2/27 Jersey AMPS - 92; PMPS - 318

What a week! Due to extra-long days at work, I haven't been able to post since Monday - http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=114385.

The numbers have been too high for my liking this week. This morning, we finally saw a really good AMPS of 92. My husband then accidentally fed Jersey the high-carb FF from the hypo kit. :cry:

Since I can't recognize bounces yet/still (boo.....on me), I have to assume that I was shooting no insulin on a few occasions. For those who have not read some of my previous posts, I'm struggling with the micro-doses. I may be getting too close to the zero line on occasion and not actually getting any - or enough - insulin in. The new insulin syringes, which are hopefully easier to read, were supposed to arrive yesterday; the tracking number indicates that they have disappeared somewhere in Florida.

We skipped this morning's shot due to a another late day at work today. Her PMPS was 318. I was able to barely squeeze enough out of the Lantus pen for tonight's .10 dose. Note to self: You HAVE to occasionally check and see how much is left in the pen!!!!! My husband is picking up a new prescription (a vial, I think) tonight.

Jersey has been her usual mischievous self the last couple of days. She somehow opened the cabinet door in the bathroom last night, jumped in, and then managed to lock herself in. Luckily, the thumping of the door led me to the scene of the crime, where I was able to free the little devil.

I do have a question for the experienced users out there - With this new vial of Lantus, how much more potent will it be? Do I need to try to skinny the dose a bit? (Go ahead and wish me good luck with that one! :lol I know I've read on this board that new pens/vials can be a bit stronger.

I also have a general question about food. I've fed Jersey Primal raw food on a few occasions. Twice, she has vomited up hairballs after eating it- no food, just hair. Have any of you noticed something like this in your own cats? It could be sheer coincidence, but I found the connection interesting.

at the dosing you're at, you're going to save a lot of money with getting a pen instead of a vial. they do require different prescriptions, but i wanted to mention just in case it matters to you and you haven't filled the vial prescription yet. There are pharmacies that will break up a box of pens and just sell you one.

as far as what to do with the dose . . . in general, most people don't find too much difference between the potency of the old and the new - BUT some people do. I'm wondering how in the world you've finished a pen when you only started on Lantus 2 weeks ago. was it a used pen? or is there a story there that i've missed? or . . . is it possible that we're talking about different doses?

I'm thinking you're using a u-100 syringe, 3ml (so it has 30 units total marked on the syringe.) and your dose is just a hair of insulin in the syringe. Is that right?

yes, some people reduce a dose when starting a new pen/vial. At 0.1u i don't know what you can reduce to, however, at that dose when you're already struggling to not inject just air. if i have the dose down that you really are giving, i think i'd shoot the new insulin pen/vial in the evening so you can monitor Jersey. just in case it's more potent. make sure you note on the comment portion of your spreadsheet any time you start a new pen/vial.

as far as the food goes, i don't have experience with raw. if you add it to your subject line, the folks who do use it will come and answer your questions.

i couldn't recognize bounces for literally 6 months. don't worry if you don't see them. we'll keep helping you by pointing them out. once i got it i thought it seemed fairly obvious, but i sure couldn't see it at the beginning.

too funny on her locking herself in the cupboard! i had a tux girl back when i was single and once she got stuck head down behind my hot water heater! :shock: poor baby. i was at work and when i got home she started up yowling. she was really hot, too. amazing how many things kitties can manage to get into! :lol:

Hi Shelley, nice to see Jersey is getting into greens at this dose. Sorry about the HC breakfast, she must have thought she was in heaven. :lol: Good plan to skip when you can't monitor with such a low start. Have you practiced dosing with used syringes and a colored liquid like a juice or tea? Then it's easier to see the liquid and with some practice you might get a bit more consistent on the amount in the syringe. So glad I'm not micro-dosing though, it does sound tricky. I hope you get those new syringes pronto.

