** Started Charlie on Lantus **

Thanks to DCIN, I was finally able to start my Charlie on Lantus yesterday. I started at 1U twice daily. He was formerly on Humulin-N, which was doing very little to control his BG level. When I woke up this morning, his BG was 311 instead of the usual 500 or so I typically saw with Humulin, so it's off to a good start!! I'm eager to check it again later today to see how well it's working. I'll be keeping a log of his numbers and will share it with you guys intermittently. I'm going to check out the Lantus board, but do any of you have personal experience switching from Humulin (or another insulin) to Lantus?? How well is/was it working for your kitty?? My vet claimed that it didn't work well for some cats and even advised me against switching, but I've only heard good things about it!

 

Like most meds, Lantus does not work well for all kitties. I Started by Twigie with Lantus but it to not work well. I then switched to N and it worked great. I would maintain her under 120 all day.
I Started Tonis on Lantus and he did not do well. He finally did good on 9 units Levemir and 5 units N. My Thunder, Patches Smoke are doing good on Lantus.

 

Hi Anne Welcome! You will find lots of info and helpful people here. I'm pretty new, so I'm not really ready to advise on deeper matters, but here is one thing that might help. You can keep your BG log on a spreadsheet like the ones you see in most people's signatures. It makes it possible for others to see your BGs and then give advice. Best of luck! My kitty is a newly diagnosed kitty and is doing well on Lantus. The TR-Lantus forum has lots of traffic and eyes to view and help you out.
Spreadsheet instructions

 

Bandit was on Lantus from the beginning, and he's in remission right now, so it worked wonderful for him! Lantus is great insulin for cats--it has a much longer duration of action than Humulin N, which only lasts for 4-8 hrs in most cats. Lantus does have to be dosed the right way to see good results...check out the TR dosing protocol in the Lantus forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1581. If your vet was not having his clients home test, and was raising the dose too much and too quickly, of course he's not going to see good results.

 

Congratulations on the insulin change; I know that Charlie will do much better on Lantus.
Over on the Lantus forum, they have lots of info for you to read as Lantus is much different than N.

For your 'log', there are many people here who may not be able to view your log, but everyone is able to view and use google spreadsheet for tracking your test numbers.
Create your Spreadsheet

some info on Lantus and how it works:

Tight Regulation Protocol
Lantus & Levemir – Insulin Depot –AKA- Storage Shed
Lantus & Levemir – Data Ready to Shoot Low Numbers
Lantus & Levemir: Info, Proper Handling & Storage

 

Gabby was started on Humulin N. She did not do well on it nor have many cats that have switched to Lantus. (Of course, they didn't do well so they switched. If N was working, they'd still be using it.) The internal med vet started my cat on N when she was hospitalized. My regular vet, who's a feline specialist, switched her after a curve and fructosamine looked awful. (I wasn't posting here at the time.) Her comment about N was that it's a good insulin for dogs but not very good for cats.

N is a much shorter acting and harsher insulin than Lantus. There are very clear peaks and valleys with N. I would caution you that you may not see fast results with Lantus. It takes time (approx. 5 days) for the insulin depot to form in order for you to get the kind of duration that's expected from Lantus. Also, dosing is not based on your pre-shot numbers. It's based on the nadir. Like Gayle suggested, I'd encourage you to read the starred sticky notes at the top of the Lantus board in order to familiarize yourself with this insulin. A spreadsheet will also help you to keep track of Charlie's progress and allow us to help you if you have questions.

 

Mocha was initially started on vetsulin (I don't even believe this is made any longer) She was on it for a few months before we made the switch to lantus. Our vet was unfamiliar with lantus and read up on it before writing us out the 'script. Mocha stayed on lantus for 22 months before going off the juice .. so it worked well for her too