Input please :) One week on Lantus - Curve day for Buca!

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Bucasmom

Member Since 2012
Good morning all,

After one week on Lantus and wet food only, I am running another curve on Buca. Please see his SS in my signature as I update throughout the day and feel free to comment on what you've seen... I'm still new at reading into the numbers so I'm not sure if he will need more time to get used to 1u or if I will need to decrease or increase.

I've had a couple of nervous moments reading the lower numbers, although they weren't hypo numbers it's so much lower than what we were used to when he was on Caninsulin and I really think he's responding well. I'm not sure if TR or SLGS is for us, whichever gets him regulated :smile: I've read all the stickies in this forum for both and so far it's been really helpful so thank you for those!
 
Good morning...could you please tell us your name? Welcome to Lantus Land! Lots of friendly people here always willing to help.

Here is Buca's condo from Health yesterday: 6/1 Health Condo

I'd be happy to give you some input but it looks like your SS is not up-to-date and that Buca got low last night?? We also would need to see his numbers for today.

Thanks very much....that will help us help you and if you could please just give us a little info about Buca, that would be great!
 
Oh Sorry! My bad lol

My name is Heather... Buca was diagnosed about a month ago...He started on Caninsulin and after two weeks his numbers were still so high and it wasn't doing him much good so we started on Lantus. My vet objected so we're basically on our own with this process. Good to have lots of experienced people on this forum :)

I'm still testing him today, I'm on +5 so far and am filling the sheet out as I go. I tried to test him as much as I can on weekdays between breaks at work, that's why there's not much info for weekdays in the ss.

I was out of town yesterday and DH was looking after things between his busy work day so there were only a few checks. Yesterday I posted about Buca's low. DH gave him a little high carb dry food and we didn't realize how sensitive he'd be to it. It spiked him right back up again. So far today he's sitting at around the same numbers... usually by now he's got some significant decrease.
 
I'm not sure how to attach threads.... but if you go to my posts you can see our story in Newbie and Shunned by my Vet posts. :)

The SS should be updated now... DH was at work in an emergency yesterday, so he didn't get time to come home to test much.
 
Heather --

You're doing a great job with testing. You don't need to test every hour for a curve!! How about backing down to every 2 hrs? I'm sure Buca will appreciate the break.

You also seem to have caught on to the idea of out-the-door and in-the-door spot checks. Getting tests at various times fills in the blanks on your SS and can be just as valuable as getting a curve. I want to strongly encourage you to get at least one spot check during the evening cycle. Many cats have lower numbers at night so it's important that you know where Buca's numbers are heading. Likewise, if you don't test at night, you're missing half of your data and could easily miss catching a reduction worthy test. Needless to say, those tests that are toward the middle of the cycle are what keeps your cat safe. Unlike with Caninsulin, Lantus dosing is based on the nadir rather than the pre-shot value.

I'd also suggest that if you get another number like the 56 that seems like it's out of context, I'd re-test just to make sure it's a valid number. It very well may have been that Buca was in the green range but it's helpful to know for sure. Seeing that 59 also underscores why getting some tests at night could be very important.

Here's a link to the Newbie thread on Health and your Shunned by Vet thread.

Just to recap, you're now using U100 syringes and have transitioned to a canned food diet? Does Buca have any history of health problems?

What I would suggest is getting some tests tonight. I think Buca needs a dose increase. However, I'd like to see what his numbers look like during the PM. In addition, if that 56 was a valid test, Buca is bouncing and that's something we need to take into account.
 
Sienne and Gabby said:
Heather --

You're doing a great job with testing. You don't need to test every hour for a curve!! How about backing down to every 2 hrs? I'm sure Buca will appreciate the break.

You also seem to have caught on to the idea of out-the-door and in-the-door spot checks. Getting tests at various times fills in the blanks on your SS and can be just as valuable as getting a curve. I want to strongly encourage you to get at least one spot check during the evening cycle. Many cats have lower numbers at night so it's important that you know where Buca's numbers are heading. Likewise, if you don't test at night, you're missing half of your data and could easily miss catching a reduction worthy test. Needless to say, those tests that are toward the middle of the cycle are what keeps your cat safe. Unlike with Caninsulin, Lantus dosing is based on the nadir rather than the pre-shot value.

I'd also suggest that if you get another number like the 56 that seems like it's out of context, I'd re-test just to make sure it's a valid number. It very well may have been that Buca was in the green range but it's helpful to know for sure. Seeing that 59 also underscores why getting some tests at night could be very important.

Here's a link to the Newbie thread on Health and your Shunned by Vet thread.



