? Obsessing over BG numbers

[wade]

Just basically looking for folks with more experience guidance here; oregano generally runs high (280-380) but many nights, like right now, she’ll drop from 380 to 310 in twenty minutes, then down to 260 half an hour later, then another 30-40 over the next half hour etc. I will stay up with her through the night terrified she’s going to crash and I miss it, and invariably (with a few exceptions) she will stabilize around 150-200, then slowly start the climb up to mid 300’s again. By then it’s morning, I’ve slept a combined two maybe two and a half hours in 15-30 minute blocks, and my wife gets up, feeds her, we do the insulin together (always together to avoid ever double-dosing) and I slog down the hall to my office and phone in a few zoom meets. I generally catch a nap mid day and then nighttime rolls around and it’s the same routine. It’s me, I know, but this FD has opened up in me some massively obsessive caregiving/hovering trait I did not know existed. I’m 53, so this is a revelation to me. Folks on this forum have spoken about the bond that develops with their fd kitty and I can attest it’s true. It’s like having a newborn, 100% dependent on me and trusting that daddy will get it right, that I’ll take care of her. My work performance is a solid C minus these days, and the lack of sleep has made me gloomy and dreadful of impending nighttime. My wife, bless her heart, has been a champ and so incredibly patient with me—I sleep in the living room with oregano (who is paraplegic so can’t walk around on her own) and my wife and I take turns leaving the house (I work from home and she’s a homemaker, so we caught a break there) for things like errands, the gym, etc. we can’t go on vacation obviously and honestly I don’t want to because oregano needs me here. No real point to this rambling except to ask has anyone else experienced this? This obsessive caregiving role that entirely overtakes your life and around which you build literally every other aspect of your day to day? Does it get better? Are you all able to give your kitties insulin and go to bed for a solid 7 hours and then get up? I would pay a considerable amt of money to be able to get to that point. I have tried, but I just lay there terrified she’s crashing RIGHT NOW and have to get up out of the bed and come check her, then sit up in my chair to watch over her. I think I really just want someone to tell me this gets better. She was diagnosed in Sept and this far I think I’ve just gotten worse. Thank you in advance and apologies for the length. -Wade

 

[Heike & BInie]

Just basically looking for folks with more experience guidance here; oregano generally runs high (280-380) but many nights, like right now, she’ll drop from 380 to 310 in twenty minutes, then down to 260 half an hour later, then another 30-40 over the next half hour etc. I will stay up with her through the night terrified she’s going to crash and I miss it, and invariably (with a few exceptions) she will stabilize around 150-200, then slowly start the climb up to mid 300’s again. By then it’s morning, I’ve slept a combined two maybe two and a half hours in 15-30 minute blocks, and my wife gets up, feeds her, we do the insulin together (always together to avoid ever double-dosing) and I slog down the hall to my office and phone in a few zoom meets. I generally catch a nap mid day and then nighttime rolls around and it’s the same routine. It’s me, I know, but this FD has opened up in me some massively obsessive caregiving/hovering trait I did not know existed. I’m 53, so this is a revelation to me. Folks on this forum have spoken about the bond that develops with their fd kitty and I can attest it’s true. It’s like having a newborn, 100% dependent on me and trusting that daddy will get it right, that I’ll take care of her. My work performance is a solid C minus these days, and the lack of sleep has made me gloomy and dreadful of impending nighttime. My wife, bless her heart, has been a champ and so incredibly patient with me—I sleep in the living room with oregano (who is paraplegic so can’t walk around on her own) and my wife and I take turns leaving the house (I work from home and she’s a homemaker, so we caught a break there) for things like errands, the gym, etc. we can’t go on vacation obviously and honestly I don’t want to because oregano needs me here. No real point to this rambling except to ask has anyone else experienced this? This obsessive caregiving role that entirely overtakes your life and around which you build literally every other aspect of your day to day? Does it get better? Are you all able to give your kitties insulin and go to bed for a solid 7 hours and then get up? I would pay a considerable amt of money to be able to get to that point. I have tried, but I just lay there terrified she’s crashing RIGHT NOW and have to get up out of the bed and come check her, then sit up in my chair to watch over her. I think I really just want someone to tell me this gets better. She was diagnosed in Sept and this far I think I’ve just gotten worse. Thank you in advance and apologies for the length. -Wade

Hi Wade, I am sorry you are going through all this. I am sure many here can relate. And yes, I think it gets better. In my first time I felt like a zombie and I am still surprised, I didn't loose my job because my head didn't work any more with the lack of sleep.

