Lantus life span

I have a bottle of Lantus that I bought in January of this year, so its 3 and 1/2 months old. I’m worried it’s not working as well because my cat’s BG numbers have been on the high end lately, (300-450, pre-shot). This morning my husband and I both gave our kitty insulin by accident so I’ve been checking his BG throughout the day which have all pretty high, these were checked every 2 hours (572, 350, 412, 391, 364). My veterinarian doesn’t think he got two shots because his numbers have been so high. I know for sure I he got two shots which now has me wondering.... It’s also been about 5 weeks since my last curve. My question to you all is how long do you keep your bottles of insulin (Lantus)?

 

Do you keep it in the refrigerator?

 

Yes, it’s kept in the fridge.

 

I'm going on just over 6 months with mine and it seems to be working spot-on. As long as it's not cloudy, looking funky, or you've shaken the bottle, it should still be OK at ~3 months, I would think. How many days has he been consistently high like that even when he's been getting the regular 2x a day dose? You never said what dose you were giving him?

 

I guess it’s been over the past week that he’s been high. And now that I think back, we missed a dose 3 days ago so maybe that can be affecting today’s curve. He gets 3 units twice daily. His latest BG one hour ago was at 220 so his numbers are starting to fall. I wonder if the insulin is finally kicking in since it’s long lasting insulin.

 

I think it might be worth monitoring him for awhile and checking those numbers to see how he's doing. A skipped shot can influence cycles later on (I think up to 6 or so), so that might be what's happening with your guy.

 

Ugh, now I’m getting nervous... He vomited after dinner, I gave him cerenia soon after. Fed him again-he ate, not giving insulin tonight per DVM request. I’m so glad I didn’t give him a shot cause now his BG is dropping from 220 to 182 just now. He’s currently hiding in my closet. I feel like such a bad Mom!!

 

My vials lasted 5-6 months. Then I switched to pens and was able to use each to the last drop. It would be great if you would start a spreadsheet. Any reason why you haven’t?