1/28 Tigger - 286 AMPS, 152 PMPS

[Brittany-Tig]

I just started keeping a SS and he has never been this low since I first started treating his diabetes (and got a little over zealous). He looks so good today. He’s much more active than he has been. He’s cleaner than he has been in months! I hope this is a sign of good things to come. He’s never been this low for pre-shot so I’m forgoing the insulin tonight. Any advice or words of wisdom?? I’m still very new to all of this.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome to you and sweet Tigger. Can you give us a little background on Tigger? Any other issues when he was diagnosed? Just asking because if he's showing ketones, you want to avoid skipping shots. Oh, and here is your previous post on the Feline Health forum for those wanting some background.

Good job getting doing home testing now, and getting the spreadsheet going. Lots of good information in the Remarks section too. Take a read of the yellow starred Sticky Notes on this forum. We have a choice of two methods for dosing, Tight Regulation protocol and Start Low Go Slow. See which one suits you best. For both of these dosing methods, we would do dose increases by 0.25 units at a point where Tigger is now. But now that you've gone to 1.5 units, stick with it for a while. You'll need to hold the same dose for at least 6 cycles for the depot to build again after the skip. We also shoot the same amount AM and PM, unless they earn a dose reduction.

Eventually you'll be able to shoot lower numbers once you've got more data on how Tigger responds to insulin. A cat's insulin cycle tends to be flatter when they start lower. Lantus is great at keeping lower numbers flat.

 

[Brittany-Tig]

Hello and welcome to you and sweet Tigger. Can you give us a little background on Tigger? Any other issues when he was diagnosed? Just asking because if he's showing ketones, you want to avoid skipping shots. Oh, and here is your previous post on the Feline Health forum for those wanting some background.

Good job getting doing home testing now, and getting the spreadsheet going. Lots of good information in the Remarks section too. Take a read of the yellow starred Sticky Notes on this forum. We have a choice of two methods for dosing, Tight Regulation protocol and Start Low Go Slow. See which one suits you best. For both of these dosing methods, we would do dose increases by 0.25 units at a point where Tigger is now. But now that you've gone to 1.5 units, stick with it for a while. You'll need to hold the same dose for at least 6 cycles for the depot to build again after the skip. We also shoot the same amount AM and PM, unless they earn a dose reduction.

Eventually you'll be able to shoot lower numbers once you've got more data on how Tigger responds to insulin. A cat's insulin cycle tends to be flatter when they start lower. Lantus is great at keeping lower numbers flat.

Thank you for all of the information! I was first worried about Tigger because he was urinating all over the house. He used to only do this on throw rugs, but moved on to regular plain old floor. The floor was so sticky and had no odor and I knew this was wrong. When I took him to the vet they drew blood and thought he was in kidney failure. His glucose was high so they did a urine test. No keytones. They wanted to start us on 1.0u 2x a day. He has been on that dose for a month. Last Saturday they told us to increase am dose to 1.5 and keep evening at 1.0. Yesterday they told us to make evening dose 1.5 as well. Unfortunately I don’t think my vets are extremely versed in treating diabetes yet so I did more research and found that not only does he need wet food, which I switched to a month ago, but he needs low carb wet food too. Since I just started the low carb food I was worried about keeping the dose at 1.5u especially after seeing 152 PMPS today. And I’m dumb and waited until the last minute to order more test strips. They arrive tomorrow and then I’ll feel a bit more comfortable dosing him if he’s in the 100s again.

As far as methods SLGS will probably work best for me.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Good call skipping if you con't have enough test strips. You might want to consider getting a human meter as a back up meter. The test strips are a lot cheaper and easier to obtain. Both the SLGS and TR protocol numbers are based on using human meters. We do have some people using the AT, so don't worry about going ahead and using it if you want. A human meter can be a useful back up though.

Could you put SLGS in your signature line? That way people will know when making dose suggestions.

 

[Brittany-Tig]

Good call skipping if you con't have enough test strips. You might want to consider getting a human meter as a back up meter. The test strips are a lot cheaper and easier to obtain. Both the SLGS and TR protocol numbers are based on using human meters. We do have some people using the AT, so don't worry about going ahead and using it if you want. A human meter can be a useful back up though.

Could you put SLGS in your signature line? That way people will know when making dose suggestions.

Okay good. My biggest concern was watching out for hypo which I can’t do without strips. Do you have any recommendations for human meters?
And my real question is now going forward to tomorrow morning if I dose 1.5 as usual or back off depending on amps then. I work full time so, again, I can’t look out for hypo

 

[Wendy&Neko]

A lot of people get the Relion Confirm or Micro at Wallyworld. If there is one near you. Open late hours and the strips are cheap, plus the meter takes a small blood drop. Another option is the Glucocard 01 on ADW online. Cheaper by the bulk and fast delivery. Made by the same company as makes the Relion, so small blood drop too.

Have you read the Sticky Note on Doing TR while working a full time job? Although you are doing SLGS, there are great tips in there for anyone working. Getting an autofeeder helps because you can make sure he's got food to keep him safe. If you can get a +2 test before you go out the door, it can be an indicator of how the cycle is going to go. If it's lower than the preshot, then you can put some higher carb food in the autofeeder.

