02/09-Freckles/Judy PMPS 45 - no shot and gave LC food. 63@+.5, 72@+1, 104@+2

yesterday's post
Well, I'm making good use of what I learned with @Teri (Disco NoFurNo) scenario last night as I'm finding myself in a similar one tonight. Thanks to @Wendy&Neko and @Sienne and Gabby (GA) for the information as I was able to reference it very easily and quickly.

I fed Freckles 1/2 can LC FF and am not shooting as I am not able to stall tonight and she is below 50. I have lots of supplies and will test in 30 minutes. Her appetite is good and she is acting normal. She ate her snacks this morning @+1, +3, +5, +7. The other civvies were locked in another room, so I know it was her who ate.

 

Whoa....

Another thing to do when you get an out-of-the-blue number like that is to re-test immediately. Sometimes it's just a wonky strip...

 

Ooops... forgot about that. I will be testing in a couple of minutes right now. We don't have internet out here in the woods, so have to use hotspot on my phone to get internet and for some reason I could not get hooked into internet until 20 minutes after I initially tested.

 

63@+.5 I think previous test strip was good. Going to feed her the normal meal.

 

Her appetite is immense - so she definitely goes 'starving wild' when she is low.

 

I would have nudged up the numbers with a tiny bit of HC when you got the 45. I'd keep an eye on the numbers even with skipping the shot. There's no way to know if the numbers were lower and the 45 is heading up or if there was a later nadir and the 45 was the low for the cycle.

Remember to take your dose reduction in the AM.

 

Good girl! That's always a nice insurance policy.

As Sienne just said, Freckles has earned a reduction going forward with that 45, back down to 7.0U I think? sometimes there are nuances at the higher doses, Wendy or one of the other moderators would know for sure.

 

Good point. I'm glad that I've been using the automatic feeder all along - definitely see the importance of small meals throughout the cycle. Yup, I would have loved to have seen the numbers prior to the PM shot. Would have been a good time to have that Libre on her! Was out helping a friend move today.

 

Right, so because we were increasing by .5 u I assume that the reduction is a .5u?

 

I think so, unless, like I said, there are some additional high-dose nuances.

 

72@+1

 

@Wendy&Neko - can you provide some input on the dose reduction?

 

Why would you have given a bit of HC at 45? Just to get the number over 50 so I could have shot?

 

First and foremost, you know Freckles and how carb sensitive your cat is. It's late enough in the cycle that some LC would likely bump up the numbers. However, since you weren't home to test, you didn't know if the numbers were heading up or down. A small amount of HC, even if you weren't shooting would have bumped numbers up a tiny bit to insure they were going up. It's entirely a judgement call based on your knowledge of your cat.

I would not feed HC in order to shoot. Doing so would likely be asking for trouble since you are artificially inflating the numbers and you would be waiting to see if once the food wore off if numbers were going to drop back down.

 

Yes, a 0.5 u reduction this time. You may find out later it was too large a reduction, or not. Always take the conservative route first with a high dose cat. Then learn what works for Freckles if she tells you she really wanted a smaller reduction.

I too would not feed HC to shoot. Because I knew Neko was carb sensitive, when she gave me 40’s at preshot, I waited 10-15 minutes without feeding to see if she would come up. She always did, So I could shoot the reduced dose. That’s what my cat did. Larger dose cats are even more unique so you really have to learn thy cat’s response. But with larger dose and larger depot, start conservative and learn from it.

 

Ok. That makes sense. The HC is more of a safety net then.

Yes, I thought HC would be an artificial inflation for a preshot number.

Freckles going lime and even somewhat just being in the greens is new territory for us. I haven't really been able to see if she is carb sensitive or not because the opportunity hasn't presented itself. So with that being said, and her numbers increasing about 20 points tonight, I'm still not sure if she is carb sensitive or if the cycle was coming to an end anyways and that is why her numbers increased.

This sounds great. A little light in a dark tunnel, but if Freckles needs a high dose to be regulated, she needs a high dose - it is what it is.

-- Good to know. Unfortunately tonight, I was already going to be shooting late - just got home and tested right away. Due to my work schedule tomorrow, I really couldn't stall and shoot any later. Plus, if I had to stay up tonight to monitor (if I did shoot low), I would be useless at work tomorrow as I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night (between Freckles and Disco). I know it's important to try and give insulin every 12 hours, but mamma bean needs to be awake and productive at work and safe while commuting.

Thanks again Wendy, Sienne and Nan for the information and support. You guys rock!

 

Oh my! Remember to take deep breaths—I often felt dizzy and nauseous! And jot down time of feedings—i had to trust on my messages with you and @Bandit's Mom to tell me when I fed and how much. You stayed up with me, and I’ll be keeping an eye on you tonight!

 

sheesh! don't remind me of my "great advice" from last night! fortunately disco is fine DESPITE my advice!
i'm only going to provide moral support tonight!

 

Thanks Teri but Freckles did not get her shot tonight and her numbers are increasing soooooo I'm off to bed and we'll see what kind of numbers she throws at me in the morning. Even with FS in the past, Freckles numbers don't deviate all that much (usually in the yellows and the odd pink) but you never know!

 

I was looking at the dates between Bandit's, Disco's and Freckles joining of FDMB and we are within about 1 week of each other... so poor Disco had a bunch of rookies in his corner. The main thing is that Disco is alright... Teri is still speaking to us... we haven't been kicked off of the forum and we learned a ton last night! Bhooma, both you and I could have stayed silent and just watched Teri and Disco try and maneuver this on their own when they asked for help, but we didn't and despite not being that experienced we jumped in and tried to help where others may not have - that says something.

 

thanks Judy, for your kind words.
hopefully we will go up the learning curve fast and not endanger any kitties again (that's a note to myself!)

 

Don’t forget, we all know more than we knew last night, right?! that’s what’s important!

 

I truly would have been lost without both of your presence, would have floundered and possibly been too anxious to understand stickies directions, may have even loaded Disco up in the car snd run to the ER.

 

I think I'm too old to have what I've learnt last night put to test any time soon! ;-)

 

I also have an automatic feeder but haven’t used it since Disco’s diagnosis and while I’m pretty regular about his snacks in the a.m. cycle, not in the evening after i go to bed and I’m wondering if that might help him stabilize blight. While the other cats would also snack that’s OK because Disco is the most food aggressive he would get what he needed i think

 

I'm glad Freckles turned herself around and didn't "do a Disco" on you!

When you skip a shot, it's clearer if you use PMBG instead of PMPS. Then the tests after the skip continue in your subject line and on your spreadsheet as hours from the most recent shot; i.e., +12.5, +13 (instead of +.5, +1) up to the following AMPS which would typically be @+24.

 

@Bandit's Mom , I am soooooo glad that you and @Judy and Freckles stepped up the other night to help @Teri (Disco NoFurNo) ! It's a real problem sometimes when things have gotten quiet on the boards right when there's a tricky situation happening-- sometimes people call for help and no one answers, or only answers hours later . But you guys were there for Teri, provided critical support, and helped keep the tricky situation from becoming a panicked emergency. And Disco did his part, came through like a champ!

So, well done and all around!!!

 

Thanks Susan. I did not know about the PMBG - it's the first time that Freckles has ever gone that low. Thanks for the info!!

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/yoshi-2-16-amps-179-6-51-63-7-80.225759/#post-2528040

Here is a discussion about the BCS (it's not mine but with another acro cat).