Lantis

I am a diabetic that takes Lantus. Do you know if the Lantus they give to cats is in the same pen that humans use? I understand it may be a better insulin for my cat than what the doctor put him on which is Vetsulin. I have a big supply of Lantus pens because I lost a lot of weight recently and they drastically reduced my Lantus dose.

 

Your previous posts
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/food.273479/

Intro post
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/cost.273404/

 

There is only one Lantus, there is not a pet Lantus.
Yes, Lantus (glargine) is better than Vetsulin. SInce cats use less insulin than humans a lot of cats need increments smaller than the 1-unit increments allowed by the pens using pen needles. Thus, mo cat caretakers use a syringe jand stick it where the pen needle goes and withdraws the insulin. We generally using 3/10cc (30 unit) U100 syringes since you can easily estimate i/4 unit increments. DO NOT\ use the same syurines one normally uses with Vetsulin since that is a U40 insulin. Drawing up a U100 insulin to the 1-unit marking on a U40 syringe is drawing up 2 ½ units of the U100 insulin. Also we keep the in-use pen in the fridge except to draw out the dose.

 

Hi Jade yes it's the same insulin
If you do switch be sure to go out and get U-100 syringes with half unit markings since we adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time
If you want to know where to get them just ask
Just take the cap off the pen and use a U100 syringes and pull the insulin out of the pen!



Are you home testing ?
You might want to add what food you are feeding your cat to you signature

@Jade Green

 

Ok so you use the pen to draw out tthe insulin but tou still inject the dose with a separate syringe. I have bad hand tremors and it is very difficult for me to use a syringe. I was hoping i could dispense to my cat with the actual pen

 

You use the syringe to draw out the insulin ,stick it in the rubber stopper that is on the pen draw out the insulin , then give the insulin.
You can only adjust the Lantus pen by full units , we adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time ( either increase or decrease) If you ever have to give 1.25 units , or 1.5 units , or 1.75 units etc you won't be able to do that using the pen to inject the insulin.
@Jade Green

 

If you can't use a syringe, then you will have to use the pen w/pen needles and dose in 1-unit increments. Not the best but OK if that is all you can do. Your cat will very likely have a higher BG than could be obtained using a syringe and dosing in 1/4 unit increments.There is at least one caretaker in the Libre for Dogs and Cats FB group that can only use the syringe.

 

Can someone point me to where I can get a U-100 syringe in 1/4 u increments?.. my Tina is on .5 units glargine once a day now (down from 1 unit twice a day 3 months ago) and I believe she is hopefully headed for remission. I've searched and can't find a U-100 syringe with 1/4 u increments.

 

Syringes are not manufactured in 1/4 unit increments. You have to approximate. The smallest increment is 0.5u.

There are photos at the bottom of this note that illustrate what the small doses look like.