First of all: You have libre. We always used the libre 3 but I think the 2 has an alarm function too, right? You can sleep and if the alarm goes off, you can always work with food to help Oregano to stay in a safe range. Many here work with timed feeders, so they don't have to get up at night to feed. Another thing to mention is, that the libre makes the curves look much more dramatic then they are. The libre shows for many cats the high numbers higher and the lower numbers lower than on the hand held. Of course you have to check with a handheld, if this applys to Oregano too. So maybe the bg is not falling and rising as fast as you think.

Besides that, you will learn Oreganos patterns. So going to bed, you can tell from the first hours after the shot what you might expect during the night. This already gives peace of mind. I would recommend to set up a ss. That will help people here to give you feedback on the right dose, to keep Oregano regulated.

It's great you are not the only caregiver but you share this with your wife. That gives you the possibility to go out sometimes without worry. You should use this freedom. We all need a break now and then.

I hope things are getting easier soon for you and Oregano. You are in a good place and you will get much help here. All the best!

 

[SmallestSparrow]

I think CGMs are a blessing and a curse. I believe many of the sudden changes you think are happening are not actually happening. You are using a method to follow her BG that is not as accurate as a hand held human meter which in turn is not as accurate as a pet meter/lab test. You are going to see sudden (and likely not accurate) BG swings. You will see high numbers that really aren’t that high and especially low numbers that aren’t that low. If she lays on the sensor it most likely will read much lower than she is. And you may become fixated on watching the results. I strongly encourage you to pretend you don’t have that sort of access and look only if you can honestly say you would have stuck her ear to get the number. Even those actually sticking an ear are seeing shifts that in time even out and aren’t significant.

Do my spirits rise and fall with Methos’ BG and ketones? Yes. This is normal. But diabetes is a marathon not a sprint. And the Libre can suck normal people into an OCD death spiral. I try very hard to remember that in my lifetime people didn’t have meters and followed their cat with occasional tests of the urine for glucose and ketones. I don’t know if it’s been studied but I think there were no more often cases of hypoglycemia then than now. Certainly in my anecdotal experience I gave a cat insulin twice daily and walked out the door to do my military job 10 hours a day, six days a week, went out to dinner, to movies, and slept through the night.

since I’ve been on here many people panic over actual normal numbers (me me me also!) and stuff their cat with food when if this was 30 years ago we’d have had no idea of their momentary BG and done nothing. While merely anecdotal the true hypo emergencies I’ve seen here since joining last year have been cats who were accidentally given too much (misread syringe, two caregivers each gave a dose, etc) or who went into remission (with the occasional caregiver who wasn’t noticing that was happening). I’m still a work in progress to be more comfortable with lower numbers and with large drops in BG but I keep repeating to myself this is after all the goal of therapy.

edit: and I’m constantly reminding myself that with my previous Cat, I didn’t have this information and he did just fine and frankly, I was much better

 

[Angela & Cleo]

You've gotten some great advice so far. Thank you @Heike & BInie and @SmallestSparrow!

Firstly thank you so much to you and your wife for doing such a great job with Oregano (great name) and loving him so much. It shows in your post.

380 to 310 in twenty minutes, then down to 260 half an hour later, then another 30-40 over the next half hour etc.

Any meter measuring BG has a variance of 15-20%, including the Libre. For example, a 300 could be as high as 360 or as low as 240.

FD is harder on us than it is on our kitties. I work a full time job most days out of the house and can empathize with the lack of sleep! It does get easier once you start to get a hang of Oregano's patterns. I see that you're feeding dry food. That means we would suggest that you follow the SLGS method for Oregano. Have you read the stickies located on this board? They give lots of information describing an "active" cycle. Active cycles are when you'll lose sleep if they happen at night. Not every cycle is active though so you can develop a better sense of her cycles so you can sleep. We can help you with that as well. Can you set up a SS? Do you need help setting one up? @Bandit's Mom is my go-to for SS help.

Keep asking questions. We are a community here that can, and are very willing to help.

