? Shooting normal dose at lower PS numbers?

We started a new pen of Lantus couple of days ago (Lantus purchased a few days ago and with expiration date in 2019) and now I strongly suspect that the last pen we were using was bad :-(( since Bailey's numbers improved significantly and are actually showing some control.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/all-black-increase-stay-the-course.171417/
We are shooting 1U but that dose is based on all his numbers when he was on the previous pen of insulin. I know it is a bit early to change anything, so my question is: what dose should I use when his pre-shot # is low compared to what we are used to? Yesterday evening it was 170 (!) versus 500-600 with past Lantus pen. I just gave him food and waited for an hour to give his usual 1U. Should I do a curve today and see how far he drops and decrease the dose this evening? Should I wait for a few more cycles?
Thanks

 

Looks like Bailey is bouncing today - I wonder how low he got last night. A before bed test is always a good idea, as many cats go lower at night.

170 is a very nice preshot number. As long as you can monitor him, it's a good number to shoot. On this forum, we suggest that if you see something under 150 that you DO NOT FEED, and post for help for what to do about the shot. Above that, as long as you can monitor, have plenty of test strips and high carb food in case you need it, then you can shoot. Getting at least one more test last night would have been very instructive about last night's cycle if you had shot lower.

You've shot way lower numbers than 170 last year.Lantus is really good at helping to keep numbers lower, if it starts with a lower preshot number. The cycles are a lot more flat when you start lower, than when you start with a high number. And if they start lower, then you don't get those steep drops in numbers that can set off another bounce. I much preferred shooting lower numbers.

Are you following the SLGS method for dosing? If you are, you might want to put that in your signature. You can do a curve if you want, but he's probably bouncing from yesterday's blues so I don't think you'd get good data. I'd wait a day or two. If you see a morning preshot in yellow, that might be an ideal day for it.

 

Nice to see Bailey spending some time in blue numbers! Good job!

 

Thank you! It was so scary to see all those blacks day in and day out . I know he is an old cat and will go over the Rainbow bridge rather sooner than later and still... every day you think "Can I keep you just a bit longer?"

 

we love our kitties - every day with these little fur friends is a blessing.

 

Just curious, why did you wait an hour after feeding to shoot? With Lantus we recommend testing, feeding and shooting all in a period of about 5-10 minutes. Many of us test, put the food down, and as soon as the cat starts eating, shoot (we found it much easier to shoot Cinco that way, as he was very food-oriented and neither tests nor injections bothered him when his face was in his dish). When did you take that PMPS test? Before feeding or right before the shot? If it was right before the shot, it was food-influenced, so could be artificially inflated. You have (271@+) in your PMPS cell, along with the 170. Can you please clarify what that means? Thanks.

We all feel like that with our older kitties. Giving him the extra love and care you do will keep him around as long as possible, but it's never long enough, is it?

 

About that food/shot: thanks for the suggestion about 5-10 minutes, I will try that in the future. The 170 reading was right at his pre-shot time and since it was MUCH lower than his previous pre-shot numbers with his dose at 1U, I felt that I should not give him a shot right away. Did not want to risk a very low drop. I fed him then. But should not have waited an hour... The 271 reading was after an hour - the food spike - and that is when I gave him his shot of 1U

 

Got it - maybe change the spreadsheet to say 271 @+13 so we know the shot was an hour late.

It's good to see a couple of days without the black in there. Kitten steps.

 

Second this.

You know now that it was perfectly safe to shoot that 170. Thanks for explaining.