Lantus vs Levemir

We will need to purchase more insulin for Boomer in about a month. Considering a switch to Levemir. Can I hear the pros and cons of Lantus vs Lev please?

 

I liked Levemir better, because Neko was flatter and more predictable on it. She also got to higher doses, and Lantus can sting at higher doses. She purred through her Lev shots, sometimes walked away from the Lantus shots. The downside to Lev is the later onset and nadir. I often went to bed before Neko's onset so had to learn different ways to figure out if it was an active cycle. The upside was that her nadir was often when I got up for rowing in the wee hours. There is also a learning curve which was frustrating for a few weeks.

 

Thanks Wendy!

 

I second everything Wendy noted. I find it much more predictable and Asia does seem flatter with Lev. Asia's onset was so soon on Lantus, I didn't have any time to deal with low preshots, it was panic mode each and every time because she would always drop right away, and a drop from a 60 or 70 doesn't leave any wiggle room.

The late nadir is annoying (coming from using Lantus), but it's an acceptable trade off for smoother cycles and no stinging. You have a 2am alarm to help you monitor a Lev cycle. The learning curve is pretty short, especially since you have a lot of experience with a Lantus, but it is a minor disruption and takes a little getting used to. The science as to how the depot is formed and released with Lev is very clever technology and makes more sense to me to mimic how the body would do it.

There's a great thread on think tank about switching from Lantus to Lev:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/attention-lantus-to-levemir-users.122941/

All that being said, why are you considering switching? What don't you like about Lantus or what seems appealing about Lev? The majority of things I read were overwhelmingly positive in favor of Lev, however, I don't believe that insulin is one size fits all for cats, only because it very much isn't in humans. I'm sure there are some cats that would do better on Lantus than Levemir (I don't have any examples, but I firmly believe it must be true). If you don't have any qualms with Lantus and Boomer seems to like it, I would err on the side of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But that's just my opinion. We are very happy with Lev, but I wouldn't have switched just to try it out if all were well with Lantus.

 

Stacy reminded me of one more positive for Lev. If Neko was picky, I still had hours to onset and plenty of time to get food into her. And she could still get a late cycle snack without stopping her duration.

 

THIS.
Having plenty of time to get food into Alex prior to onset was such a bonus when she was sick. It helped to minimize skipped shots... important to a ketone prone cat like Alex.

We loved Levemir!

 

Thanks Stacy, and thank you for the link!
I've been thinking about the lantus to lev switch because of the way Boomer's cycles have been. But I now believe that his teeth are causing the wonkiness.

 

Thanks Jill!

 

Good luck if you do make the switch Judy. He did shoot up again so something like teeth bothering him is a possibility.

 

I switched first KT then Dakota to Levemir 4 years ago. I lost KT before I could tell much. I much prefer Doc's Levemir cycles - they're fairly flat and his nadir area remains low longer. Even when he's bouncing and sitting up in the high 200's or even low 300's, the cycle numbers are steady. The only steep dives are when he falls off a bounce. I appreciate the length of time before onset to know he's eaten well too. It was a BIG brain retrain to recognize that AMPS/PMPS is nearer nadir than end of cycle but after I got used to that, it's been a blessing.

HUGS!

 

Thanks everyone for all the info!

Not sure how I feel about the late nadirs with Lev but luckily we have likely a month before we need to purchase more insulin so I have time to consider everything!

 

I changed our shot schedule to work with the nadir change.

 

So far it has been a very positive switch for Gizmo. Good luck if you decide to switch.

 

It has been night and day, switching To lev. She purrs more, talks more, preen more. Gets on my lap, purrs more. It's been a God send. Thank you levemir!!

 

And we went from 24 units of lantus to now 5.5 of levemir.

 

WOW!

 

I like Levemir better than lantus because it got Osha off the trampoline and diving team. She is much flatter and way more predictable. She is a sea of blue and greens on levemir vs the rainbow she was on lantus.

 

This is what I like about it too. Rusty is not food-motivated and I like having those extra hours before onset.
Nadirs aren't always late. Rusty has more or less normal nadirs (about half way through the cycle). He did well on Lev. until his increased health issues and the steroid messed him up. He never used to have these huge bounces and dives, and on such a small dose. But I think his is not a typical case. You can check the previous years on his SS.

 

That link doesn't work for me. It brings me back to this thread.

 

I was sort of the opposite. Gabby had a very early onset and nadir. Because I work full time outside of the house and given that she could dive into low numbers early in the cycle, I adjusted my shot time to 5:00 so I could be home for several hours in order to intervene if I needed to and I could run home at lunch is I was concerned about her numbers. I could also be home for her PM shot. There was no way I could have done this with Lev.

The only other point I'd mention is that there were a few cats whose nadirs did not change appreciably and their cycles were still bouncy. (If I'm remembering, I think Barbara/Uncle was one person but I may not be recalling accurately.)

 

Sorry about that, I messed up. Stacy did post the link I was referring to.

 

Similar for me with Girlie. Girlie is SO much better on Levemir: flatter and great numbers. On Lantus she would dive so quickly and then bounce so high I was losing my mind, and I could never have gone back to my full-time job. She seems just so much better all around with Levemir.

Girlie's onset is at about +3 and she doesn't get extra duration like some cats do, but that's fine for me. I can sleep well at night now and know that she's safe while I'm at work. But I second what others have said: I wouldn't switch just to try it out necessarily. For us, it just really helped her stop bouncing and diving and become steadier overall...

The later nadir (+3 or +4 at night) is a bit of a pain, but the benefits far outweigh that.