1/8 Loudogg AMPS 307 +7 277 PMPS 265 +7 334 - What else can I possibly do??

Discussion in 'Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars' started by Amanda and a Loudogg, Jan 8, 2019.

  1. Amanda and a Loudogg

    Amanda and a Loudogg Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    January 7, 2019 Condo - Opened a new pen, no change

    Morning all,
    I don't even know why I bother posting a condo. There's literally no change. We've gone to the vet, he's healthy (YAY!), but no change. I've tried a new pen, no change. I've done the slow and steady increases, no change. It's like his body is physically incapable of going below 200. It doesn't matter how much I increase. There is literally NO CHANGE. Where the hell do I go from here?

    He hasn't had greens in a little over 2 weeks. It's been almost 2 weeks since he's even seen blues. This goes beyond seeing him for more than his numbers. I'm worried about the strain on his system since he never gets below renal threshold. How long until we have another problem stemming from these high BGs? I just don't even know what to do anymore....

    Regardless of my hopelessness, I hope you all have a wonderful day and your kitties surf safely. Sending vines of love and hugs to Tracey and Mr. Jones (@Tracey&Jones) :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
     
  2. Mandy & Rex (GA)

    Mandy & Rex (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2017
    I don't remember, but was Lou tested for acromegaly or IAA?
     
  3. Amanda and a Loudogg

    Amanda and a Loudogg Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    Yes, for both this summer. Negative for acro, but he was positive for IAA. He never went above 4.0u though, unlike most high dose kitties I've seen.
     
  4. Mandy & Rex (GA)

    Mandy & Rex (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2017
    And now I see it in your signature. :oops: I couldn't find it before. I wonder if it's just IAA acting up right now.
     
  5. Amanda and a Loudogg

    Amanda and a Loudogg Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    I've wondered the same, although I don't think it's supposed to come back after breaking. But of course, he never did go super high like expected, so did it ever break? Who knows? I wish there was a way to test how active those antibodies are at the moment.
     
  6. carfurby (GA)

    carfurby (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2012
    I know it's hard not to be discouraged, but I think you'll reach a good dose eventually and then his numbers will come back down. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
     
  7. Barbara & Uncle (GA)

    Barbara & Uncle (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2016
    Glad to hear the vet says Lou is healthy.
    Hope the latest increase kicks in and starts bringing him back down.
    Sending hugs :bighug:
     
  8. Beck and Philly

    Beck and Philly Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2018
    Hey there. I haven't been here in awhile, but I dropped in and saw your thread. Grandpa felt really good at the low 200s. I didn't worry if he stuck around there. I had read this on the Vetsulin page when he was first diagnosed.
    Screenshot_20190108-123948_Samsung Internet.jpg
     
  9. Wendy&Neko

    Wendy&Neko Senior Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2012
    First off, try ordering a new pair of patience pants. Seriously though, I know how frustrat8ng this feels. :bighug: In late summer 2015, my reasonably well regulated cat went off the rails. I went from 3+ units of insulin back up to 7 units over the period of a few months. I felt like I was chasing numbers. I would see a flirting glimpse of green, then nada, so up we kept going until I found where she needed to be.

    So follow the protocol, keep increasing every six cycles unless you see low blue, or you do a partial furshot like a couple nights ago. The cycle counts starts over with that partial FS, and it could also be impacting today’s numbers. The results of a reduced dose can be seen a few cycles later.

    So, been there, done that. Keep on going and you WILL beat it. In the mean time, you are probably fighting some glucose toxicity.
     
  10. Amanda and a Loudogg

    Amanda and a Loudogg Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    Thanks everyone.

    It's been really hard not to start increasing by 0.5u because I can see the smaller increases are not doing anything. Can you remind me when can one start increasing by 0.5u instead of 0.25? Is it at 5.0u?
     
  11. Sue and Luci

    Sue and Luci Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2017
    Oh Amanda, I feel your pain and frustration...Luci has had me down on the mat before too - seemingly nothing I ever did was good enough or right to get her into the lagoon - and even if she got there - how to keep her there? I still don't know - I've accepted her diabetes as a lifestyle - it would be wonderful if it wasn't our life - but it is - I think we've talked before about how lucky we are just to have our kitties alive and feeling pretty good...for that I'm grateful.

    Luci is teasing me a lot lately by going into the greens - I'm sure that if you get Lou up to the right dose you'll see those greens again too. I can't speak to the effectiveness of Lev - but we were so hoping to see an improvement in the bouncing so as to set a model for Lev - and advice given to us in the past. So, be patient and walk it out - increase as you see fit to get him into some better numbers. Would you ever consider going back to Lantus? It seems that Lou used to see the greens then - although the bouncing was an issue - Luci is a bouncer too...we're going to stay the course :) Hang in there mama - you're doing everything you can for him. Give him some scritches for me :)
     
  12. Bellasmom

    Bellasmom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2018
    Amanda sorry your having this kind of day, hope Lou works the new dose, I’m sending lots of :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
     
  13. Doodles & Karen

    Doodles & Karen Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2015
    I have to agree with Wendy as frustrating as it is. The reason you post here is also for "bean" support not just dosing advice ;) I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to toss the meter in the trash and also opened numerous new pens. :facepalm: Doodles was regulated in mostly green at 1u and we climbed up to 12u and ended up leveling out with many ups and downs around 5/6 units but never really regulated. He was also IAA only. Please try to focus on how he's acting and feeling...they are more then their numbers. I can only say that now after the fact but it's so true.

