12/27 Fa pmps 346...+3.5=320...+5=320 too...+7=349

fafa's mum

fafa's mum

Active Member
Fafa was in lantus for almost 6 months. We changed to levemir recently.

We were not able to monitor after +6 much, so we started from a lower dose and hopefully every three days we can do a full curve to see how it goes.

We were a bit messy at the beginning as we tried the sliding scale but surely Fa does not like it.

Now we like to see what is the best thing to do from here.

@Wendy&Neko
 
Hi Faye,
Are you doing SLGS or TR now?
Do you feed any dry food at all?

You did start on a much lower dose of levemir.
Try not to chop and change with the dose as levemir like consistency just like Lantus and the sliding scale does not work for levemir.
With the drop in dose, is Fa drinking and peeing more?

I think because you dropped the dose from 4.75 down to 1.5/2/2.5 units you need to be testing for ketones in the urine.
Do you have any Ketostix at home?
If not I would encourage you to go out and buy a bottle of them from a chemist. They are about $12 a bottle.
You collect a urine specimen, then dip the test strip into the urine and read it exactly 15 seconds later against the colours on the side of the bottle, in a good light. Anything above a trace needs vet attention.
You will need to test for ketones each day until Fa is in better numbers.
 
In your last post here, I suggested 4 units to start. 1-2 units was way too low. I would start 4 units next cycle. If you can test in the next several days like you have been the last few, we can even fast track you up, should you need to do so. And I expect you will as most kitties don't end up with Lantus and Levemir doses that far apart. Continue with 4 units the next cycles, then post back here (earlier if you want to), and we can discuss if fast tracking makes sense. I don't want Fa lingering in those high numbers longer than need to, especially since you have time now to temporarily do TR.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
In your last post here, I suggested 4 units to start. 1-2 units was way too low. I would start 4 units next cycle. If you can test in the next several days like you have been the last few, we can even fast track you up, should you need to do so. And I expect you will as most kitties don't end up with Lantus and Levemir doses that far apart. Continue with 4 units the next cycles, then post back here (earlier if you want to), and we can discuss if fast tracking makes sense. I don't want Fa lingering in those high numbers longer than need to, especially since you have time now to temporarily do TR.
Click to expand...

Thanks Wendy. Can I start 4u in the morning shot (6am)? I feel better if I can keep an eye in the day time.

Tonight I need to be away after the shot and won’t be home until probably +4.

If I start tomorrow in the morning, what hours should I test?

I can be home to test more the following few days in the day time but at night I struggle a lot if testing after 12am.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Faye,
Are you doing SLGS or TR now?
Do you feed any dry food at all?

You did start on a much lower dose of levemir.
Try not to chop and change with the dose as levemir like consistency just like Lantus and the sliding scale does not work for levemir.
With the drop in dose, is Fa drinking and peeing more?

I think because you dropped the dose from 4.75 down to 1.5/2/2.5 units you need to be testing for ketones in the urine.
Do you have any Ketostix at home?
If not I would encourage you to go out and buy a bottle of them from a chemist. They are about $12 a bottle.
You collect a urine specimen, then dip the test strip into the urine and read it exactly 15 seconds later against the colours on the side of the bottle, in a good light. Anything above a trace needs vet attention.
You will need to test for ketones each day until Fa is in better numbers.
Click to expand...

We were doing SLGS with Lantus but now we can do TR for some days during the holiday season.

Once we need to go back to work, I worry that I cannot test much if Nadir time is after +6. We usually give insulin at 6am and 6pm. We are about to test around 6pm to 12am.

I can go look for ketostix. Getting urine is not easy. Can I ask if there are any tips on doing this? We use the paper litter. The cat won’t let us get close if she is using the litters.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
In your last post here, I suggested 4 units to start. 1-2 units was way too low. I would start 4 units next cycle. If you can test in the next several days like you have been the last few, we can even fast track you up, should you need to do so. And I expect you will as most kitties don't end up with Lantus and Levemir doses that far apart. Continue with 4 units the next cycles, then post back here (earlier if you want to), and we can discuss if fast tracking makes sense. I don't want Fa lingering in those high numbers longer than need to, especially since you have time now to temporarily do TR.
Click to expand...

