04/18 Mowgli AMPS 317; A Change of Long Weekend Plans?

Initial Long Weekend Plan

@MrWorfMen's Mom @Sienne and Gabby (GA)

Hey Guys,

Of course when I’m all amped up to increase Mowgli’s dosage over the long weekend his BG took a dip below 5 last night

I know that this typically requires a 0.25u decrease but I really don’t think that I’m going to get good results from Mowgli from a 1.25u dose.

I was thinking that this weekend, rather than increase his dosage to 1.75u or drop to 1.25u that I would just maintain the 1.5u and monitor him closely since I can be home. It looks like he bounced a bit this morning so I maintained the 1.5u dose and I’ve asked my sister to check on him at lunch time.

I wanted to run this by the forum because I don’t have a lot of experience to back up my gut feelings and instincts, I also recognize that this is against the SLGS protocol. So feedback and advice are welcome, supportive or critical

Also serious and ignorant question; if every time Mowgli gets to the “dark greens” I decrease his dosage... how can I get him to stay there?

 

Those greens last night were just slightly below the 5 mmol reduction point. With meter variance those readings could have been 15% lower or higher (CDN meter variance allowance) and knowing the meter you use, I'd lean toward them being slightly higher. My feeling is that if you choose to keep Mowgli at a dose of 1.5u, you'll be fine and it will give you an opportunity to see what he can really do with that dose held for the 7 days.

That is not an ignorant question at all....it's a very real conundrum. While some kitties do go into remission on SLGS, the intention of that method is more about getting and keeping kitty in a good range (blues and greens). You can in some cases end up in a continuous loop and/or eventually have no place to go with the dose and still not have kitty in an optimal mostly dark green BG range. Some folks find modifying the guidelines a bit based on their cat's responses works for them. You always have the option to change to TR (assuming the dry food is out of the picture) but that is definitely a more intense and aggressive dosing method that is bit harder but not impossible to do when you are working.

 

That's what I was thinking too, when I got the 4.9 though, I did re-test just in case and I got the exact same reading. I will keep Mowgli at 1.5u this weekend.

The continuous loop is totally what I am worried about. My goal is remission so I'm starting to feel a bit like an underdog trying to get there on SLGS. Mowgli is fully transitioned to wet food but my job is the ultimate reason that I don't think that TR will work for me.

I have to take company busing to work and I am away for about 10-11 hours on week days. Even if I did get up at 5am to give him a shot and then test again at 6am there are often traffic situations that would throw the evening dosing schedule off... maybe in some cases by an hour or more. It would be tight and unreliable. Additionally leaving work to check on Mowgli in case of low numbers is not an option (since I work ~30mins away from home, and take company busing). It's also important that I get a reasonable amount of sleep since my position can be safety sensitive and I have to be "fit for duty". While some of these seem kind of like excuses, they all add up to SLGS.

Ugh... I hope I can get him into remission

 

@MrWorfMen's Mom - Sorry, but that's not correct. SLGS was the method used here prior to TR. TR is a relatively recent approach, albeit one that has research to support it. SLGS was the status quo before TR was published. @Jill & Alex (GA) can give you more history if you're interested. Also, meter variance is 20%.

I believe I expressed my mixed feelings about increasing Mowgli over the weekend. It's so hard to fill in the "white spaces" on a spreadsheet with guess work given that work interferes with testing. I think you need to weigh the pros and cons of a dose change.

 

Yes @Sienne and Gabby (GA) you definitely did express your concern last week when I had mentioned considering a dose change.

I’ve thought about it, and since Mowgli dipped into green Wednesday night I decided to hold his dose at 1.5u over the weekend. I don’t want to drop him back to 1.25u yet because his greens were very close to 5 and I am seeing a very positive results in the form of an overall downward trend in his BG levels.

Again... patience is a virtue I’m constantly struggling with. But I feel confident that keeping Mowgli at 1.5u over the long weekend is the right thing to do.

Now. If only he’d clear this bounce

 

Good luck Amanda, I hope Mowgli clears his bounce quickly and gets back into the greens.

 

Thanks @Sonia & Leo I hope the same! It would be a nice Easter treat