4/22 Jubalee PMPS 84 skip dose to get sleep!

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Kadie (Juba's Mom)

Kadie (Juba's Mom)

Member Since 2015
Good day everyone,

So Juba is now getting into hypo numbers at just +2 from her 0.25 insulin this morning.

I can see another long day ahead of me...

I gave her about 1.5 teaspoons of gravy lovers and will be rechecking her in 15 minutes.

Hoping she will be higher, because I don't have a car at the moment!
 
Well, I knew she'd get back on track but I didn't expect her to go low quite that quickly!!

It looks to me like Juba might be done with the 0.25 already. The next reduction is to 0.1 - it can be a bit tricky to measure. I'm sure there were pictures of what the very small doses look like somewhere - I'll look for it. I see she's come back up a bit with the gravy - you will need to keep checking for a bit to make sure she doesn't drop back down, but she's looking good so far. :)
 
I was thinking that's what Juba was trying to tell us with that 32!!
I was a little nervous to shoot this morning, but I really wanted to do the "test low shoot low" protocal, and figured since she was 119 yesterday and went into the yellow, this 112 with insulin wouldn't hurt...but it looks like that may be too much for Juba!

I'm testing her again in 5 minutes (15 minutes from her last test) to see how she's doing. If she's in the 60's, then I'll probably be laying off the every 15 minutes, and maybe doing a few 30 minutes, then a couple hours, etc. Her ears are getting a poke marathon today.

The 0.1 is going to be tricky. I'm not sure if we should start that tonight?

Last night was a long night too, getting up every 2 hours to make sure she didn't plummet.

Oh Juba, lol.
 
Wow...another exciting day!!
.1 unit.jpg
 
I think a reduction is a good idea - if for any reason it doesn't stick you can always go back up, but a number in the 30s usually means kitty is ready for less insulin! Unless she bounces much higher, I'd go with the new dose starting tonight.

I found the thread that has the pictures of micro doses - it's here, towards the bottom of the page http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-levemir-new-to-the-group-please-read.18139/

It's exhausting I know, but look how well she's doing!! :D :D
 
Thank you guys so much for the help!

The teeny tiny doses are SO challenging for both my husband and myself to decipher, and the 0.1 and 0.25u look basically the same to me.

I usually measure the 0.25u by having the bottom of the plunger meet the 0.5u mark, so it's inbetween the 0.5 and 0.0 markers.

I'm just hoping this means that Juba will be remission soon, because after that 32 this morning, I can't take another heart attack! lol
 
Good idea - I think I need to do that - and bookmark some of the links that come up as questions more often. :)
 
The very small doses are challenging to measure. You might find using a magnifier helps, though the really important thing is to be as consistent as you can. It doesn't matter so much if your 0.1u varies slightly from my 0.1u as long as the amount you're giving is as close as you can get it to the same each time.

It's always difficult to tell how long (or if) a cat will make it all the way to remission - Rosa hung around on 0.05u for about a month before she went for the very last reduction, but Juba might well be quicker - she's been going down the dosing scale fast so far!
 
If you really think the dose in the picture looks like what you've already been giving, you can try these things:

Push the plunger HARD into the syringe, hold it in and then put syringe into vial/pen and then just "release" the plunger. The vacuum inside will automatically pull in a tiny amount of insulin.

You can also measure your .25 dose and then gently twist the plunger until you get a "drop" at the end of the needle. Try to get the drops the same size and count them. Then try for the .1 dose and repeat counting drops to make sure the "new" dose is actually less than the .25 you've been shooting.

Any time a cat drops into the 30's, that's a definite sign you need to reduce, so we need to find a lower dose for Jube
 
Chris & China said:
If you really think the dose in the picture looks like what you've already been giving, you can try these things:

Push the plunger HARD into the syringe, hold it in and then put syringe into vial/pen and then just "release" the plunger. The vacuum inside will automatically pull in a tiny amount of insulin.

You can also measure your .25 dose and then gently twist the plunger until you get a "drop" at the end of the needle. Try to get the drops the same size and count them. Then try for the .1 dose and repeat counting drops to make sure the "new" dose is actually less than the .25 you've been shooting.

Any time a cat drops into the 30's, that's a definite sign you need to reduce, so we need to find a lower dose for Jube
Click to expand...

Alright, I will definitely try using those methods tonight!

I just can't believe how fast she is dropping into the 30's within 2 hours of her morning insulin.
My husband and I really are happy, but when I get 30's when testing her, my heart definitely freaks out, lol.