    Lou, you're driving mama nuts so lets see some action soon.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2019
  14. Wendy&Neko

    Wendy&Neko Senior Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2012
    Yes, nadirs above 300 or a 5 unit dose get you 0.5 unit increases. Caveat, I did some 0.25 unit increases above 5 units total if I was seeing good green.
     
  15. Jan Radar (GA)

    Jan Radar (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2015
    I have nothing brilliant to say, but I'm sending these :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug: hoping they let you know that you are not alone
     
  16. Jill & Scooter

    Jill & Scooter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2018
    It can be so frustrating. Went through it a while with Scooter. Hopefully you will hit the magic dose for Lou soon.
     
  17. Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA)

    Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2010
    :bighug::bighug::bighug:
    Don't give up! Lou will be OK and he will get better numbers.
     
  18. Sienne and Gabby (GA)

    Sienne and Gabby (GA) Senior Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    The one thing that jumped out at me is the amount that you decreased Lou's dose when you made the switch to Lev. Generally, we suggest dropping the dose by 25%. You decreased by more than that so you're having to make up the time.

    Despite systematically increasing, there are definitely times when we've all had to exceed a dose that was previously looking good. This is going to be the case with IAA. One thought on the IAA... I would not hold doses overly long unless numbers are in normal range. It helps to remember that if you hold the dose, the antibodies kick in and defeat the effectiveness of the dose.

    @Sandy and Black Kitty may have some words of wisdom to share on the IAA front.
     
  19. Sandy and Black Kitty

    Sandy and Black Kitty Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2009
    Been there, actually spent a lot of time there.
    Six months (and 9u Lantus + 3uR) before we saw green - it lasted about 3 hours and didn't return until about 6 weeks later at a dose of 12.5u Lantus +5uR.

    I'm not sure if there is anyone active these days that was around and remembers the part of our journey after BK had his first dental in December of 2008-
    Spirits were high back then in Lantus Land as we watched BK dive from 13.5u to 3.5u in about 2.5 months.
    Everyone was tuning in for the next episode of the BK show. Good natured wisecracks were posted in our condo about BK having become a micro-dose kitty and my being able to draw such a small dose...did I have a magnifying glass?
    It was like a miracle - BK, the last cat anyone, including myself, ever thought would be regulated (never mind OTJ) was clearly on a mission...
    Gone was the sea of pink and red...the ss was full of beautiful blues and greens....

    Just about 3 months after the dental pinks started coming back into the picture..
    We did do a whole lot of quick reductions from Dec 2008 to Feb 2009 and his depot must have been the size of lake Michigan, things probably just needed to settle.
    We went up and down and up and down in the 4u-3.24u range during the month of March 2009 but by early April we had a lovely week of all blue and green at 3.25u...ahhh back on track..
    The following week pink and yellow appeared and the week after that red came back onto the scene.
    By the end of May we were back up to 5.25u.

    I was devastated
    I withdrew and stopped posting everyday. We all had been so hopeful. Oh well.

    One day he yawned one of those big yawns, and I happened to be right in front of him and noticed redness around an upper back molar...
    big toofuses close.jpg

    It turned out BK needed another dental, which he had on May 29, 2009. After that he resumed his mission - which on October 23 2009, after 21 months on insulin, ended up at the falls.


    A helpful maxim from Jojo, (the Lantus guru of that time) which helped many CGs cope:
    Be the tank
    (tanks always get to where they are headed)

    Keep pushing forward.:cool:
     
  20. Amanda and a Loudogg

    Amanda and a Loudogg Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    Thank you so much Sandy. I needed to hear that story. We didn't have the beautiful downward slide I was expecting after Lou's dental. However, the vet said originally he needed ALL his teeth out. After the surgery, they said they took most but left around 6 and that they were worried about breaking his jaw. He may still have bad teeth that may be causing issues. This reminds me I need to send the vet an email and ask them what the plan is/was for the rest of his teeth. Am I supposed to assume he's "fine" now or should I be planning another dental this summer to get the rest of the teeth out? I don't think he'll be "good" from his teeth until they're all out. We're planning on doing another dental sometime this year to get the rest of his teeth out.

    :bighug::bighug::bighug:
     
  21. Sue and Luci

    Sue and Luci Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2017
    Stunning! I read this with great interest...so good to know it 'can' happen. I too lose hope so often...

    But I try not to despair and try to focus on appreciating how happy and well Luci is, rather than on her crazy numbers. It's a lot of work though...and sometimes I just get so tired...I can understand how Amanda feels - and love Lou for having such a devoted and great mama bean taking care of him. Hang in there Amanda :)

    Thanks for sharing for those of us who weren't around in those days. :bighug::bighug:
     
    Amanda and a Loudogg likes this.
  22. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Another IAA Mom here whose hopes were at one time pinned on a dental being our holy grail but it was not to be. We too went up and down the dosing ladder and for the longest time when I saw a green number, I'd think "maybe this time" but it was not to be. Menace tended to stay largely in the yellows and blues for ages. She'd pop a couple of greens in every so often just to tease me and back we'd go to the beach. Wash....repeat. Finally last July, when green numbers had ceased to raise my hopes, she suddenly went green and we never looked back. FD takes patience. Having a kitty with a high dose condition to boot just means you have to have more patience. It may take longer to get there but it is possible. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
     

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