Biggs Amps 290

Getting Biggs started on lantus. Getting easier every day (and he doesn’t hate me after testing and shooting!!)

So my question is dealing with lower PMPS numbers than AMPS. I still haven’t shot him in the evening because I’m worried about shooting in the blue. Won’t that make his numbers lower (maybe too low) overnight?

I would totally love to just keep shooting 1x/day but I also want to do what’s best. We’re coming up on dinner time, so I should make a decision soon.

 

If I read your spreadsheet correctly, he was at 180 last night and 190 the night before. Is that correct? Both are totally safe numbers to shoot, as long as you are prepared to monitor. It's great that you got some midcycle tests today. Now you can see how low this dose is taking Biggs.

Lantus works best when it is given every 12 hours. A dose lasts approximately 12 hours, so you want to give the next shot just when the first one is worn off. Because of the way the depot works, dosing once a day prevents it from filling and you're going to get numbers all over the place. If you haven't already done so, please read this sticky that talks about the depot: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-levemir-what-is-the-insulin-depot.150/

If you are uncomfortable shooting the numbers you are getting in the evening, it might be better to take the dose down a little. You need to have him at a dose where you can shoot twice a day comfortably.

We usually tell new members not to shoot anything below 150 until they have a fair amount of data. If you get a number above 150 tonight but are still a little unsure whether or not to shoot, put the number in the subject line of this condo and add something like: should I shoot? Someone should come along and give their thoughts, and perhaps check back with you later to see your next tests. I would offer to do that for you, but I'll be out this evening. If you'd like me to, I'll give a heads up to some other veterans to watch for your posts.

By the way, I'd like to share a post we put together for new members to help them get comfortable with this forum. It might answer some questions you have. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/updated-tips-for-new-members.173572/

 

I agree with Wendy.. If you're nervous about the lower numbers at night, until you get comfortable, it may make sense to lower the dose in both the AM and PM to 1.25 or even 1.0u so you can shoot consistently twice a day. Unless Biggs is a really big cat (and from your signature line note, he's not that big), 2.0u is a bit high of a starting dose. Were there any problems with ketones when Biggs was diagnoses (or thereafter)?

A housekeeping question for you, can you either use our spreadsheet or change the color coding on the one you're using to match ours? For those of us who look at spreadsheets (SS) routinely, we are wed to the color coding. It allows us to see trends easily. The link for our spreadsheet is here. If you want to change the color coding, you can look at the link to Gabby's SS in my signature. (Sorry for the headache!)

 

Thanks, I’ll change the colors back since it’s different Yes he was at 190 PMPS, still just a little nervous about going low and getting the hang of everything, so I may lower the dose to feel a little more confident.

I’ll read through the links. I was doing so well testing today... Until right now when I went through 4 test strips and got errors each time. Will try again in 1 hour!

 

No worries. It happens to even the most experienced people here. Sometimes it's us; sometimes you get a bad strip or bad test. Give Biggs a treat and like you said, try again later.

 

Did you shoot? If so, how much?

 

Yes, I checked his bg and it was 380! I thought it was an error... but confirmed +1 @405. I shot 1.5u, and decided to start giving 2x/day a real try. Still too early for me to start making my own rules.

I think a part of me wanted to believe my cat could be a 1x/day cat... wishful thinking for now.