12/27 Ole AMPS 464 +3 378 +6 384 PMPS 490 +3 514

Hi All,
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=110672#p1167625

Ole seems to be slowing down a bit and not as perky as he has been in the past. He is still rascally, last night stealing and eating a tomato, but he hasn't been playing fetch. I worry about him. His fur is pretty sickly.

I am working today but Alex will be home to give Ole a lunch and test him.

Thanks again for your advice and encouragement.

Rebekah

Re: 12/27 Ole AMPS 464 +3 383

How cute on stealing the tomato. I hope Ole keeps sliding down today. Once you find a good dose and get Ole in some lower numbers his fur should start looking and feeling better. I was amazed at how soft Furball's fur got once I got her in better numbers.

Re: 12/27 Ole AMPS 464 +3 383

I know the fur worried/worries me too with my girl, but you're doing a wonderful job and it will get better Come down from there Ole, and see how pretty the yellows, blues and greens can be ;-)

Re: 12/27 Ole AMPS 464 +3 378 +6 384 PMPS 490

Hello!

Ole ate a lunch of 1 oz FF Tender Beef and Liver feast at +6.

I read Tilly's protocol, and I have a couple of questions. Firstly, we home test with Alpha Trak 2 because it was what was recommended to us upon diagnosis in April. I would rather not buy another monitor, will this be okay? Secondly, though Ole has always tested negative for ketones at my wonderful vet's office, I do not test him at home. Is it recommended that I do and what does it involve?

Thank you, as always, for your kind words and helpful advise.

Best,
Rebekah

Re: 12/27 Ole AMPS 464 +3 378 +6 384 PMPS 490

Welcome to LantusLand from another Flagstaff family! I'm sorry you have to be here but it's the best place for taking care of sweet Ole. I hope you start seeing better numbers soon.

We started with the AlphaTrak and it's absolutely fine. We switched to a human meter after about 6 months and wish we had done it sooner. The human meter is fairly inexpensive (less than $20) and the strips are MUCH cheaper than the AlphaTrak strips. The tests seem just as good. We always assumed the AT reads about 30 higher than the human meter.

You can get Ketostix at the drug store to test for ketones. We try to test at least once a week. The best is if you can get a test while Ole is peeing. Just stick the strip in the stream. Some cats are kind of shy so it's difficult. Zener has resigned himself to this and doesn't seem to mind too much. :lol:

Let us know if there's anything we can do to help.
Liz

Re: 12/27 Ole AMPS 464 +3 378 +6 384 PMPS 490

Rebekah, can you add that you use the Alpha Trak 2 in your signature line? I believe the numbers are slightly different when using the Alpha Trak then some of the other meters. That way when people are giving you dose advice, they'll know where your numbers come from.

It is a good idea to test for ketones at home if you can. You can buy ketone test strips at the pharmacy that you stick in the cat's fresh urine and wait 15 seconds and match the color on the test strip to the chart on the side of the container. It is best if you catch Ole peeing and stick the test strip in the urine stream. I have a hard time catching Furball peeing and don't get as many tests as I probably should. Here is the link to the ones I bought at Wal-Mart. http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Ketone-Test-Strip/13037592