 

[SmallestSparrow]

her, we do the insulin together (always together to avoid ever double-dosing)

I also want to suggest that a hard rule on who gives when might give you both a small break.

if she ALWAYS gives AM with NO EXCEPTIONS and you ALWAYS give PM with NO EXCEPTIONS you both ought to be able to relax and trust that the shot was given, and that you haven’t double given it. You could also always ask as you you’re starting to draw up the shot since you both work at home. While I also fantasize about sleeping for an entire eight hours, I also would give an awful a lot of money to only have to shoot once a day And I feel like the two of you aren’t At least getting that break that you could have

 

[tiffmaxee]

I was looking for your previous post as we link them for continuity and saw you posted on tge spreadsheets thread. We do have a template. You will see examples on almost everybody’s signature. I’m going to tag Bhooma who can help set one up first you. @Bandit's Mom

Now I will find your last post and be back if I have anything to add.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Here’s the link to your previous post.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/give-lantus-dose-at-121-bg.297332/#post-3235371

 

[Helen + Noogi]

Oh Wade, I feel for you. Please take heart that it will get easier.

I agree with SmallestSparrow that the constant monitor can make one obsessive - my boy Noogi wore a Libre for 10 days and I nearly lost my mind with compulsive checking! It was a relief when he pulled it off. I feel so much more in control checking manually. Of course the monitor might be the right choice for your kitty, but do try to limit the number of times you check it, especially at night. Not sure how Oregano's feeding works. In my case an automated feeder has meant I get up fewer times in the night to give Noogi his midnight snacks, which has meant better sleep for me.

I'm wondering why you give a larger dose in the pm?* Does that perhaps contribute to your night-time worry about Oregano? Might it be possible to give same dose am and pm, or even higher dose in the am, so that you or your wife will be awake to watch her? (not intended as advice, as I am certainly not qualified to give any - just a question for you to think about and discuss with your vet).

*Edited to note that this is from your previous post where you say Oregano has 3 units in the am and 4 in the pm, altho your signature says 4 am and pm.

Looking after a diabetic cat can feel like a full time job. I've certainly had many low moments when it has felt overwhelming. We can only do our best. Your kitty is clearly much loved and getting the very best care from you and your wife. To continue to do that for the foreseeable you need to look after yourself too. The community here can help so much - as your knowledge grows and you learn Oregano's patterns your panic should lessen and it will get easier.

 

[Marielle]

Hi Wade! Welcome to the forum. You've already received some great advice here and on your initial post. You may have already heard this word: bouncing. You'll probably hear that a lot to begin with because I suspect that is what is happening with all the ups and downs that Oregano is experiencing. If you follow the excellent advice already given and the advice that will be given in this forum you'll begin to gain some knowledge-control over what is happening with Oregano (because we don't have a lot of control over the kitty and what his/her pancreas/body is doing, but we do gain knowledge that helps us control the diabetic situation). All that to say, you asked if it will always be like it is right now with Oregano. The answer is that some people do get their diabetic cats regulated; some do not. My hat is always tipped to those pet parents with uncontrolled diabetes; try as they may, and they try so hard, their furbabies just don't get regulated for one reason or another. And then other pet owners have perfectly regulated cats--always in the normal bg zone--and have stayed on the same dose for ages. Others have actually had their cats go into remission (my cat did once, but then came out of remission after a few months). Bottom line: every cat is different. It is a frustrating and very time consuming disease for the care-giver. Literally, I cannot whine or complain enough about it , ask my friends, who, god bless them, are all so accommodating. But everyone here truly knows what it's like, so you can feel free to ask questions, rant, and/or encourage others here as much as needed.

 

[Ailish’s Brother]

