Using Novilin N (walmart brand) or Lantus-Is it wortwhile to switch?

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Onre

Onre

Member Since 2017
My cat is eating well now after a bout with Keto, Fatty liver and pancreatitis. She is eating nearly three cans of Fancy Feast daily she lost alot of weight and is filling out. She was down to 6lbs at one point and weighs a little over 7lbs. When we left the emergency vet she was put on one unit of insulin twice a day and I was told to keep a 12 hour feeding schedule and give her a shot at that time. I have a regular vet and an internist. The last vet visit was with the internist. My regular vet is 5 minutes up the road the internist 30 minutes away. I like both of them, but they are on different pages as far as how to treat my cat. The internist says to let the cat eat as much as she wants and give a higher dose of insulin (2 units) which is supposed to lower her levels. My cat has been running around 360 to 389. My testing has been infrequent because both vets tell me that unless the cat is acting funny there is no need to do testing. My regular vet is going with 1 unit of insulin and getting her to eat no particular restrictions. Either way except on one occasion when I have test I don't see a big difference in levels.

I have read a study that say glargine is better in cats and if given early in the disease cycle that it can cause remission my vet (internist) say she has seen very little difference. That what determines remission is the condition of the individual cat and the insulin you give makes no difference.

Is it worth it to switch? Are there any precautions you need to take to switch insulins? How often should I be testing? Please note my cat gets super leary of me the more I test. I not the best at sticking her.
 
As other's will probably say, the best insulin for your cat is the one that works :). Most of us who home test would strongly disagree with "no need to test unless she's acting funny". By the time she would be acting funny, her life might be in danger. We wouldn't administer insulin without monitoring and doing a PS (pre-shot) test on a human infant/toddler ;). Minimum tests should be AMPS and PMPS with no food eaten for 2 hours prior. Grab extra tests mid-cycle when you can.

*I think* more cats go into remission on the longer lasting insulins like Lantus, Levemir, and Prozinc because they have faster metabolism, which makes it more difficult for shorter lasting insulins like Novolin N, Caninsulin, Vetsulin, etc to last an entire 12 hour cycle. Cats have a unique ability for their pancreas to heal, so they might have more time in "healing numbers" on longer insulins. With that said, that have been cats who go into remissions on short lasting insulins, so once again, if it's working for your kitty then stick with it :bighug:.

Hopefully others will chime in on their thoughts. Feel free to completely ignore mine :D
 
Lantus does have a very good rate of remission, but that is based on regular home testing and appropriate adjustment of doses to keep the cat in healing numbers as much as possible. Once the pancreas has time to heal, remission is possible.

I would guess that your internist hasn't seen a difference in the two because s/he isn't experienced with owners who are home testing and able to use the insulins to their maximum benefit. If the cat is just getting a dose of insulin without regard to its impact on the body, then remission is less likely no matter which insulin you're using.

My kitty hated testing when we first started. It took a fair amount of time and bribery and chin scratches to win him over, but it can be done. And I am also way better at it now than I was when I first started, so that helps too. It does take some practice though. We are more than happy to help with tips and suggestions of ways to start making that easier on both of you if you are interested.
 
Minimum tests should be AMPS and PMPS with no food eaten for 2 hours prior. Grab extra tests mid-cycle when you can.
I don't know the abbreviations you are using. Why with draw food 2 hours prior to the shot? She was syringe fed a week and a half ago she lost over a lb during her illness and is gaining weight back.
 
Great questions!

AMPS: the pre-shot test in the morning (a.m.)
PMPS: the pre-shot test in the evening (p.m.)
Mid-cycle: any test given in between the AMPS and the PMPS - usually aiming for the time during the cycle when you expect the cat to hit nadir.
Nadir: The lowest BG level during the cycle - the time when the insulin is at its peak effectiveness.
BG: blood glucose

You withdraw food two hours before the AMPS and the PMPS because when a cat eats, her BG increases. Novlin is dosed based in part on the pre-shot BG level, so if the cat has increased BG due to eating, you could end up giving more insulin than she needs. After about two hours, the BG has stabilized so you are getting a more accurate number on which to base the dose.
 
Onre said:
Please note my cat gets super leary of me the more I test.
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My cat used to, too. At one point he was running from me every time he saw me pick up his test kit! It has taken us a while, but by persevering and giving lots of low-carb treats as a reward, he now runs TO me when he see the kit! I honestly never thought he would get to this point. So hang in there! Just make sure you have loads of LC treats available - I used his fave treat as the one he got after a test, and that was the ONLY time he got that one. Other times he got different LC treats. He soon caught on that if he wanted his favorites, he had to let me test him, lol.
 
Is there any way to silence the beep on the monitors? That seems to be the signal that sets my cat off.
 
What are the ideal low carb treats? My cat loves Temptations mixups it's what got her to consider eating on her own again. They have carbs. Is one treat enough to cause a spike in blood sugar?

How do you decide how much insulin to give particulary since monitors are off by a 15 to 20%, where are you poking? I have been told cats get lots of scar tissue from daily poking in their ears? Is there any truth to that?
 
I can't answer all of those questions, but I can recommend a kind of treat: freeze-dried chicken or salmon. My cats go nuts for it. I generally use this brand:
https://tinyurl.com/mlwdg8f
The texture is very crunchy--I think that's what they like.

I've been poking my cat multiple times a day since March and his ears aren't scarred. They can get bruised sometimes, or he can develop a little lump, but it always heals--and those problems have become far less frequent since I got better at it and since his ears got used to it (they bleed more easily now).
 
Onre said:
Is there any way to silence the beep on the monitors? That seems to be the signal that sets my cat off.
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20170524_140528.jpg
 
If you take a look at some of our spreadsheets, you can see that we tend to test quite a bit. I know every cat is different, but I can assure you that mine doesn't have any scar tissue from the testing.
 
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