? PLEASE HELP: First day Lantus - may have given 2 units instead of 1 unit. How long to test?

Hi all,

Today is my first day giving any insulin to Lantus. The vet gave me a 'pen' for Lantus insulin and due to my inexperience with the device - after dosing it resets to 0 or clicks down 1 - I think I gave him 2 units instead of the 1 unit prescribed by my vet.

To use the mg/dL numbers in the converted part of my spreadsheet (because I'm in Canada and my glucose meter gives mmol/L) Miles was at 400 before the evening dose and at +2 the reading was 324.

Do you think he's in any danger? How long should I keep testing?

 

@Bron and Sheba (GA) wrote: (I thought I should transfer my reply over here)

I would get a+4 test done and post it please.
Are you giving snacks during the cycle as well as the preshot meal?

Also do you have a hypo kit ready in case of low numbers? Here is a link to settling up a hypo kit. Print this page off and put on your fridge.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
​

I have been giving a low carb minnow snack after each BG check. At this point I could probably not do so if that would be a problem.

I don't have a kit ready per se but I have honey and teaspoons and I can go put them out.

 

Keep giving the snacks
Glad you have the honey but get a kit set up soon as you don’t want to be rushing around for things if the numbers are low.

 

I see 15.9 @+6. Can you get a+6 or7

 

Well, just did the +4 test and I now I'm starting to get it. 15.9 (286) which is a safe value now but where is it going to go over the rest of the night?


Yeah I can set an alarm for 3 hours from now and check then. (+7)

 

That would be good. As this is your first day and you are not sure how much you gave, it would be good to see how low the BG goes.
Miles is doing well so far.

 

14.7. I think he's going to be fine - the rate seems to be slowing. Have to get up in about 3 hours now.

 

Yes he’ll be fine. Thanks for getting those BGs. Keep going with the 1 unit. Always get a preshot BG and a test during the cycle if you can.
Also snacks during the first half of the cycle is good as well as the Preshot meals.

Sorry you are up in3 hours

 

Chris, you might like to look at swapping the pen over to syringes to give the insulin doses. You can then increase the dose in 1/4 unit increments which we recommend.
You still use the cartridge of insulin that is in the pen but draw up the insulin into a syringe.
The syringes you need are U 100 3/10 ml 30 or 31 gauge 6mm or 8 mm insulin syringes with 1/2 unit markings.
If you live in the US you can get ReliOn brand from Walmart a box of 100 syringes for $12.58
Other brands are Uticare, Monoject, Care Point, Sure Comfort and B/D

 

In Canada, you want the BD Ultrafine II syringes, purple and yellow box, available in any human pharmacy.

 

How is it going, @Chris and Miles?

 

Thanks for asking @SashaV !

Gaining confidence with injecting but I don't know what is going on with Miles' BG levels. I think I gave him 2.0 again by mistake on the night of the 23rd and forgive me but after the levels from the two nights previously I did not take additional care. The next morning Miles' levels were really low - as in actually good, I guess - and if they had been any lower (<10) I would have skipped his shot. But then last night and this morning his pre-shot levels were higher than they have ever been. Although it's true that his post-shot value last night was in keeping with previous values.

I might be reading into it but I feel like maybe I see some signs of increased energy on his part, although right now he is just lying on the living room carpet and whining, what about I'm not sure. i have now picked him up and put him on the sofa where he is purring. Cats!

I would say that injection time is actually a good bonding time for us because I give him lots of attention and he loves it.

 

One thing for sure, you need to test more!
When you see a high number, it could possibly be because Miles went lower before and his body is making him high because of that. That's why we test, to catch those lows.

When you get a blue pre-shot, then make a post and ask for help. It's only good with some fresh eyes on it

Its definitely not unlikely he is having more energy!

I know! All this might be terrible, but it is good bonding time! I've gotten even closer with my Mauer on this journey.

You're doing great, Chris!
Keep up the great work!

 

Hi Chris.

Those higher numbers last night and today are caused by bouncing off the earlier lower numbers. It's possible that Miles might have been lower than the 10.6 at nadir in the previous night's PM cycle. That raises a concern about the 2.0IU being too much, so please take extra care when drawing up the dose. The depot isn't full yet and you've already seen a blue.

