8/23 | Darwin - I'm out of town. Question about holding dose.

[Tasha & Darwin]

Last post

Hey guys! I just now had the opportunity (as I'm away out of state) to fill in Darwin's spreadsheet as my girlfriend is taking care of Darwin while I am here (until Saturday when she is joining me).

I did decide to increase his dose as his numbers just hadn't come down. And, as you can see, he did drop yesterday as he has before. I elected to hold the dose anyway as he just has NOT responded to decreases very well, but I am not sure where to go with these bounces? Now he's back to over 300, and will likely take a while for the bounce to clear.

She has a busy week at work, and can only really test him once (maybe twice) in the middle of the day - so she cannot check at +2 and feed accordingly to keep him from dropping. I'm not even sure if that is what is recommended when they are so bouncy like this. Thoughts?

I will definitely post again before the weekend because my petsitter will definitely not be testing him before shooting. I am either going to have her give 0.5U for the two days, or hold off on giving anything depending on what his numbers show.

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

Last pos

I will definitely post again before the weekend because my petsitter will definitely not be testing him before shooting. I am either going to have her give 0.5U for the two days, or hold off on giving anything depending on what his numbers show.

That 45 reading you got yesterday calls for an immediate reduction of 0.25 units back to 0.50 units. Normally with SLGS the reduction level on a human meter is 90. The higher preshot last night was a bounce from the lower number. Lower the dose to 0.50 even if the numbers stay high for a day or so since bouincing can take a day or so to clear. Post the numbers before your friend will be leaving and the members can help you decide if you need to reduce the dose while the petsitter is doing the shots, since there will be no testing.

 

[Tasha & Darwin]

That 45 reading you got yesterday calls for an immediate reduction of 0.25 units back to 0.50 units. Normally with SLGS the reduction level on a human meter is 90. The higher preshot last night was a bounce from the lower number. Lower the dose to 0.50 even if the numbers stay high for a day or so since bouincing can take a day or so to clear. Post the numbers before your friend will be leaving and the members can help you decide if you need to reduce the dose while the petsitter is doing the shots, since there will be no testing.

See, I get very confused because I was told to hold the dose if he dropped this time because he hasn't responded well to decreasing the dose.
I think I'm just going to have to find a veterinarian who is well versed in home testing because this method is simply not working. All I am doing is finally increasing, get a number in the 40s, decreasing, getting terrible, high numbers, decreasing again - all to do it over again. It's been several months, and I don't feel he is taking any steps towards being even CLOSE to regulation. It made sense for me to try and hold a dose with a couple of low numbers to see if he can adjust...is that not the case, then??

 

[Mandy & Rex (GA)]

Do the 0.5u for now until you are back in town and can resume the testing. Then try to fatten up that 0.5u to see if that's enough insulin to keep Darwin in the dark greens without dropping him too low for several days before he earns a reduction. 0.5u isn't enough, but 0.75u seems to be too much. Just an idea to ponder...

 

[Tasha & Darwin]

Do the 0.5u for now until you are back in town and can resume the testing. Then try to fatten up that 0.5u to see if that's enough insulin to keep Darwin in the dark greens without dropping him too low for several days before he earns a reduction. 0.5u isn't enough, but 0.75u seems to be too much. Just an idea to ponder...

Thank you!! I will try this when I get back, and have Michele give 0.5U. It's just so frustrating that he is staying with such high numbers.

 

[Gill & George]

I agree with mary ann, drop him back to the 0.5u. The reduction point is 90 for your chosen dosing method of SLGS so that 45 definitely earns him the reduction. (infact on TR he would have earned a reduction because he dropped below 50)

Try not to get frustrated, Darwin is still newly diagnosed, if you want to see better numbers sooner, you may need to look at the TR protocol again and see if when you are back it's a method that will fit in with your lifestyle/schedule. Given your girlfriends availability at the moment (not being able to grab many midcycle tests) it may be wise to be a little cautious for now and reassess when you get back.

When you get back I would try to get a test in the early part of the cycle (+1 +2 or +3) following up if the numbers warrant it. It might shed some light on what he's up to.