my first post here..i posted in Feline Health but was told I can put it here.. To start with, how do I make the excel link with a name so it does not take up so much space in my signature? My signature becomes to long so I took away my link for now https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bsSlbVMu5E-bIEBuvZrsjmwdEtqLEwzg0mwpiGdw8jE/edit#gid=5 Fa was diagnosed at the beginning of July (she is fed raw food)...on lantus for 2u lantus for a vet then up to 3u per vet...then we heard people saying its too big an increase so we went back to 2u and learning to follow TR her figures dont look good i believe but symptom wise she eats and drinks less than before diagnosis Any suggestion is appreciated to help Fa to get better . thank you
Hi, I don't know enough to help you out but I wanted to welcome you. I'm sure wiser folks will be able to answer your questions.
Sounds like you’re doing a great job caring for Faye. I don’t use TR, but getting numbers in the right place is a long process. Edited to say I’m sorry to advise you to post in the lantus forum when that is what you did! I’m confused about my dosing too, which is why I’m spending time here!
I only copy and paste to Lantus after the advice . thank you ...did you follow vet instruction for dosing ?
Hi! Welcome to the Lantus, Basaglar and Levemir Group!! It can be intimidating here at first, but hang in there! You’ll get it eventually and it turns out that everyone here is GREAT! I have JUST learned how to do this the easiest way from one of our members here. To make a shortened name for your link in your signature follow these steps: Copy the link that you posted for Fa’s spreadsheet Go into your profile signature Write something like: Fa’s Spreadsheet or Fa’s SS (whichever your signature has space for) Highlight what you wrote for step 3 Hit the insert hyperlink button Paste your spreadsheet link into the URL box All done! I am not experienced with Tight Regulation at all but I do know that it is an excellent method with a strong reputation for remission. The plus side of TR is that you can change doses as soon as every 6 cycles as soon as you know your cat. One thing to always keep in mind is that You will have to wait a few days for the Lantus to kick in since it is depot style insulin and you will need to wait for the depot to build. Don’t be discouraged it takes a few days. Fa’s Spreadsheet is definitely looking rather pink, Are you giving 2u or 2.5u? Your Spreadsheet says 2.5u. The people on the health forum are right we only increase or decrease by 0.25u at a time here. In order to make changes this small you need to have 100u syringes with half unit markers. @Bron and Sheba is a very well respected member around here who happens to also be from Australia! She might be able to help you identify the best place to find these supplies she also has a lot of experience with depot style insulin’s so maybe she can chime in with some TR dose feedback One thing you can do for yourself (and you might have already done it) is to review all of the “stickies” that are at the top of the Lantus Basaglar and Levemir forum, especially read over the material about Hypos, as it is one of the most important things to be aware of when giving insulin to Fa. Of course read and re read the TR sticky so you stay familiar. As you learn things around the board the sticky will sink in more and more Definitely post if you have questions. Most of us post every day! If you have a question there is a prefix drop down menu that you can use where you can label your post title with a question mark. That will give it more attention. When you post, always provide a link to your previous post. This allows members who want to provide feedback easy access to Fa’s history so they can give you valuable help Post daily if you can, only one post a day since it’s a busy forum, make your title in the following general format: Date, Cat’s Name, AMPS value, additional testing values during the day, PMPS value. Additional testing values are good to add to the title if you have them because experienced members may be able to notice if Fa has entered a dangerous situation that needs action, or may be able to provide feedback on dosage amounts. You can edit the title with updates on your latest tests as the day goes by or add a question to the title if you end up with a question by the end of the day. For example you could start with this: 07/26 Fa AMPS 300 And end up by the end of the day having a title like this: ? 07/26 Fa AMPS 300 +1 280 +4 200 Starting Lantus, Advice / Tips wanted I have to say I totally think you’re on the right track! Diet!? Check! Spreadsheet!? CHECK!! Signature!?!? CHECK!!!!! great job getting it all started. Fa is so lucky to have a caring owner who is willing to go on this journey with her! Again welcome to the group, everyone is really supportive so don’t be shy! See you around the board
I did in the beginning, now I’m using the forum more, because I like the way they have a protocol instead of just saying hmmm. Maybe go up .5 unit? I think all the people here really care and know what they’re doing. I use SLGS.
thank you very much for the tips about signature. I fixed it now . really appreciate it . I will be replying after work and will start reading the sticky too . Thanks very much for letting me know how to use the forum .
No problem! We were all new here once I checked your link and it worked! Nice!! Have a great day at work
Hello and welcome. Can you tell me a bit about what led to Fa’s diagnosis? I used TR for five years with my girl. One thing I notice is that you aren’t getting many mid cycle tests. TR requires a preshot test, plus at least one other per cycle. We determine how to change the dose based on the nadirs or low points, so we need some data on what is happening mid cycle. TR allows you to increase faster, but only with enough data. I would suggest holding this 2.5 unit dose until you have six cycles of mid cycle data, then we can decide what to do next. Those six cycles of data should give us enough information to figure out how low this dose is taking Fa.
