11/06 Handsome Dan AMPS 127 ??

Harmony

Harmony

Member Since 2020
Hello! My kitty was recently diagnosed with diabetes and out on Lantus insulin. We’ve seen a definite drop in his BG, which is great, but I’m wondering how low is too low to continue with Lantus. From what I’ve read, you shouldn’t shoot when he’s in the blue zone, but also you shouldn’t skip a shot, so I’m really not sure how to proceed. We did make our own decision to reduce his dose from 1 unit to 0.5 unit a couple of days ago when his numbers neared 100. I haven’t had the opportunity to record a curve yet, but I’m going to work on that this weekend. Is Lantus supposed to maintain a low number, or to get down to that low number and then stop? My vet is no help - I’m currently looking into a new vet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hey! I'm new to this as well so I can't answer your question, but a way to get people's attention on your post is to edit your title to add the question mark prefix then people know you have a question :)

SO glad Handsome Dan is responding well to his insulin :D
 
katy and mo said:
Hey! I'm new to this as well so I can't answer your question, but a way to get people's attention on your post is to edit your title to add the question mark prefix then people know you have a question :)

SO glad Handsome Dan is responding well to his insulin :D
Click to expand...

thank you! Trying to figure out how to edit title now!
 
Welcome to LLB. I think Lantus is the perfect insulin for your cat. Have you changed what you are feeding since diagnosis? What are you feeding him? How was he diagnosed? On a human meter normal numbers are roughly between 50-100. Shooting while under 200 is only not suggested for cats new to insulin. Once you have enough data if following TR we shoot anything over 50. If following SLGS we shoot in the 100’s. Congrats on home testing. Looking at your spreadsheet, I think Dan was started on too high a dose.

Lantus is a depot drug so dosed based upon how low it takes your cat. So the curve you do this weekend will help a lot. Have you read the yellow stickies at the top of this forum? Read the one on depot drugs and our dosing methods first. Then read and print the one on handling low numbers.
 
He was diagnosed 10/19, but we didn’t start insulin until over a week later. We did immediately change him (and our 3 other cats) over to a wet food diet (Friskies Pate). I don’t fully understand the TR/SLGS methods yet, will do some more reading. Thank you.
 
Just the food change has helped a lot. No need to rush in devising on a method to use. First do a curve and then we can tell you how to proceed using both methods. The lowest point for a lot of cats is between +5-7 but it can be earlier or later. Cats often go lower at night. You will see ECID, every cat is different, quoted a lot.

How old is Dan? Does he have any other health issues? Was he ever on a steroid for any reason? How’s his weight?
 
Handsome Dan is 12 years old. We adopted him 4 years ago. He has Pica, and is addicted to eating plastic (mostly ziplock bag-type of plastic.) We do our best to keep any and all plastic out of his reach, but we occasionally find teeth marks on something we accidentally left out. Before we adopted him, he had had 2 surgeries to remove blockages in his intestines due to the plastic addiction. 3 years ago he developed severe urinary blockage, and was hospitalized. He recovered and was subsequently put on Purina One Urinary Health Formula dry food. He switched from this diet to a 100% wet food diet about 2 weeks ago.

We have 3 other cats, and we are switching all of their diets at once. One of these kitties is actually a little piggy, and will eat any food he can get to, so we cannot free-feed. We currently feed them breakfast and dinner, at 6:30 am and pm.
 
That is all very helpful. You are wonderful for adopting him. My pica cat eats cotton and lots of other things. Max had a urinary blockage as well and a vet pierced his bladder requiring surgery. I feel for all you have dealt with. Poor Dan but lucky to have you.

Feeding only twice a day will be a problem at times. You might need an auto feeder for him. You might consider getting an auto feeder that can be set to open at needed times and keep him in a different room when not home.
 
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