Do we go straight to 4u when I can test? Directly from 2.5u now?

I actually would like to do it in pm shot tonight but I am concerned when I am not home until +4 and may not be able to test much after +6 (12am).

What do you think Wendy? I will do the next dose in about 2 hours and if I don’t hear back from you (time difference), I will then continue 2.5u this time .
 
Levemir onset is typically +4, but I've seen +3 and my girl did +5. So I would test around those times to see if you can spot when the insulin is starting to take effect. Note, if the dose is still too low, it might not be too obvious. The typical Lev nadir is around +8, though again I've seen a bit earlier, and Neko was +9 to +12. Use this time when you can monitor to try to spot when Fa's typical nadir is. If you have an autofeeder, and youi should get one if you don't already, around nadir is a good time to feed, especially if you won't be around to test.

Waiting to the AM to increase is fine.
 
i just saw your last message. As above, waiting to +4 for the first test is probably OK if you want to start tonight. If you see a big drop to +4, you may need more than the +6. But the depot of 4.0 units still has to build, so you may not see much happen tonight.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
i just saw your last message. As above, waiting to +4 for the first test is probably OK if you want to start tonight. If you see a big drop to +4, you may need more than the +6. But the depot of 4.0 units still has to build, so you may not see much happen tonight.
Click to expand...
Thanks Wendy. It’s great to see your message so soon. I now guess we are 16 hours apart. It’s is 4:30pm our time at this post.

Since you think testing from +4 is ok, I think we will start tonight. I have talked to hubby and he is happy to set the alarms to do more testing.

We will try testing at +4 +6 +8 and see if we need +10. If +8 is higher than +6, does it mean we don’t need +10?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
i just saw your last message. As above, waiting to +4 for the first test is probably OK if you want to start tonight. If you see a big drop to +4, you may need more than the +6. But the depot of 4.0 units still has to build, so you may not see much happen tonight.
Click to expand...

“If you see a big drop to +4, you may need more than the +6.”

Wendy, I am not too sure what you mean by we may need more than +6?

Re auto feeder, we did bought one recently but we found when kitty is sleeping, she won’t wake up to that. We might need more practice.
 
It's almost bed time here. Since +4 is typical onset, it can be like the +2 on Lantus. If you see a big drop from PMPS, it could indicate an active cycle and more testing needed. But once you see the numbers start to head back up, you can call it a night. Good for hubby on stepping up for later tests if needed.

Does the autofeeder work during the day? Mine was noisy enough, Neko would come running from anywhere in the house. Provided she wasn't already camped out beside it.
 
faye said:
“
Re auto feeder, we did bought one recently but we found when kitty is sleeping, she won’t wake up to that. We might need more practice.
Click to expand...
When I first introduced Sheba to the autofeeder, I fed her all her meals from the autofeeder so she would get the idea.
It helped that my autofeeder had a recording I could make of me calling her which would clicked over each time..
She often lay beside it with her head on the top just waiting for it to open. Sounds like she had the same relationship with the feeder that Neko did!
She only had to hear the first little click and she would race from wherever she was in the house to the feeder.
If you have trouble getting Fa to eat from it, you could think of getting a recording one here in Australia.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
It's almost bed time here. Since +4 is typical onset, it can be like the +2 on Lantus. If you see a big drop from PMPS, it could indicate an active cycle and more testing needed. But once you see the numbers start to head back up, you can call it a night. Good for hubby on stepping up for later tests if needed.

Does the autofeeder work during the day? Mine was noisy enough, Neko would come running from anywhere in the house. Provided she wasn't already camped out beside it.
Click to expand...

Our autofeeder does have the noice but it did not bother Fafa. When I am at work, I now will look at her through the monitor and if it is open but food is still there, I will talk to her through the monitor to wake her up. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. She seems to sleep really well in the day time.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
When I first introduced Sheba to the autofeeder, I fed her all her meals from the autofeeder so she would get the idea.
It helped that my autofeeder had a recording I could make of me calling her which would clicked over each time..
She often lay beside it with her head on the top just waiting for it to open. Sounds like she had the same relationship with the feeder that Neko did!
She only had to hear the first little click and she would race from wherever she was in the house to the feeder.
If you have trouble getting Fa to eat from it, you could think of getting a recording one here in Australia.
Click to expand...

