The nod and smile approach with the vet...

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Shiloh & Rhonda (GA)

Shiloh & Rhonda (GA)

Member Since 2015
I've seen many of y'all talk about it. I send my vet my numbers about every 4 days. When I sent him the numbers from Sunday, he suggested I alternate between 2 and 2.5. Reading everything I have on here, I know that fluctuating the dose on Lantus isn't a good idea. Do you any of y'all send the numbers to your vet, but sort of fudge the insulin dose? He is a great vet, and I have been with him for 14 years. All my animals love him, and I would hate to be "fired" for not following his recommendations, but I don't think his suggestion is the best route for Shiloh.
 
Have you tried sending him the protocol and saying something along the lines of "This is the protocol I've been following and it suggests that Lantus works best when given at the same dose. I'm doing a lot of research on my own as well as getting recommendations from the FDMB (which I understand are just laypeople but who have years of experience with their own cats) and would like to continue with keeping Shiloh on the same dose for now at least. I truly appreciate the care you've given Shiloh in the past and hope that between the two of us, we'll keep Shiloh as healthy as possible"
 
Yeah, hate to admit it, but I'm not completely honest with my vet... I hide the dose column on my spreadsheet before I show it to my vet...
 
I admit, I haven't mentioned this message board or my research. But he was impressed that I did the searching to find out how to do the home testing, as he didn't explain that, other than to say I could prick the ear or the foot. I figured I would get a little more time under my belt, and see how Shiloh does before I approached him with that.
 
Can you split the difference and ask him if 2.25 is ok for every shot for simplicity sake. Besides it being better having a stable dose, I find that having different doses different days can be confusing, and you're more likely to give the wrong amounts on the wrong days which will skew your test results. He might be fine if that is the explanation.
 
There are syringes with half unit markings which make dosing easier for the 0.25 increments. You may want to purchase some of these for now, and use up the syringes you have when his dose changes to a dose that is a whole or half unit.

However, I just looked at your SS. Is there a reason he wants to reduce? Your blood sugars are still pretty high, and even that 90 isn't a worrisome number.
 
I agree with you, Meya. I am not sure why the decrease was suggested, other than the lower BG levels after the increase. I have the syringes with the half unit markings. I have continued to give the 2.5, and not seeing any change. I am not changing dose right now.
 
Sometimes there is a little dip or spike after a dose change ("new dose wonkiness"), but overall your numbers are still pretty high. If it were my vet, I'd just explain nicely at the next exam that I watch the blood sugar frequently, and that little dip didn't last so I kept the dose, and figured it would be ok. Then show him the current numbers.

Being honest (unless your vet is a control freak) will help you build trust between what you both are doing to control the sugars. When we were first diagnosed I used to call in to the vet weekly with sugars to get the new dose. When I reduced a couple times due to lower numbers between weekly calls, my vet responded with "Good! Just base his dose on the sugars, and call me if you have questions."
 
He doesn't seem to be a control freak, but this is the first time that there has been anything chronic that needed to be addressed. I will give it a little more time and see how her numbers go. We haven't scheduled a next exam yet. He wanted to see her pretty much weekly until he found out I was home testing, then just asked for me to send the numbers.
 
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