So frustrated

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KristenP&Sam

KristenP&Sam

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I haven't been here in ages and for that I apologize. I am extremely busy, but then aren't we all? It shouldn't be an excuse.

Sam isn't even close to being regulated yet and he's at 4u BID, which I think is too much. I want to switch him to Levemir but the vet won't do it without a glucose curve, which I kind of get, and then she wants to put him on Glargine because she thinks Levemir is too potent. I can't see how potent is a bad thing in Sam's case. (His +6 was 247 today on 4 units!)

No, his spreadsheet isn't up to date, but I do test before every shot. It's hard to keep up the spreadsheet when I travel and work so much, but I really should go back to doing it. Anyway, I'm frustrated today and feeling some of that old helplessness, which I hate. I feel like I know what's best for him even if I'm not the vet. Maybe I should switch vets. I don't know.

Thanks for listening.
 
Hi Kristen,
I am so sorry you are feeling down, dont worry though it happens to all of us.
Just take it one day at a time.
We have missed seeing you around but definately understand busy and hectic schedules!
Sending good thoughts your way, and hopefully things will turn around
Sorry I am not famialar with the levimer and had Shakes on Lantus for a couple of months
but that did not work for him
Good luck with your decision, I am sure it will turn out good
 
I answered on Health too, Kristen. I have often wondered about you and Sam. Glad to see you back! IMHO, the main difference between the two, Lantus and Levemir, is the support group. Lantus has a strict protocol and the people are wonderfully supportive, but they want you to follow the protocol, and that usually means a lot of testing. I know you were very faithful with Sam's numbers here, but don't know what your life is now. Their forum is very busy and it is easy to get overlooked, but they are very good at looking out for newbies and someone is always on. The Levemir forum seems more laid back and has fewer people. Like PZI, most Levemir users are on line am and pm. The two insulins seem to work a lot alike.

Lori and Tom went to Levemir and the last I heard, he was almost off the juice. Sue and Samwise (think they were in your time) went to Lantus and although he is getting decent numbers, he still is as volatile as he was on PZI. Robin has Harley on Levemir. Both insulins have good success rates. Lantus seems to have more science behind it in terms of papers written and research done. The statistics on Lantus say more kitties go OTJ on it than any other insulin.

If I were you, I would read the stickies on both forums and read through some of the threads. I don't see much difference in the insulins. I would say to see which one fits your and Sam's life better.

As you know, a curve at the vet won't tell you much unless he never gets stressed there.....and everything is just like it is at home......
 
Thanks, dmartini and Sue, for all your wisdom.

The most effective thing a curve at the vet's will do is run up a bill, but she won't change him to another insulin any other way. Honestly, I'm wondering if there's a way I can get the insulin myself (Canadian pharmacy?) and just start Sam on Levemir on my own. Ultimately, what will happen is that I'll probably just have to go along with whatever she wants or find a new vet, which is tough because it means moving all 4 of our cats to a new doc, plus our cat sitter works for the current vet.

I have a stress headache.
 
So, some good news. I called the vet back and the message that was relayed to me wasn't entirely correct. She's not opposed to Levemir, just doesn't know much about it, I guess. Lantus/glargine is what was recommended to her. By who, I have no idea.

Also, she's willing to let me do the curve at home, which is good, but still wants to see Sam to test his urine and make sure there's nothing else going on, which I'm fine with. We have an appt tomorrow at 9:50am to get this all underway.
 
Hi Kristen:
Nice to see you here again. I remember you were one of the first to reach out to us here on PZI back in January.

I threatened to change insulins twice and that helped us ;) Honestly, I think consistency (in food, dose, etc) is what eventually got us regulated on ProZync. Touch wood. But I was damn frustrated along the way so I feel your pain.

Hopefully the change will be just what Sam needs for some better numbers. Even with the stricter protocols with these other insulins, there are people here that do what they can with work and travel, and the cats still do fine on them. It is certainly worth a try. Esp if your vet is on board.

But if you do change, you must promise to come over and visit here when you can :-D

All the best to you and Sam. Will be sending you good vibes for tomorrow’s vet visit!
 
Actually I wanted to switch to Lev but my Vet at the time refused to give him anything but Lantus and the two insulins are so similar that I went along with it and switched to Lantus. I don't post in the Lantus ISG, instead I post in the Lev ISG.

If Lantus was recommended to your Vet does that mean she doesn't know anything about the Lantus either but has someone she can ask questions about it?

I think it is a good idea to make sure there is nothing else going on with Sam before the switch. Good luck tomorrow.
 
Hi Kristen, nice to see you around! Sorry things aren't going great. I know that feeling of helplessness, it really bites.

I'm glad your vet is more on board - some of what she says sounds silly to me, but if you can play along without much hassle and get the script, then more power to you.

It might help to reassure her that you will take responsibility for dosing decisions and researching what protocol you want to follow, etc. etc. I never switched Bix but I did talk with my vet about other insulins and she was very uncomfortable with them b/c she didn't know them. I always felt like if I provided her with the printed protocol, etc., and let her know that I am completely comfortable taking dosing into my own hands and keeping her apprised, I think she would have gone for it. I don't know, but that was my instinct. They don't want to be directing you on something they don't understand, which makes a lot of sense to me, really it would be unprofessional to try to treat someone if you didn't know the meds. But if they are clear that we just want their support with the script and a teamwork approach, it seems to me they would be more comfortable overall.

Anyhow, hope things go well for you 2!
 
Hi Kristen,
I wasn't around the last time you were here, but it's nice to see when anyone "comes back". My understanding about Levemir and Lantus were that they were pretty much the same, both work the same way, the same "shed" concept. I do know that the Lantus forum seems like a really intense place, and that on a daily basis, there are more "new" threads posted than can fit on one page of the forum.
I do a lot of "welcome wagon" posting on health, and eventually encourage newbies to start posting in the ISG group for their specific insulin. One thing I like to do on occasion is to go back and "check up" on how the new members and their kitties are doing, weeks later. I know that whenever I go to Lantus Land to look, it's overwhelming and difficult to locate the specific member's post that I'm looking for.
I know that there are several Lantus users who post by choice in Levimir, like Robin does. And some people just don't post at all. There are a few people over in lantus that are really experienced, and always willing to come to Health to aid with lantus specific "newbie" threads. But it's like once they get them over to LL, they disappear!
No matter which way you go, I hope things start to really improve for you and Sam!
Carl in SC
 
Thanks to everyone who chimed in!

Vet visit went fine. It's kinda funny, when we communicate through vet techs and messages things never go as well as in person. Everything went fine. They're running blood and urine panels to make sure everything looks good and Friday she's having me do a curve at home, then fax in the results. The goal is to switch him as soon as I return from a trip mid-Oct because I definitely don't want to switch him right before I travel. She's not opposed to Levemir, just doesn't know as much about it, so I'm bringing her some more info and hopefully we can then make an informed decision together.

Again, my thanks to this great group for being there when I needed someone to talk to. You guys rock.
 
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