OTJ for almost a week, but numbers slowwwly creeping up..

She's still within normal range, and I know BG varies. She fluctuated between 60 and 80 for a good few days. Last night she was 90 and 92 this morning.. slowly creeping up.

Do you think this is indicative of anything? Or am I just worrying for nothing? We've been feeding her the same stuff at the same time. I test her before she eats (when I get my refill of strips I can test after she eats too). I'm just scared maybe her body did the job for a few days but is slowly pulling back from it and her numbers are going to creep into the 100s and then higher. :?

 

This can and does happen...try not to get worried yet but keep monitoring...

 

Calliope has some numbers in the 90's during OTJ, at first, if I recall correctly. Just keep an eye on it with testing.

Are you feeding meals all at once or small meals during the day. Calliope is a free feeder who eats little meals all day and night. That's just her way, which is lucky, because it's better for her pancreas not to overload it. If you aren't feeding small meals, you could try that and see how it works. If you're away a lot, a timed feeder is very helpful.

 

According to the remission model I believe in, (and that I think is about to be published by Jacquie Rand and Danielle Gunn-Moore), remission requires a healing (regenerating) pancreas.

Keep in mind that hyperglycemia over normal ranges 'burns' pancreatic tissue and slows or reverses that healing. (Nobody knows exactly what level marks the beginning of that damage, but I'd guess it's somewhere between 130 and 200)

If the numbers are slowly creeping up, this means that the pancreas is being a bit overworked for its current (reduced) capacity. Once the numbers reach the 'damage' range, the vicious circle begins again and you lose your remission.

My advice would be to (if possible) switch to an even lower-carb food than you currently feed, to reduce the load on the pancreas while it heals a bit more and regains more capacity.

And if you ever see a number over 130, give a teeny smidge of insulin to bring numbers back down before they do damage.

 

When she was first diagnosed, she ate most of the 1.5 can of FF we put down for her at each meal right away. Now that her numbers are lower, she kind of grazes on it all day. I put the food down at 9am and she eats a bit of it, then walks away. Comes back in a little while, picks at it, then leaves. By the time the 9pm feeding comes around, she's finished with the plate. We hear her eating at it all throughout the night (Chloe stays in the bedroom away from our civie, who kind of goes after her).

I was thinking of a timed feeder, but she's already a grazer, so I guess it'd be silly buying one.

 

Doesn't sound like you need a timed feeder, since Chloe doesn't pig out on a whole can at a time.

 

We just bought a case of FF Tender Beef and Chicken Feast and Tender Beef and Liver Feast. I used Janet and Binky's page of gluten free and lower than 10% carbs page, but it doesn't say how many carbs are in those cans.

According to the OLD canned foods page, though, Beef and Chicken Feast is 3% and Beef and Liver Feast is 2%. Are these the same as TENDER Beef and Chicken/Beef and Liver Feast? I know labels changed and all that.

----

Yeah, she USED to pig out, the first few days of switching her to all wet (it was so bizarre, I'd never seen her gobble like that), but I think she's gotten used to the schedule and amount of food she's given now.

 

Just a thought, are any of those numbers when Chloe hasn't eaten for a couple of hours?

Don't know about your food varieties there, but could you ring the company that makes the food and ask for the as fed values? See if the %'s have changed.

Another possible option, give some fresh boiled chicken instead of all the cat food, virtually no carbs, but also won't overwhelm pancreas. Still need the tinned food cos of the taurine ingredient.

Hope she stays at the falls :mrgreen:

 

We notice our girls eat more of the wet food at one sitting if it is really mushy. We simply mix warm water into it. Aside from the house smelling like catfood it works great. They gobble it up like they haven't eaten in days when they'd probably eaten only a few hours earlier. :smile:

 

It depends... Some days she eats her food faster, other days she picks at it and finishes it sometime before her next feeding. I'm at work all day, so it's hard to tell if she's finishing it in the middle of the day, or closer to dinner. I always test her before each meal, so a little before 9am and a little before 9pm. I know during the pm I hear her eating at various points in the middle of the night (chomp chomp chomp).

Since I started testing, I test before her meals and when I CAN, after her meals. There's always been the same amount of time between feedings and testing, so I'm unsure about the rise in numbers. When her numbers were lower, she was gobbling down the food a lot faster. Still low numbers afterwards. I haven't been able to check afterwards the last few days because I'm low on strips and waiting for my Hocks order to come.

As for mushiness, I tried the water thing just to make sure she got some extra water in her...but she just left it for awhile then FINALLY ate it. Sigh. My silly, finicky girl.

Both Peter and I are vegetarians. The idea of boiling a chicken kind of makes me sick to my stomach. Does that make me a bad mom?

 

Awww bless, course Not!!!

It was just a suggestion as it's pretty much pure protein.

The only thing I can suggest Like someone else said, is to see if you can find a foodwith lower carbs. Mind you the chance of finding something under 2% will probably be pretty slim.
Diabetic numbers are 120+, so she's still safe.

When your around make an observation diary and see if there are any other changes.Like her weight-ok/over/under.
Also maybe a little less food for through the night?

Sorry can't be more help. And your a good momabean cos your being proactive :mrgreen:

 

Why less food at night? I thought I should try to be as consistent as possible with her food/amount.

Tested her BG before eating tonight and it's at 97. Still normal, but creeping creeping up..

 

Flo's been OTJ for about 20 months, and her BGs range anywhere from low 70s to an occasional low 100s. I don't worry too much about it, as long as everything else seems a-ok. I do give her about 1 tablespoon of mixed grain free (under 10% carb.) kibble once or twice a week, which, if I happen to test around that time, likely increases the numbers a bit. I always panic when I see her drinking (there are bowls in 3 spots around the house), but then I remember she's always been a good drinker, and have stopped panic-testing her right away. I stick to about once a month, but did it once/week, then once/two weeks, etc., for the first couple months.