? 8/12 Snowball AMPS 423 - advice on changing insulin

Hi all,

This is my first time I have ever done a curve at home for my snowball’s health I would do anything. Snowball is 4 years old diagnosed with diabetes on 28/May/2020 since then have been bit of a rollercoaster but thankfully I found this group have been extremely helpful. Snowball is on Caninsulin and eat fancy feast oceanfish kitten food 1 can every 12 hours and during the day eats Dr Elsey’s chicken dryfood. I live in UAE so low carb dryfood is almost impossible to find even Dr Elsey’s I order from a website which ships it from USA anyways currently snowball is on 4 units of Caninsulin. Till last week his numbers were between 100-250 max but then Saturday morning I had to skip his dose as his BG was 110 in morning after 12 hrs I checked it was 310 so I thought to give 3 units only so I won’t get low again morning again I checked BG was 290 so I have 3 units again but after 2 hours of eating his food he vomited and started to look ill I rushed him to vet and vet said he is having fever due to secondary infection as immune system is weak because of diabetes and gave antibiotics which I have to give till this Friday due to which I feel his BG numbers are rising again. I have read and understand Caninsulin is not the best insulin so I am planning to change to levimer but don’t know how many units to begin with and what numbers to expect in beginning and when to adjust units please advice. I really love snowball he is so dear to me I recently lost another one also a dear friend of snowball Felix its been over a month and I cannot get over Felix death who died of cancer even snowball is sad he often meows and looks around the home i feel as if he is trying that find felix. I really hope snowball’s number start to improve and he gets stable please advice. I have updated details in my signature as well.


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BjMgwqX_yI4dPis_Z7Z6woHHpe6FIThX0YE5tj0zOz8/edit

 

Great job testing BTW!

 

Thanks

 

Sorry I deleted the last post. You want to switch to levemir. I misread and thought you may have been in the wrong forum, silly me Saw the caninsulin.
I'm sorry you've lost a beloved furry one. It's never easy And you know we're not the only ones who miss them oddly enough. I just lost my boy a lil over a month ago. His "roomate", although they weren't close, is still morning him. It's sad to see the impact a loss has on everyone. But, in the end we have those beautiful memories and cherished moments that'll never leave us.

I'm happy you've decided to make the switch.
I see someone else has posted on your condo so, we'll see what they say before I offer the same information

 

Thanks any help means alot me and snowball are fairly new to all this and it has been overwhelming for both of us but with the help of people from this group I really want to make it work

 

K...that was you

Have you had a chance to go over the stickies at the top of the L&L forum? There is a lot information regarding dosing methods and guidelines. It helps to look the stickies over and figure a dosing method that works best for you and snowball.

 

Yes

I read through them last night the notes are helpful but I still need more help from people to advice on changing snowball’s inslun from Caninsulin to Levimer

 

To try and sum up the different dosing methods one is more aggressive with dosing increases and shooting thresholds(shooting #s 50+ BG). It requires a bit more testing during the cycles and the kitty can only eat a LC canned food diet. The other method is a bit more relaxed. Dose increase take place after a week and shooting thresholds are higher(I think 120+ BG).
So give the stickies a read over. Try not to get overwhelmed because there's a lot of info. Ask questions and someone will try and help.
As far as starting dose. That's not my fortay. I'll let someone else answer that one

 

K...We'll get you a starting dose. Hang in there

 

I can tell you that 4 units is not going to be your starting dose. That is extremely high, especially for the depot type insulins.
@Sue and Luci
@tiffmaxee
These ladies are extremely knowledgeable. It may take a little to get a reply since they do work or have other obligations. But hang in there...will get you started.

 

How much does he weigh? There’s a formula to figure out a starting dose. It also depends on the dose you have been giving though. Since snowball was on 4 units you would start with that or slightly less. Now that you have gone down to 3 I would stick with that. Since you feed dry food you would follow SLGS so read about that. You will keep
Him on this dose for 7 days and do a 12 hour curve testing every 2 hours. Test before every shot to be sure it’s safe and get another test between +3-7. Since some cats in lev have a late nadir, if possible I would get one more test later in the cycle. Some even nadir right before their next shot time. I’ve only used Lantus so hoping others will chime in about dosing.

 

Thanks I have been reading units are like 0.25 per kg and snowball is right now 4.4 kgs so it should be 1 unit but since he is on 4 units now again if i change to levimer i should start with 2 units but i want to wait and see what others also think

 

Ordinarily yes but since she has been on a previous insulin that changes things. Since you will follow SLGS it might be a little less.
Please add the ? prefix and put doing advise with change in insulin.

 

For example jojli and Kit switched from vestulin to Lantus and kept the 4 unit dose. Have a look at her ss.


https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...5-5-251-pmps-260-3-5-225.233474/#post-2609422

 

@tiffmaxee thank you. Dosing isn't my fortay and 4 units seemed like a bit much.

 

It did to me too but I’m only used to lantus and lev. I learned from Kit,lol.

 

Thanks I saw the spreadsheet and seems like Kit has been on a pretty high dose I will start with a lower dose and will adjust if required

 

Yes. She was advised by a moderator here. She had to take her up a lot to break insulin resistance but is coming down quickly. A probable UTI has slowed her down a bit.
If you continue to feed any dry food you will need to follow SLGS and not go up in dose as quickly.

 

welcome sumaira and snowball,
i see you're already in excellent hands getting started here.

from prozinc
and very glad we took the advice here on dose when we switched.

 

Do you have the levemir ready to start?

 

T

thanks yes this group has been so helpful if it wasn’t for the advices i have found on this and Facebook group my snowball hadn’t made it this far ❤️

 

i have checked at my nearest pharmacy they are out of stock have ordered for me I will be receiving it by this Sunday

 

I would try and get as many tests in as you can between now and when you get the Lantus so we can see how Snowball reacts to the Caninsulin. We will then be in a better position to advise on the starting dose of lantus.

 

Thanks yes thats why I have setup SS and updating it right now snowball is taking a nap i will test again once he is up

 

Always get a before shot test and one a couple of hours after caninsulin at +2 and then +4 and +6 and then maybe one at +9. If you could do that for a few days that will give us very useful data.
For the PM cycle try and get a few in during the first half of the cycle if you can
If Snowball drops low you will need to test more often, but if you find a low number, post and ask for help.

 

Thanks I am updating his SS every few hours will keep on doing it for 2-3 more days then will ask for more advice

 

Don’t forget the pm cycle is just as important as the am cycle. Cats often drop lower at night.