11/11 Frank PMPS 339/ +2 297 / +3 304/ +4 247

11/09 & 11/10 >>> http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=107888&p=1142368#p1142368

Last night and this morning a few drops leaked out after giving the insulin. His fur is just a little wet, so I know he is getting the majority of it. Maybe I am shooting too fast? It is hard to tell when pushing such a small dose. It doesn't feel like I am pushing anything, really. We had some high numbers through the night last night and some vomit some time between 11:30p and 4:30a. No chance to check for ketones yet this morning. He isn't getting any dry food today, so perhaps that will help.

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

Good morning Tina I think you will notice a difference today with not giving dry food. As for the part fur shot, it happens. But remember not to try to make up for any of it since we never can tell just how much went in. I agree, it is hard to tell with such a small amount, just try to not pull the needle out too quickly. I find with myself, that I sometimes seem to be pulling it back as I am still depressing the plunger. Not sure why the brain lets that happen :lol: But now I just count 1 sec after pushing it in and that has seemed to help slow me down.
Have a great day today and Frank, c'mon down. You'll get dizzy up there! :lol:

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

I hope it was just a droplet that was hanging out on the outside of the syringe that went onto his fur. I use the 1/2 inch needles, but my pharmacist told me recently that they are going to discontinue them, so I'll have to get used to the shorter needles soon.

Keep trying to get the ketone tests. I wash out an empty FF Appetizer cup and put that under J.D.'s tail when he goes.

Good luck on the dry food elimination.

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

The needles we use are 5/16 of an inch. That's good advice to leave it in for a second. That's probably what I am doing, pulling out too soon. Franks lets me lift his tail or reach under him from the front and swipe some urine. He always gives me that WTF look, though. Like, what are you doing, woman? He is such a good cat. He has been hanging out around our house for about seven years, but he has always been wild. He would hang out for a while then disappear for months. By the time he came back to us, he was just so humbled by being sick, I guess. Looking at him today, you would never guess he was ever a feral cat.

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

I really think they understand that what we're doing helps them to feel better. Cats are smart -- if you're doing something that they like, they let you keep doing it!

Like everyone else, I'd encourage you to ditch the dry food as soon as you can. The effect on BG numbers can be amazing.

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

I haven't stopped by before...Welcome to LantusLand! You sound like you're settling into a routine very nicely, and Frank sounds like an awesome kitty! I agree with Sienne...these guys just know we are helping them, and that we're doing everything out of love. People don't believe me when I tell them how Trixie comes to me when she hears me gathering her testing supplies...but she just KNOWS. They are very amazing critters.

Hopefully you'll start seeing some action with the dry food off the menu. Have a great day, Tina!

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

yay for ditching the dry food! just give it to the shelter so he never gets into it accidentally. it can take more than a day to get out of his system, so hopefully we're going to see his numbers come down soon. would you mark on his ss when he last ate any?

on your ss it says he's gained .8lbs since last monday. was that returning back to a normal weight?

the normal for ketones is none. thank you for continuing to check while he's in this first phase. you won't always need to, but right now it's good.

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

The last time he ate was at +2. I have his food information in my remarks. If there is a way to note this where it is more clear, please let me know. I'm just filling things as they make sense to me right now. He is getting about 1/4 of a tsp of wet food at each testing as a treat. I have a food dehydrator and plan on making him some of those chicken cubes. I have a major project due tonight, however, so that is something for Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.

He is climbing toward normal weight. He was severely emaciated and dehydrated when he came to us. He gained all that weight and he is still bony. A lot of it could, and most likely is, from being better hydrated. I am not sure what his normal weight would be, but he definitely is not there yet. He is still dehydrated, but he is a far cry from the beef jerky he was when we took him to the doc.

My confusion is as to whether it is normal for him to fluctuate, within hours, between a trace and negative. Sometimes the strip is clearly negative and others, I can't tell if it is negative or a trace. It appears to be somewhere in between. I wonder if bumping the litter by accident has anything to do with the fickle ketone readings.

He seems to be feeling good today. I'm getting a whole lot less fighting at test time. I took the advice I got here and gave him insulin while he was eating and managed to do it by myself, without having someone hold him. His numbers appear to be going down so... overall things are looking up.

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

Hello Marie, great to see Frank is staying away from those high starts. It's also nice to hear he's starting to realize you are helping him feel better. You might want to take a look at a post Marje wrote on Testing and Shooting Tips. Something there may help with the shots so you don't get a leak.

The ketones sticks are sensitive to time. If you wait longer than 15 seconds, it may start to darken towards trace. If in doubt, you can always practice on yourself! ;-) A good light source is also important.

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

Just got a 297 at +2 this evening. The lowest he has been is at preshot the morning after we started and it was 285. Should I worry that his +2 is this low when I am supposed to be expecting the same or higher at this time? I he had a half of a can less to eat at his PM meal so he could have a little at +2. Maybe this will keep him from dropping too low?

Re: 11/11 Frank AMPS 392

Marie - could you go to your first post of the day and edit the subject line to show your latest BG readings. You can just show the PMPS and the latest +2. Those of us who are watching the board will scan for new members and numbers that show that help might be needed.

That +2 is a bit of a drop for Frank, so you could get a more active cycle tonight. If the +2 is lower than the PMPS, that usually indicates a more active cycle, which means you might want to test a bit later tonight. But it's also a good sign that the insulin is starting to work. Most of us feed our cats multiple meals in the cycle (mostly in the first half) so giving him a bit more now would be fine. Multiple smaller meals is easier on a healing pancreas.

Re: 11/11 Frank PMPS 339/ +2 297

Thanks. Right now he looks so happy and comfortable. It is good to see him a little lower. I just worry about him going too low while I am sleeping. +3 is ten minutes away so I will go ahead and check again then.

He climbed up then dipped back down. It is about my bedtime. Do I need to set my alarm and check him again in a few hours or should he be okay tonight? Or... is that just one of those questions? lol

i don't think i would. he shows no sign of diving down. we look at points moved per hour and try to predict if the cat's going to end up below 50. frank's dropped not quite 100 points in 4 hours, so i don't think he's going to drop another 200 points in the next couple of hours.

my crystal ball is just that, however. if you're worried you can leave him food or get up and check. i'm just saying that i think it looks like he's going to be ok without monitoring.

I'll probably just get up and aggravate him to make sure he is alive. Then if he is being weird, I will test him. The silly thing sleeps with his eyes and his mouth wide open. He is a sweet guy, but kind of creepy sometimes. lol

:lol: