? 01/21 Merry - Earned reduction-Fighting to stay safe all day-1/2hr til PMPS-No shot or stall??

I was about to head out the door to buy cat food & visit a friend and checked Merry's BG before leaving as I always do & he surprised me with a lime green (38). I gave him some corn syrup & HC gravy & checked him again 3o mins later & it brought him up really well to 85. The corn syrup works a lot better for him than the honey & maple syrup did that's for sure. I gave him some more HC food after the 85 because I still need to go out & buy cat food at least so hopefully he's higher when I check him again.

Funny, before Merry's run of greens/lime greens on Jan 12/13 I decided I was fine with him staying in the blue numbers so was quite happy to keep him at the 4.75u & then he decided to have the marathon of low numbers for 36 hrs before I skipped a shot. He's followed the same pattern on 4u as he did on 4.75u and I was happy with him staying at 4u as long as he was blue & then surprise, another lime green. The blues are so much less stressful so if we found the right dose to keep him in the blues that would be fine by me, as I was trying for either remission OR tight regulation. Maybe he is trending towards remission but it's so stressful & it's not always possible to be home all the time to monitor him. I don't work weekends so I was home to catch it today & can stay home today for the most part to do what I need to do to keep him safe, but there will be times I won't be here & that worries me. I guess we'll figure that out when the time comes.

 

I hear you. I just switched meters and am suddenly getting low blues and I go back to work tomorrow. Not sure what I’ll do if I see green amps or even low blue amps knowing I’m out all day.

 

Oh I see that! Did you check with the other meter to see what it's reading was on that low blue? Just out of curiosity, I know we can't compare meters.

 

The corn syrup works amazing for Mr Merry! He's at 131 now so I'm going to run out & get the cat food at least. Hubby is up now as well so he can check him in a bit and I won't be gone long.

 

I did actually. The 122 on the Freestyle was 203 on the Accu-check. Yeah am not going to compare but if I am faced with a really low amps I may snag a test on the Accu-check to give me more courage to shoot.

 

That's a good idea!

Merry stayed up, he's 137 @ +6.75. He hasn't had HC food for about 2 hrs. He's due for his usual snack soon so I'll feed him his regular food. Hopefully his PMPS is a blue & not green.

 

It’s scary when they get to the greens but it’s where we want them. At least I do. I remember when Silver was going OTJ the first time round I never shot a green amps but I did at pmps and stayed up monitoring. Like they say “shoot low to stay low”. I’m really hoping for second remission.

 

Honestly, I'd rather he stay safely in the blues I really don't want to be up all night monitoring him tonight because I have to work tomorrow. I've shot several greens & it didn't bother me until he started hitting the lime greens this month.

 

Yeah, I do NOT want to see lime green! but I want him OTJ which is green right?

 

Yes, green is the normal range so during the OTJ trial you want mostly greens.

 

Merry is 61 at +9 so he's dropped from his corn syrup/HC food spike. He had his usual snack at around +7 because he was up at that point. Should I give him more HC food since there's still 3 hrs until shot time?

 

I would test in half an hour and see if he is on the way up without the HC.

 

Whoa, big drop! He's at 43 now. I need to get him higher but then at shot time I won't know if I'm shooting a true rising number or a food spike. Ugh!

 

I’d put a question mark on your post and ask for eyes on your thread to see about dosing. Say “stalling should I shoot” or something when the time comes.

 

Merry I thinking you're freaking momma out, easy going girl! Yeah, I'd be erring on keeping her in safe numbers so giving her some HC. Are you able to keep up 1/2hr tests and then stall and ask for further advice based on her numbers? Looks like she wants to keep dropping her doses, just hope she can slow down the sprint for you! You're doing good.

 

Thanks, yes, I'll be testing him again shortly. I gave him a bit of corn syrup & HC gravy. Luckily he LOVES all these treats when he goes low. Maybe that's his plan

 

Oops sorry, gender mistake there with your little man! Yes, they've usually got a plan, we're just not sure about sometimes!!

 

Well, something sure seems to have clicked with Merry.

Have you tested again since the 43? How far are you from shot time?

 

Merry is 85 at +10 after the corn syrup & HC gravy at +9.5.

 

Sorry, I had to step away for a few minutes.

Test him again 30 minutes after that test. Did you give any food at +10?

 

I didn't give him any food so I could see what he was going to do & he's still 85 at +10.5.
Earlier today his spike from the corn syrup & HC food lasted at least 2 hrs. I won't know at shot time if it's still a food spike (if it hasn't gone down by then). I'm considering skipping his shot tonight and then giving him the reduced dose that he earned in the morning at his regular time (depending on that number of course).

 

Why don't you wait to see where he is closer to shot time before deciding? Maybe grab a test at +11.5 and post? If you skip, you'll lose all the momentum. Let's see what others think.

