1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205, +3 191 - first condo!

OK, here we are on day 8, doing much better than a week ago when he was dx with red numbers! This week has been a huge learning experience. But Nelson has been taking it like a champ, despite the fact that the mistakes I made on the learning curve were all taken out on him. cat(2)_steam Poor ears!!

His appetite is back to normal (not ravenous like before dx, and not low like on day 3-4) and I'm feeding him food that I'm comfortable with feeding him (Wellness GF Chix wet--he loves CORE wet too but that's a bit higher in carbs, surprisingly), even though the vet wants him on rx food. I have two other cats on rx food that I want off the stuff (I'll start a civvy thread on that bc I need opinions there) and don't want a third, I won't feed him w/d anymore, sorry, and if I'm going to spend money on DM might as well get the Wellness. I'll let the numbers speak for themselves. He's been going up to borderline high blues/low yellows AMPS and staying in the blues the rest of the day. Lantus seems to be good stuff. Though I'd rather be working toward diet maintenance OTJ if at all possible!

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Sounds like you've got off to a great start :mrgreen:

As for your last comment-you never know.........

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

You are off to a great start..Did you read the Janet & Binky"s Food lists? They help greatly--My Cats are on fancy feast, low carb, on lists under gluten free...There are about 3-4 carbs in many flavors, & they are flavorful.
If your other cats are on rx food, then you may have to feed Nelson in a different place-DM has a lot of carbs in it, even my vet was surprised.
Have you read the Stickys at the top of lantus home page?? There is TONS of info you need to know there--
Starting out the day with a yellow number is a very good thing--Hope you see blue or maybe green today That would be great..
Ask questions, speak to people, & Read Read Read--Welcome to lantus land.

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Hello Bridget and Nelson!
Welcome to ur first condo!
I like ur spreadsheet, so many comments - I like comments :lol:

Wellness is a good choice, Wellness Core tends to get pretty stinky and some kitties get bored of it too. You can always rotate flavours too to avoid boredom, there is a turkey wellness available as well.

If u have questions about ur civie kitty, u can begin a thread in the Health forum, or ask ur questions in here, ur condo/thread for the day.

I think you will like Lantus as it's looking pretty good there in your SS!
Nice job!

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Just dropping in to your condo to say hello and welcome to you and Lord Nelson! You will love it here, I'm sure. Lots to learn but plenty of beans to help you.

In reading your spreadsheet I noticed you are getting yellows and blues already! :RAHCAT Wonderful....you're on your way! I also notice that you are testing for ketones frequently. I could be wrong....wouldn't be the first time ...but I think you only need to worry about ketones when the BG is over 300. I'm sure someone will either confirm or deny that for you. :lol:

Again, welcome and I look forward to visiting again!

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Hello Bridget & Lord Nelson, and Welcome!!
It looks like you're doing great so far.

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Hey, yes, I've been reading the stickies over and over and going through the food charts. I was feeding a decent food already (Authority Chicken canned) carb wise but my kitties were getting bored with it, especially Nelson after his shed got built up and he wasn't wanting to eat anything and everything I put down like he was when he got sick. He had been eating canned only anyway because once he got sick that's all he would eat. Smart cat. I got the Wellness because that's in my normal rotation anyway and I knew they'd all like it. I know there are other options including some of the FF varieties. But it's a lot easier to get those big 12 oz cans of Wellness than a gazillion 3 oz FF with the number of cats we have (13).

I feed the other rx kitties separately. I actually have multiple feeding "stations" in our house, so they eat in small, mostly family, groups. Nelson still eats with his older brother Tux and Tux's buddy Morrison just as he has for years. These three are pretty good about keeping their noses in their own dishes, and since I'm really not feeding Nelson anything any different than the other two guys the only thing I have to worry about is making sure Nelson eats all his food and not the two fatso amigos who share his feeding space. Actually, other than my defying my vet's dietary instructions, foodwise Nelson is easy because he PREFERS wet and always has. He won't eat dry unless there is no wet, which is a very good thing. I feed more wet than dry to everyone else but really would rather them on all wet, and the recent health issues we've had have made making that transition once and for all a huge priority. I also want to get my other 2 off the Hills rx diets but have been afraid to because I don't want a relapse of their urinary stones--especially not the male. So I'll post a civvy thread to get some opinions there.

BTW, the urine sticks are more for my vet than for me. Even when I told her I was home testing she was more interested in the urine stick results and wanted me to keep doing it at least 2x day. Ok, no problem, I'll do both. It's not like Nelson isn't going to potty. Though that's been getting more challenging because he's not living in the litter box like he was a week ago!

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

You are clearly off to a great start. Geez - 13 kitties. I'm not sure I could keep all of their names straight!! It's great to hear that Nelson's appetite is calming down and he's getting back to 'normal.'

A couple of things...
When you have a chance, if you go to the Tech Forum, there are instructions for completing a Profile. This will give us valuable information about Nelson's history, what you're feeding, etc. so if people miss your condo today, they won't keep asking for this information.

