!

 

[Suzi_S]

Thank you! He can try to test her but she pretty much only let's me do anything to her. My ideal schedule, although very confusing would be..... When hubby is home he feeds them (her getting half her breakfast) when he gets up at 8 (because you cannot not feed them if you are up, they will eat you) and then 2 1/2 hrs later when I get up at 10:30 test, feed her the other half and shoot her (that sounds horrible... Lol) then go about our day, feed them dinner (not sure when the best time for that is, maybe at 8, maybe earlier at 6. Not sure what is best for Lantus, any input is very welcome) and then test, small snack at 10:30 and the shot. That gives us time to go out of town to visit family and fish and hike or whatever and not have to leave there at 6:00 to be home at 8. But if the 10:30 is too much and won't work with the times we may have to start taking her with us and have her stay somewhere so we can give her the insulin at 8. I hope this all makes sense.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Have you tried having DH feed just a snack instead of the full amount (for all the cats). If mine are being totally obnoxious I can sometimes buy myself a little time by giving a little food (like a small teaspoon)...just to keep them from "starving to death" in the next few hours. I guess it kind of takes the "edge" off the hunger pains.

Personally, I HATE mornings..and I mean it too!! When we first started I figured, OK, I can do this...I'll just shoot at 11am/11pm and then I won't have to do mornings! Unfortunately, after a few nights when China dropped too low and I ended up being up ALL night testing, I gave up and changed her schedule to 6am/6pm....I can almost always test/feed/shoot at 6am and as long as I don't have anywhere to go, go back to bed for awhile, and it lets me get a test in at night at midnight (which is usually her nadir) so I know I can sleep the rest of the night without worry

 

[Suzi_S]

The plan is for him to feed her half her breakfast with the other kitty then when I get up she will get the remaining half. And then I will do the testing and the shot. (the testing before she eats). If it doesn't work I am open to moving it back to 8 and 8. We are also probably going to be taking her with us when we go see family and just keep her in her own room away from other cats that may live there. The family is willing to help us with this.

 

[jane and stewey]

Every 12 hours is a pretty good bet on insulin delivery. Staying on a regimented feeding time and insulin administration is key to success. If the time varies sometimes, that to is okay. A 30 minute window before or after the scheduled time should not cause much of a change in blood sugar. However, varying her scheduled feeding and insulin delivery is not a good idea. Then you can and will see blood sugars that are on a roller coaster ride. Good luck from Jane and Stewey.