Intro Purrcie on Humulin N want to change to Lantus help?

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by myla, Jun 10, 2010.

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  1. myla

    myla Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2010
    I posted this on the Humulin board first, and it was suggested I post it here, so hope I didn't violate any rules by cross posting.

    Hi All!
    This is our first post. First I'll introduce us. I am Myla and my 15 year old Kitty boy is Purrcie. He is an asthma kitty that ended up with diabetes from the shots he got for asthma a couple years ago. He also has kidney issues from the shots too. His asthma is now controlled with a Flovent inhaler.

    He is on low carb wet foods like the FF classics, some wellness, some Naturals and a teeny bit of raw. No dry except for a couple treats(teeny) after his fluids infusion and flovent treatment.

    Anyway we've been through a few vets , the first one putting him on Vetsulin once a day, then last fall on Humulin twice a day. I trusted my vet and he had Purrcie on 3 units BID of Humulin. I was never told about home testing and had no idea I should have been doing so. Purrcie had a low BG crash in early May and the vet took him off insulin for ten days, then restarted him on the Humulin-N, first at .5 unit, ten days later 1unit, then 7 days 1.5 units. During this time I started looking on the net for help and learned how to home test. Paige showed me how to make his spreadsheet so I've included a link to it. It's pretty sketchy at first as it is just from the notes I started keeping.

    I'm not sure if the Humulin N is the right insulin for him. He's been through so much I don't want to make any more changes that could cause him(and me) more stress. Should he get more stable on Humuin before we change? Or is that why we should change? Can someone look at his SS and give me some guidance please? I'm not sure if I have the settings right so everyone can see it but I'm here to learn so here goes!
    http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... MAog#gid=0

    Myla and Purrcie.myla

    Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2010 9:54 pm
    Private message
     
  2. tuckers mom

    tuckers mom Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Hi and no worries, you didn't break any rules by cross posting :)

    I can't open your spreadsheet, it says I don't have permission. Did you give permission for everyone to access it when you created it?

    I went back to your Humulin post since I also couldn't use the link on this post.
    http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... MAog#gid=0

    So, I can't say anything with regards to your BGs, but I can tell you that my own cats preferred the longer lasting insulin Levemir which is very similar to Lantus, from a shorter acting insulin they were on.

    When Tucker was on Humulin N, he metabolized it too quickly, may have been 4-5 hours and it was out of his system. This was back in 2005 so my memory is not great. We switched to PZI for years and liked it, but the Lev is so much better for him.

    I do think that Lantus would be a better choice for you. Given the health problems that Purrcie has, Lantus is gentler on the system and may make him feel a lot better.

    It's great that you're already hometesting and feeding fantastic food.
     
  3. paige

    paige Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Hi Myla, long time no talk :lol: :lol: Hope you get some good suggestions and help for you to make your decision!!! (((hugs)))
     
  4. Ronnie & Luna

    Ronnie & Luna Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Hi Myla

    sorry cant view your spreadsheet, try it again ok?

    I too had to switch from one insulin (Caninsulin/Vetsulin in the U.S) to Lantus. What a relief that was! Numbers got better, Luna felt better, and 3 months after starting Lantus, he went into remission and is strictly diet controlled.

    I'm going to link some stickies for you with some info on Lantus and the protocol the Lantus forum follows, with tons of guidance and support from many experienced members!

    Tilly Protocol:
    viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1581

    Insulin Depot- AKA Storage Shed:
    viewtopic.php?f=9&t=150

    Have a look thru and ask questions! Great to hear you are home testing! We love spot checks!! :lol:
     
  5. myla

    myla Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2010
    Thank you for the replies. It helps just to know someone is out there. Sometimes it takes so long to hear back from the vet that I get into a panic because I don't know what I'm doing and have little to no direction from her.

    Try this link to the spreadsheet.

    http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... l=en#gid=0

    Myla and Purrcie
     
  6. Ronnie & Luna

    Ronnie & Luna Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    much better, can see it now

    there's tons of people here, pretty much 24-7

    hang in there, we'll see if others can come by to view your ss and offer feedback
     
  7. tuckers mom

    tuckers mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    It looks like at +6 the insulin is wearing off, +3 may be the nadir (lowest point), sort of like how Tucker was, for part of the day he felt, the rest of day he was feeling crappy.