Remember for tomorrow (and I'm presuming you will be posting on a daily basis), to link this condo to your condo for tomorrow. If anyone wants to go back and check on or reference something, it saves having to sort through the entire Board.

And finally, it looks like you're not getting some pre-shot tests. It's good that you noted this in your comments. I hope the testing is getting easier! I know testing can be a struggle with some kitties and for some beans. That said, spot checks are essential. There are obviously times when you won't be able to test (e.g., if you're at work), but do try to get at least one test per cycle in addition to your AMPS and PMPS test. An "out the door" test in the AM and a before bed test can be very helpful. The more data you have, the easier it will be to make decisions regarding dosing.

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Great job! Nelson's #s are looking good! I am a newbie too, I feel Wellness to both my girls since DX & feel like Sadi (not Diabetic) may be a bit heavier now - neither of mine have a weight problem - but looking at the fat content in Wellness... I don't want them to start having one. It seems to be an excellent food to feed. Will look forward to discussing diets in the Health Forum.

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Welcome Bridget and Lord Nelson! Great job on your first condo!!!

You are in the right place to find help and support during your FD journey....and
there are many other royal kitties here too....we have princess and princes and kings and queens...
so I am sure Lord Nelson will feel sufficiently comfortable among them!

Great that you are going to feed him the wet....some kitties do so well on just the food change alone.
Looking forward to visiting your condo each day and sending you lots of luck with your new hobby.
I have been here since August with my two kitties and they have adjusted beautifully to all my ear pokes
and whatnot Hope you love LantusLand as much as I do...! :thumbup

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Yesterday was really the first day I felt I could get BG "on demand" once I switched lancets and got the hang of using a lancet pen. I wasn't pressing hard enough on his ear for starters, and was using generic drug store brand lancets. I was also trying to free lance but was really doing bad there and his poor ears show it. Fortunately there's time for them to heal up before he has to go back to the vet so I'm not accused of kitty abuse or anything. ;-) Nelson is not nearly as bothered by the lancet pen. So yesterday was the first day I could consistenly get them when I wanted to. How exciting! Nelson isn't mad at me anymore... just now he was Needy (Kneady) Nelson in my lap purring away, just like old times. Hasn't done that in a few days, since he was too afraid of the scary mommy bean, lol. I'm about ready to do another BG on him now (+3), and last night I did get one before bed. I was trying to get +6 on my lunch hour too but with a 3 day weekend I can test more of the curve besides just AMPS and +6. During the week I leave for work at +1 so not sure what that will tell me.

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Just a little tip for healing ears....neosporin ointment creme will help, just a dab over the pokey areas, alternate ears for poking to give each a break and time to heal...they will fuss at the poking but they do get use to it and eventually will come running to u for their test and shots.

 

Re: 1/16 - Nelson AMPS 205 - first condo!

Welcome Bridget and Lord Nelson!

 

Yep, using the Neosporin, also helps the blood drop form quite nicely, which was helpful just now because I went through 4 bad strips before getting one that worked, all off one lance! Switching to the ReliOn today. The True2Go seems to work well when it works, especially since it doesn't need that much blood, but the test strips are too buggy. I know someone else was having issues with that brand reading too low so we might really be in yellow numbers; I'll see in a little bit.

 

Well, got the ReliOn Micro at Sam's today... BG 251 +10. Confirms that the True2Go is probably reading too low based on what someone else posted yesterday. While it's too bad Nelson is back up in the yellows, I'd rather know the truth than think he's in the blues when he really isn't. :-| The test strips are a whole lot cheaper and I was glad that the first strip worked out of the vial. :smile:

 

Welcome back!

Lord Nelson is gorgeous! Wow, beautiful kitty.
How's the ear testing going? getting easier?

 

Nelson says thanks! cat_pet_icon

BG testing going MUCH better. Now I have to do it when DH isn't watching though, b/c he thinks I'm hurting him and testing him too often. I didn't do PMPS b/c I'm pretty sure what it would read based on +10 (plus DH said something even when I was about to give shot), but will test before bedtime.

 

Welcome! You're off to an excellent start. Please be sure to read all of the starred stickies at the top of the Lantus forum and ask any questions you may have. Looking forward to seeing you post often! :smile:

 

Hi Bridget & Lord Nelson. Welome and congrats on your first condo!
What a handsome man you have there.
The DH's can be a pain sometimes. Mine also says "leave him alone" sometimes and I look at him like I do to the vet and say, yah, right.
Good luck with it. It gets easier. I use vaseline before the lancet, then the neo afterwards.

 

Well, just did a +5 PM, even though DH was right here (didn't say anything this time lol), and the Lord of the Nelsons surprised me with a lovely 106! Usually I go to bed earlier than this so this BG was an unexpected treat, especially since I was expecting more realistic (read: higher) numbers with the ReliOn. Nelson is no longer running away when I get the testing supplies out b/c he knows there will likely be food afterwards, this evening of some canned Wellness.

This will probably be my last post in this condo... nite all!

 

Welcome to LL
I know I'm a little late...
But just wanted to pop in and say what wonderful numbers for the first day... Wow!!
And.. Lord Nelson is very handsome too..

You are off to a great start!