? Buddy 8/25 AMPS - 127 (6:15), 282 (8:00)

I am so confused about how to proceed with Buddy. I feel like we are all over the place with no consistent patterns. The past 2 mornings, he has had a nice low number when I first test but then, after stalling, completely different results. Yesterday, he stayed low. Today, he went up more than 150 points (no food given). Is that typical to have a 150 point increase in the morning even though he's had no food for 8 hours?

I was hoping to consider a slight dose increase this weekend but I don't feel like I have a good handle on his numbers. I'm afraid I'll never have a good handles on his numbers.

Suggestions? Feeling pretty discouraged about this whole process. I feel like we take on step forward and then 2 steps back.

 

What insulin are you using? Your shots are not consistent in time or dosage, that's a part of it. It takes time.

 

He is on Lantus (and I just updated my signature with this information and more). I have tried to dose .25 consistently for the past 10 days, with the exception of two mornings when I knew I would be gone all day and was afraid to shoot because of his low number. I hate that my schedule can't be more regular but, with my schedule, it just isn't possible. Between work, graduate school, high school senior's soccer schedule, and physical therapy, it is a struggle. When I have to adjust, I try to always move in 15 minute increments. I know it's not ideal but a consistent 5/5, 6/6, or 7/7 just isn't possible for me.

On mornings that he is lower than normal, am I better off shooting and leaving high carb food? I hate that his depot takes a hit but I am so worried about him when I have to be gone for 10 hours.

 

Yes it's possible for them to rise a lot at the end of the cycle, especially if not getting good duration and overlap. Next time, I'd try stalling maybe 15-20 minutes. Remember than you aren't shooting the number you see at shot time, but rather where the numbers will be when the onset happens 2-3 hours later. Today's shot was almost 15 hours after the previous one, so the insulin was really wearing off at the end.

Your goal is to eventually shoot lower and lower numbers as you gather data on what happens when you do so. Typically a lower preshot means a lot flatter cycle. Eventually you'll be able to shoot those lower numbers and just leave out higher carb food if needed.

 

So, if he is low tonight (150-200), and he has a history of dropping 150 points 2-3 hours post shot, do I shoot? I'm assuming he doesn't drop so much just because he's high which means the insulin will cause him to drop really low. That's where I always panic. It seems every time I go to shoot, he is really high or right on the border.

 

He won't drop as much from a lower number as he would from a higher number. Lantus is good at keeping numbers flat if given a low number to start with. If I gave Neko insulin when she. Was in the 80's, she often wouldn't move more than 10 points all cycle. Of course, I was following Tight Regulation. With SLGS, you don't shoot below 90.

 

Ok @Wendy&Neko , so he is now 162 because I'm always worried and skip the dose. I've never shot that low. If I'm reading what you say correctly, I should go ahead and shoot. I am home the rest of the night so I can closely monitor. Should I give normal .25 dose? No "skinny"?

 

Correct, if you have plenty of test strips, and high carb food should you need it and can monitor tonight. This is a great opportunity to gather data. I would start with a couple early tests, say a +1 and 2, to see how the cycle will shape up.

 

Okay. Here I go. I'm sweating. LOL.

And, thank you so much for your quick response!

 

@Wendy&Neko, one more question. IF he starts getting too low, is there a general guideline of how much higher carb food to feed and/or how often? When I've fed the HC food in the past, I get so worried that I kick numbers from 50 to 350. Obviously that is not ideal.

 

Unfortunately the answer is ECID. Each cat differs in how carb sensitive they are. If he were to go below 50, our take action number on a human meter, or 68 on the AT, I would start with a spoonful of the HC gravy. Then test again 20-30 minutes later to see if that gets him over 50. Take good notes on what you feed,when, and how much on your spreadsheet remarks. That'll be handy the next time he goes lower. Some cats only need medium carb food to bring them up. And it can also make a difference when in the cycle the low numbers happen. You may need more carbs early in the cycle when the insulin action is stronger, less when it's slowing down.

The goal when they sre low is to get them up around 20-30 points, and get them to surf or hang around safe green from a while. Those normal numbers can be healing for the pancreas. Also keep in mind that numbers can drop again, if the high carbs wear off in a couple hours, so you have to keep testing until they start rising on their own without influence of carbs. There are some guidelines in the TR handling low numbers Sticky Note as to how often and when to test.

 

Felt really good about this until +3. Buddy plummeted almost 80 points, to 47, between +2 and +3. It sees like that window is always when he takes the biggest plunge.

 

TIme to come up Buddy!

Don't feed too much, you don't want him getting full and not wanting to eat later.

And that more than earns a reduction to 0.1 units.

 

I hope I didn't feed too much; he's jumped to 97 in 30 minutes. Not wanting to eat later is NEVER a problem for him. The problem is I can't leave any food out because he inhales any and all food "left out".

.1 unit? I can't imagine measuring that in my syringe. .25 was hard enough but .1 unit ends up right on the "0" hash mark. It's crazy to think that vets (mine included) send all people home with the pen. Had it not been for this group, I would have never home tested and I am quite certain I would probably have killed Buddy by now (or at least made put him hypo many times).

Thanks for keeping an eye on us.

 

OK, you can probably wait an hour to the next test. You do want to keep testing for a couple hours after you give HC, to make sure he's coming up on his own and doesn't drop again when the HC wears off.