Rachel & Link
Member Since 2024
Hi everyone,
Link and I are back after about two years of remission, and I’m feeling completely confused and stressed. His glucose at the vet was 28, and I noticed he was acting different pretty quickly—so I think he was untreated for maybe four weeks max. The vet started him on 1.5 IUs of Lantus twice daily (6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.). At first, he was begging for food constantly and gaining weight, so I thought things were going well.
Then he started waking up in the middle of the night begging for food. I later realized this was probably because he was going too low. I attached a Libre 3, and about four hours post-original dose of insulin, it dipped down to 2 and hovered around 2–4 during the dip. At that point, the vet suggested he might be in remission and said we could stop insulin to see what happens. We stopped insulin for about a day and a half (I think I missed three shots total), and his glucose went back up to around 18–20. The vet also said put aim is for him to stay below 15. Below 15 and he’s basically in remission. But everyone here says that’s very high.
We then lowered the dose to 0.5 IUs. Since then, I’ve been so confused:
I know most people will say “home test,” but that’s not possible for us. Three vet techs and two vets have tried, and we just can’t get enough blood from his paws or ears even with warming them and using Vaseline etc. —he always ends up needing a needle to get enough blood. So the Libre is what we’re using, and I’m okay with that long-term to keep changing them out.
I’d really appreciate any guidance or insights about what a realistic curve might look like with low-dose insulin or if he is in partial remission. I’m just feeling very lost and overwhelmed.
Thanks so much.
Link and I are back after about two years of remission, and I’m feeling completely confused and stressed. His glucose at the vet was 28, and I noticed he was acting different pretty quickly—so I think he was untreated for maybe four weeks max. The vet started him on 1.5 IUs of Lantus twice daily (6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.). At first, he was begging for food constantly and gaining weight, so I thought things were going well.
Then he started waking up in the middle of the night begging for food. I later realized this was probably because he was going too low. I attached a Libre 3, and about four hours post-original dose of insulin, it dipped down to 2 and hovered around 2–4 during the dip. At that point, the vet suggested he might be in remission and said we could stop insulin to see what happens. We stopped insulin for about a day and a half (I think I missed three shots total), and his glucose went back up to around 18–20. The vet also said put aim is for him to stay below 15. Below 15 and he’s basically in remission. But everyone here says that’s very high.
We then lowered the dose to 0.5 IUs. Since then, I’ve been so confused:
- Day one of 0.5 IUs: dip down to 4 → seemed okay.
- Day two: no significant drop after shot (maybe a “bounce”? I’m not totally sure).
- Days three and four: sitting around 14–19 all day
- Today: I was supposed to give 0.5 IUs at 5:30 a.m., but he was 9.8 and not climbing, so I almost skipped it. Then it started shooting up to 15–16, so I gave the shot almost 2 hours late and will wait the 12 hours before I dose again
I know most people will say “home test,” but that’s not possible for us. Three vet techs and two vets have tried, and we just can’t get enough blood from his paws or ears even with warming them and using Vaseline etc. —he always ends up needing a needle to get enough blood. So the Libre is what we’re using, and I’m okay with that long-term to keep changing them out.
I’d really appreciate any guidance or insights about what a realistic curve might look like with low-dose insulin or if he is in partial remission. I’m just feeling very lost and overwhelmed.
Thanks so much.