8/27 - Grandpa hit 95 on AT meter at +4. 140@+9. Plan for AM shot?.

Yesterday

Back in higher numbers today. I'm not sure that he went low enough to bounce, so I'm thinking he may be eating too much. Hard to believe I'm even considering that after hoping for days that he would regain his appetite.

 

I looked at your SS. On 8/23, Grandpa had that 58 at +11 before AMPS. I wonder if he's going low like that the past couple nights towards the end of the cycle. That could explain the high numbers during the day cycle.

 

I want to take a better look at his nighttime activities. Two nights ago we checked every three hours overnight and had no real lows. Last night he woke me at 3 am meowing for food and he ate well. I didn't test him, though.

I talked to the vet about the 58. With his compromised organs, it could've been a result of several things. Not sure we'll ever know, but it wasn't consistent with his trends.

 

Hugs and more hugs to my favorite Grandpa

 

It does look like occasionally he is nadiring late or is it carryover and just a longer cycle? I don't know.

Perhaps it is his comprised organs with the cancer, and it is making his pattern or trends harder to identify.

As far as the food, as long as it is LC and being fed prior to the nadir, I think you can take that off the table.

 

Thanks! I was just saying yesterday that I wish I had a true idea of his nadir. I struggle with dose increase decisions since he is unpredictable.

He does get LC wet food, but I don't restrict it to the calorie count I originally calculated of 240 cal/ day to get him to 12 lbs. When his appetite is good, I've been letting him eat full 3 oz. cans for his snacks and at least that much for his two shot meals. I see folks here saying they only give a teaspoon or two for snacks. Could the amount of food I'm giving him raise numbers?

 

I think it will depend if you are giving him food late in the cycle. Most here try to give most or all of the calories before nadir as to not effect the numbers. But, as of right now, it is hard to discern his nadir and with a cat with an iffy appetite, I understand feeding him all he wants on days that he is eating well.

QUOTE="Beck and Grandpa, post: 2243711, member: 23717"]I struggle with dose increase decisions since he is unpredictable.[/QUOTE]
The increases are given based on the nadir with consideration to the Pre shot number. You will just have to go with the lowest number in a cycle with regard to the protocol for your guide. Nadirs can and do change. Remember, these are cats and they have their own manuals on how to do things, LOL!

 

I try to feed him every four hours. He gets breakfast at 6:30 AM with his first shot. That's normally offered with a new 5.5 oz can. If he eats well, he can have a little over half. Then at 10:30 and 2:30 i open 3oz cans and spoon it out as he eats. If he'll eat all, I let him. Dinner is a repeat of breakfast at 6:30 pm with a final snack around 1030 pm. We try to test at each feeding and grab a last test around midnight.

I have looked and looked at his spreadsheet without seeing a clear pattern. I screwed up on Sunday night and fell asleep with two cans of wet food and a bowl of Dr Elseys out for a cat I was trying to coax out from under the bed. Grandpa gorged on it and felt really bad until yesterday. My vet suspects his overeating inflamed his pancreas. So now I'm thinking a lot more about food.

 

You had a fur shot 4 cycles ago. The numbers can show the impact of that in later cycles, could be some of that today. Plus he could be bouncing from a fast drop. Yesterday he went from 538 to 202 5 hours later. Might have had a really steep drop in there, which can set off a bounce. Sunday night was also a bounce from greens, probably minimally the food.

I wouldn't worry about the food until you the depot is stabilized.

As for patterns, the bounce one is quite clear. Start with that 88 on the 20th, then count six cycles and you see him break the bounce down to blues, then bounce again. Count six cycles and down to blue again yesterday.

 

Thanks! This really helps me know what to look for on the SS. I want to identify trends and isolate causes as much as possible to avoid sending him into days of nausea again. Those days break my heart.

 

Grandpa just hit a blue, and it's such a rare occasion I want to make sure we follow the right steps to gauge his nadir without letting him go too low.

It's 930 now and he is at 126. Normally we would give him a snack at 10:30. Should we follow our normal snack routine or wait and test more?

 

He's in the 90s and dropping.

 

Is he eating well tonight?

I always err on the "over cautious" side when it comes to steep drops. Maybe add some higher carbs to his scheduled snack?

 

I haven't offered a snack yet tonight. I didn't know if I fed him if I'd mess up finding his nadir. I don't want to put him at risk, though

 

Your spreadsheet says 95? If you haven't fed yet, I would feed something maybe closer to 9-10% food, see if you can get him surfing. If the number really is in the 80s, on AT2, and seeing the fast drop, I'd slow him down with some MC food.

 

Great catch. I made a typo in my heading and then believed it. 95 is correct.

 

That's ok, it's still a good little drop, I'd feed him, he still has a bit of room to nadir, but I like seeing green , time to surf Grandpa!

 

Will do! I only have 10 AT strips left (100 on their way). I have 30 of the AT-compatible ones, but I haven't used those enough to trust. I have a ton of strips for the NovaMax Plus human meter so we're going to grab a baseline with that before feeding him in case we need to switch.

 

Just remember the human meters usually read lower, so don't panic! I'll keep an eye out for you, keep us posted, but you're doing fine , test maybe in 45 mins after feeding, if you see more of a drop, let us know.

 

Thanks. He's 84 on the human meter.

 

He came up to 104 on the AT just before I opened his food. He's eating some 8% food now. Thanks for talking me through this.

 

That's actually pretty close, I'm thinking I might need to get one of those Novamax meters , how is he feeling otherwise? Mav starts chasing his tail around 100, he perks right up

 

No worries hon, glad he's having a good cycle, looks like he's on the way up now, those steep drops get me frazzled still, give him a few extra chin scritches for me, he's a handsome fella

 

He has been fairly standoffish tonight. Normally he is by my side. He's been sitting by the water bowl. He turned his nose up at Wellness pate but is eating Natural Balance shredded stuff pretty well.

I bought the NovaMax for ketone checks, but noticed that it is close in numbers to the AT and takes just a drop of blood for glucose.

 

Will do!

 

Good night Grandpa You are being a wild thing tonight Take it easy on your sweet momma

 

I see everyone else having much lower numbers normally, so I'm pretty happy he shows the ability to get blues and greens. I've always hurried to feed him right away if he dropped. This time I wanted to see what he would do through a normal cycle without putting him at risk. Christine gave me the perfect support to walk through it.

 

He's already asleep with his AlphaTrak pillow. I think I'll join him. Have a good night all, and thanks for the support and guidance!

 

It's 3AM and I just tested Grandpa. He's at 140. He's never stayed in the blue this long! I just gave him another snack. My roommate will be doing his AMPS and giving him breakfast and his shot at 6:30 AM. If he is still in the blue, what should I tell her to do, shot-wise?

 

I see you shot blue number before. Is your roomate able to test and monitor? Can you two communicate well if needed? To give instructions for giving carbs.

 

I work from home so I'm here to monitor as needed.