Switched insulin still can't get diabetes controlled

C

Carrie42

Member Since 2025
Hello,

It's been quite a while since I first posted about Rocket's diabetes. We could never get him controlled. He was on Vetsulin until June 2026 then I finally convinced my vet to try Lantus, but as of yet we still can't get him regulated. He is really skinny and hungry all the time. His belly gets really bloated everytime he eats. He is on a 1/4th of a 250 mg tab of Urosodial and one Denamarin tablet daily. The vet has switched his Lantus dosing all around and also stacked it with another insulin, Novolin to try and bring the BG down quick (he was at the vets getting a curve done). I have set up the spreadsheet and I will be entering all the info that I have shortly. Currently Rocket is getting 1 unit of Lantus. He was on .5 units. I just don't know what else to do. I feel horrible that I can't get him regulated.

Carrie
 
Here is the link to your last post here. For some background for other readers.

1.0 units of Lantus is quite a small dose, though typically what we would have started for a cat new to insulin and eating dry food. I'm very surprised a vet would add Novolin (R or N?) on top of that size of dose. The most common action is to keep increasing the Lantus insulin dose slowly until you get to a good dose. Waiting for the spreadsheet updates, but I think he was on 2.5 units of Vetsulin? We have a couple of Lantus dosing methods that can help you figure out how to increase his dose safely. I will say more once the spreadsheet has some data in it.
 
Carrie --

I'm assuming you're home testing? Could you please enter your test information on Rocket's spreadsheet. It will really help us to understand what you're seeing with Rocket's numbers.

When the vet switched the prescription to Lantus, what was Rocket's dose on Vetsulin? It looks like from your post in November, he was getting 2.5u of Vetsulin. Like Wendy noted, generally, you can make a direct switch from the dose of Vetsulin to Lantus.

One thing to keep in mind is that Lantus has a very different method of action than Vetsulin. Once you have more information on Rocket's spreadsheet, we can try to sort some of this out.
 
Finally I have the spreadsheet updated with the info I have. This is just since starting with Lantus. The Vetsulin data was logged into a book that my vet has in Rocket's file since we switched to Lantus. So I don't have access to that info. I know the spreadsheet is kind of all over the place. I had my sister and neighbor helping me with shots and tracking BG when my husband and I are working.
 
What day did you start Lantus? Just wondering if that data you have on the spreadsheet also includes Vetsulin. We ask people to put a blank line between the day they stop the old insulin and start the new one, and add something like "start Lantus" on that line so it's easy to see the change.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
What day did you start Lantus? Just wondering if that data you have on the spreadsheet also includes Vetsulin. We ask people to put a blank line between the day they stop the old insulin and start the new one, and add something like "start Lantus" on that line so it's easy to see the change.
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We started with Lantus on 06/18/2026. The previous info for Vetsulin was hand written in a log book with Rocket's file at the vet.
 
Can you tell me what his Vetsulin dose was before you switched? Are you now using the U-100 syringes to give Lantus?

Did he actually get 10 units on June 18th?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Can you tell me what his Vetsulin dose was before you switched? Are you now using the U-100 syringes to give Lantus?

Did he actually get 10 units on June 18th?
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Yes, he actually got 10 units of Lantus on 06/18/26 and yes I'm using U-100 syringes
 
Carrie42 said:
Yes, he actually got 10 units of Lantus on 06/18/26 and yes I'm using U-100 syringes
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I think he was on 3 units of Vetsulin before that. According to my vet when they did a curve at the office, the Vetsulin just wasn't staying in his system long enough, so his numbers would never stay low for very long and go right back up.
 
Question, Rocket is due for his shot in an hour at 8:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time). Should I feed him now?
 
With Lantus, the typical sequence is test the blood sugars, feed, then shoot insulin. It can all happen in about 10-15 minutes. No waiting like Vetsulin.

If he was on 3 unit of Vetsulin and it wasn't taking him below 100, the the Lantus switch should have been closer to 3 units.
 