Tgats a good idea. I should try feeding Fafa from the feeder until she is more familiar with it.

Fafa sleeps well when we are not at home but when we are at home, she usually stays up , asking for food, cat grass, games, until she is really tired. Silly cat.
 
Just to clarify, you said:
Once we need to go back to work, I worry that I cannot test much if Nadir time is after +6. We usually give insulin at 6am and 6pm. We are about to test around 6pm to 12am.
Click to expand...

With Lev, the nadir is later than +6. It's usually around +8 but you'll need to do a curve after a week or so to see just how Fa is responding. With Lev, onset and nadir are both later in the cycle than with Lantus
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Just to clarify, you said:


With Lev, the nadir is later than +6. It's usually around +8 but you'll need to do a curve after a week or so to see just how Fa is responding. With Lev, onset and nadir are both later in the cycle than with Lantus
Click to expand...


Sorry I got a typo /mistake in my post (cannot remember what exactly I wanted to type)I was meant to say “ we can test usually from 6pm to 12am.

We normally dose at 6am and 6pm. In the day time we are at work. At night time it’s hard to test after +6. That’s why I am a bit worried. I can do curve at weekend though.

Only thing is that , when there is an increase of dose, in case it goes too low (which I don’t think will happen very soon but just on the cautious side), we won’t be able to monitor if nadir is after +6.

However, will try do what we can.
 
I suspect that's true for most people. Even with Lantus, depending on when shot time is, there can be late nights. My shot time was a 5:00 and despite an early nadir, there were some nights I was up late with Gabby. It does happen -- fortunately, not on a regular basis. It was no different during the AM cycle when I was at work. I just left out food!
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
I suspect that's true for most people. Even with Lantus, depending on when shot time is, there can be late nights. My shot time was a 5:00 and despite an early nadir, there were some nights I was up late with Gabby. It does happen -- fortunately, not on a regular basis. It was no different during the AM cycle when I was at work. I just left out food!
Click to expand...
Our shot time has been 6:00. When on lantus, Fafa’s nadir was on +5 or even +4.5. We are late persons and sleep around 12am, so it did not bother us much. That’s why I feel bad now if we cannot test much to find out nadir until weekend.
 
Try getting her use to feeder using the treats. Do you have the Petsafe 5? I shoot @ 6/6. Go to bed usually after midnight. I feed at +3. Then set meter for +6, +9. I test somewhere +4-6 before I go to bed.

In the morning it's normal routine at 6am. Then it depends on if I have to go anywhere. I always test before walking out door and set feeder accordingly so good is available every 3 hrs.
 
Olive & Paula said:
Try getting her use to feeder using the treats. Do you have the Petsafe 5? I shoot @ 6/6. Go to bed usually after midnight. I feed at +3. Then set meter for +6, +9. I test somewhere +4-6 before I go to bed.

In the morning it's normal routine at 6am. Then it depends on if I have to go anywhere. I always test before walking out door and set feeder accordingly so good is available every 3 hrs.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the suggestion. Fafa eats more whenever we are around. She asks for food like every half an hour when we are awake . but when we are sleeping or away, I think she sleeps most of the time. I do wish she could be more fixed on food time.

the autofeeder i got is not pet safe 5 but I think it is something similar.
 
Wondering if the feeder can be moved closer to Fa's favourite napping spot or vice versa? I moved Freckle's bed to the top of a dresser and put the autofeeder in the top drawer (Freckles was actually knocking the autofeeder to the ground to get at the food.... poor little thing so had to put it in an open drawer) plus we have dogs so had to have the autofeeder up.
 
Judy and Freckles said:
Wondering if the feeder can be moved closer to Fa's favourite napping spot or vice versa? I moved Freckle's bed to the top of a dresser and put the autofeeder in the top drawer (Freckles was actually knocking the autofeeder to the ground to get at the food.... poor little thing so had to put it in an open drawer) plus we have dogs so had to have the autofeeder up.
Click to expand...
Yes I did move the feeder to around where she naps. Sometimes she did wake up to the sound of the feeder opening or me calling her from monitor, she just stayed where she was and not moving. :banghead:

I will try putting food in the feeder to get her used to the idea. :cat:
 
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