UPDATE!

Harry is on two units of Lantus! We just tested him an hour before his next shot at 7:00pm, he tested 197! Should we administer another two units at seven? I’m still getting used to how all this works so any guidance would be appreciated! He’s still lethargic but I’m just so happy Lantus seems to be working. He weighs 12.9 LBS and we are gonna give him a tiny bit of Miralax tonight so that he can poop! I’m ordering him those tablets for his neuropathy because that could also be what is causing the lethargy. This has been such a break through so I’m so happy right now

 

I just don’t want to give him two more units and his blood sugar will go too low??

 

It would probably be good to also post this on the lantus forum so more people can see it and give you advice

 

Hi Emma and Harry,
Did you manage to get any inbetween tests in the last cycle?
I think 2 units is too much to start with a newly diagnosed cat. If you follow the formula 0.25 units per kg he would need 1.45 units. But I would drop it to 1 unit to start with and test before every dose and inbetween the cycles to see how low the insulin takes him.
In the beginnning we suggest you don't give insulin if the preshot number is below 200.
See what he is at preshot.
Did he have any ketones in his urine when diagnosed do you know?
We really need the spreadsheet up and running before we can give dosing advice.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/cat-still-lethargic.217859/ Here is your last post for continuity.

 

Also do you have plenty of test strips to test if needed and some higher carb food and honey or Karo to give if the numbers drop?

ETA. Just read back on your last post and see you have not tested for ketones. I think it is very important you test for them especially in a newly diagnosed lethargic cat. You can buy a bottle of Ketostix at Walmart or a pharmacy. You need to get a specimen of Harry's urine and follow the directions on the bottle as to when to read the test strip.

 

Hi! I will head over to walmart to get those Ketostix tomorrow first thing. He hasn’t shown any other symptoms besides the lethargy but it’s definitely possible he could have them since the lethargy has been constant. I will test tomorrow and update.

 

Is he eating OK?
What dose did you decide on?

 

He is eating great and drinking a decent amount of water. I even add more water to his wet food (fancy feast classic chicken pate) I’ve done the dehydrated skin test and it goes back pretty quickly. Smelled his breath a couple times and just smells like cat food. And I gave him one unit at 7:15PM and am going to check in an hour or two to see where he is at and continue to check throughout the cycle to see if 1 unit is better for him then two.

 

THats good the hydration seems ok. And good move adding water to the food!
That's a good idea to check during the cycle if you can as it will tell us how the Lantus is working.
It sometimes takes a while to do much so don't be disappointed if nothing much happens. Insulin is a hormone not an ordinary medicine like an antibiotic.
It also takes several cycles for the depot to fill so you will need to hold that dose for 5 to 7 days except if he drops low.
How's the SS coming along ?
Please give Harry a pat from me.
My Harry is sitting in a window seat enjoying the sun.

 

alright guys! We just took his glucose around 3 hours after 1 unit of insulin. It’s 296 which is higher than it was with 2 units. I’m going to measure throughout the night to see any more changes but if it continues to go up I’m thinking 1.5 units or even possibly back to two. But I will update in the morning. I obviously want to get him on the right dosage so he can have a stable dosage for at least a week to see how that goes. We finally got the ear to work with a little practice!

 

You need to stay with the one dose for at least 3-5 days to let the depot fill. If you chop and change it messes with the numbers.
Remember this is a marathon not a sprint and it may take a little while to get the dose right.
It’s better to be a little bit higher than too low. Especially while you are learning the dance.
Great to see your signature.

 

Congratulations on the ear testing!!

But you need to be patient with Lantus his levels are not going to go down as fast and as low as you saw with the other insulin, but the effect will last longer, and you need to wait for a few cycles (a cycle is the 12 hour period between shoots ), before changing the dose, when you start it is recommended that you hold the 1 unit dose for at least a week to allow his body to get used to the insulin and form the depot, and the dose changes are made in 0.25 unit increments, upping the dose to 1.5 or 2 is a way too big an increment and is really not recomended

There's a lot of information on the Lantus forum that you may find very useful, including the protocols for using and dosing Lantus.

Here's the link to the Lantus forum

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/

I will also suggest you post in the Lantus forum asking for dosing advice before changing the dose

 

Alright, I’m gonna keep him on one unit for a week and see how that goes. Thanks for all the advice guys, he definitely needs stability so I think keeping it at one right now is probably the best. Thank you all so much!

 

Alright guys one more question haha! Harry is super back to himself this morning. But he is scrounging for food like his old self. I wonder what this means, I’ll test him in a second but wanted to see what is recommended. Do I just put him in his playroom (otherwise he gets on the counters and looks for crumbs in the kitchen) and wait till his next scheduled feeding time? It’s so funny cause he’s not lethargic rn but he’s super hungry so it’s a positive and a negative.

 

Diabetic cats are usually very hungry while they are unregulated, that's because his body can't really make good use of the nutrients on the food with high blood glucose numbers, if he's not overweight you could consider allowing him to eat when ever he's hungry as long as it's low carb food

Is good to hear he's feeling better