10/11 Pepper AMPS 458, +3 425, +5.5 376 - dose advice?

Is it time for a dose increase for Pepper? How much? Last time the vet wanted to increase by a whole unit to 3 units bid, but I only increased by .5 units. Should I go up to 3 units now? And is Pepper bouncing? If he is, is there anything I can do about it? Does it ever stop? Thanks for any help you can give!

Nancy

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458 - dose advice?

Hi guys .. no dosing advice from me as far as an increase goes, but I am pretty sure no one here would ever go from 1.5 to 3 units .. but others with much more experience will be here soon to help get you and pepper on the right track, just hang in there!

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458 - dose advice?

Sorry, I meant I went from 2 units to 2.5 units bid.

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458 - dose advice?

Hi Nancy? (is that right?)

I don't give dosing advice either and am not really familiar with the slow protocol but I know that that protocol uses .25 units also most of the time and I was wondering why you are increasing by .5 units. I understand that it is allowed when the nadir is high and it's okay in the beginning but now that you are getting up in dose, I think there is more of a likelihood of your missing the correct dose for Pepper that way. For instance: If you look at his 2U numbers and his 2.5U numbers, it looks like in most instances the 2U numbers were better, except for a few yellows with the 2.5U. That makes me wonder if maybe 2.25U might have been better than 2.5U for Pepper.

I'm also wondering if Pepper has fleas (I see you applied some flea medicine) and what he eats - wet food or dry food? How big he is? All of these things can effect his dose and it's effectiveness.

Melanie & Racci

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458 - dose advice?

With nadirs that are routinely above 300, you can increase by 0.5u. Per the protocol:

Tight Regulation Protocol said:

Increasing the dose:

Hold the dose for 3 - 5 days (6 - 10 consecutive cycles) if nadirs are less than 200 before increasing the dose by 0.25 unit.

After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 200, but less than 300 increase the dose by 0.25 unit.

After 3 days (6 consecutive cycles)... if nadirs are greater than 300 increase the dose by 0.5 unit.

Click to expand...

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458 - dose advice?

So, does anyone else think I may have passed Pepper's correct dose? Should I decrease to 2.25?

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458 - dose advice?

Also, Pepper had fleas, but the flea medication has been taking care of them over the summer. And he weighed 13 pounds the last time he was weighed. He eats only canned food, mostly Fancy Feast classics.

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458, +3 425 - dose advice?

Looking at Pepper's SS, I would NOT decrease his dose. I think you need to increase the dose. See my post above.

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458, +3 425 - dose advice?

Sorry I was gone so long Nancy. I thought this posted but it was still sitting here. The tight regulation protocol at this point would call for another .5 increase as Sienne posted it, but the 2.25u is a possibility I'm putting out there in case you want to try it. One thing to remember is that ECID (Every cat is different). The increase to 3u (.5) is what the protocol calls for.

You're feeding the right food, but a lot of us have found that small frequent foods are better than larger less frequent foods, if that's something you're not doing, you might be able to lower the bg that way.

And if you're still fighting the fleas that also could drive the bg up. Anything that makes them not feel well can make them go higher. This was a bad year for fleas. Also if you have fleas, you'll probably have to do the house as well as the cats or they'll just be back when the fleas hatch. You can use stronger stuff on the house than on the cats. Adams flea bombs or powder for the house is excellent and the best I know of. I used to use it in Florida when I lived there.

Melanie & Racci

Re: 10/11 Pepper AMPS 458, +3 425 - dose advice?

Thanks, Sienne and Melanie. I think I'll try increasing by .5 units and see what happens. Melanie: Pepper gets frequent meals, but he prefers large frequent meals to small frequent meals (He's a big cat). Do you think I should cut back on the size of his portions? Thanks!

Hi Nancy,

If weight isn't a problem for him and he's burning it up, it's okay. You just don't want him to become overweight. My Racci is almost 20 lbs. Sometimes she wants big meals, sometimes small. I start out with small (1 or 2 heaping tsps with a little water) and if she's really hungry, give her another tsp. I feed her every 3-4 hours usually. The point is to work the pancreas & liver often without overworking it and kind of give it practice. :lol: I have to watch Racci's weight though. I let her have extra at her bedtime meal and her morning meal.

Melanie & Racci

Thanks Melanie. Pepper and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience with us!

Welcome Nancy and Pepper,
I don't think I've visited you before.

Hope Pepper can get some sliding action soon into some lower numbers.
It will come. Just have to find what it takes.
Hope the increase makes a difference.

Hi Rhiannon, Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it!