Patty & Champ
Member Since 2011
When I was helping someone last night with a cat with low numbers, she mentioned another protocol she had used before to get her cat OTJ. When it was pointed out to her that protocol is only for PZI insulin, she said she knew that, but there were a few people who advised her in the use of Lantus, but no one was going to advise Lantus users anymore. I read this protocol and then signed up for the forum (which is a disorganized mess and not very active) and pulled these quotes from some of what they call their "stickies." Hmmm....where did they get that term? The advice they are giving Lantus users is completely opposite to what we have been taught. When I read the protocol, it all made sense (using PZI), but since I don't know how people on our forum use PZI, I have no idea how it differs. It almost made me wish I had Champ on PZI and could give it a try. Until I read how they were advising Lantus users and then I realized they may be giving PZI users bad advice, too. The link below is to the website where this protocol is located. If I shouldn't have posted this, let me know and I'll delete it.
http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com/protocol.html
http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com/protocol.html
I don't know about Lantus, other than it is hard to work with. However, please don't shoot if the reading is unde4er 150. I believe with Lantus you can shoot at 10+ hours if the bg level is 150 or more.
As you have seen, dry food will drive the BGs straight up.....
As Debbie said, both fish and beef are allergens to certain cats, so it would be best to avoid those.
DId you have basic blood work done to make sure that they do not simply have a stomach upset of some type?
3u of Lantus BID is a very high dose to start with. I understand that you are testing at home - which is great! But when are/were you testing then? How many hours after the shot? How often between shots? 96 is a very good BG - but it depends when that is... if it is early, it can mean that she was dropping way too low.
The recommended starting sliding scale for Lantus is this:
BG ...US Dose (mg/dl)...Intl Metric Dose(mmol/L)
150-250 ....8.3-13.9 ....0.25u
251-400..... 14.0-22.2.... 0.50u
401+ .......22.2 +....... 0.75u
As you can see, far far lower than you have been dosing.
You do need to try and move her (and your other cat!) back to 100% wet food. However, as she has been on dry, you will also need to detox : that means stopping insulin for 24 hours, monitoring BGs and then restarting with the scale. You have seen for yourself the difference that dry food vs. wet can make to BGs! A cat that is on dry food is not protected from a clinical hypo - their livers are asleep, and will not step in to protect them if they drop to low. It is very important to do the detox.
Three things need to be in place to dose Lantus:
- a minimum of 10 hours since the last shot
- BG a minimum of 150/8.3
- a bg that is rising (you need to make sure the BG is going up, not down, when you dose).
Keep going with the testing ... it will get easier! That, and 100% wet, low carb food, are your best arms to fight her FD!{/quote]
3) The best insulin for cats, since we do not have any feline insulin product available, is bovine PZI (protamine zinc insulin). This is because the insulin molecule from the cow is closest of all available insulins to the cats insulin molecule. Bovine PZI is a gentler product with a more predictable curve of activity than any other, and this makes it much easier for owners to apply TR to their cats care with good results. Other types of insulin, including lantus (human long-acting) insulin can be used with TR, as can other types, but it is harder to predict even on a day to day basis how these other products will act to reduce the blood glucose level of each patient. If you must use some type of insulin other than bovine PZI, you will use the same principles of adjustment of the dose of insulin you give but the usual rules that apply to bovine PZI, for example, the peak activity time of 6-8 hours, will likely not apply and you will need to establish for your own cat just how the insulin you are using behaves in your pet.