I wouldn't worry so much about tomorrow at work. With the skip tonight, Tigger will likely be high tomorrow morning and safe while you are gone. If you are really worried, you can always go back to a 1.25 unit dose for a while. With SLGS, increases are just 0.25 units at a time.

 

[Brittany-Tig]

A lot of people get the Relion Confirm or Micro at Wallyworld. If there is one near you. Open late hours and the strips are cheap, plus the meter takes a small blood drop. Another option is the Glucocard 01 on ADW online. Cheaper by the bulk and fast delivery. Made by the same company as makes the Relion, so small blood drop too.

Have you read the Sticky Note on Doing TR while working a full time job? Although you are doing SLGS, there are great tips in there for anyone working. Getting an autofeeder helps because you can make sure he's got food to keep him safe. If you can get a +2 test before you go out the door, it can be an indicator of how the cycle is going to go. If it's lower than the preshot, then you can put some higher carb food in the autofeeder.

I wouldn't worry so much about tomorrow at work. With the skip tonight, Tigger will likely be high tomorrow morning and safe while you are gone. If you are really worried, you can always go back to a 1.25 unit dose for a while. With SLGS, increases are just 0.25 units at a time.

Unfortunately I work an hour away from my home, so I give him insulin 6am and 6pm and am unable to get a +2 reading. The automatic feeder sounds like a great idea, except I have two other cats so I’m not sure who would be getting the food unless I lock Tigger up in a room. I need a new job

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Some people get a +10 as well as a AMPS - depends how soon before work you get up. Or a +1. Sometimes the direction they are going is enough to give a clue to an active cycle that will need more food. Any chance of leaving Tigger in a room by himself with extra food on those days you are worried about him? In spite of having a second cat, my Neko OWNED the autofeeder. No chance the other cat would get any. There are some spendy autofeeders tied to a collar chip.

 

[Brittany-Tig]

Some people get a +10 as well as a AMPS - depends how soon before work you get up. Or a +1. Sometimes the direction they are going is enough to give a clue to an active cycle that will need more food. Any chance of leaving Tigger in a room by himself with extra food on those days you are worried about him? In spite of having a second cat, my Neko OWNED the autofeeder. No chance the other cat would get any. There are some spendy autofeeders tied to a collar chip.

I really could lock him up if needed. He’s the only one that goes in my room anyway. I could get a +10 for sure. Any readings at night are completely doable. It’s just day that’s not. Most days I can’t get a +1

 

[Brittany-Tig]

Some people get a +10 as well as a AMPS - depends how soon before work you get up. Or a +1. Sometimes the direction they are going is enough to give a clue to an active cycle that will need more food. Any chance of leaving Tigger in a room by himself with extra food on those days you are worried about him? In spite of having a second cat, my Neko OWNED the autofeeder. No chance the other cat would get any. There are some spendy autofeeders tied to a collar chip.

Do you have any recommendations for dry food to put in the feeder? Or should I just give him his old dry food since this would be for days I fear hypo?

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I don't recommend dry food at all. It lasts too long in the system. You can get higher carb wet foods. Take a look at this food list for carb %. Low carb is under 10%. It's good to have some higher carb around in case you ever see Tigger with lower numbers than you want.

 

[Brittany-Tig]

I don't recommend dry food at all. It lasts too long in the system. You can get higher carb wet foods. Take a look at this food list for carb %. Low carb is under 10%. It's good to have some higher carb around in case you ever see Tigger with lower numbers than you want.

Yeah I give wet food with <10% carbs and my other cats eat higher carb wet food so I’ve got that covered. I just wasn’t sure with an automatic feeder if it was okay to leave wet food out for the day

 

[Wendy&Neko]

The Petsafe 5 that I used is advertised showing dry food, but you can put wet food in there as well. There is a small spot below the feeder you can put ice cubes or a gel pack. And I added water to make it more soupy so it wouldn't crust over. The extra water is always good for diabetics anyway. Another option is to top it with an ice cube, which keeps food cold then melts to add water.

 

[Christie & Maverick]

I use the Petsafe 5 and I put a can of food in the fridge overnight, then serve portions from the cold can with a small ice cube in small bowls that fit perfectly in the Petsafe 5. I found the bowls at Walmart, and it is easier to clean up.

 

[Brittany-Tig]

The Petsafe 5 that I used is advertised showing dry food, but you can put wet food in there as well. There is a small spot below the feeder you can put ice cubes or a gel pack. And I added water to make it more soupy so it wouldn't crust over. The extra water is always good for diabetics anyway. Another option is to top it with an ice cube, which keeps food cold then melts to add water.

I use the Petsafe 5 and I put a can of food in the fridge overnight, then serve portions from the cold can with a small ice cube in small bowls that fit perfectly in the Petsafe 5. I found the bowls at Walmart, and it is easier to clean up.

Wow these are great ideas that I would not have come up with on my own! Haha. Thank you so much for all of the information. I’m definitely feeling a bit more confident with dosing now. Hoping I don’t lose my nerve though, low numbers are nice, but scary at the same time. And I’m definitely excited to finally get a curve done. I think I understand how he reacts to the insulin, but it’ll be great to get it down on paper and help me keep my cool