2/17 For Those Who Switched from Vetsulin to Lantus

I would love to hear from the novices out there who switched from Vetsulin to Lantus. Did you find it really helped to bring numbers, safely down? Did you find there was less bouncing? Did you find the curves were flatter? I would like to know the benefits of switching. I have read that Lantus is not as harsh as Vetsulin but Lantus requires more dosing calculations that are scary to me I do not want to be going from the fire to the frying pan but I am tired of the bouncing. Folks that are new to the switch, please tell me your thoughts.

 

I switched about 1.5 months ago. Yes, it is a little more complex to understand and know what to do...but that's mostly because of the depot, and knowing/guessing how it will affect things.

So far I'm just following the dosing guidelines - which are actually pretty simple and really well laid out after getting through the learning curve - and finally starting to see some results. I suspect he has glucose toxicity we need to break through, which is why it's taken so long. Yes, curves are much flatter, both from my own experience and looking at many many many spreadsheets in the Lantus forum.

I'm not sure what you mean by bouncing? You're having some pretty nice cycles on Vetsulin, and you're not at too high a dose yet. I don't think you need to switch, meaning if you still have a lot of Vetsulin left I'd keep playing with it rather than waste a vial. But if you're at the end or really just looking to switch, it can't hurt!

If you do switch, be sure to get U100 syringes with 1/2 unit markings and order from Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Vancouver...saves a LOT of money

 

My Neko was on Caninsulin to start (Vetsulin is the same thing, just rebranded in the US). It didn't last the full 12 hours and she was miserable the last several hours of the cycle. I made the mistake of following the vet's advice and starting on too low a dose of Lantus, but it did last longer and Neko's cycles were much better. Plus I didn't have to stress about getting enough food in her before onset.

The dosing methods really help. They give you a plan on how to change the dose. It's not really "calculations". There are lots of folks on the Lantus board who can help you figure it out.

 

Mellisa, what is the depot? There is a good explanation for bouncing on the FDMB website from Gussie's Mom. It was sent to me but I'm not sure I could find it again. In my interpretation the bouncing is going from high to low and low to high numbers constantly. No constants. One day good numbers, the next not-so-good. A 148 at +6 one day and a 290 @+6 the next even though you aren't doing anything differently. I'll need to toss my Vetsulin bottle around the end of February and have already purchased the Lantus pens. I found a really good local pharmacy that actually sells them cheaper than Mark's Marine. I do have the U100 syringes with the 1/2 unit markings. God forbid I ever have to increase/decrease by .25, .05 or .75. How on earth do people determine that when the lines are so small on the syringes? I did buy a caliper and hope that will help me but I am frightened to make this change that has been recommended. Thanks for your input!

 

Thank you so much for your encouragement, Wendy. I love your tribute words and the video of Neko. My sympathies on the loss of her. She was a beautiful kitty. I have always loved the black and whites.

 

Great that you could get it cheaper!

Here is a post that explains the depot, better than I could.

I am familiar with bouncing, but I don't think that's what youre seeing. Usually it's much more dramatic. I think you're just seeing a pretty normal action from Vetsulin.

 

Agree.


Mogs
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I think I need to be a "rocket scientist" to understand the depot but I assume it is just the holding over of insulin from one cycle to another and another. I guess this is when you really need to watch the numbers. Residual insulin, left over in the body from a previous injection, added to new injections and those new injections added to future injections, etc. Scary. I'll have to reread this post over and over again and maybe I will grasp it as far as future cycles go and residual insulin from previous shots. Thanks, Melissa.

Seems with the Vetsulin there would be no residual or leftover insulin from cycle to cycle so not much to worry about with overdosing.