Starting Lantus today...easing in to this

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jenwales

Member Since 2012
For background - we adopted a relative's almost 17 year old cat (George) 3 weeks ago. We knew he had untreated diabetes and have been working with the vet on a diet change and clearing up an abscess he had. We went to the vet this morning, learned how to give injections, and got our prescription for Lantus.

I'm going to home test eventually (as in starting in a few days) but for now we're just going to give injections. His BG this morning at the vet was 405. She prescribed 2 units twice per day and he's going back in a week for a curve. I was expecting a 1 unit 2x a day start, but she's very familiar with Lantus and has treated her own cat with it. Should I stick with the 2 units or scale back to 1? I really do trust her but I'm concerned because there is no one home during the day to monitor any problems.
 
Hello,

I don't use your insulin but what I do know is 'Every Cat Is Different'. What worked for your vet's cat may not work for yours. I would suggest going with a much more conservative dose initially - especially given that your're not hometesting yet.... But please see what experienced Lantus users here suggest. You may also want to post your message on the Lantus TR forum as that gets a lot of 'Lantus' eyes... :smile:
 
Jen,
First, WELCOME! Now, PLEASE PLEASE do not wait to start testing!!! PLEASE!!! I don't care what the vet says, it's critical to your baby's safety. No human child would be injected without testing - why are our fuzzy feetz any different? They're NOT! Today's a perfect example of why I'm BEGGING you to test before giving an injection. I'm NOT trying to just scare you but I AM trying to show you why it's CRITICAL. THIS HAPPENED TODAY:

KT has been on insulin, Lantus, for almost 1 1/2 years. His numbers the last few days have been in the 200's and even a 300 but I still NEVER shoot without testing first. Last night KT decided he would sleep instead of eat - when I woke up early this morning and tested, he was at 48! Yes that is 2 digits - 48! If I had just ASSUMED that he was OK like you're doing and had shot into that 48, my cat would be at the vet fighting for his life right now...with a chance of not winning. Without testing, you would not even know you NEEDED to get him to a vet....

Walmart has a cheap, reliable meter - several actually - I use the ReliOn 'Confirm'. The strips are about $20 for 50 of them, I can run get more if something happens and I'm close to out. They also have the Micro that uses those same strips as well as a new one that has even cheaper strips.

BIG HUG and welcome again!
 
I agree. I wouldn't start the insulin without testing first.

And again, every cat is different...but when I first started Ruby on Lantus, her BG was 358. She got one unit that night and one the next morning. By that afternoon she was in the double digits. And a few hours after that, she was back to 367. There can be some wild swings when you're giving insulin so its always best to test while you're doing it.
 
Personally, I think 2u is a little high for starting out. What type of food are you feeding? If you start in on the home testing you won't have to take George in to the vet for curves. Kitties will stress out at the vet and show higher numbers. Then the vets prescribe higher amounts of insulin based on an inaccurate reading. I use the ReliOn Prime from Walmart. The test strips are $9 for 50 and you can get them online. You will also want to get 26-28 gauge lancets for starting out. The higher gauge ones are too fine to get any results.

As others have stated, you should start hometesting asap. I was shooting blindly and almost lost my Buster kitty. One day, I came home to check him at lunchtime and found him unresponsive, laying face down in the corner of the room. He couldn't eat and was totally limp. I rubbed some honey on his gums and we rushed him to ER. 24hrs and $600 later we got him back. Buster now has only 8 lives. I don't mean to be overdramatic, but you should understand the importance of hometesting so you can keep George safe!

Welcome to FDMB! We're here to support you! :YMHUG:
 
we use the start low and go slow approach - which means

start at a low dose such as 1 unit or 1/2 unit and slowly over several days and with home testing adjust the dose as needed in small increments of 1/4 to 1/2 unit at a time.

Remember once the insulin goes in the cat, you can't get it out. So if you inject too much, you may have problems. Also, by not home testing, you are shooting blindly and that is just dangerous. If you were the one who needs insulin or a human family member, do you think the doctor would tell you to take insulin without testing. No way.

It's like putting a paper bag over your head so you can't see and getting in the car and driving down the street. Would you ever do that?

Hopefully, that makes sense as to why it's vital to home test.

And besides all this, once you start home testing, you NEVER need to take your cat to the vet for testing or curves! Because are doing it at home and getting relevant data in the cat's home environment. Think about how much money you will save as a result!
 
I forgot to say in my earlier post...I think it's wonderful you are willing to adopt George and face the challenges he has! It takes a special person to take that on - kudos to you!! cat_pet_icon
 
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