Just basically looking for folks with more experience guidance here; oregano generally runs high (280-380) but many nights, like right now, she’ll drop from 380 to 310 in twenty minutes, then down to 260 half an hour later, then another 30-40 over the next half hour etc. I will stay up with her through the night terrified she’s going to crash and I miss it, and invariably (with a few exceptions) she will stabilize around 150-200, then slowly start the climb up to mid 300’s again. By then it’s morning, I’ve slept a combined two maybe two and a half hours in 15-30 minute blocks, and my wife gets up, feeds her, we do the insulin together (always together to avoid ever double-dosing) and I slog down the hall to my office and phone in a few zoom meets. I generally catch a nap mid day and then nighttime rolls around and it’s the same routine. It’s me, I know, but this FD has opened up in me some massively obsessive caregiving/hovering trait I did not know existed. I’m 53, so this is a revelation to me. Folks on this forum have spoken about the bond that develops with their fd kitty and I can attest it’s true. It’s like having a newborn, 100% dependent on me and trusting that daddy will get it right, that I’ll take care of her. My work performance is a solid C minus these days, and the lack of sleep has made me gloomy and dreadful of impending nighttime. My wife, bless her heart, has been a champ and so incredibly patient with me—I sleep in the living room with oregano (who is paraplegic so can’t walk around on her own) and my wife and I take turns leaving the house (I work from home and she’s a homemaker, so we caught a break there) for things like errands, the gym, etc. we can’t go on vacation obviously and honestly I don’t want to because oregano needs me here. No real point to this rambling except to ask has anyone else experienced this? This obsessive caregiving role that entirely overtakes your life and around which you build literally every other aspect of your day to day? Does it get better? Are you all able to give your kitties insulin and go to bed for a solid 7 hours and then get up? I would pay a considerable amt of money to be able to get to that point. I have tried, but I just lay there terrified she’s crashing RIGHT NOW and have to get up out of the bed and come check her, then sit up in my chair to watch over her. I think I really just want someone to tell me this gets better. She was diagnosed in Sept and this far I think I’ve just gotten worse. Thank you in advance and apologies for the length. -Wade

Hey Wade, you’re not alone, many of us here experience similar struggles.

When my cat was first diagnosed I lost it. I could focus on nothing but tracking every number. She never came close to a true hypo, but I was so worried she would I stopped going out and let it dictate all areas of my life.

Eventually one of my friends stepped in and made me split custody of the old girl with her. My cat, Ailish, would live with me half the time and my friends half the time. Ailish loves this friend and I had a newborn baby so I agreed.

The friend refused to test more than the doctor recommended twice a day, before each shot, and took a much more “hands off” approach than I had. Did I loose my mind with worry? Yes. But also, Ailish was fine and has been doing great. The last time she was with me, I took my friend’s approach with less stressing and realized I was getting to enjoy my time with Ailish a lot more. I’ve even been lucky enough that her numbers are low enough we have been able to control her FD with just diet for almost a month now.

I know I’m lucky to have such a compliant cat and such a great support system. I’d second SmallestSparrow’s advice to see if your wife and you can find a way to split the duties instead of double teaming it. I know allowing others to help me with Ailish’s care has made a big difference for me.

Hang in there, you got this!

 

[wade]

Hi Wade, I am sorry you are going through all this. I am sure many here can relate. And yes, I think it gets better. In my first time I felt like a zombie and I am still surprised, I didn't loose my job because my head didn't work any more with the lack of sleep.

First of all: You have libre. We always used the libre 3 but I think the 2 has an alarm function too, right? You can sleep and if the alarm goes off, you can always work with food to help Oregano to stay in a safe range. Many here work with timed feeders, so they don't have to get up at night to feed. Another thing to mention is, that the libre makes the curves look much more dramatic then they are. The libre shows for many cats the high numbers higher and the lower numbers lower than on the hand held. Of course you have to check with a handheld, if this applys to Oregano too. So maybe the bg is not falling and rising as fast as you think.

Besides that, you will learn Oreganos patterns. So going to bed, you can tell from the first hours after the shot what you might expect during the night. This already gives peace of mind. I would recommend to set up a ss. That will help people here to give you feedback on the right dose, to keep Oregano regulated.

It's great you are not the only caregiver but you share this with your wife. That gives you the possibility to go out sometimes without worry. You should use this freedom. We all need a break now and then.

I hope things are getting easier soon for you and Oregano. You are in a good place and you will get much help here. All the best!

Thank you so much for your reply. We do use the libre 2 which does have the alarm so anytime she drops below 90 ( which is not often at all) it will go off. There have been a few nights where that happened and I popped up and fed her and we got through it. She’s never been symptomatic even when the libre says she’s at 60 or so, and our vet has told me not to even worry about those numbers unless she’s symptomatic.

I know I need to let go of this some and I really am working on it but it’s been surprising how much of my
Life this has taken over. Many of the stories I am reading on this forum are similar and it is oddly nice to know that a) this isn’t unusual, getting super obsessive in the beginning about her BG numbers and b) it gets better. Thank you again for taking the time to read and reply. Means a lot during this very bizarre sleep-deprived stage of my life. —wade

 

[wade]

I think CGMs are a blessing and a curse. I believe many of the sudden changes you think are happening are not actually happening. You are using a method to follow her BG that is not as accurate as a hand held human meter which in turn is not as accurate as a pet meter/lab test. You are going to see sudden (and likely not accurate) BG swings. You will see high numbers that really aren’t that high and especially low numbers that aren’t that low. If she lays on the sensor it most likely will read much lower than she is. And you may become fixated on watching the results. I strongly encourage you to pretend you don’t have that sort of access and look only if you can honestly say you would have stuck her ear to get the number. Even those actually sticking an ear are seeing shifts that in time even out and aren’t significant.

