5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260, PMPS 236, +5/100, +8/51, +10/61

Yesterday's Condo

Today:
AMPS = 202
+1.5 = 217
+6 = 260
+10.5 = 238
PMPS = 236
+2.5 = 214
+4 = 157
+5 = 100
+6 = 70
+7 = 66
+8 = 51
+8.5 = 52
+9 = 54
+9.5 = 56
+10 = 61

Hi LL,

Back to work today. I didn't post about this in Eddie's condo yesterday, as I'm still reeling from it, but back at work today made it "real." I work in a very small office of 8 people, and one of our paralegals Chris, died suddenly over the holiday weekend. Chris' fiancee came to the office yesterday to deliver the news. He was only 34 years old - just a year older than me. He died of a massive heart attack precipitated by a blood clot. This morning was rough not seeing Chris in his cubicle right next to my office. He was our most senior paralegal, and was an awesome asset to our firm, but more importantly, he was just a wonderful person - kind, conscientious, funny, compassionate - just a real centered person. Such a shock - it's hard to process that he's gone. Tough to focus on doing what needs to be done around the office today.

On the Eddie front, my plan was to dosecrease back up to 1.75 tonight, but now he's got me questioning whether or not to do that. Today looks totally out of place. He hasn't had a flat yellow cycle in a while, and it appears to most definitely be a bounce. He really hasn't had any lows since this weekend which was about 5 cycles ago. At +6, he's peaking at 260. It looks like sometimes when he has a bounce cycle like this with a big ugly peak in the middle, he goes on to have a crazy bounce clearing dive the next cycle. So, I guess the question is, aside from the bounce, does he have room for an increase? I think it's entirely possible that once the shed drained some after our streak of reductions, that the 1.5u isn't quite enough juice. On the other hand, the last few cycles have looked a little weird (super late nadirs? inverse? bouncing), with green pre-shots, and mid-blue peaks (outside of meter variance) ranging between +4 and +6. So, looking at the last 3-4 cycles that have been mostly flat blue but with generally lower pre-shots and higher peaks mid-cycle - has Eddie been doing little wibbly-wobbly bounces for that whole stretch, or are those cycles indicative of not enough juice?

My condolences go out to Kelly on the passing of her beloved Oliver. wings_cat Healing vines to all the kitties and beans who need them today, and safe dental vines to Merlin and Cindi today.

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260

Hi Jen,

What tragic news about Chris and so young. I can certainly understand how this has you reeling. My condolences to you on the loss of your co-worker - sometimes things seem so senseless. How sad that an aspiring, young man, about to be married, died of a massive heart attack due to a clot. Absolutely senseless, Jen.

With regards to Eddie, I have no dosing advice but based on your observations, it sounds like you have a good handle on the situation. I'm sure someone will be around soon to assist you with dosing.

I hope you and your colleagues find comfort in each other as you prepare for Chris' funeral. My prayers are with all of you and Chris' fiancée who must still be in shock.

God bless, Anne.

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260

(((Jen))) so sorry to hear about the loss of your work colleague. In a small office that can hit even harder. Condolences out to his family, friends and colleagues. :YMHUG:

To me, it looks like the higher dose depot is now drained and Eddie is trending upwards. I think you have room to increase. One very annoying thing that I was told is that inverted curves can be the sign of either too much juice or too little. :roll: Or in Neko's case sometimes it just meant she was doing a mini bounce during the day.

Last month Tina asked how to tell the difference between a bounce and a failed reduction, and Jill & Alex wrote (bolding is mine):

a bounce will always be preceded by a drop into lower numbers than kitty's body is used to or a a fast drop. that's a given. it gets tricky when we're trying to figure out if the bounce is over and the high numbers we're seeing is in fact a failed reduction. first off, understand that you want to figure out (from data) how long it's been taking kitty to clear a bounce. to add to the confusion, this changes. all i can tell you is eventually you develop a feel for the rhythm.

a failed reduction manifests itself with numbers that trend upwards over more than one consecutive cycle. it's the upwards trend that signals the failed reduction. you won't see an upwards trend over several consecutive cycles when kitty is bouncing. you'll see more wobbling when kitty is bouncing.

there are also other factors to consider. for instance, a few days ago i reduced alex's dose. her numbers began to trend upwards that cycle, BUT (<---------- that's a big but) she's been sick, appy is way off, CKD & suspected IBD progressing. she was having an "off" day so i couldn't react to her numbers by taking the dose right back up. i decided to wait it out and sure enough, her numbers came back down.

imho, treating our diabetic kitties becomes an art rather than a science. that's why there are no black and white "rules" which are applicable to every set of circumstances.

