Shooting in Green ?

Hello. I'm new with a HUGE Amount to learn. Learning the basics, but Quickly realized dealing with controlling #'s and doses is overwhelming. Me and my Buddy are in week 3. I am testing and keeping records. Working on ss but having problems figuring it out. My ? Is. I see people shooting in Green. Isn't this normal range? Or is it experience and collecting enough data to keep good numbers?

 

Hello! It's experience, for newbies it's not recommended shooting at all if lower than 200. For those that have some info on their cycles, they may reduce the dose but still shoot. I would say shooting in green is for very experienced members with LOTS of information on how their cats react to insulin and knowing it's safe to still do so, and is available to keep an eye on their kitties that day.

 

Yes! I am one of those people who started shooting on green numbers BUT that wasn't until myself AND the people who were guiding me knew through all the data I collected how my cat would react and how she would react to the specific insulin that shes on (Prozinc). It was also a very small dose. I did have to continuously monitor her through out the night and she did drop into the lime green on me once during that time. I was only about 10 days into joining this forum so I completely feel you on how much there is to learn. But day by day you will get through it and by the time you know it you will feel like you've got the hang of things. And of course all the awesome people here will be able to guide you and answer any questions you need. Getting that spreadsheet set up was crucial for me to get guidance from other experienced members who knew how to control dosing. I'd focus on that and getting all your testing data in as much as possible!

 

Hi Steve,

Some kitties are in the process of getting regulated, and it is a bit of a challenge to sort out all the changing variables to get a working balance. Insulin can be potent, so we need to be cautious. That 200 level helps keep our cats safe while we learn their response.

Other kitties are pretty well regulated and just need that bit of insulin to STAY normal.

In our case we now shoot a teeny tiny dose at the upper end of normal in order to keep Peacock in normal range. Her numbers are getting better, but she still needs a little help. Without that shot, her numbers would no longer be normal.

We started out being nervous about shooting in upper blue, then mid blue, then low blue, and with lots of data and some guidance and a few sleepless nights, I am ok to shoot at 100.

We tracked her insulin reaction very closely and got some mentoring from other members to get to this particular stage.

 

Hi Steve, It's great that you're here and home testing to help Buddy There is a lot to learn, but just feel free to ask lots of questions...There are many very experienced members here to help!

I'm going to tag a couple of people who can hopefully help you with your spreadsheet, since we really do rely on it to help understand how our cats are responding to insulin @Ti-Mousse @Marje and Gracie
Unfortunately, I'm not a techie at all lol.

There is a sticky here which discusses the two dosing methods we use with Lantus, Tight Regulation (TR) and Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) and may help you understand how we decide what and when to shoot. We choose which we are going to follow and stick to it (you can always switch later). Please read through that when you get a moment.

I see you've set up your signature, awesome! Could you please edit it to add what brand of canned food you feed? Also you can add which method you will be following (TR or SLGS) once you decide.

There is loads more information on using Lantus in the Stickies at the top of the Lantus Forum (http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/), if you haven't discovered that yet

Hope this helps, with love, Nikki

 

Hello Steve and welcome to your so cute Buddy!
Very nice to see you're home testing, that's the most important thing for your boy! The second one is an updated spreadsheet; this gives us the live history in numbers for your little guy, the whole picture! So when you need help this is our main tool to guide you!

I'm not a dosing expert, but for your question about shooting GREEN, I would not encourage you to shoot GREEN when starting, because the main goal is to keep your kitty safe! You will get to a point when you will be able to do it and be well prepared in case your little Buddy goes too low after shooting! But for now, let's keep him safe!

Did you have a chance to look at which protocol you would like to follow (SLGS or TR)?

If you are having problems with the SS, HERE are the instructions for setting it up and THIS explains how to use it. Should you have any problems just post and ask for help!

If you're talking about shooting Green, does it mean your little buddy doesn't intend to be on insulin for very long ???

Ask questions, as many as you have!