Tested Low -- give shot? (Lantus)

[shadowlady]

Hi I posted this on the lantus page but noticed it doesn't get as much traffic and was hoping to get an answer as soon as possible. Thank you!!!
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=87208

Tested 80... give him shot?

Postby shadowlady » Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:40 pm
Hi. My buddy has been getting treatment for 2 months. He was at 400 when we started, dropped to 121 in a few weeks after getting put on his current dosage which is 1.5u of Lantus 2x/day. Earlier today he had an episode where he temporarily lost his eyesight a few hours after his morning shot. Sugar, snacks and a little time and he got better eyesight and all (thank goodness) - I just tested him before it was time for his shot and he was at 80. I feel as though it would be best to not give him his shot. Can anyone give me some feedback? Thank you!

 

[squeem3]

The rule is to never give insulin if the PS is under 200. Experienced users often give tiny token doses at a low numbers but they have a ton of bg data to back this up and know how their cat will respond.

A PS of 80 is a great number That's a normal non-diabetic number. No, don't give any insulin. Your cat will be ok with a skipped insulin shot.

You can also post on the Lantus Tight Regulation board: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9 That board has more traffic than the Relaxed one and all of the experienced Lantus users post there.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

Hey there

Do you have any more readings? Did you test him when he was having the eyesight issues? I am thinking he may be going to low and you may need to reduce his dose a little. When are you testing this morning and can you post his results on the TR forum http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

What are you feeding him?

We usually dont ask people to post there until they are set up with a spreadsheet and profile (like in my signature below) but I think you have some activity going on there and we want him to be safe
let me know!


Wendy

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I just posted this in your thread on Relaxed Lantus:

If you can get a spreadsheet set up to track your kitty's numbers, you may want to post on the Lantus Tight Regulation forum. The Lantus board is much busier and there is usually someone around 24/7 who can lend a hand.

 

[Libby and Lucy]

how is your kitty today? What did you decide to do last night?

Let us know, ok?

If your kitty lost his eyesight, and you gave sugar and he still only went up to 80, then I would say his insulin dose probably needs to be reduced. It sounds like he might have gone hypo last night and you pulled him out of it. Great job with that, so now let's get him on the right path going forward.

 

[shadowlady]

Thank you again for all the fast responses!! He's doing much better now. We did not give him his shot the night he tested 80 (thanks for the advice!), woke up, fed him and tested him again and he was at 220 - so we gave him 1u instead of his regular 1.5u. Later tested him again and he was at 150 (nice!!) -- So we're going to continue with blood testing and dose adjustment as needed and watch him like a hawk.
Took him to a new vet in Portland (just moved from Northern California) and they are doing a curve test (awaiting results, not going to get it done again because its ridiculously expensive, and we didn't realize a:we could possibly monitor this stuff ourselves and b:how our previous vet had been handling it, but that guy was way nicer, more affordable, and straight forward...) I have to find the thread on Portland vets. We don't like this one too much already. Seems too green, and is hard to get solid information out of. Gah, anyway, the little dude is doing better now and hopefully he stays that way. (KNOCK ON WOOD) Thanks so much for your support everyone!

 

[Blue]

Thank you again for all the fast responses!! He's doing much better now. We did not give him his shot the night he tested 80 (thanks for the advice!), woke up, fed him and tested him again and he was at 220 - so we gave him 1u instead of his regular 1.5u. Later tested him again and he was at 150 (nice!!) -- So we're going to continue with blood testing and dose adjustment as needed and watch him like a hawk.
Took him to a new vet in Portland (just moved from Northern California) and they are doing a curve test (awaiting results, not going to get it done again because its ridiculously expensive, and we didn't realize a:we could possibly monitor this stuff ourselves and b:how our previous vet had been handling it, but that guy was way nicer, more affordable, and straight forward...) I have to find the thread on Portland vets. We don't like this one too much already. Seems too green, and is hard to get solid information out of. Gah, anyway, the little dude is doing better now and hopefully he stays that way. (KNOCK ON WOOD) Thanks so much for your support everyone!

A curve at a vet is not of much worth because most cats are stressed at being there, so their BG numbers on that curve are most probably going to be higher than if you just tested your cat at home every 2 hrs..... it would be alot cheaper too!

Both of my cats tested higher when at the vet office .... just being there caused one cat's numbers to be 100points higher, and the other guy sometimes tested lower than his normal numbers. Both cats, once they got back home and given 30min to relax, tested back to their normal numbers.

It is difficult to say much about dosing and what's going on without seeing the testing numbers you have, so if you can provide the numbers here, the time of the shot, then the BG numbers and the times for each, it will be good. You can also put the numbers into a google spreadsheet so that others can take a look at the numbers and let you know what they see in the numbers.