? Merry 01/01 AMPS 2.9(52)/4.7(85) 40 mins later & shot. Surfing those greens well!

Happy New Year all!!

Merry is 2.9(52) at AMPS. I'm actually an hour late this morning & was surprised with that low reading. He's been in the blues the last 2 days since his night of greens on Dec 29th. Is it safe to give Merry his full dose of insulin?

Since I'm already an hour I fed him to prevent him from going to low. I know we're supposed to wait & see if the BG starts to come up a bit on it's own but I'm already an hour late & didn't want to risk him dropping further.

 

I know with TR we shoot anything over 50 but he's really close to that so I just want to make sure I don't do anything to harm him. I have lots of strips, high carb food, honey, maple syrup & I'm home all day.

 

Personally I wouldn’t shoot but I’m more conservative for sure. Below 2.7 is lime green and I wouldn’t want my cat in lime green and on insulin.

 

Thanks @Juliet Based on TR that's when they earn a reduction, when they go into the lime green and we're supposed to shoot anything over 50 but it makes me nervous. The lowest I've shot so far is 67 & that was worrisome but he did well. We're so close to 50 though so I'm not quite sure what to do, full shot, reduced dose or no shot. I'm going to check him again in a few minutes.

 

I'm doing SLGS and we are supposed to shoot anything over 8.3 - I have shot a 5.4 before but a reduced dose. Most folks might say shoot anyways but you are the one holding the syringe. Shoot only what you are comfortable shooting.

 

The good thing is you are home to keep an eye on him whatever you decide to do. If you test again after stalling and he is on the way up, then you are probably safe to shoot.

 

He's 4.7(85) 40 mins later & after eating.

 

I think when you are stalling, you are supposed to not feed - because now part of that higher number is very likely a food hike.

 

Yeah, I know but I was an hour late as it was when I got the 52 reading so I fed him.

 

I hear you - there's no way I can withhold food from my boy - he would meow the place down and wake the neighbours! I am sure he will be safe. You are home to check on him.

 

I figured I had stalled inadvertently by sleeping in & I didn't want him to go hypo. Since he's higher now I'll give him the full dose & watch him closely.

 

I'd shoot as long as you're going to be home to monitor and have strips and HC food stocked up if needed.

A couple of observations. Merry is a long term diabetic -- she's been a FD for over a year. With TR, once past the one year mark, reductions occur when numbers drop below 40. In addition, Merry is out of remission which means you need to be more aggressive if your goal is to get your kitty back into remission.

 

How do you do more aggressive on SLGS? Just curious. I can't do TR for obvious reasons but I do want my cat back in remission.

 

I've only been on FD since July 24th & have only been doing TR since Nov 22nd.

So essentially with TR we're pushing them into a hypo situation so they can earn a reduction. So I have to wait until Merry goes below 40 because he's a long term diabetic before reducing? Even though he's only been out of remission for 7 months, less than a year, I still go by the value for a long term diabetic? And here I was getting excited because he was so close to hitting 50 where I thought I could start reducing. Just want to make sure I'm understanding the protocol correctly

 

Your signature indicates that Merry has been diabetic since 2014 and went OTJ in June 2016. Is that not correct? If that information is accurate, then Merry is a long term diabetic. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter if you just started TR recently. We look at the big picture in terms of how long a cat has been diabetic. In addition, it can be harder to get a cat into remission a second time.

Let me also point out that this is an ECID (every cat is different) situation. I just responded to Sandy in Martini's condo. Martini has has symptomatic hypoglycemic symptoms if numbers are at around 45. I would certainly not encourage her to let Martini court hypoglycemia. But, many cats, including mine, have had numbers drop into the 30s and have no symptoms of hypoglycemia whatsoever. There is a difference between symptomatic hypoglycemia and low numbers. Does that help to clarify?

 

@Sienne and Gabby (GA) , yes my signature is correct but I was going by how long he was out of remission so I was hoping I could start reducing at 50 but now I realize we still have a bit of a way to go before he earns a reduction. I wasn't actually sure if I should be going by how long he was out of remission or not so thanks for bringing it up It was a question I had but forgot to ask.

So far Merry has been handling the lows we've been hitting really well, paws crossed (although this morning was his lowest so he hasn't gotten really low yet). Hopefully that continues. So far I haven't had to use high carb food because he has good spikes with his regular food. But I have my Hypo Kit ready just in case.

Merry is at 92 +1 so that's good! Hopefully we have a nice green day

 

Take a look at my post in Martini's condo. I mentioned another option -- 3 drops into the 40 to 50 range on separate days -- also gets a reduction. It's pretty much on a par with a drop below 40.

 

Thanks @Sienne and Gabby (GA)

Merry is 4.2(76) at +2.

 

Merry is 4.3(77) at +3. I just gave him a small snack because I've been poking his little ears so much.

 

Merry is surfing nicely in the greens today
Hopefully this is a sign of a great year to come for him!

 

Great day for you and Merry!

 

Me too.