Diabetic cat

HI:  My Gracie (14 years old) has had diabetes for many years.  I have been giving her Lantus for many years and her BG has always been all over the place.  My vet would like me to switch her to Levemir.  Most of what I have read talks about starting diabetic cats on Levemir.  Has anybody switched their cat from Lantus to Levemir - with what type of results?  I always hesitate to switch Gracie to different medications because she is a very sensitive cat.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've poked my diabetic cat with Lantus (4 units 2x daily) for 2 years and have had only one incident that we never could figure out. His latest fructosamine test, (which gives you an overall picture) was just shy of excellent. How was Gracie's latest fructosamine test? I have never used Levemir. Could Gracie's BG be a result of not eating when given insulin? Just a thought.

Also, are the test strips nearing their expiry date? We had false (very low) readings in early September using strips that had an expiry date of September 2014 which sent us scrambling to the vet.

Lyndas01 said:

 
HI:  My Gracie (14 years old) has had diabetes for many years.  I have been giving her Lantus for many years and her BG has always been all over the place.  My vet would like me to switch her to Levemir.  Most of what I have read talks about starting diabetic cats on Levemir.  Has anybody switched their cat from Lantus to Levemir - with what type of results?  I always hesitate to switch Gracie to different medications because she is a very sensitive cat.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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How do you know your cat's levels are all over the place with Lantus? Are you testing blood glucose levels daily? What is the current dose of Lantus? How old is the bottle or pen of Lantus?

My previous cat was diabetic. We started on Humulin N, then went to Lantus, and then to Levemir. Lantus wasn't giving my cat the duration that is typically expected of it.  Levemir worked a little better. I have an online spreadsheet of my cat's daily blood glucose numbers if you would like to see the difference between Lantus and Levemir. Note: my cat's blood glucose levels on Lantus and Levemir are not typical of numbers that one would expect to see while following a strict insulin protocol and low carb diet. My cat was "defective" and liked to keep me on my toes

Have you checked out the FelineDiabetes.com message board? There is a Levemir board there that you can browse for more info and look at how other cats are doing on the insulin.