2/20 Willow AMPS~429, PMPS~???, +5.75~45 Answers & a ?

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WCR: I've fed LC with the test of 45. I never would've tested him tonight but he started frantically pawing at the end table and then walking back and forth from the bedroom meowing. He then got grumpy when I went to test, so I knew he was low. Now he's purry. I did get a few more tests in and they're on SS, but I was gone most of the day, so my mom gave his PM shot with no test. I'm updating his spreadsheet right now.

Answers to last post: I've tested a few pees clumps that were negative. I used a different litter this time though and the litter alone gave me a positive once and a negative the second time, so when I change the litterbox tomorrow, we'll be back to our normal litter and I'll test for ketones then.
Jill: We only used R during his DKA hospitalization.


Question: I need to wait for him to hit 40 before his dosecrease, right?

 

Following the protocol, if Willow is 40-50 on three separate days, or if he drops below 40 just once, he gets a decrease. I'm not too familiar with Willow's situation, but looking at the SS, he is so high in the morning, will a decrease make him go even higher? Hopefully someone with more experience will be along to answer your question more definitively.

 

Re: 2/20 Willow AMPS~429, PMPS~???, +5.75~45, +6~83

Sara- Willow is a long-time diabetic with a history of DKA and hypo. He's known for early nadir, super low hard drops (often very early in the cycle), and nasty super high, long lasting rebounds. He's also known for being adorable, of course. He also doesn't always respond to food when he's low. Dose changes on him are usually done by adding/shaving a drop, rather than a full .25 or .5.

ETA: He also was OTJ after a little over a month on insulin and stayed OTJ for 2.5 yrs.

That said... he's up to 83 now at +6.5, so no decrease.

 

hi jordan. a few of us have been taking a long hard look at willow's spreadsheet because it almost seems like the numbers are getting worse instead of better as the dose is increased. he's up and down, stalls, & more insulin is added. i dunno. things just don't seem to be getting better. i asked a couple of experienced R users if willow was a candidate for using R. they confirmed my suspicion that he is not because of those hard drops he takes.

one question came up in conversation... does he have access to dry food or high carb food?

anyway, we haven't come to any conclusions, but i wanted you to know that a few of us are putting our heads together to see if we can come up with a plan. i've asked jojo for her input, too. we need to talk more. i'll be getting back to you soon...



edited to add: oops! forgot to answer your question... yes, under 40 earns a reduction.

 

sara, for the last couple of years we've been following a modified version of the tight regulation protocol you've cited which does not include dropping between 40 - 50 on 3 separate occasions in order to earn a reduction. however, a couple of caregivers in the group have recently chosen to follow this latest revision to that protocol. it's new. we'll have to see how it works out for them...

 

Willow has no access to any dry food or high carb food. The puppy is the only one who eats dry food and her food is only out for the 15 minutes that she's eating and then it's removed until the next meal. The few times Willow has been able to access it when I had the bowl on the counter, he has showed no interest whatsoever in it... however I still won't leave it out on the counter, just in case. Based on his hypo after his hospitalization and his crazy drops, I wouldn't feel comfortable using R anyway.

My thoughts all along have been that I missed one of his crazy low's when he was on .75u and I probably should've tried dropping/shaving his dose first instead of raising it... then raising it if I got no response. His numbers have just been getting progressively worse since. Let me know what you all come up with. I'll be home most of the tomorrow so I'll be able to monitor him, but because of the 45 tonight, he'll probably rebound tomorrow.