Starting Eleanor on Lantus

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Julie and Eleanor (GA)

Julie and Eleanor (GA)

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Thanks to DCIN I am able to get Eleanor started on insulin. Hopefully tomorrow!
I want to get the testing down first.
I've gotten totally confused and even more scared by reading everything I could about feline diabetes, treating it etc. I've taken a step back. Will test, feed, shoot and test etc and try not to worry, and try to learn more as I go along.
When Eleanor was diagnosed her bg was 389. Vet said to give 1 unit Lantus, twice a day. I'm still nervous about giving a full unit, would rather give half that and see for myself that the insulin won't kill her before I give the full unit! lol!
Eleanor put on weight last year and in order to help her lose weight I started playing with her more, she gets a real workout with a wand toy for about 15 minutes every day. Is there a better or worse time in the cycle for her to do this? I'm thinking sometime close to after her shot would be better than close to approaching her peak? Or am I way off here?
I don't know what to do about the feeding schedule, her constant companion cat has health problems that need her to be able to free feed. Permanently separating them is not an option, and keeping Eleanor out of the room when the other one is snacking will be hard, she needs to snack every couple hours. Guess I'll have to figure something out.

Julie
 
Hi


I'm not located in the US, but as I understand from the board is that many use automatic feeder, so the cats almost free feeds, only on set times.


About the starting dose - 389 is 21.6, and it isn't extremely high, so I think, just IMHO, that if you feel more comfortable and safe on starting her on 0.5 units twice a day and test to see how it is working, I think you can do that.


What is she eating and what is her friend eating? Low carb wet food or low carb dry food or high carb wet and dry food?
 
Hi!
They are both eating Fancy Feast Classic, the beef and poultry varieties. No dry at all.
I will look into the timed feeder, although, I don't know, I think I will just be doing a lot of juggling.
Thank you for your reply!
 
Another option would be to add water to the canned food and then freezing it and putting it out frozen so they both can nibble on it as it thaws. I do this for my crew at their last feeding of the day so they can nibble overnight.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
I was thinking about her 15 minutes work out every day - and your question when during the day it would be best

IMHO I think it will depend on a few factors

1. At what times during the day do they normally eat some?

2. At what time during the day have you exercised her previously?

3. When will the morning, amps, insulin shot time be?

4. When will the night, pmps, insulin shot time be?


I was thinking that exercising her directly after she has eaten might not be a good idea, maybe she will barf up all the food. But exercising her after shot time, is not bad. It depends on when you can, what fits you I think.


Then its that you feel totally confused and even more scared when it comes to everything you have read and testing and giving the insulin. But be nice to yourself, we've all been in the same position when all our cats was diagnosed and also have had to learn as we go. Know you are not alone in this, all you have to do is to holla here, and others will come to your help.

Have you practiced on the testing yet?
 
hi julie!

i'm thinking it's going to be easy to remember your name! don't stress about the lantus - we'll help you learn what you need to know to keep eleanor safe.

your commitment to home testing is an excellent first step - way to go and kudos to you for making it. it's a little bit tricky for most of us to learn, but you'll get it. my first 4 days were a little :shock: :o :sad: :-D :? :smile: and now it's a piece of cake. on day 4 i thought to myself "hey, i'm not doing badly for only 4 days!"

lantus is a cumulative insulin - it takes about 3 -5 days to build up in the body and you start seeing action. i love your idea of mastering the home testing before you start giving shots, although because of the way lantus works you have some grace in there after you've started the shots.

as far as the exercising, i think avoiding the middle of the cycle (1/2 way between shots) would be good. exercise can lower blood sugar and i think as you test you'll be able to see the results of the exercising. this is something we can give advice better on after you've started the shots and testing and we can see how eleanor's responding to it.

one unit is a very standard starting dose and likely just fine. it's also ok to start at .5units. you start at a dose and don't change it for 5-7 days while you're testing.

have you gotten a meter to test with yet? cheapest reliable meter is the walmart Relion, although all of the name brand ones are fine. avoid the ones with true in the name - in Consumer Reports i think they didn't rate as reliable as some. also, i just switched away from the freestyle lite, sadly, cuz i really liked it. but we've had a ton of reports in the past 2 months on this forum of people who've had it measuring inaccurately. mine measure 258 when the new meter measured 400. so don't buy that one.

you want a human glucometer - all diabetic supplies are cheapest online - we can help you through that when you're at that point. if i were you, if you're going to start with insulin tomorrow, i'd pick up a glucometer, at least 50 or 100 strips (you'll waste a lot while you're learning) and lancets. i do use the lancets and device from freestyle lite and really like it. some people want to lance without a device, some with - it's just your preference. i like the device because i load it, press it against punkin's ear, click and it pokes him.

you also want vaseline to barely get the hair/skin slicked so that the blood beads up and doesn't soak into the surrounding hair/skin. we've had great luck with neosporin ointment with pain relief - put it on at the end of the day and punkin's ears will heal overnight. i prefer the ointment because it is similar to the vaseline in helping the blood bead up.

when you've gotten supplies we can help you through mastering the testing. we also want a spreadsheet set-up because that's how we "read" the blood sugar and can tell what's happening. i don't want to overwhelm you with too much at once, so will stop there.

repost on this thread when you've got your supplies and we'll help you get going! welcome to the Sugar Dance - and to the best place you never wanted to be. people here do feline diabetes 24/7/365 - we get it!

:YMHUG:

julie
 
Julie and Ann, thank you for your replies and help, I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner, was not able to get online yesterday.
Want you to know I appreciate your help. I'm starting Eleanor on her insulin in a couple of hours and how scary it is! I think after I get that first dose into her and see that nothing horrible happens, I will start feeling better about all of this.
 
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