19 Oct | Girlie | AMPS 592; +2=481; +3=320; +4=202; +6=94; +8=173 Rainbow day

Condo: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...mps-178-2-158-3-106-5-97.185556/#post-2060559

She's coming down quickly again today: over 1oo points/hour. I always have the same quandry when she drops so quickly: give LC, give higher LC 9, give MC 12?

AMPS 592
+2= 481 (112 pt drop)
+3= 320 (161 pt drop)
+4= 202 (118 pt drop)

(Mistake yesterday: didn't give HC food at AM+10 Gave it at +8 before left for work)

 

Atypically, she's purring a lot. Usually, she's very selective with her purrs. Found some interesting things re: other reasons they might purr...Anyone noticed their cat purring when in pain, etc.?

Why do cats purr? 1 and Why do cats purr? 2

 

Girlie, while blues and greens are wonderful, you really need to come down slowly so you don't bounce right back up.

 

Interesting articles. I have read before that cats might purr when they are uncomfortable or in pain. I kinda forgot about it until now.

 

Glad she is coming down but wow, those drops! Gizmo purrs when he is at good numbers after being high(er). He too is selective with his purring. Does she act like she is in pain? Discomfort/slow moving when laying down? Walking strange or different? Maybe from the enima?

 

I think it's the big drops, to be honest. She doesn't seem to be in pain, although I think we'll go for an acupuncture next week rather than wait an extra week. The vet did the enema (thank goodness!) and there was no distress on her side during or after: just a splendid result. Oddly, she purrs when I'm at certain places in the house - how weird is that? And she often purrs when she wants comfort. Putting my cat mind reading hat on, I think it might be an "I want extra comfort today" purr.

 

I hope you don't mind that I put your post in today's thread! I wanted to respond, but didn't want things to get confusing re: yesterday's and today's posts.

You're right re: the flattening out: during that brief time when she was mainly blues, it was like she was a different cat - very steady, very stable - it was lovely, and I felt safe leaving her to go to work. I'll try to be better and get more data at night; it's hard for me to stay up past 8 pm, to be honest! But I'll do my best... I hope she will turn that corner soon: I know she will at some point!

 

Cats purr a lot when they come into the vet (that I work at), and they often purr when they're really nervous. I've seen a few cat purr when painful too...makes you feel awful!!

Little Girlie, don't be dropping too quickly now sweetie!

 

No prob that you put my post here. It will be less confusing as you are a 1/2 day ahead of us.

The .75 dose is doing nice things for her right now. I can't wait for you to get the AVJ and start it and see how she responds.

Sometimes cats get to a dose where they just "snap" we call it and start responding to the insulin better. I am very excited to see her progress.

 

My Sug, GA was one of those that was purring on the table right before she was euthanized for kidney failure, acute pancreatitis and her liver was hardening and shrinking up ( kind of like cirrhosis of the liver except she wasn't a drinker, LOL ) When I questioned the vet prior to the injection to put her to sleep about her purring she said some kitties purr when in pain........... It was very hard on me.

 

Oh Bobbie! That is really, really hard to read. Given what she had, I assume she was really suffering, so I hope you can take comfort from that. There's no way that making that decision is easy, and I think I would find it hard if Girlie purred at the end - I don't know. I'm assuming CKD will take her and that I'll have to make that unbearable choice down the track. I can't even think about that right now. I think I'll have to do the Rhys Witherspoon thing and hike the Appalachian trail to get over it - if that would even do it.

 

She certainly likes the .75 better than the .50. Even when she was having a run of really lovely, steady numbers at 0.1 at the beginning of October, I could see that she wasn't going to hold it there. All good things come in time, I guess! I'll be curious to see how long she holds this 0.75 dose. The AVJ will play a role in that, for sure!

 

137 @ +5: a 65 point drop

She's really trying to get to all of the colours again today. I've been giving her small amounts (1/2 tsp) of LC9 food to try to stall her deep dive so she doesn't bounce up again. Maybe I should be giving some MC gravy - I can never decide at times like this.

It's a gorgeous day, though, and a non-poo day, so she's going to go out into the garden so she can lie in the sun and be a happy cat.

