First time poster, long time lurker. Luna was diagnosed at the end of January with numbers in the 600s. Vet started her on 2u Lantus and had us switch from RC hypoallergenic dry (food allergies, recently discovered it's probably fish) to RC Glycobalance wet. Long story short, we had 4 months of trial and error (and a hypo or two) with our vet trying to figure out the proper dose. She recently handed the keys over to us and let us switch her food to RAWZ wet (chicken or turkey + 1/4 tsp pumpkin) and lets us adjust Luna's dose as needed. We started TR about 3 weeks ago and already have two failed reductions. Currently trying to work our way down from the latest one and Luna is taking her time. It's frustrating but we've had some mild success; a full day under 200 (thanks to shooting at 67...which was terrifying), and more greens and blues. Anyway, please check out the SS (if I set it up correctly). Hoping she'll come back down so we don't have to go up to 1u. P.S. We're going on our 5th month of our refrigerated Lantus pen. Time for a new one?
Welcome to the L B &L forum! It’s great that you’re taking such an active role in Luna’s health care I can see your spreadsheet just fine! Good work It’s really scary that your vet was Ok with putting Luna at risk of Hypo while trying to figure out her dose I’m glad she made it out alright. It means a lot to have a vet support your decision to take more control over Luna’s treatment so I will give them some credit there I don’t follow TR and I’m not super experienced but it looks like you have a cat that is fairly prone to bouncing. Don’t get too frustrated with the failed reductions, a very wise person told me when I first joined here that this is a marathon, not a sprint . Luna will get there and there is a lot of good science to back up TR so I’m sure moving forward you will see a positive reaction soon! In the meantime Hopefully my post will bump you to the top of the feed so someone with more experience can comment PS: as long as the Lantus is refrigerated it usually lasts as long as it takes you to use it, but there is always a chance that it could lose efficacy after 5 months. I have a feeling based on the greens that you got a few days ago that it’s working fine Good luck!!
Hi! I've been here for nearly 16 months. First of all I LOVE your photo of Luna! When I started, I knew nothing about Diabetes. I was afraid "not to listen to my vet" but after I connected with the "very" knowledgeable" people here I quickly realized that the people here have dealt with cat Diabetes & many other problems that most vet have not experienced "every day" If you listen to the advice you obtain here , you will help your cat do the best she can. Do you feed any Dry food? I'm very opposed to dry food. Dr Pierson explains clearly " in the Yellow sticky notes, " why Cats should NOT eat any dry food. Ask a lot OF QUESTIONS! Read & learn as much as you can about the insulin & how it works. The more you know the easier it will be to help Luna. Best of Luck to you & Luna! We all want to Help you Help Luna!!
Welcome to the group. Congrats on getting all of your tools in place. The only observation I would make is that you may be holding on to doses a bit long if you're following TR. Unless you are seeing nadirs that are consistently below 200, you want to increase the dose by 0,25u every 3 days/6 cycles. In other words, Luna is due for a dose increase today. You may want to see about getting some spot checks at times other than AM +6 and PM +3. Not all cats have their nadir at +6. My cat's usual nadir was at around +3 -- except for those days when it wasn't. Nadirs can and do shift around. Please let us know if you have questions. The people here are very generous with their time and knowledge.
Dan, Hey there and Welcome to L, B & L! You are a rock star to be testing Luna as are! Take a bow! As far as the failed reductions, it happens. Sometime kitties dance around the same dose a few times until it clicks and they earn a reduction that sticks. Don't sweat it. I only see one true failed reduction since you started TR. That was after 6/2 when she gave you a 46 in the AM cycle. It looks like you shot through the bounce in the PM cycle and gave the reduction the next AM cycle. After the PM cycle on 6/5, you could have given her an increase because it was a fail reduction. We give a bounce 6 cycles to clear and looks like she could have gone back up in dose . The other reduction that you are speaking of ( I think) is when in the PM cycle of 5/24 she hit a 50 and you reduced the next cycle. Reductions are when they go under 50. You might have reduced premature. I wouldn't consider that one a failed reduction since she didn't go under 50. I agree with Sienne that she is due for an increase. Keep posting and asking questions, we are here to help. Post daily if you'd like some eyes on her. Start a new thread with the date and her name. We'll watch out for you. ETA: Where is PA are you? We are in Bucks County, right outside of Doylestown.
Thanks! We don't use dry food. When Luna was diagnosed, the wet put her on RC glycobalance wet food. After reading a lot on here, we decided to try lower carb food. Tried a few and eventually settled on RAWZ chicken or turkey pate
Yeah, we probably need to go up. It's just seems soon (though I understand the protocol calls for it) since we just got the low numbers with .75. And we're out in Centre county
The low with .75 was 23 cycles ago, their needs change and that dose isn't cutting it right now. Try not to get married to a dose if it isn't doing it for her. We all are guilty of that in the beginning . But the bottom line is they need what they need when they need it. Insulin isn't a medication, it's a hormone and their needs are constantly changing. If you follow the protocol, you can get her regulated faster. She is doing great and on a really low dose. Keep on keeping on( my favorite Matthew McConaughey quote)
Just welcoming you Dan and your little Luna! You really picked the right picture for your avatar, what a cute little face!! We're all there to help you help Luna! Read all the stickies and ask as many questions as you need and post as often as you wish, so we'll be able to follow her!