Just to recap, you're now using U100 syringes and have transitioned to a canned food diet? Does Buca have any history of health problems?

What I would suggest is getting some tests tonight. I think Buca needs a dose increase. However, I'd like to see what his numbers look like during the PM. In addition, if that 56 was a valid test, Buca is bouncing and that's something we need to take into account.
Click to expand...


My DH tested him again right after getting the 56 and it was still close to the same. The only reason I was unable to test last night was because I was out of town but I plan on being home all weekend to keep updating the spreadsheet.... and I'm glad for the advice to test maybe every two hours ;) I'm sure Buca is too lol ... although, he does pretty well with the testing. Yes we are using the u100 syringes, and Buca is on 100% canned diet (whiskas pate or ff) that I also add a little water to, and gluten free treats.

Two winters ago Buca had a bad bout with struvite crystals... so I'm making sure that he gets lots of water with his wet food and by adding extra to it to make a bit of a soup. Keeping the litter box clean every day, and watching that he's using it and so far so good... he still eats a lot and pees a lot. He has only peed outside of his litter box once this week. When he was first diagnosed, that was one of the strange behaviour indicators that something was wrong.
 
Thanks for the info. It really sounds like you're on top of things!

I suspect that someone gave you a link to Lisa Pierson, DVM's site on feline nutrition. She also has sections on feline health. The information on urinary track health is very good -- and water is one of the key features of what she suggests.

Please let us know how we can help. The people here are very generous with their time and information. So, "welcome" to Lantus Land and I hope you will become an active member of this community.
 
Heather

I'm glad Sienne posted. I kept trying to get back to you but my kitty has been running low today and I have been a little distracted with things around here. Thank you for updating the SS.

I'd also like to see some night time tests. I'm glad to know your DH retested and got about the same number.....if we continue to see those low mid-cycle numbers, then we should hold off on the increase. As Sienne said, he
looks to be in a bounce right now. Bounces occur either because numbers drop quickly or because a lower number than the liver is accustomed to. When a kitty gets FD and stays in high numbers for a bit of time, the liver adjusts
to that and so any lower number (it doesn't have to be a low number but lower than the high numbers) causes the liver to release counterregulatory hormones and glucagon which drives the BG back up. Bounces can take six cycles (72 hours) to clear....but every cat is different. Some clear faster. So we look to see where the nadir is when the bounce clears. If it is in the 50s, then we don't want to increase the dose because we dose primarily on nadirs, not preshots or bounce numbers.

We'll keep checking back in. In the meantime, if you can post his numbers like the other lantus land members, that helps us keep a watch on him and you can always ask for help. We'd also appreciate it very much if you could do a profile on him. That gives us alot of important info easily and quickly accessed so we don't have to keep asking :-D

Here's the info on how we post each day and how to make the forum work best for you: Making the Most of your Lantus ISG Experience

and here's how to create a profile: Creating a Profile

Let us know what questions you can have or how we can help :-D
 
Marjorie and Gracie said:
Heather

I'm glad Sienne posted. I kept trying to get back to you but my kitty has been running low today and I have been a little distracted with things around here. Thank you for updating the SS.

I'd also like to see some night time tests. I'm glad to know your DH retested and got about the same number.....if we continue to see those low mid-cycle numbers, then we should hold off on the increase. As Sienne said, he
looks to be in a bounce right now. Bounces occur either because numbers drop quickly or because a lower number than the liver is accustomed to. When a kitty gets FD and stays in high numbers for a bit of time, the liver adjusts
to that and so any lower number (it doesn't have to be a low number but lower than the high numbers) causes the liver to release counterregulatory hormones and glucagon which drives the BG back up. Bounces can take six cycles (72 hours) to clear....but every cat is different. Some clear faster. So we look to see where the nadir is when the bounce clears. If it is in the 50s, then we don't want to increase the dose because we dose primarily on nadirs, not preshots or bounce numbers.

We'll keep checking back in. In the meantime, if you can post his numbers like the other lantus land members, that helps us keep a watch on him and you can always ask for help. We'd also appreciate it very much if you could do a profile on him. That gives us alot of important info easily and quickly accessed so we don't have to keep asking :-D


Here's the info on how we post each day and how to make the forum work best for you: Making the Most of your Lantus ISG Experience

and here's how to create a profile: Creating a Profile

Let us know what questions you can have or how we can help :-D
Click to expand...

Oh fun! Thanks! All done I think it's done right lol .... You guys are all so organized I love it. I'll post a new topic tomorrow on the board so that everyone can see his SS and new profile :)
 
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