 

.75 looks good on Girlie!!
As far as the purring, Fluffles seems to have 2 have 2 different purrs. One quiet purr when he is relaxed and enjoying a good pat and another much louder more insistent? purr when he's hungry and wants to fed. He lays on top of me in the morning purrs so loud in my ear and licks, nips and drools on me never seen him purr when he's not feeling well tho but anything's possible

 

My civvie, Max, purrs if I just look at him, and he talks, talks, talks, talks, talks...a Siamese in a past life, perhaps?

Girlie is more selective, and usually there's the love purr, then there's the "this is a tough day, I need some reassurance/comfort" purr. I've never seen her purr in pain. The purring when BG levels are going crazy is new, but I think this belongs in the "comfort me" category.

Fluffles is looking great, by the way!

 

I'm sure you're right about Girlie, probably is a strange, maybe scary feeling to drop quickly. But it's good to see her responding well to the insulin and you seem to be very on top of keeping her safe and her other medical issues (constipation ). You're doing great and it's clear how much you love her! Nice to see her back down in the blues again!

 

I see Girlie is back on the roller coaster, but at least moving vs. a few days back! Hope she gets into a nice even flow soon, strange to have seen so much black with her numbers recently.

 

This describes Precious to a T. He purrs up a storm when he is at the vet and tries to bury his head in the crook of my elbow. Before he had his canine tooth pulled (loose and abscess up into the sinus cavity), he purred hard when he rubbed his chin and mouth on my finger before I realized he had a serious infection.

Girlie, there's no need to bomb dive every cycle!

 

I don't think she'll listen to you: she's never listened to me as far as dive bombing goes. It's been her favourite thing to do from the start. She usually she saves it for her AM +2 to +4: why not just drop 100 or 300 points in one go and keep mom from going to work, eh?

I've stopped having panic attacks about it, but I can never decide how to respond to it or steer it.

 

+6 = 94
+8 = 173

Got distracted by work and the baby bird, so missed her +7 test, unfortunately.

A little baby Myna was hopping around in the back garden. Girlie was oblivious; Max didn't realise until I arrived that it was there, and then decided to just go have a look at it. They're both too old to attempt anything, but I brought them in anyway. Apparently, this is a common Myna thing and mom and dad will keep encouraging the little one to fly. So no more garden playdates for the cats until babies are airborne! At least, not unsupervised.

Rainbow day 2: she's hit every colour except lime green.

 

I was looking at your SS and wondered why you start a new vial of Lantus so often? If properly card for, Lantus lasts longer than 28 days.

 

Is there a reason you start new insulin so often?

Properly cared for, you should be able to get 4-6 months out of a vial (and at the doses you're on, I'd be buying pens or cartridges instead of a vial so you don't throw as much away)

ETA...I see @Red & Rover (GA) had the same question!! GMTA!!

 

I use the 3 ml cartridges, not the vials. And I'm generous when drawing each dose because I am the bubble queen - hate bubbles; always get 'em and spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get rid of them. And there's a conspiracy, I swear: when I draw 5 units, getting rid of bubbles is pretty easy; when I draw a smaller dose - forget it. Sigh... I like using the smaller cartridges as I inevitably do something to mess up the insulin: usually just forgetting to put it back in the refrigerator. It's less painful to get ride of a cartridge that still has some insulin in it than a vial that has a lot left in it.

Girlie had some left in her last cartridge, but I was getting a bit desperate with that run of high blacks - and then I left the cartridge out for over an hour (not bad, I know, but...) so I thought I'd just see how she went with a new cartridge, in case that had anything to do with it.

 

Couple of things to try on the bubble problem

Make sure you pull/push the plunger in/out a few times before inserting into the cartridge. There's a lubricant inside that needs to be spread around.

Hold the plunger in as tightly as you can when you insert the needle into the cartridge.

Try pulling back quickly.....sometimes that helps....if it doesn't, try pulling back very slowly.

If you still have a bubble, add more air to the syringe and tap it to bring them up to the top....if there's more air up there, it's easier to get the air sticking to the plunger to go up into it....then you can remove ALL the air before injecting

 

I did the first two, but I've never tried pulling back quickly: usually I pull back slowly.

Great tip re: adding more air to the syringe! I had a dreadful time last night, and if that happens again, I'll definitely give that a go.

Thanks so much for the tips!

 

Bounce!

PMPS 266
+2= 356

 

+4= 292

Coming down slowly over these last two hours: only 64 points, thank goodness!