Do my spirits rise and fall with Methos’ BG and ketones? Yes. This is normal. But diabetes is a marathon not a sprint. And the Libre can suck normal people into an OCD death spiral. I try very hard to remember that in my lifetime people didn’t have meters and followed their cat with occasional tests of the urine for glucose and ketones. I don’t know if it’s been studied but I think there were no more often cases of hypoglycemia then than now. Certainly in my anecdotal experience I gave a cat insulin twice daily and walked out the door to do my military job 10 hours a day, six days a week, went out to dinner, to movies, and slept through the night.

since I’ve been on here many people panic over actual normal numbers (me me me also!) and stuff their cat with food when if this was 30 years ago we’d have had no idea of their momentary BG and done nothing. While merely anecdotal the true hypo emergencies I’ve seen here since joining last year have been cats who were accidentally given too much (misread syringe, two caregivers each gave a dose, etc) or who went into remission (with the occasional caregiver who wasn’t noticing that was happening). I’m still a work in progress to be more comfortable with lower numbers and with large drops in BG but I keep repeating to myself this is after all the goal of therapy.

edit: and I’m constantly reminding myself that with my previous Cat, I didn’t have this information and he did just fine and frankly, I was much better

The bit about stuffing the cat in overreaction to normal numbers (like 107 and dropping) is me 100%. I panic when I see her go from 350 to 120 and end up spiking her with food. And you’re right; if I didn’t have that sensor I’d have never known and she’d have likely been fine. I have to keep reminding myself that Lantus generally doesn’t drop them too low.

In really appreciate your reply and perspective. Being able to give the insulin and leave the house—sounds like a dream right now. I’m just not there yet.

I am going to invest a great deal of energy into checking her sensor less so as to curb the obsessiveness. Being able to scan it in two seconds and see the number really has been counter productive for me.

thank you again. I really appreciate the feedback. Needed to hear it.

 

[wade]

You've gotten some great advice so far. Thank you @Heike & BInie and @SmallestSparrow!

Firstly thank you so much to you and your wife for doing such a great job with Oregano (great name) and loving him so much. It shows in your post.


Any meter measuring BG has a variance of 15-20%, including the Libre. For example, a 300 could be as high as 360 or as low as 240.

FD is harder on us than it is on our kitties. I work a full time job most days out of the house and can empathize with the lack of sleep! It does get easier once you start to get a hang of Oregano's patterns. I see that you're feeding dry food. That means we would suggest that you follow the SLGS method for Oregano. Have you read the stickies located on this board? They give lots of information describing an "active" cycle. Active cycles are when you'll lose sleep if they happen at night. Not every cycle is active though so you can develop a better sense of her cycles so you can sleep. We can help you with that as well. Can you set up a SS? Do you need help setting one up? @Bandit's Mom is my go-to for SS help.

Keep asking questions. We are a community here that can, and are very willing to help.

I have not read about active cycles yet. I need to hop on that. Also need to finish this spreadsheet. And learn all the acronyms (for the longest time I thought half the people posting here were from m Georgia because of all the (GA) abbreviations after their names. Lack of sleep has dulled my brain.)

thank you for pointing me in that direction. I’ll be reading it tonight.

—wade

 

[wade]

I also want to suggest that a hard rule on who gives when might give you both a small break.

if she ALWAYS gives AM with NO EXCEPTIONS and you ALWAYS give PM with NO EXCEPTIONS you both ought to be able to relax and trust that the shot was given, and that you haven’t double given it. You could also always ask as you you’re starting to draw up the shot since you both work at home. While I also fantasize about sleeping for an entire eight hours, I also would give an awful a lot of money to only have to shoot once a day And I feel like the two of you aren’t At least getting that break that you could have

you’re right the bulk of it falls on me. Honestly though my wife is much more centered and normal about it. I’m the one who apparently had this latent hidden ocd issue that didn’t come out until my sixth decade of life when my kitty got FD. Ah, irony.