    I think Lantus would be a very good choice, you'd get smoother curves, less ups and downs like you're seeing now and that alone will make your cat feel better, and go along way to helping him keep his numbers down going forward.
     
  8. Meadow

    Meadow Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2010
    Hi Myla,
    Paige alerted me to your post and since I also have an asthmatic kitty on Lantus, I just wanted to say hi and welcome you to this group. Meadow was only diagnosed in March and I only recently joined this group, but boy am I ever glad I did. So much support and good info.
    Meadow was originally on Humulin N. Her BG's did not seem to go down much from the high 300's and 400's. So after reading about it here, I asked my vet if we could switch and he agreed. Meadow is still on prednisone, so that may have an effect on her bg's, but they have come down, and although they still seem to be all over the place at times, overall I think she is doing much better. Clinically she doing better than on the Humulin. She seemed tired a lot on that and on the Lantus she seems perkier and more herself. She was on the Flovent inhaler for a little over 4 years and we had to keep upping the dose because it worked less and less forher until finally she was over the highest dose and the vet was concerned about a toxic buildup in her system, so she came off it and onto the pred and hence the diabetes.
    I think switching Purrcie to Lantus is a good idea because it does seem to work better in Meadow and a lot of the folks here have great results with it. I wish I had more experience with diabetes to give you better advice, but that's what the seasoned members are here for. Good luck with Purrcie! :smile:
     
  9. paige

    paige Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Thank you Dottie!!! :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
     
  10. myla

    myla Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2010
    Thank you so much Dottie! I remember seeing your posts over on the yahoo group. Glad to see you here and know you and Meadow are doing better! I'm thinking we will get Lantus tomorrow. Do I need to have Purrcie off the Humulin for a day before I start the Lantus?

    Myla and Purrcie
     
  11. Meadow

    Meadow Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2010
    You are welcome, Myla. When I switched Meadow, she had the Humulin in the morning and the vet told me to give her 1/2 the dose of Lantus that evening and then start the proper dose the following morning. But check with your vet and see how he/she wants to handle it since I don't want to tell you something that might nor be right for Purrcie.
     
  12. Sienne and Gabby (GA)

    Sienne and Gabby (GA) Senior Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    I'm glad you're switching. Both my vet and some of the info that's available on the web suggest that Humulin N is a far better insulin for dogs but is not particularly effective for cats. In cats, it has a short duration. Lantus is a long-acting insulin that is much gentler than N.

    Gabby was also started on N. We made the switch at her next cycle. There was no issue with overlap. N is in and out of the system quickly (probably after 8 hours).
     
  13. myla

    myla Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2010
    Thanks Sienne and Dottie!
    I will be getting the Lantus tomorrow and will call the vet to see what dosage to start the Lantus tomorrow night. Purr is on 1.5u of Humulin N right now. I don't have complete faith in my vet so I'm wondering what dosage you guys might think we would start on with Lantus? I will ask her of course but I've seen some of the vets start the kitties on here on high amounts like Paige's Webber's first shot was 4units! Yipes!

    Also any suggestions where I might find a more FD educated vet near 15068 zip? We are in New Kensington area in PA.
     
  14. Meadow

    Meadow Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2010
    Myla, the vet started Meadow on the same dose....1 unit...of Lantus as she was on with the Humulin. We kept uppingit to 2 units, but am now back down to 1.25 units because she had too many bounces. The folks here say start low and go up slowly and that seems to be working. They know their stuff! :smile:
    Can't help you with the vet in PA though. I'm here on Long Island.

     
  15. Hillary & Maui (GA)

    Hillary & Maui (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    you are getting all the good advice you need. So, I add my welcome to the group.

    I have three cats - Maui is my in remission diabetic, Sydney is my asthma and kidney girl, and Buster is my seizure girl. You may have seen me on the FAR yahoo group - I'm Hillary & Sydney there.

    So, I also get what you are going through. We've a great support system here for not only FD issues but other cat issues too.
     
  16. paige

    paige Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    (((((Myla)))) Good luck today with the vet and the insulin. Before you start if you are still not sure what dose to start with post here or in Lantus Land and I am sure the more experienced beans can help you. Give Purrcie a big hugs and kiss for me please!!!

    Now if we can get a pic of him :razz: Just kidding....one thing at a time.
     
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