We're having a heck of a time getting regulated 4 months post diagnosis, and I'm getting worried that we're going to miss our good initial window to have a chance at remission. I read that remission is more likely if you can regulate the cat within the first 4 months post diagnosis. Sunny gets into good numbers for his nadir, but then bounces like crazy. Is it advisable at this point to switch from prozinc to a depot insulin like lantus?
Hi Holly. I’m just speaking from my experience, but George never stopped bouncing on Prozinc either even though he was seeing good numbers most days after we started doing MPM. I switched to Lantus about a month and a half ago and wish I would have done it sooner. George is looking much better now and is on a much lower dose since he has been earning reductions. You can take a look at my spreadsheet and see when we made all of the switches. It took him about two weeks to really get in a groove with Lantus, but then after that he was started spending the majority of his time in the blues and greens with much less bouncing. We are on vacation now, so he’s on a reduced dose for the time being. He’s really doing so much better now than he did on the other insulins though.
@Hshray George's example is perfect! This is what I've been looking for! Your spreadsheet is so thorough and shows exactly what I'm hoping to do with Sunny. I love that you have been able to do so many dose reductions since switching. Thank you for sharing your experience and advice! Sunny sends a paw bump to George!
I called my vet and left a message, asking to switch to Lantus (which the receptionist called Atlantic) Lol
Awesome! I think it will be a good move! And the people on the Lantus forum are wonderful too. Lots of experience, support and advice over there
No news about switching to 'Atlantic' yet. Lol They're so extremely busy lately that they take days to get back about anything. And they keep steering me towards a new vet who I don't like at all. So I have to wait longer to get ahold of my preferred vet (bc she's everyone's preferred vet). I have an appointment with her for my dog tomorrow so I'll corner her about the Lantus then. I hope we can get started on it soon. When you started George on Lantus, did you just go straight to the same dose as he was on prozinc? And did you notice his onset and nadir time change much? And did you get the vial of it? Or a pen? I have a lot to learn about using different syringes, drawing it, etc... I've been reading some of the sticky notes but need to study up on all of that. Thank you! Sorry for all the questions!
I talked to the vet and she approved of moving to Lantus - and is calling it into Costco today! So we'll be starting soon
Yes, we started George on the same exact dose that he was on with Prozinc. He was on that dose for exactly a month before he earned his first reduction, but he started seeing better/more consistent numbers after about two weeks on that dose since the depot had to build and he was getting used to the new insulin. I also started with TR right away, which you’ll be able to do too. I never really knew when George’s nadirs were since he was so all over the place and bouncing so much, but when we would go low on Prozinc he would drop fast. Lantus seems more gentle with its onset. George’s onset is usually around +3, but it does vary a little bit. I have a vial just because that was what was available, but I do know a lot of people like the pens. The people on the Lantus forum are extremely responses so they could probably give some great opinions about which one to go with (if you haven’t gotten it already). The big thing with the syringes is that you will need U100 syringes with the Lantus as opposed to the U40s you were using with Prozinc. And the Lantus doses are much smaller! I found that half units on a U40 syringe were easier to see because the units in a U40 are bigger. I would definitely recommend getting the U100s with half unit marking though because you will need them. I’m excited for you for the switch! Most people on the Lantus forum post every day and just one thread with a title like “9/1 George AMPS 110” and then will go in and just edit the title to add other tests, such as “9/1 George AMPS 110, +3 90, +6 61, PMPS 99” You’ll get to know the people there quickly!
@Hshray thank you so much for all this great info! I'm excited for the possibilities! My neighbor is a diabetic and just offered to give me a vial of Lantus. She got a pack of vials for free recently. I might take her up on that. Those are worth a fortune! Oh one more question! I saw on one of the stickies, do not shake or roll Lantus. Do you mix it at all? Or just leave it be as is? TYIA!
That would definitely be a nice cost savings! Nope, no rolling or shaking with Lantus, just take out of the fridge and use as-is, just make sure it’s clear and not cloudy at all.