We have implemented starting today I’m on am and she’s on pm and are going to give that a go. And based on the previous poster’s advice I’m limiting my times checking the sensor to once an hour unless there is an issue like massive drop or something. Previously had been checking it 80-90 times a day before which has helped create the obsession.

and the spreadsheet. Working on finishing that.
Thank you for the advice and encouragement. It’s helpful to know this community exists.

 

[wade]

Oh Wade, I feel for you. Please take heart that it will get easier.

I agree with SmallestSparrow that the constant monitor can make one obsessive - my boy Noogi wore a Libre for 10 days and I nearly lost my mind with compulsive checking! It was a relief when he pulled it off. I feel so much more in control checking manually. Of course the monitor might be the right choice for your kitty, but do try to limit the number of times you check it, especially at night. Not sure how Oregano's feeding works. In my case an automated feeder has meant I get up fewer times in the night to give Noogi his midnight snacks, which has meant better sleep for me.

I'm wondering why you give a larger dose in the pm?* Does that perhaps contribute to your night-time worry about Oregano? Might it be possible to give same dose am and pm, or even higher dose in the am, so that you or your wife will be awake to watch her? (not intended as advice, as I am certainly not qualified to give any - just a question for you to think about and discuss with your vet).

*Edited to note that this is from your previous post where you say Oregano has 3 units in the am and 4 in the pm, altho your signature says 4 am and pm.

Looking after a diabetic cat can feel like a full time job. I've certainly had many low moments when it has felt overwhelming. We can only do our best. Your kitty is clearly much loved and getting the very best care from you and your wife. To continue to do that for the foreseeable you need to look after yourself too. The community here can help so much - as your knowledge grows and you learn Oregano's patterns your panic should lessen and it will get easier.

so the 4 units in the pm was recommended by our vet because the 3.5 units in the pm wasnt bringing her down low enough. She would stay in the high 300’s most nights. 4 seems to work well though tonight we did 3.5 because she ate slightly less than usual.

pattern seems like the name of the game here. I need to learn her patterns and for that I need a complete spreadsheet so should have that soon.

tonight will be my first night tucking her in (in twenty minutes) in her bed in the living room then getting in my bed (as opposed to my chair in the living room by her bed). I’m going check her BG once when I tuck her in, then again at two AM when I get up to change her (she’s paralyzed in her back legs so needs me to change her pee pad, clean her, and turn her on her other side so as to prevent bedsores (not one yet in three years of paralysis.) Also give her a small snack at two because she’s famished at that time. Then if I can make myself trust the sensor/alarm warning I can actually sleep from two thirty to seven which would be amazing. Will report tomorrow to see how it goes.

 

[Ti-Mousse (GA) Pepe (GA)]

Your little Oregano is very lucky to have you taking care of her! I'm not a fan of the Libre as you end up keep watching numbers continuously. Using a meter and taking BG before shots plus few times during the day and at night for me was a lot easier and less stressful. You will take the beat with Oregano and know what to do and when, it's just a matter of time and experience.

This FD adventure is not easy but so much rewarding!
Sleeping on the couch or not sleeping at all because they are in hypo up and down; not going on vacations or leaving early from an outing to give the shot on time... All this and more because we love them and their little lives rely on us. We are all in the same boat so we understand each other!

Set up your SS, keep posting and ask advices when needed.

tonight will be my first night tucking her in (in twenty minutes) in her bed in the living room then getting in my bed (as opposed to my chair in the living room by her bed). I’m going check her BG once when I tuck her in, then again at two AM when I get up to change her (she’s paralyzed in her back legs so needs me to change her pee pad, clean her, and turn her on her other side so as to prevent bedsores (not one yet in three years of paralysis.) Also give her a small snack at two because she’s famished at that time.

She can't be more spoiled !!!

 

[Brianna & Xander]

Hi Wade and Oregano (amazing name by the way)!

I'm still very new here as my kitty was diagnosed in early December, but reading your experience was like reading my own because I felt exactly the same way. And I felt like it would never ever get better. I spent all of my time researching, crying and caretaking. Nothing else. Today actually makes almost exactly 2 months ago that this whirlwind started and it has gotten better. So much better that it's honestly kind of mind blowing. There were definitely ups and downs in there (very, very low lows emotionally) and it's absolutely a learning process, but it does get better.