The answer to your question on the new vial depends on why you are getting a new one. Sometimes the old one can go toasty, and some times you just run out and need to move to the next one. I've been using pens, and most of the time when I switch I don't notice a difference. There have been a couple of times when I suspect something wrong (one went on a road trip in warm weather) and it lost effectiveness. For people contemplating increases at the same times as changing vials/pens, we recommend doing that switch before the increase, just in case.

My kitties are both on raw food. Sometimes it's Primal - this morning was quail. I've never noticed a problem with Neko (long hair), but my civie Theo (medium hair) seems a bit more delicate. :roll: I make sure I don't give him all his food at once, and I add warm water so the food is no longer cold. He used to eat it all and then barf. Great when it's raw kangaroo which is a VERY red meat. Never had a problem with him just doing hairballs. I do have to make sure he gets something to help with hairballs regularly. I add fish oil and coconut oil to his food daily.

Thanks for your kind and thoughtful response, Julie. My dad is a Lantus user, and he sent us a partial pen when we first started out. That's how we managed to go through one so quickly; there simply wasn't much in it from the start. I, of course, didn't think to actually check the past few days and see how much insulin we had left. It really has been one of those weeks. Anyway, when I discovered we were out, I made a call to the vet's office. The vet, bless his soul, got back to me after hours and called in a prescription. I had called several of our local pharmacies; none of them would sell individual pens. By that point, it didn't matter if I had a pen or a vial. I just needed insulin! We're just going to have to eat the cost this time around; it's an expensive lesson learned. I hope that helps explain how we went through seemingly so much insulin so quickly. I really am giving her just a hair of insulin - about 2 drops each time - with u100 syringes.

I am going to be home for the rest of the weekend, so I'll try to hold the current dose; I won't skinny it. I'll just make sure I get several mid-cycle numbers.

Thanks again, Julie!
Shelly

Thanks for sharing your tips and experiences, Wendy. I have actually practiced several times with colored water. I always think I have it down pat when I'm practicing; the numbers don't always reflect it, though. I did notice that the zero line on one of my syringes was actually a bit slanted. Little "goofs" like that certainly don't help with the micro-dosing!

We simply ran out of our other insulin, so I'll hold the dose when we start the new insulin tomorrow and watch carefully for any possible potency effects. I really don't expect to see any, but it's always good to hear others' experiences. Thank goodness you're all here.

I'm sure Jersey did think she was in absolute heaven this morning; I wasn't around to see it. Of course, that means that the husband is the hero for feeding her the good stuff. I'm just the meanie who pokes her. :twisted:

Thanks again, Wendy!
Shelly

P.S. Thanks for sharing your experiences with Primal, too. I've been trying so many different foods lately that I can't figure out yet if there are connections between X food and Y behavior or not. I still haven't found a food that Jersey will eat consistently. She's just too darn picky! I'll look into the oils you mentioned. We're already giving fish oil (sporadically - Jersey doesn't like that, either).

thanks for the explanation! i feel better hearing it.

every once in a while there's some weird communication error on here and that's never good when it has to do with insulin!

how nice that your dad could share that with you and help you get started with Jersey.

i actually think using the vial is slightly easier, not a huge difference, but i preferred it. if you need to see the difference between drawing the dose from the vial/pen, the video is on the "Lantus, Lev, caring, handling, storing" yellow starred sticky. i don't have the name exactly right, but you'll see it. if you need it, that is.

have a great evening!

Hi Julie,

I'm so glad you asked about it. It's comforting to know that others are watching out for Jersey!

Thanks for mentioning the video on drawing from the vial versus the pen. I have watched it once, but I'm sure I'll watch it again just to make sure I'm doing it correctly. I personally think vials are easier, too (at least it was with Humulin). Now if the new syringes will just arrive, maybe we'll finally be on the right track...........

You, too, have a great night!
Shelly

we try to keep an eye out for everyone new. The beginning is the very hardest part because there is so much to learn - so many factors to learn, etc. having been there, we all understand! :YMHUG: