1/10 TAZ, AMPS 460, +2 583, +6 361, PMPS 302, +2 232, +6 213

SaraMV

SaraMV

Member Since 2022
I feel extremely frustrated right now. Last night Taz's numbers were dropping during every reading and we got down to 83. Today, we're back in the 500s. :(

Just curious, in the prefix area it says GA. What does that mean?
 
Replied in the Feline Health post from yesterday about bounces, pasting here:

You can see he bounced again today - that drop from 380 to 200, and also seeing green is likely what did it. Very normal, nothing to do but be patient and consistent. (Add - once we have a better idea of his patterns, a meal at +1 may help)

Lasts up to 6 cycles usually. It's caused by BG dropping faster or lower than they're used to, even if it's perfectly safe numbers - live dumps stored glycogen in a "panic".

He's had a lot going on lately, he should even out in a few days and then we'll have a better idea of how the dose is working for him.

GA means gone ahead or guardian angel - for cats that have passed away.
 
Insulin is not a drug, it's a hormone. When you have a headache and take an aspirin, the headache goes away. Insulin doesn't work in the same way--it takes time and the right dosage to get a cat into good numbers that stay steady and don't go up and down. Lots of other factors can affect numbers as well, such as pancreatitis, infections, tooth discomfort. It took my Ruby over two months to see steadier numbers once she started insulin. It's a marathon, not a sprint! :) Melissa @FrostD explains bouncing very well. Until a cat who has been diabetic for a while gets used to being in lower numbers, you will see these wild fluctuations. They are totally normal.
 
FrostD said:
Lasts up to 6 cycles usually. It's caused by BG dropping faster or lower than they're used to, even if it's perfectly safe numbers - live dumps stored glycogen in a "panic".

He's had a lot going on lately, he should even out in a few days and then we'll have a better idea of how the dose is working for him.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. So it's kind of like us humans and how when we restrict calories one day, our bodies kind of freak out and go into starvation mode to preserve calories. In this case, Taz's body is releasing glucose because it's scared of the low numbers.

What is considered a cycle? Is that a full day?

Katherine&Ruby said:
Insulin is not a drug, it's a hormone. When you have a headache and take an aspirin, the headache goes away. Insulin doesn't work in the same way--it takes time and the right dosage to get a cat into good numbers that stay steady and don't go up and down. Lots of other factors can affect numbers as well, such as pancreatitis, infections, tooth discomfort. It took my Ruby over two months to see steadier numbers once she started insulin. It's a marathon, not a sprint! :) Melissa @FrostD explains bouncing very well. Until a cat who has been diabetic for a while gets used to being in lower numbers, you will see these wild fluctuations. They are totally normal.
Click to expand...

The ER vets scared me pretty bad when they kept altering his insulin non stop. Every time he didn't drop low enough quick enough, they would give him more. The one time that he did get into the 80s, they added dextrose to his IV. (Knocking on wood) I've never had experience with diabetes because none of my family members have had it. My brother had a cat who was diabetic in the late 2000s, but we didn't have internet access like we do now, and we had no idea about home readings or all of the fluctuations that come with insulin. We gave him his shot in the morning, and prayed that he ate. :(
 
SaraMV said:
I've never had experience with diabetes because none of my family members have had it.
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I had absolutely no experience with diabetes, human or feline either. I've never had cats who have lived as long as Ruby has and I was taken completely off guard by her diagnosis. I only found out about her diabetes after she was in the ER for three very expensive days, and I was so scared and upset that I listened to her vets for a while until I discovered the FDMB, started home testing and getting her on the right diet. Thankfully this all happened to Ruby during the pandemic when I was working part time from home, so I spent every day here reading and learning everything I could from the wonderful people here. It's a very steep learning curve, but trust us when we say it will become second nature to you and Taz, and everything will be all right. :bighug:
 
It seems a lot of us come here terrified by our vets. It is very scary but you will get the hang of it. I would suggest looking at other members spreadsheets just to see how everyone does...increases... reductions...bounces. check mine out from 2021 to now...LM was and still is great at bouncing and just recently is now becoming stable. We have been at it since mid October. They do settle in and figure out how to use the insulin. It's quite impressive to look at as and see when the switch flips in their bodies.

I also have seen he has some other issues weighing in. It just takes time and patience (which is hard for me too :))

:bighug::bighug:
 
I just can not stress how much the help I'm getting here means to me. These past three years have been so hard for me and my husband... we've lost 8 loved ones (including my best friend), my mom was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, we were foster parents for 2 years (a whole new level of stress there), covid and all the fear and uncertainty that's come with it, my brother has been having some health issues, my husband had a subdural hemorrhage at the end of August (medical bills are coming in from that), now Taz's diagnosis and the $6,000 we've spent in the last 8 days for him. My mom's going in for surgery this Friday, and Taz is still not wanting to eat much. I can now see the weightloss daily, so I'm syringe feeding him now, hoping to slow that down. It's just so much stuff that's been building up and I'm hardly sleeping on top of it. I had to take this entire week off from work, after missing 3 days last week.

I promise I'll get better with keeping all of my questions together and not posting so many threads. I'll also try to calm down and just breathe. You all are truly amazing.
 
Rainbow Conti said:
They do settle in and figure out how to use the insulin. It's quite impressive to look at as and see when the switch flips in their bodies.
Click to expand...

Do they continue to lose a lot of weight during the time it takes them to adjust? Taz has the pancreatitis he's also dealing with and that's making things harder.
 
SaraMV said:
Do they continue to lose a lot of weight during the time it takes them to adjust? Taz has the pancreatitis he's also dealing with and that's making things harder.
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Every cat is different, and pancreatitis often goes hand in hand with diabetes which makes everything all the more challenging.

I am sorry you have been through so much, but it's clear you love Taz and will do the best you can for him.
 
SaraMV said:
I just can not stress how much the help I'm getting here means to me. These past three years have been so hard for me and my husband... we've lost 8 loved ones (including my best friend), my mom was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, we were foster parents for 2 years (a whole new level of stress there), covid and all the fear and uncertainty that's come with it, my brother has been having some health issues, my husband had a subdural hemorrhage at the end of August (medical bills are coming in from that), now Taz's diagnosis and the $6,000 we've spent in the last 8 days for him. My mom's going in for surgery this Friday, and Taz is still not wanting to eat much. I can now see the weightloss daily, so I'm syringe feeding him now, hoping to slow that down. It's just so much stuff that's been building up and I'm hardly sleeping on top of it. I had to take this entire week off from work, after missing 3 days last week.

I promise I'll get better with keeping all of my questions together and not posting so many threads. I'll also try to calm down and just breathe. You all are truly amazing.
Click to expand...
Just breathe Sara! You have so many things weighing on you now and you are doing great!:bighug::bighug:

I dont want to push anything on you but loon up the song just breathe by Johnny Diaz. It is a Christian song so if you dont want to please dont feel bad. When I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the things I stop and just breathe. You must must take care of yourself if you dont you cannot care for your lived ones including Taz!

I cannot speak to the pancreatitis but I know any thing on top of FD is more of a challenge. You will be ok and you will get the hang of everything but first stop and just breathe!

Sending hugs and love to you! :bighug::bighug:
 
SaraMV said:
I'll try my best to remember. Should all of the posts be linked together?
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When you start a new post for today 1-11-22 you will link yesterdays post which is from 1-10-22
When you start to write about Tax you paste the previous days post and then continue to write what you want to say
 
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