Like you, we had a Libre 2 pretty close to the beginning and I was checking it obsessively in fear. It didn't help matters that my Libre 2 had an error and a "try again in 10 minutes" half the time. So many sleepless nights and so many days that consisted of literally nothing but caregiving, while all other responsibilities have to take a back seat.

I'm still not keeping up with all of my other responsibilities, this still takes up 90% of my time and mental bandwidth. But it feels a lot more routine now.

I don't know if you plan to switch to manual BG testing or stick with the Libre, but FWIW my kitty is one of the few who just absolutely doesn't tolerate the manual testing. We use the Libre 3 now. I asked for the 3 as opposed to the 2 because it transmits via Bluetooth every minute or so - no scanning. While technically this does mean you could see your kitty's numbers more often, it might also just give you peace of mind to know that you're not "missing" something by not scanning. I'm really trying to nail down Xander's dose so I fill in every hour on my spreadsheet, but I'm not obsessively checking overnight anymore. I just go in in the morning and add everything from the previous night. (The Libre 3 does require a phone to stay within 33 ft of the device without walls between, so in my case I connected the Libre to an old phone that I leave near him, and use an app called LibreLinkUp on my main phone that lets me monitor remotely if I have to leave, etc. This app is also nicer than the proprietary Libre 3 app because you can scroll along the last 24 hours of readings and get the number for a specific time, like adding onto a spreadsheet in the morning as I mentioned. Hopefully that makes sense, but if not and you decide to go the Libre 3 route, please feel free to tag me or let me know and I can help you figure that out!)

Anyway, sorry for the novel. This is the first time I'm reading someone's experience that I relate so well to while also having gotten through a lot of it.

I still have bad days. (Recently Xander bit off a sensor and I'm worried about if he keeps doing that. ) But it gets better. It really, really does. And the people here are fantastic and so helpful!

 

[wade]

I think CGMs are a blessing and a curse. I believe many of the sudden changes you think are happening are not actually happening. You are using a method to follow her BG that is not as accurate as a hand held human meter which in turn is not as accurate as a pet meter/lab test. You are going to see sudden (and likely not accurate) BG swings. You will see high numbers that really aren’t that high and especially low numbers that aren’t that low. If she lays on the sensor it most likely will read much lower than she is. And you may become fixated on watching the results. I strongly encourage you to pretend you don’t have that sort of access and look only if you can honestly say you would have stuck her ear to get the number. Even those actually sticking an ear are seeing shifts that in time even out and aren’t significant.

Do my spirits rise and fall with Methos’ BG and ketones? Yes. This is normal. But diabetes is a marathon not a sprint. And the Libre can suck normal people into an OCD death spiral. I try very hard to remember that in my lifetime people didn’t have meters and followed their cat with occasional tests of the urine for glucose and ketones. I don’t know if it’s been studied but I think there were no more often cases of hypoglycemia then than now. Certainly in my anecdotal experience I gave a cat insulin twice daily and walked out the door to do my military job 10 hours a day, six days a week, went out to dinner, to movies, and slept through the night.

since I’ve been on here many people panic over actual normal numbers (me me me also!) and stuff their cat with food when if this was 30 years ago we’d have had no idea of their momentary BG and done nothing. While merely anecdotal the true hypo emergencies I’ve seen here since joining last year have been cats who were accidentally given too much (misread syringe, two caregivers each gave a dose, etc) or who went into remission (with the occasional caregiver who wasn’t noticing that was happening). I’m still a work in progress to be more comfortable with lower numbers and with large drops in BG but I keep repeating to myself this is after all the goal of therapy.

edit: and I’m constantly reminding myself that with my previous Cat, I didn’t have this information and he did just fine and frankly, I was much better

I have toyed with the option of removing the sensor for this very reason but I can’t bring myself to do it just yet. Just too worried that she may crash and need me to intervene. For now I’m taking another poste’s advice and only scanning during times I’d actually prick her ear if that was the method I was using, and I’ve had some success there. Average daily scans are down to 20-25 from 45-50. Still too many but improving. And I’m allowing myself to sleep for three hours at a time at night now which is a HUGE improvement. I have to change her pee pads every three to four hours anyway (she’s partially paralyzed and can’t use a box because she can’t really use her back legs much). No crashes and she seems to be stabilizing some in the 180-330 range for the bulk of the days (still some “hi” readings at night but fewer now). I let myself believe we may actually get her regulated at some point in the near future.

my hats off to all the caretakers out there. I would have never in a million years understood how involved and difficult it can be until I found myself in that role.

