Loving these cycles for Jude recently. Meant to follow up with you, I’m assuming the Relion transition has been going well?
I was just attempting to find some new foods for my clowder, and I thought about you--did you find a new food for Pookey??Loving these cycles for Jude recently. Meant to follow up with you, I’m assuming the Relion transition has been going well?
Congrats on the reduction! Still looking, but have you looked at Koha limited ingredient foods? Their foods check a lot of boxes.I was just attempting to find some new foods for my clowder, and I thought about you--did you find a new food for Pookey??
I haven't looked at Koha, but I will. I was looking today at Rawz. Are you familiar with it? It's not sold anywhere close to me, so I'd have to order it from one of their dealers.Congrats on the reduction! Still looking, but have you looked at Koha limited ingredient foods? Their foods check a lot of boxes.
Only that I’ve seen it mentioned here. I’ll check that out too. Same issue with Koha - seems like it would be online ordering, which is fine for us, just would have to stock up…I haven't looked at Koha, but I will. I was looking today at Rawz. Are you familiar with it? It's not sold anywhere close to me, so I'd have to order it from one of their dealers.
HC--FF gravy lovers beef. 1 tsp.Not much of a food bump at +1. What did you feed at +1?
He's 72 @ +2. Should I feed him some more HC?Not much of a food bump at +1. What did you feed at +1?
YesHe's 72 @ +2. Should I feed him some more HC?
He was first diagnosed last March, went into remission in May, and then back into diabetes this past Oct. I thought someone here told me that cats who’ve been diagnosed for less than a year are not considered long term diabetics. Was that incorrect?He might not need the HC at +2, but sometimes he sees action later in the cycle. It's better to feed the carbs in the first part of the cycle itself rather than later in the cycle.
Meant to say this earlier, but technically he hasn't earned a reduction. For long term diabetics, the reduction point is 40 with a human meter. However, I think you might be dealing with a situation where a cat hits a breakthrough dose and "flips a switch" to greens and then decides to race down the dosing ladder. So the reduction might just hold and be the first of more to come. If it doesn't hold, you can always go back up after 6-8 cycles.
No. That was correct. Cats over a year in diagnosis are long term diabetics. But with cats trying for remission for a second time, we like to be a little aggressive wrt dosing and apply the rule for LT diabetics when taking reductions.He was first diagnosed last March, went into remission in May, and then back into diabetes this past Oct. I thought someone here told me that cats who’ve been diagnosed for less than a year are not considered long term diabetics. Was that incorrect?
I think a little more HC and hopefully we can stop here. The HC is not making a dent!He’s 69 @+3
Tightly regulated cats can have flat and predictable cycles with greens at the lower end of the normal range with no issues. Such caregivers are used to the cats surfing the 50s and 60s through the cycle. It's unregulated cats that can go from 400 to 40, or cats that have flipped the switch, that can be unpredictable and give the CGs sleepless nights! Your wanting to keep Jude in slightly higher numbers is understandable. Unfortunately, cats do not always stick to the ranges that we want them to be in. Let us see how he does on this dose and if he looks like he is racing down the dosing ladder, we can take reductions so that he will stay in numbers that will keep him safe.I think you’re absolutely right about the breakthrough dose. Something I’ve wanted to ask about is this. Shouldn’t we aim to get our cats within normal bg levels of 80-120? As Jude’s numbers have come down, I’ve been concerned about him being in the 70s and 60s on a regular basis because those numbers put him closer to being too low, and a possible hypo event. This is a problem for him, of course, but it’s also a problem when I’m trying to go to work and leave him alone and not worry all the time that he’s on the edge of being too low. So with this current dose, while his numbers have been in the greens, am I wrong to want to decrease the dose to get him in the 80-120 range on a steady basis, if possible. Does this make sense?
I think he might be OK with some LC. What did you feed?He's 73 @ +4.
I fed him some HC @ +3; I just fed him some LC.I think he might be OK with some LC. What did you feed?
You want to see if he stays up 2 hours after the last HC meal. Numbers can dive after the carbs wear off. Let's see where he is at +5I fed him some HC @ +3; I just fed him some LC.
I'll continue monitoring.
Will do.You want to see if he stays up 2 hours after the last HC meal. Numbers can dive after the carbs wear off. Let's see where he is at +5
Not quite time—another 15 mins.Just checking on the +5?![]()
OK. That would be the +6, right?Not quite time—another 15 mins.
He's 77 @ +6. That means he hasn't had any mc or hc carb influence since +3.OK. That would be the +6, right?
You are good for the night. You could feed him a little LC now before you go to bed.He's 77 @ +6. That means he hasn't had any mc or hc carb influence since +3.
I will do that. Thanks SO MUCH Bhooma! I appreciate you hanging with us.You are good for the night. You could feed him a little LC now before you go to bed.
I will do that. Thanks SO MUCH Bhooma! I appreciate you hanging with us.
Bhooma's point (post #25) about tight regulation is well taken. We regard normal blood glucose (BG) range as 50 - 120.
I just took a look at your spreadsheet. It looks like your plan is to follow TR. Unfortunately, how you're reducing Jude's dose is not based on TR guidelines. While I can appreciate being a bit nervous about lower numbers, how you've been reducing isn't allowing you to give Jude's pancreas sufficient support to keep him in a normal BG range. You're also not basing reductions on what TR indicates are dose reduction criteria nor holding the dose for the requisite number of days. At this point, it looks to me like you need to increase his dose if you're hoping to either keep him tightly regulated or back into remission.
I'd like to offer a suggestion. If you are making a dose change that isn't in line with the dosing method you're using, put a note in the comments section of your spreadsheet. I would also indicate when I was feeding Gabby higher carb food to prop up her numbers. I had no way to know why you made the changes you did and your rationale makes good sense. Not everyone opens spreadsheets. The moderators and experienced members do and it's helpful to have information both from the standpoint that you may not make a dose change immediately and it's also helpful to know if you've been steering the curve with high carb.
Also, just as an FYI, I don't push for a dose reduction based on an assumption of what a cat's numbers may do. Cats can be quite unpredictable given it's their nature to keep us confused. I generally advise waiting to see if the numbers really do drop to a dose reduction point.
Given that Jude is back seeing greens, I would hold this dose for a total of 6 cycles unless a dose reduction is indicated. I think it would be helpful to get back in the rhythm of the TR protocol.
You're going to hate this but the answer to your question is, "It depends." For example, I would not have suggested such an aggressive drop in dose. I thought that Christie's suggestions (I went back and read some of your older threads.) were more in keeping with how I approach dosing. I've been around here a lot longer than most members and was trained by some of the legends of this board. However, that doesn't always mean that I'm right. There are likely people who are more familiar with Jude since I tend to not be terribly available during the week and work can occupy the majority of my attention.
I would stick with my suggestion above. Hold the dose for a total of 6 cycles/3 days. Jude was back to seeing nadirs below 100 yesterday. I'd encourage you to get back to following TR and let's see how Jude is responding to the current dose. If you keep changing the dose before the depot has a chance to stabilize, the likely result will be wonky numbers.