Energy, alertness and mood may vary in line with what the BG is doing. Miles has seen better numbers with that blue. Usually when numbers are in a better range cats feel better in themselves. If they do have a bounce to higher numbers, energy levels might dip again.

If Miles does anything out of character mid-cycle, it's always wise to check what his BG is doing just in case he might have gone low (different cats react in different ways to low numbers).

I'm really glad to read this.


Mogs
.

 

Good point Critter Mom, about "the depot not being full yet". I'll be extra careful.

I have started testing more, at least during the day, and set more accurate reminder times on my phone. Doing more in the evening would be a bit difficult because there's cat dinner at 7:15, insulin around 7:30, +2 is then 9:30, and I am usually in bed around 10:45.

If either of you want pictures of Miles and his little sister Ella, let me know and I'll send or post some

 

Hi Chris,

You're really getting into your stride now.

Yes, please! Pics of furchilder are always very welcome.


Mogs
.

 

Oh, well, when you put it that way. Although I wonder if this thread should be retired!? idk. Sorry if these are too big

This is Miles (L) and Ella (R) from the summer - you can see Miles was chonky back then. Ella still is, despite getting what seems like a pretty small amount of wet food, which Miles tries to get in on. I need to do a calorie calculation for her. They are quite obviously a sibling pair, mostly distinguishable because Ella is a good amount smaller than her brother.



This is Miles recently mushing his face into my hand. Actually I think I am cupping his head with my fingers



And this is Ella. She loves belly rubs

 

Awwwwww! They're lovely, Chris.

(((Miles and Ella)))

There is indeed quite a difference in their sizes. They both have gorgeous little faces.


Mogs
.

 

Well yesterday I tried to do a measurement every two hours and honestly that was... A lot. It felt like every time I turned around I needed to do another test.

Today I reduced it to 3 tests between meals aside from the evening pre-meal which has been okay except right now. Miles won't sit on the sofa quietly; he jumped up on the sofa back and I haven't been able to test him when he is in this agitated crying state. His test from 2 hours ago was pretty high so I don't doubt that the 1 unit shot will be safe.

Also his numbers seemed a little all over the place today. If anything is different it's that o think I did a better job of keeping the insulin needle in for a good 10 seconds before removing it. Well we'll keep on keeping on.

 

Well done getting those test in and testing in the pm cycle!

 

Thanks!

I could have SWORN this evening's injection was fine but I just got a reading from Miles which suggests the dose never entered his bloodstream :/

 

That's what we call a bounce. Some days kitty just won't go down, sometimes it's because of a low in previous cycles. It doesn't mean you did anything wrong.
Look at my spreadsheet, we can have a great day, then the next she's back up. It's completely normal.

 

Hey Chris, make sure to grab some medium carb and high carb wet foods for your hypo kit. Here are some examples of the ones I have:

• 12% carbs https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/fancy-...ast-in-gravy-wet-cat-food-other/6000071407473
• 21% carbs https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/fancy-...-cheese-feast-in-gravy-cat-food/6000177656920
  
• 23% carbs https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/fancy-...greens-in-a-savoury-sauce-other/6000195561462

You can find more if you refer to the food chart pdf. Try to get a few different flavours so that Miles will hopefully eat at least one of them during a low BG level event. It is good to keep these around so that you don't need to resort to using honey right away, and it will hopefully bring you some peace of mind as well. I have used the medium carb one on Dixie and it worked every time!

Glad you are getting the hang of testing and shots! Don't worry about the fur shots. Just tag them in the spreadsheet if you suspect it and then move along. They are pretty much expected when you first start out with insulin. I think you will get the hang of it pretty quickly and then fur shots stop becoming a concern at all.

 

@Chris and Miles how are things going?
Do you feel ready to do daily post in the Lantus forum?

 

Err... I wasn't clear that I am even supposed to do that. I thought people only posted when they had problems? I need to read more. My usual problem.

FarmKitty thanks for the tip about tagging possible fur shots. Might have had one this morning. And ty for the suggestion about some foods for the hypo kit. Miles will devour just about anything though