HELP PLEASE! Lucky is back from the Vet...

The Vet has prescribed Lantos Solostar PEN 3cc and needles. Strength _U-100_
Give 1 units SQ BID for diabetes. Adjust as directed.
Substitutes permissible. Refills _PRN 1 year_

I can test Luckys Blood Glucose at home and the Vet suggested Alpha Trac Blood Glucose Kit.

I recently switched my food from Iam’s adult dry and canned food (reason for the change was for my 23 year old cat Amore- her coat and attitude has really improved since this change) to dry food by Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Kibble- Duck and Instinct- Grain Free wet food 3 Oz. I grab a mixture of the cans- duck, rabbit, chicken and salmon. Whatever is available. They have a High Protien wet food as well. Maybe I should get this instead for him. I was told only give Lucky canned food and no more dry. I will have to figure out this feeding trick as my Amore does still like some dry food.

I was directed to give Lucky one can of food in the morning and one at night. The 3 Oz should be good enough said the doctor. 12 hours apart and then give insulin.

I have been looking up the cost for the pens and they are expensive. I found a discount site called Singlecare. Let’s you pay weekly and all this unexpected cost has put a drain in my account for the moment. This site lets you pay a small amount over a set amount of weeks. Thoughts?

What they offer is...
Lantus Solostar
$66.73
3 pen, 3ml of 100unit/ml

The script is for 3cc and needles pen not 3ml. Are these one in the same? I am confused.

I am sorry I know I am everywhere. My mind is racing and since I found out my left eye lid has not stopped twitching. Ha ha.

His Glucose was 406 on Sunday. I have no idea what it is right now. I need direction PLEASE! Thank you all for your kind worlds in my intro post. Helped to settle me a bit.

Lucky has no other health issues at this time. He has been my healthy boy!

Good question here- what it Lucky does not eat the entire can when I put it down? Do I leave it for a short time then pick it up for the night?

Again thank you to anyone and all who can help guide me here.

 

Lantus 1 unit twice a day is a good starting dose. I believe those needles are specifically for use with the 3 cc (same as 3mL) pen. That will restrict you to dosing in whole numbers of units only whereas we often recommend dose changes in no more that 0.25 u increments. You can open the pen and use proper insulin syringes with the pen cartridge as though the cartridge is a mini vial of insulin. More on that later ...

Yes! Hurray for your vet! Vets like the AlphaTrak meter because it's made specifically for pets and will give blood glucose readings very similar to what the vet would measure in clinic. However the test strips for this meter are very expensive. Many people buy a human meter for its much cheaper test strips and us that day to day. They save the AT meter for data they'll send to their vet. Walmart's ReliOn brand meters are popular. The Micro and Confirm models need only a tiny blood drop on the strip to give reading.

Low carb canned food is the best for diabetic cats. This food chart is a great resource:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
It's best to keep carbs below 10%. Many people feed Friskies or Fancy Feast pate style canned foods. Many vets recommend feeding only twice a day but few of us follow that. We tend to split the daily ration into multiple small meals or allow the kitties who are grazers to do that. For safety's sake we strongly recommend testing BG every AM and PM before feeding and giving insulin. For those two tests to be representative of no food influenced BG all food should be withdrawn at least 2 hours before.

If that means three of the 3mL (3 cc) pens for $66.73 that's a great price. Yes, 3mL = 3 cc.

OK. Here's the basic BG testing routine we recommend:

1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your SS, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.

The spreadsheet we use here is a great way to track Lucky's BG data. It's viewable by all members and is the first thing we look at before offering advice:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

You'll find that using proper insulin syringes allows a much broader range of dose fractions. I guarantee you'll want that. The type of syringes you need are:

• U100
• 0.3 mL (or 0.3 cc - same thing)
• with half units marks (very important!)
• 29 to 31 gauge needle - your preference
• 1/4" to 1/2" long needle - your preference

Many people but these at Walmart but often have trouble with staff not knowing that syringes with half unit marks exist. An online vendor that's popular is adwdiabetes,com.

Hope this helps to get you started. Post all your general questions on this forum. You'll get the best Lantus specific advice on the Lantus forum. There are a lot of very experienced people there to help.

 

I've never seen Singlecare, but other discount cards that I'd seen excluded pets, however this one does not (for human meds): https://support.singlecare.com/cust...55984-are-pet-medications-covered-?b_id=13975 so that is good. But I can't speak for them otherwise.

The other avenues for Lantus are Canada -- go to https://rxcanada4less.com/search.php and search for Lantus, many order from them and they are legitimate. Or look in the supply closet http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/supply-closet-for-sale-or-free.15/ but look for someone where a well respected member has vouched for them. I don't have first hand experience but know that @Alan Hamman is known as very trustworthy by members here.

Hope that helps!
Sandi.

 

Yes, Alan is very reputable and trustworthy; I have bought from him several times so can vouch for him, personally.

Our diabetic kitties need to eat foods that have less than 10% carbs - many of the Nature's Variety Instinct canned foods are under 10%, so if you are happy feeding it, you wouldn't need to make a change, unless you wanted to go to a still-lower carb food. As Kris says, no need to feed on a strict 12 hour rotation. Diabetic kitties are hungry all the time, because their bodies can't properly utilize the nutrients in their food so, until their blood glucose is regulated, they are basically starving. Most of us feed several small meals throughout the day. I doubt two 3oz cans will be enough for your sweet boy, unless he is grossly overweight and needs to lose a few pounds, but just play it by ear and see how it goes; if he's hungry and wants more, it's okay to feed him more.

 

I just checked, it's for one pen. It's a card you use a participating pharmacies.

 

I am so thankful and grateful for this group and each of you who have offered guidance and comfort. I kept jumping on the site when I could at my desk in between things. All this is new and confusing. So again thank you to each of you for your time and knowledge regarding this disease. I feel now and in the future I can’t express my gratitude enough. God bless.

 

(((Catie)))

God bless you too.


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