 

Merry is dropping again. He's 61 at +11.5.

 

Personally I’d be skipping if you want to sleep tonight.

 

Yeah I don't feel good shooting a dropping number.

 

Well, let's see if he's still dropping at your shot time. He might be coming back up by then.

 

I can understand because it's so touch and go. As Tricia mentioned it would be a shame though to lose momentum. Just a question @Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey in these situations, is it appropriate to shoot a larger dose drop, say 2.5 - 2.75u so he's still getting insulin and not draining the depot too much?

 

If you mean in order to prevent him from dropping too much tonight, a reduced dose won't really help because he still has the depot in effect.

Merry has already had quite a few reductions in a short amount of time. The depot may be just now getting caught up.

 

Just some food for thought, you shot a full dose on similar numbers on the 14th. What is your goal with Merry? If it is remission, grabbing these lower preshots to maintain momentum is helpful, considering if you can monitor him, of course. There is always the option to carb him up right after shot time so he's working from a higher number before onset as well.

 

Ah thanks for that, and makes sense (even thou the depot concept is a total head spin)!

 

I have a related question....what’s the logic in shooting the insulin and then immediately carbing right back up again?

 

To maintain momentum with the preshot number, whilst ensuring the number doesn't drop too far or too fast.

 

Wow! Merry had snapped and is racing down the dosing ladder!

 

Yes, I did but I wasn't trying to keep him out of hypo all day long before that and that was after a No Shot.

Merry is 59 at PMPS.

I can't stall because that will make me late for work in the morning & then for a couple days after that while I get him back to his normal shot times. I don't really want to be up monitoring him all night long otherwise I'll be too tired to go to work. He earned a reduction so he's at 3.75u now. Could I feed him a high carb meal with his shot then? I can check him until +3 and then it's midnight so I'll have to go to bed. I can try to get up at +6 to see where he's at after that. It all depends on what his numbers are prior to bed time. Ugh! This is the part I don't like.

 

Given all the information - the 59 PMPS, fighting to keep him up all day, not being able to stay up tonight or be off schedule tomorrow - I'd be inclined to skip tonight and resume with the newly reduced dose tomorrow morning. He did surf nicely on 1/12 (until he hit that 36 @ +8.5!), but since tonight is a work night for you, I'm just a bit nervous about you shooting.

Others may chime in, too....just my two cents!

 

It's an endurance sport, isn't it?

It's up to you how you want to handle it, it could go either way, he could bounce or he could need more monitoring, even past midnight. If this were Asia, I would certainly carb up at shot time, but I don't know Merry like you do. I know Asia's typical response to Karo gives me a couple hours before I'm worrying again, so that's when I nap and set my alarm and give more Karo if need be.

 

I think she said she needs to sleep so she can get up for work. I’m with @Amy&TrixieCat on this one.

 

I think I'd just skip tonight and get a good night's sleep

Merry will get back on track ...he seems to do pretty well when you've had to skip before

 

Me, I would skip. You need sleep.

 

Keep us posted. Will be watching for your condo in the morning. About to grab a before bed test myself. Good luck!

 

I would skip too and resume tomorrow.

 

I've already stalled 20 minutes trying to decide and he's now at 49 so still dropping. I'm going to skip tonight since I'll be shooting a dropping number & I don't feel comfortable doing that. Since he's still dropping I will give him some HC food with his dinner to get him into a higher green. He'll be lime green without it I'm sure.

 

I agree, I'd skip. You'll still want to check a few readings before bed, but JMHO, I've never had to use Karo to fight to keep numbers up, nor load up on carbs. That said, we are where we are, and it's not the approach for everyone. I'm sure Merry will get right back on track, even with a skip.

 

The first couple times Merry went a bit low he did ok with his regular food & had good food spikes, but now I find he doesn't get those good spikes when he drops like that & I have to use the corn syrup & HC foods.

 

I'd also gab some tests, even with the skip ... For safety sake just because he's a cat snd sometimes you just never know what they're going to do.

 

Oh yes, I'll be checking him until I go to bed

 

LOL, indeed, I guess never say never , you are doing all the right things, and Merry's just getting you on board with a new program . Hope he doesn't keep you hopping tonight. He's had a good run today already!

 

Good call, and I really hope you get a good night's sleep.....new day tomorrow, new set of opportunities!!

 

Based on all the reasons given above, I think skipping was a good idea. So is continuing to test until you have to go to bed. I'd really like to see him come up and then stay up without food for a couple of hours, if that's possible. Hopefully the Lantus is wearing off by now. Paws crossed that he gives you a shootable number in the morning and behaves himself while you're at work.

 

So far Merry is in the blues after his dinner that had some HC food in it. I'm going to check him one more time before going to bed. Thanks to everyone for all your help & advice! Much appreciated