three days new to Lantus need help please

[The Wonder Cat]

Thank you for reading. My cat has been diabetic for 8 years and fairly regulated. We switched to Lantus Monday morning at 1.5 u every 12 hours. This morning prior to giving him his injection checked him and he was at 126 so I refrained from giving him his insulin, hes lately been in the 300 range prior to giving him his insulin injection. The past two days he has somehow had an inverted curve (he was higher 5 hours into his injection) I spoke with our vet and she wasnt alarmed. Is any of this sounding normal to early Lantus experiences? I half wonder if I gave him the injection if it would raise his glucose but I am afraid it wouldnt.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Could you please post the G and the times in relation to the shots and for what insulin you used? It seems to take a while for Lantus to build up in order to work consistently. You may have to reduce the Lantus dose. What was the 1 1/2 units Bid of Lantus based?

 

[KarenRamboConan]

May I suggest you head to the Lantus forum and read their "stickies"? viewforum.php?f=9

Lantus doesn't work like insulins you have used in the past. The shot and dose is not based on the preshot number - unlike other insulins- but on the nadir of the previous day. It's quite common to give a shot when the BG is low (after you have collected data on how he responds, of course!) It's also common to start on a lower dose than 1.5u

Because Lantus takes about 4 hours to "kick in" , the idea is to shoot while the BG is rising from the previous shot in order to stop it from going way up. Basically, you overlap the doses (one kicks in as the other is wearing off with no real time to see the BGs skyrocket). You actually havea "reserve tank" (called a shed) of insulin in the body that you keep filled.

It's a whole new learning curve for those of us used to the "old" insulins. But the Lantus people are very experienced with it, so I suggest you also post over there.

Good luck!

 

[The Wonder Cat]

Thank you so much for your help. Sorry for my delayed reply. Been watching his BG bounce around a bit all week and everything you said makes perfect sense now. I experienced the AH-HA moment. Thanks again for explaining this. Now just to figure out how to get the bubbles out of the syringe in a managable time.. the bubbles in the syring look a bit like a lava lamp.

 

[squeem3]

Now just to figure out how to get the bubbles out of the syringe in a managable time.. the bubbles in the syring look a bit like a lava lamp.

This Lantus sticky has info on how to remove bubbles: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=151

What I did was move plunger up and down the syringe a few times. Then push plunger down to the zero line and insert into insulin bottle/pen. Draw up a little more insulin than I need (ie, if dose is 2 units, draw up 2.5 units). Remove insulin syringe from the bottle/pen and hold the insulin syringe with the needle pointing up. Tap to float bubbles up towards the needle. Slowly push plunger upwards to remove the bubbles and extra insulin. Never inject extra insulin back into the bottle/pen. You don't want to risk contaminating the entire bottle or pen.

Some brands of insulin syringes are prone to stubborn air bubbles. I found that the BD UltraFine II brand works great for Lantus but not for Levemir. ReliOn insulin syringes work well for Lantus, too.