I have to say too, Juba doesn't mind really at all getting her ears poked. Most of the time she really doesn't even notice until I staunch her ears after the meter take the blood. Then she will get a little sassy, lol.

I did give Juba a light lunch at +3 (55 BG) since she was hungry. It was just a few teaspoons of her low carb food.

I'm going to test her again in half an hour to make sure she's gradually rising.
 
I'm not sure if that feeling on getting a low reading ever really goes away - for me it never did. Even when you know exactly what to do and are already doing it, there's always a bit of an adrenaline rush that you have to get this right, right now.

That outside edge of a cat's ear doesn't have many nerve endings so a lot of them don't really feel the poke I don't think. Rosa certainly is more wriggly when I'm applying pressure afterwards than she is when I actually get the blood.

Giving some lc while she's in the 50s is fine - hopefully it will help her to surf green for a while without dropping again. :) And I agree on testing again - we want to make sure she doesn't drop back under 50...55 is still fairly close.
 
manxcat419 said:
I'm not sure if that feeling on getting a low reading ever really goes away - for me it never did. Even when you know exactly what to do and are already doing it, there's always a bit of an adrenaline rush that you have to get this right, right now.
Click to expand...
Same here, April.
Even after 8 years with Bertie, if he throws me an unexpected low number that can still really shake me up, even though I 'know the routine'...
.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Something tells me you won't need us much longer. The 30's so early in the cycle sound like a pancreas working. Good luck measuring a smaller dose.
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@tiffmaxee that would be so wonderful if Juba's pancreas is kicking into gear!!

So...I just tested Juba at +5 and I had to use 3 different strips.

The first one read 46, the second 66, and the third 69.

What strip should I believe?
 
Jubas's looking great, Kadie! And look how well you can handle those low numbers now ... awesome job! Good luck with the reduction. Looks encouraging that she'll be OTJ soon!
 
Hmm - well of the 3 readings, 2 were in the 60s so I'd have said maybe the 66 with it being the middle reading numbers-wise too. I think you might want to check again fairly soon though just to make sure - maybe in 30 minutes or so?
 
Hey everyone,

So Juba's PMPS was 84 tonight.
With her dose decrease, do you think I should still go ahead and give her 0.10u tonight? Or should I skip and wait until tomorrow to start the 0.10u?
 
It's back to the usual questions really - can you monitor tonight? Do you have enough test strips, hc food and honey or syrup? And how confident do you feel about shooting a lower number at this point? She's surfing beautifully at the moment - it's possible that a 0.1u shot might just keep her surfing tonight. But if you're tired or not feeling confident about giving her the shot, you could skip. This is still all quite new for you and although we like to "shoot low to stay low" where possible and when it's safe, it's always your decision whether or not you think you can cope with a lot of monitoring again tonight if she needs it.
 
manxcat419 said:
It's back to the usual questions really - can you monitor tonight? Do you have enough test strips, hc food and honey or syrup? And how confident do you feel about shooting a lower number at this point? She's surfing beautifully at the moment - it's possible that a 0.1u shot might just keep her surfing tonight. But if you're tired or not feeling confident about giving her the shot, you could skip. This is still all quite new for you and although we like to "shoot low to stay low" where possible and when it's safe, it's always your decision whether or not you think you can cope with a lot of monitoring again tonight if she needs it.
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That is a really good question.
Personally, I have an easier time monitoring during the day than at night.
Though I do want to see Juba surf tonight, I would love to get a good night's sleep again (I hope that doesn't sound too selfish.)
The past 3 nights have been PJ parties (not all night, but until the wee hours of the morning) and it would be great to know she will probably be fine with a skipped dose tonight, and to go forward tomorrow with the new dose.

We've got the hypo kitty survival kit, lol. But I would rather use it during the day, and have most of you wonderful individuals here to help! (But I'd know all you would help during the night too!)

Alright, we will safely skip tonight's dose and start fresh tomorrow morning.
 
It's not even slightly selfish - you have to sleep too! I had to do exactly the same thing when Rosa started coming down the doses quickly - I stayed up until 4 or 5 in the morning 3 nights running and really had no choice but to skip a shot the 4th night - it wouldn't have been safe to shoot because I wasn't sure I could stay awake long enough to keep her safe.

She will, definitely be fine with a skipped shot - I think today proved that to you after yesterday morning's skip. :) And, yes, we would all help at night too - of course we would but you're the one actually there dealing with it first-hand.

Get a good night's sleep and start her with the new dose tomorrow morning. :)
 
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