Click to expand...

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260

I'm so sorry about Chris. That has to be hard being at work, especially with a small office. Sending prayers to his family and friends.

I hope Eddie shows you what he's doing on this dose soon. If you think he's bouncing, it might not hurt to wait and see if he comes down tonight. I've made the mistake of increasing Furball's dose just as she cleared a bounce and she went down really fast.

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260

i'm so sorry for your loss, jen. it's especially difficult when it's someone young and unexpected. big hug. :YMHUG:

Eddie's spreadsheet is interesting. If you start with the night of the 25th, you can follow his numbers up to a peak and down to a green number 3 times, ending with last night's pmps of 97. i think those each look like half-hearted bounces, as though his body is finally getting used to the green numbers and is going to give up reacting to them. The peak of the first one is 300, the second one is 187, and the third one is 140. So each bounce-ette has a smaller apex than the one before it.

and then he goes up to the 260 today. i'm not sure what that's about - one last big HARRUMPH from his liver protesting green numbers? not quite enough insulin and trending up? i don't know. could he have gotten into some dry food or scavenged a piece of bread? sometimes cats just have wonky cycles. i wouldn't be surprised if he came back down from whatever that was. you know that even if you do everything consistently, feed and dose exactly the same, the absorption of the insulin can vary by as much as 50% from one shot to the next. So it could be playing factor.

you've already given the 1.75, so i'd just stick with it - you're awesome at monitoring and you know what to do if he does go low.

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260, PMPS 236, +4/157

Anne, Wendy, Carla, and Julie - thank you for your condolences. It's a struggle right now with grieving and giving the other staff members space to grieve, and trying to balance the need of the firm to keep operating - that's the worst. And walking by Chris' empty cube every time I walk out of my office. I have a plant in my office that he's kept alive for three years. The plant's name is Lazarus. I haven't watered it once during that time. I can keep cats alive because they meow and bug me when they're hungry or need something, but I kept forgetting to water my plant - until Chris started watering it religiously. I kept telling him to take it home with him. :cry:

Wendy - thank you for the input on Eddie's numbers and the information on how to spot the difference between bouncing and trending up. Since our run of green and blue numbers, Eddie's patterns all seem new to me, and I'm just not sure what he's up to. It do think today's yellows look like a bounce, but he's on his way down (hopefully at a reasonable pace) with a 157 at +4.

Julie - Wow! Thanks for taking the time to look at Eddie's SS. You specifically pointed out the exact patterns (?) I was looking at, thinking there was maybe some mini-bounces or wobbling going on, but you pointed it out even more clearly than I saw it. I did increase him to 1.75, and it looks like he's headed down tonight. Not too fast so far (anti-jinx), so we'll see what happens. I'm hoping he'll level out and not have his nadir in the 30's or 40's at 6 AM tomorrow. ;-) :roll:

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260, PMPS 236, +5/100, +7/66, +8

(((Jen))))

I'm so very sorry about Chris. What a horrible tragedy. Mike and I send you our deepest condolences. What a waste of a young, promising life.

Looks like those yellows were highs before a break. Flat yellow deserves a little caution and patience ;-) I see he cleared his bounce and the added juice might have fueled that 51! Really Eddie.

So I'm the queen of the Unpatience pants but I've really tried to make myself give it one more cycle if I'm on the edge and can't decide whether to increase or not.

I do agree with Julie. As long as you've increased, you do monitor so I'd leave the dose and reduce when he earns it.

Again....I'm so sorry for your loss.

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260, PMPS 236, +5/100, +7/66, +8

Thank you Marje ~

It does look like the yellows this time around were Mr. Liver's final temper tantrum before bounce clearing. I've fed a little LC to see if I can get Eddie to surf - he sure does like to head straight to the deep end of the lagoon!

Re: 5/28 Eddie AMPS 202, +6/260, PMPS 236, +5/100, +7/66, +8

Hi Jen:

My deepest condolences on the loss of your friend and co-worker. It will probably be hard to walk by his cubie for a while, but eventually I know you will be able to do it with a smile. Consider making watering that plant a tribute to him -maybe thinking of him will help you remember to do it. Wouldn't that make him smile?

Looks like Eddie wanted to throw a PJ party tonight, eh? You're doing a great job keeping an eye on him and keeping him safe. It's so hard knowing what the right thing is when considering an increase. Apparently, Eddie either really likes this new dose or really hates it and wants back down as soon as possible! I hope he comes up and surfs for you so you can get some sleep.