Hi Faye and Fa (have I got the names right?) and welcome to the forum. This is the best place you can be if you have a kitty with FD. I also live in Ausalia so if you need to ask anything specific to Australia I will try and help. I see you asked if we follow vets dosing advice above....the thing is most vets don't get a lot of training in feline diabetes when they are at uni, and FD has advanced a lot in the last 10 or 15 years as far as newer insulins and different thinking and if they are not keeping abreast with new developments, then they won't be up to date. Most vets increase in 1 unit increments whereas we recommmend increasing in1/4 unit increments as it is much safer for the cat and you won't go past the best dose. Too much insulin can look like not enough insulin. I would recommend reading all you can about FD and asking lots of questions. It is a steep learning curve in the beginning but you have come a long way already with testing, setting up a spreadsheet and finding us! If you are interested in buying 1/2 unit syringes, you will need to get them online from the UK. It will take about a week. It will cost more but is great for the dose between the units. I used to use mine for the inbetween doses and use the 1 unit syringes from Australia for when the dose was 1 unit, 2 units etc Here is the direct link to the UK site for the 1/2 unit syringes https://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/BD-Micr...03ml-pack-of-100/productinfo/BDMICROFINE03ML/ Make sure you get a hypo box set up with your honey, higher carb food, marked on the top with the number of carbs, extra test strips, phone number of an ER in case you need it and a copy of the how to treat a hypo which is one of the yellow stickies. Bron
Welcome to the group. It looks to me like the information on the World version of your spreadsheet isn't completely transferring to the US version. I'll see if there's someone who can lend a hand. As Wendy noted, you don't have enough data to make a dose change. With TR, dose changes are based on the nadir -- the lowest point in the cycle. If you're getting only pre-shot tests, you don't know whether to reduce or increase. It's a bit trickier if you are out of the house during the day but it's manageable.
Just wanted to add a big WELCOME to the best forum on the internet!! Great support and advice here for helping you and Faye! I know those FD mama legs can be a bit wobbly in the beginning - mine sure were - and so much information to absorb! It's overwhelming at first. But just remember to take it one step at a time - you'll get it all in place soon. We're here for you Looking forward to your next post.
Just wanted to say Welcome! You are in great hands here ! Amazing people, so thoughtful & supportive!
Sienne tagged me about your SS. I can fix it for you very quickly. I’ll send you a private message as I will need editing rights. Just check your inbox in the upper right corner of this page.
Thank you very much . We went from 2u to 3u now and trying to use TR protocol. I understand that the best is to change with 0.25u but since we dont have half unit syringe here , I can manage to do 0.5u but still learning to do 0.25 and 0.75u. Thanks and thats so good to know. I will be reading the sticky today thanks very much for the tips . will be doing that . Thanks very much for the encouragement . Hopefully Fa can be more regulated. Its frustrating seeing nothing much improved after three weeks on insulin already.
Thank you . We got the diagnosis at the beginning of July after we noticed that she been drinking more than usual and eating more. We went to the vet a month before the diagnosis (in June) for a steroid shot due to skin allergy. She suffered from 2014 to 2018 with skin allergy and we needed to give her steroid every now and then. I was not aware the consequences very well from use of steroid. in 2018 we bit the bullet and started to give her raw food (80%muscle meat 10% bones 5%liver 5%other offal to the best we can) and from the change of diet , Fa did not need steroid for a whole year but too bad then we found out about diabetes after one year on raw. Her diabetes symptoms actually started to come up before the June vet visit (for steroid shot) . The way she walked, her hind leg was not looking quite right and my hubby said I worried too much , so we left it for then. The drinking more and eating more is after the hind leg symptom . I am learning about TR and trying to understand more about it as well as injection, BG testing and everything with cat diabetes within the past three weeks and it is a bit overwhelming as I did not know about cat diabetes much Prior and English is only my second language. I finally know better now what TR is and how to do it. One question here though , one cycle means every shot right ? and i need to do mid cycle test each time after shot ? I am afraid it is hard for me in the day time though as I got to work . Only until last weekend I started to be more familiar with BG testing and the week before last weekend was absolutely a nightmare to do the BG testing ..so relieved we got to a stage now both Fa and me can do it quick without too much drama
Hi Bron and Sheba. Thank you very much in advance and it's great to find some aussie buddies here. It's a lot to learn and after reading and reading for three weeks, I now know better what TR is and how it can help. The only problem is that I have a hubby who is really skeptical and not willing to look for information online. It was a bit tough at the beginning when I tried to get BG testing but thankfully we got through that part and I manage the BG testing better now with Fa getting used to it too. yes definitely I will read all the FD and I am sure I will come back to ask questions. Yes indeed I am interested. The postage is not cheap itself though the syringe itself is about the same we pay our vet for. I am thinking how many I should get since the postage is about the same price if I get 2 packs or 3 packs. Sure will do. Thanks again. [/quote][/QUOTE]
Yes, there is one cycle per shot. You don't need to do a mid cycle test every shot, but rather a second test somewhere in that cycle. People who work will often adjust their schedule so they can get a +2 test before they head out the door. A +2 test will often give us a lot of information about whether the cycle will be active, by which I mean, the numbers will go a lot lower. At night you can get a before bed test. The weekends would be your chance to get more data about the actual middle of the cycle. Note that not all cats nadir at +6, so gathering enough data about when Fa is at her lowest will help you plane when to test.
Sure I can do +2 test in the morning (will try )and +3 test before bed. For weekend is it better to do every two hours or what do you recommend?
For the weekend, any data is good data. You could try every two hours, testing more frequently if she were to go under 100. But if after +2 she heads up a lot like the last couple times you tested on the weekend, you can stop the every 2 hour testing. Then if you have time, the next day do every three hours.
