Quick Question

[gabriella christie]

Hi all!

Just some quick newbie question..

Im giving insulin to my cat kalvin twice a day, AM and PM. usually 7;30 both times. Two days out of the week i have to be out of the house for work at 6:00 AM...should i skip kalvins dose or go ahead and give it to him?

 

[Daphne]

This is a really difficult question because both options are pretty bad.

For Lantus, it's not recommended to shift the injection time by more than 30 minutes in one day, and it's best to do it in 15 minute increments if possible. Shifting by more will result in their blood sugar changing in unexpected ways. Going less than 12 hours between injections can cause a dangerous overlap where their blood sugar goes much lower than you'd anticipate.

Injecting 1.5 hours earlier than you typically do could be very dangerous with Lantus. It's also not advisable to skip injections.

The safer option is going to be skipping the injection. It's not ideal. It's not the way Lantus is meant to be used. I would recommend trying to figure out a different solution.

Could someone else come over to do his injection on those two mornings you leave at 6am?

Is there any way you could change the injection time where you could do it every day of the week? Perhaps at 5:50am and 5:50pm?

Definitely wait for more replies.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Some insulins are a little more forgiving than others when it comes to flexibility. Lantus and Levemir need a consistent 12 hour cycle to work best while ProZinc or PZI allow a little more flexibility and might be a better option for you if your schedule shifts by 1.5 hours twice a week. There is also Vetsulin (Caninsulin) which is a faster but shorter acting insulin. The caveat with it however, is that often it doesn't last long enough through each cycle to get good regulation so while some folks use it successfully, for others it isn't ideal.

 

[Callie & Patches]

I use Vetsulin and I have changed up to 1 hour without problems. Contrary to gossip going around many of us get close to 11-12 hours. I read somewhere that the manufacturer has improved.

Gabrella, could you move the 7:30 doses back to 7 without problems?