Do you think I should talk to the vet about upping his Lantus dose now? He originally gave him the 10 units because his BG was 554 and the Vetsulin wasn't doing anything. We have went up and down in doses trying to figure his BG out.
 
I have also read Corky's post about fasting your cat for 2 hours before doing the am/pm pre-shot BG check. Is that correct or am I misunderstanding?
 
Does your vet have any experience with Lantus and cats? We decide how to change the dose of insulin based on how low it takes the cat. 10 unit is a HUGE dose to start Lantus with. Vetsulin is not a great insulin for cats and not recommended by the vet associations any more. In other countries, it is called Caninsulin - ie. dog insulin. Cats have faster metabolisms so it doesn't last long with them. Lantus is a better choice.

Most the people here use one of our dosing methods, and don't depend on the vets for dosing decisions. The dosing your vet has had you do is unusual. Lantus is a depot style insulin, and the dosing methods we use do best with consistent dosing.

The fast your cat for 2 hours before the shot is what we suggest to new people. Though if your cat is in really high numbers it is not as important. If your cat is in low numbers, you don't want to feed for 2 hours before the shot, so you aren't giving insulin at a possibly food influenced number and it might not otherwise have been safe to shoot.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Are you still giving the Novolin insulin? Can you tell me what dose of it?
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No, The vet gave Rocket the Novolin one time. He did it when I took Rocket in because I couldn't get his numbers down on Vetsulin. That is when I started talking to the vet about switching Rocket to Lantus. My vet is great, but he is also very old school. I'm not sure if he was really familiar with Lantus and how it works.
 
We normally look at how the cat is doing on Vetsulin dose and use that as a consideration. For example, a cat getting some numbers under 200 on 2 units would probably start around 2 units Lantus. However, Rocket hasn't seen numbers under 300 that you've spotted. Let me get some other opinions and get back to you.
 
Hi Carrie - Great job getting some data into the spreadsheet! As Wendy mentioned, Rocket really hasn’t gotten under 300 yet on Lantus as far as we can tell based on the data you have. I see you’ve shot 1.5u today, which is fine, but we want to get Rocket into some better numbers here, so it would make sense to bump him up to 2u tonight. Then let’s hold 2u for 6 cycles (3 days) and evaluate how the 2u dose is working. Do you think between yourself, husband and your helpers that you can have a test each cycle, both am and pm in addition to the preshots? You’re doing well during the day, but it is importantly in the pm cycle as well to at least get a before bed test, regardless of whether the preshot is pink or red. It’s often the case that the preshots don’t tell the whole picture, and we want to be able to see how low the dose is taking Rocket. If he stays high (above 300) then we can feel more confident that he needs more insulin after six cycles. How does that sound?

Also, since he has a history of ketones, it would be worth getting some Ketostix from the pharmacy and testing for ketones if you can. There are some tips on catching urine here:

Catching and testing urine

I used to just stalk my cat Maverick when he went down to use the litter box, and was able to catch the urine with the test strip mid-stream. Not everyone is so lucky :)

One other question for you - What is your usual feeding schedule for Rocket? And please do keep posting daily, so we can keep track of how Rocket is doing and help you along with dosing to get him into better numbers as quickly and as safely as possible.
 
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Hi Christie,

Thanks for the info. I will up his Lantus tonight. Yes, I can get some more readings especially in the pm. I have Ketostix, I checked his urine on Sunday, no ketones. I usually check every other day. He's a good boy, he usually follows me when I go to the laundry room. Jumps in his litter box (a litter robot) and I just stick a ladle under him to catch the urine to test.

As far as a feeding routine. I have a Pet Libro Polar wet food feeder for him. It's an automatic feeder. He gets 2 cans of FF pate in the morning after his AM preshot reading. He gets another can at 2pm for lunch. 2 cans at dinner after his PM preshot reading. And a can at 2am for overnight. He has access to Young Again Zero Mature dry food at all times but I very rarely see him eating it.
 
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