 

[wade]

responsibilities

That “try again in ten minutes” is remarkably frustrating and deflating, I know. Happens frequently and it was the longest ten minutes each time when it happened the first few weeks.

I couldn’t bring myself I don’t think to prick oregano’s ear throughout the day. She doesn’t like her ears touched much anyway so I just think that would be too much. I’m focusing my energies on reducing my scanning frequency and trusting that the alarm (set to go off at 90 so i can intervene if it goes much lower) will work.

how easy was setting up the spreadsheet for you. Oddly enough that has been terribly daunting for me.

 

[Karen and Chispa (GA)]

Hi Wade -- Just stopping by to say that so many of us have passed through the exact state of exhaustion and (not coincidentally) despair that you're feeling now, and it WILL get easier, maybe even sooner than you think. About the spreadsheet, it really does help to see the numbers color-coded in front of you and to feel more in control as patterns emerge over time. Bhooma (@Bandit's Mom ) is the go-to helper for spreadsheets, as others have said, and she will even set it up for you if you are really stuck. Hopefully she'll see the tags and come to your rescue, but you can always PM her if not (use the Conversations tab at the top, next to Forums).

Take care of yourself, and give Oregano a skritch for me. She is a lucky lady to have not one, but two such devoted servants!

 

[Brianna & Xander]

That “try again in ten minutes” is remarkably frustrating and deflating, I know. Happens frequently and it was the longest ten minutes each time when it happened the first few weeks.

Oh god, it really is. I had one night where that first started happening and he was low. I was too terrified to go to sleep because I kept having to wait 10 minutes to scan again and had no way otherwise to know what his levels were. That was a terrible night and when I decided I'd had enough of the Libre 2 lol I very rarely have a "check again in 10 minutes" message with the 3. Maybe once every few days (it does self-checks), and it absolutely doesn't happen twice in a row. If I come back in 10 minutes, it's back.

how easy was setting up the spreadsheet for you. Oddly enough that has been terribly daunting for me.

It was daunting, but maybe less than it otherwise could be, because I had already been tracking things in my own spreadsheet. It took a lot of time and effort to translate all of the logging I'd done on my own to a new spreadsheet (and took a long time to read through all the instructions, etc) but it would have been worse to start from scratch. As Karen mentioned above, there are users here who are willing to help set up spreadsheets if a CG is really having trouble!

I still have my own personal spreadsheet that isn't linked here and honestly that one is what took most of my time because I wanted information that was more complicated to get (success rate with injections, average food eaten at once, etc). That one has a tab that matches this spreadsheet, a tab with a detailed food log, a tab with specifically doses and where they were physically injected, a tab that tracks his appetite/behavior/vomiting, a tab that tracks his water intake and urination, etc. I really like data lol

 

[SmallestSparrow]

The bit about stuffing the cat in overreaction to normal numbers (like 107 and dropping) is me 100%. I panic when I see her go from 350 to 120 and end up spoiling her with food. And you’re right; if I didn’t have that sensor I’d have never known and she’d have likely been fine. I have to keep reminding myself that Lantus generally doesn’t drop them too low.

In really appreciate your reply and perspective. Being able to give the insulin and leave the house—sounds like a dream right now. I’m just not there yet.

I am going to invest a great deal of energy into checking her sensor less so as to curb the obsessiveness. Being able to scan it in two seconds and see the number really has been counter productive for me.

thank you again. I really appreciate the feedback. Needed to hear it.

I’m glad you’ve cut back on the libre checking and have slept a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, I walked out the door with my cat 30 years ago. Now I’m as housebound as everyone else here…but after 6 months getting better—I will leave for brief periods on “bounce” cycles. Also happy to see you and the Mrs have divided shot duty. I hope that’s working for you both.

if you never use anything other than the Libre that works—many people here use only Libres. I would suggest two things though because sometimes you may want to cross check the Libre with a handheld meter: maybe try to get her used to ear touching (methos also always hated me touching his ears but now he tolerates it) , or maybe see if the vet thinks it’s ok to test a paw. Paw tests can be used for glucose (I don’t think you can use it for ketones). Since she’s paralyzed she may not care if you test there, my only concern would be if her paralysis would be a reason NOT to use a paw for some reason. I admit I’ve never tried a paw but I’m sure someone here uses paws.