4/13 Rumpy

Hello,
this is Tony T, Shelly's boyfriend/ Rumpy's dad. I will be here taking care of Rumpy for most of the day, while Shelly is working. I'm also very new to this so I've been getting great help by very amazing people this morning. Unfortunately with us being in different countries it's bed-time for them. I'm hoping I can get a lot of help, if needed, while Mr. Rumps and I spend today without mom.
Thank you!

 

Hello, I tested Rumpy at +12 and his bsl was at 269, I gave him wet food and then .75 insulin. I'll retest at +3, with the bsl being at 269, is that a bad thing?
Can someone please assist, I'm not sure what to do or expect when his bsl is in that range. thank you

 

Hi Tony.....Here's your last post We put the link to the previous post into the new one each day so it's easy to go back and see what's been going on.

I replied on the other thread already, but I think you should get another test at +5 .

Rumpy is still in very safe numbers with the +3 of 129 but that's a pretty big drop from 269 in only 3 hours.

 

I agree on getting the +5 test.

 

106 is a good number for the +5 test. I would try to get a +7, if you can, or somewhere thereabouts. He is surfing along, just fine. You're doing great.

 

Ok great, we will test again at +7, and go from there. I hope we can get this regulated. All of yall have been sooo nice!!! Especially towards us newbies ha.

 

Hi Tony, bless your heart, my partner has been helping me with Alice a lot today, too. You're doing great.

 

Hello Tony + Shelly here, thank you for all the help today. +7 was 155. When to test next? Is this a good number? We are trying to learn how to interpret.

Rumpy was trembling during the test and his ears are bruised We have been putting antibiotic ointment on it, but any other tips?

I told my vet about how he has been and she told me that "That's great you're able to check his #s at home. It may be he's going into remission already. I'd stop giving him insulin for a week and recheck his numbers every 2 hrs at home."
She still thinks I am giving 1.5 unit as she instructed. I feel that she is wrong and that stopping would be a bad idea, but I dont know.

 

You are "feeling" right.....it's too early to stop insulin

We want to keep them on insulin as long as safely possible to give the pancreas the best chance at healing. You want a strong remission, not a fast one!

Rumpy is still running a bit too high....we want him to be between 50-120 with most of the numbers under 100. If you want to see a tightly controlled cat, take a look at China's spreadsheet in my signature.

I think you can take a break from testing and just get a PMPS for your next test. If it happens to be below 150, stall, don't feed and post for help. Test again in 20-30 minutes and see if the number goes up without the influence of food.

 

Someone told me to hold and press firmly against the spot on the ear to help prevent hematomas (bruising). I have a big bag of cotton balls and I keep some stocked in her meter kit.

 

Why is the "don't feed" important here? If we wait longer to shoot, doesn't that mess up the whole cycle? And if the cat is low, food is good??????

I hope it is okay to pop in and ask my why.

 

Yes I have been using a napkin or tissue to press against it. How long do you hold it?

 

We were actually sitting here talking about how our schedules are so messed up now. Our morning time on monday is an hour behind on this schedule and neither one of us will be home. KInd of stressing out about it.

 

Because we want the Pre-shot test to be without the influence of food.....Let's say you get a Pre-shot of 130 and you've never shot a number that low.....If you feed, the number is going to go up...We want to make sure the number goes up without the influence of food so we know that the last shot is starting to wear off and it's probably safe to go ahead and shoot.

Yes, it will change your shooting schedule a little, but you can adjust your shot times by 15 minutes per cycle or 30 minutes per day, so it doesn't take long to get back to where you were.

As you gain more experience and data, you gradually learn to shoot lower and lower numbers, but at first, we say if you get a PS under 150, we want someone with experience watching out for you. By stalling, you also have time to find someone who's able and willing to watch out for you during that cycle.

 

Until she stops bleeding and squirms too much, usually ten seconds or less probably. Someone correct me if I should hold any longer, but it seem to help a little at least! Antibiotic ointment repeated over both ears after each test, regardless of ear used. (Hers aren't looking happy right now either. We are both in a frequent testing stage!)

 

Agh! okay, totally understandable and appreciate the help. I shared my spreadsheet with my vet, am curious what she will say.

 

She'll probably say to try it without insulin....but that would be a mistake.

The problem is that most vets want to keep their clients cats at a higher level than we recommend because they're more concerned with the possibility of hypo's than trying for remission.

 

I stress on the schedules too. On the shorter acting not usually recommended but I could afford it insulin, I got used to a small window of wiggle room. I think I am more stressed about how to put it into the SS (spreadsheet) in an organized fashion though.

The Lantus forum would have people who know better than I do, but with her Novolin N (NPH, shorter acting, different process), I found I could vary +/- an hour (really really preferably less) if I absolutely had to.

Someone else who knows Lantus better needs to advise on your scheduling. If I was 30 min late one day I would shoot 15 min late next time, then try to be on time after that.

You may want to find a friend who can be your designated cat sitter. Teach them how to test and how to shoot. I have a friend who is an RN, I showed my stepsis who loves animals how to do it for the morning I had my gma's funeral, and I have another friend who wants me to teach her so she can back me up if I ever need.

Also I took awhile to ramble all this and I know there's a new comment so this may all be useless now. Lol.

 

You can test/feed/shoot 30 minutes early tonight....then T/F/S 30 minutes early tomorrow night (as long as Rumpy is high enough to shoot) and that should put you on time for Monday

 

is the normal bgl 80-120? or under 100?

 

Normal BG is 50-120....but before we try an OTJ trial, we like to see at least 1 week in normal numbers with most of those numbers under 100

 

Gotcha that makes sense. What does OTJ stand for?

 

OTJ = Off The Juice!! (remission ….diet controlled)

 

Hahaha yess!! Perfect.

 

Rumpys PMPS reading was 328 (we took 30 mins early), suggestions for food and dosage?

@Bron and Sheba

Edit: he was sleeping on my bed when we woke him up for the test and purred during the test. He is currently sitting on the couch with us, meowing, and mod active.

 

Go ahead with the scheduled dose of .75 and feed as normal

 

Ok, feeding Tiki Cat chicken to him now. Suggestions when to take the next bsl test?
thanks(this is tony )

 

Tomorrow, go ahead and post in the Lantus forum instead of here. The most experienced people spend most of their time there so you'll get the best advice.

On the ISG's (insulin support groups) we only post once per day (otherwise it gets too confusing especially with the number of cats using Lantus)

Each day, start your post with the date, cat's name and AMPS in the Subject line and as the day goes on and you get more tests in, update the Subject line with the tests....Like this:

4/13/19 Rumpy, AMPS 269 (then as the day goes on, add the new tests like +3 129,+5 106,+7 155 )

In the body of the post ask any questions you might have and just tell us how Rumpy is doing in general.

That way, the people who scan the forums can easily see how each cat is doing and respond to ones they think might be getting into trouble first

Let's see where he's at at +2

 

Shelly just tried to give him .75 and about .25 qwas left over. we have stubborn needles, what should we do?! this has never happened before

Edit: @Bron and Sheba just in case chris and china are off

 

As long as you mean you started with .75 but only .5 went in, you can give the other .25 if it's still in the syringe

You don't want to try to guess how much actually went in and start over.

 

Okay, we injected the rest will recheck at +2

 

Hi Shelly and Tony
Sorry I haven’t been around when you tagged me. . Sunday here in Oz and I am out and about but will be back online later if you need any help. I see @Chris & China (GA) has been giving you excellent advice and help. Chris was one of the people to help me when I arrived with Sheba back in early 2015.