? Roxy's bg is high on Lantus

Cathleen Graham

Cathleen Graham

Member Since 2019
I am at my wits end. Roxy is now on 2.5 units of Lantus. I bumped her .25 this am.
She is a raving lunatic for food. Last night my sister (who used to have a diabetic cat) stopped in and scolded me for starving her.
Roxy eats 1/2 pate' at meals and 1/4 can of pate' for snacks. In all she eats about 2 1/4 cans a day.
Has anyone made the switch to Levemir? I am going to reach out to my vet and see if this is a possibility. If I have posted incorrectly, I am new to this.
Here are her numbers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oon2Duw8DmkKhWgavdP8F24wRgSoCLaQzch1BBRkNrQ/edit?usp=sharing
 
I looked at your SS, and my first thought was she's a big cat, needs more insulin...and that extreme hunger is an indicator that she's not getting enough - along with the high numbers.

I didn't see what protocol you're following? TR or the go slow method? Looks like she got down to 167 7/16 but I overlooked as it should be background color of blue...

We switched to Levemir a few weeks ago...so far nothing great has happened...

I think before I'd switch insulins, I would increase her Lantus again until you start seeing some better numbers - but that's just me - some cats take a great deal of insulin before they get the idea... Look at @Mollycat - her Biscuits is a high-dose cat - it just took a lot before he started to get a green here and there...
 
Welcome to the group!

My thoughts were a bit different than Sue's. Larger cats sometimes need more insulin but that's not necessarily the case. The dose that gets your cat into normal range is the amount of insulin your cat needs whether it's a large or small dose.

At least in part, I suspect that you've been holding your dose for too long. If your dose isn't getting your cat into the numbers you want, then you need to raise the dose. Depending on whether you opt for Tight Regulation or the Start Low Go Slow approach, the amount of time you hold a dose for varies. With TR, you hold the dose for 3 days and for SLGS, you hold the dose for a week. It looks like you've been holding doses for around 12 days. If you're staying with a dose that isn't bringing numbers into a good range, you risk glucose toxicity developing. That's a terrible way of saying that your cat gets used to higher than normal numbers and it's harder to get numbers to come back down. For cats that are not yet regulated, they do tend to be hungry all the time. Insulin is what allows glucose to move from the blood stream into the cells. Higher than normal numbers means there's glucose floating around in the blood and nutrition (i.e., glucose) isn't "feeding" your cat. Instead, your cat ends up excreting glucose rather than getting the benefits of the food she's metabolizing. In other words, she's hungry! I would consider giving her more food and keeping an eye on her weight. As her numbers improve, you should be able to cut back on the calories.

I'd also encourage you to review the dosing methods we use so you have a better sense of when to increase Roxy's dose.

 
Thank you I took her up to 2.5Units today. She is 14lbs now but was 20 to start. She dropped back to 11 and now is steady at 14. Im struggling with watching her hunger. She eats so fast and hard that she snorts. Today she has been given one can so far. Thank you for the advice. Im starting to think that this is all I'll see from her bg.
 
In terms of feeding, if you have the time and patience, I break up each meal into quarter can increments. So I give her quarter of a can (85g/3oz can) (with water mixed in) and if she licks the bowl clean, a couple of minutes later I give her another quarter can/water if she licks the bowl clean, wait, another quarter and so on until she leaves some and then she's satisfied. Waiting between quarter can gives her brain time to register she has something in her stomach and by feeding a quarter can at a time I don't overfeed. Myrtle is a gobbler too if you put all her food down at once.
 
Thank you for the advice. She is a big boned cat. I feel like I am starving her. I have reached out to my vet concerning a possible switch of insulin.
 
Margie and Jackson said:
Jackson can eat more than 3 5.5 oz cans if he’s hungry. Roxy’s underweight, so why not let her eat? It makes for a much happier cat.
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Roxy is at 14.3 lbs. The vet said she'd like her a little less but said she is at a good weight. Better than the 20 she was. She is not drinking like crazy any longer and keytone test is perfect. My concern is that she is absolutely crazy for food. Im wondering if there is another underline issue that is going on. We just did a thyroid test and it was perfect.
 
Oh, she’s OVERweight. Diabetes makes them really hungry. I guess several small meals might help. I hate ignoring a hungry cat, so I feel for you and Roxy.
 
I agree with Sienne, the type of insulin is not the problem. The dose is the problem. You are holding doses too long and have not yet reached a good dose. Pick one of our dosing methods and follow it to get to that higher dose Roxy needs. I did switch to Levemir from Lantus, and I did not significantly change the dose between the two. In fact, I had reached a good dose of Lantus before I switched, I just wanted to try to flatten out the bouncing. The later onset and nadir of Levemir also worked better for my schedule,
Cathleen Graham said:
My concern is that she is absolutely crazy for food. Im wondering if there is another underline issue that is going on. We just did a thyroid test and it was perfect.
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Yes, there are some secondary conditions that can make them crazy for food. My girl had one called acromegaly. It is caused by a benign pituitary tumour that sends out excess growth hormone - think teenage boys and their appetites. One in four diabetic cats has this condition. Even if Roxy does not have a secondary condition, she will always be hungrier in high blood sugar numbers.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I agree with Sienne, the type of insulin is not the problem. The dose is the problem. You are holding doses too long and have not yet reached a good dose. Pick one of our dosing methods and follow it to get to that higher dose Roxy needs. I did switch to Levemir from Lantus, and I did not significantly change the dose between the two. In fact, I had reached a good dose of Lantus before I switched, I just wanted to try to flatten out the bouncing. The later onset and nadir of Levemir also worked better for my schedule,

Yes, there are some secondary conditions that can make them crazy for food. My girl had one called acromegaly. It is caused by a benign pituitary tumour that sends out excess growth hormone - think teenage boys and their appetites. One in four diabetic cats has this condition. Even if Roxy does not have a secondary condition, she will always be hungrier in high blood sugar numbers.
Click to expand...
 
The blood est is called the IGF-1 test for insulin like growth factor. Basically the growth hormone causes excess IGF-1 to be produced. Are you in North America? If so, only Michigan State University does the test. Test info here. In Europe, it goes to the Royal Veterinary College in London. Usually we don't suggest people get this test done until kitty gets to 6.0 units, unless there are other reasons to suspect acromegaly. Not all cats with acromegaly have higher doses, but many do. And I see you did give 4 units at one point.
 
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