10/3 Bama Kitty AM +8.5 171; PMPS 295 +2.5 391

Suzanne & Darcy said:
How’s the fluid warming going? Did you think it made things any easier? I hope so.
And good luck on your new dose.
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Actually I didn’t warm the fluids yesterday but kept my hands on him, petting and talking to him while my mom stood behind us to watch the levels in the bag and tell me when he reached his limit. I tried the pinching maneuver you talked about but he continued to leak fluids for two or three hours afterward and is bed was wet again. This time I am certain it was due to fluid leak as he urinated soon after I discovered it and he peed a good amount. Also, his bed had no urine odor and he had no Gabapentin or anything to sedate him.
 
Hey. That’s an improvement (except the leaking… sorry!). It’s even worse if you nick a blood vessel and the leak out blood tinged water. I have never had a cat leak for that long. What size needle are you using? Just trying to think of something…. Good job with the fluids!
 
Vet gave me two sizes to try, BD brand I think. Size 20 and 18. I like the 18s because the fluids seem to flow much faster and are what I currently have. I did nick a blood vessel the first or second time as I saw the pink fluids had drained onto a pad under his chair. Vet told me he didn’t have a lot of space to hold fluids. It’s hard to grab a nice thick pad of skin on him. Maybe I should cut back to 75 mls. His camel’s hump seems to flatten fairly soon after even as his fur around the fluid hole remains wet for hours.
 
I know Bama is not in danger @124 but if he should drop more in the coming hours, which is better to feed him to manage the drop? MC wet? His regular LC Dr. Elsey's Salmon kibble at roughly 9% carb or something else?
 
Fed a little Dr. Elsey's Salmon kibble [aprx 9%] about 30 minutes ago. BG reading @PM+6= 130; will not feed again unless he starts dropping. Expect he'll shoot upwards soon as his bod panics in the yellows and blues.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
I would have gone with MC wet. Whenever you see a 100 point drop in the span of two hours it’s better to go for slightly higher carb so that he doesn’t go too low then bounce. Sorry no one got to you before you fed the dry but you know what to do now. :)
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That is a good rule of thumb to remember. He's probably going to bounce anyway. When you feed the MC wet, do you just give the gravy or some of the whole thing? Reason I asked is I have some Delectable Squeeze Ups that are 14% [per online calculator] and they are just basically gravy, about .5 oz in a tube that I could either put over his regular LC wet or LC dry or just give some of the Squeeze Up. Thanks @PerfumedCatMom!
 
Bama Kitty Mom said:
That is a good rule of thumb to remember. He's probably going to bounce anyway. When you feed the MC wet, do you just give the gravy or some of the whole thing? Reason I asked is I have some Delectable Squeeze Ups that are 14% [per online calculator] and they are just basically gravy, about .5 oz in a tube that I could either put over his regular LC wet or LC dry or just give some of the Squeeze Up. Thanks @PerfumedCatMom!
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A small teaspoon is usually what I do. The gravy is fine because that is where the carbs are.
 
I should also add that dry food is not good for “feeding the curve” or for intervening during low numbers because it takes longer to digest. If you have medium and high carb wet food for steep drops and low numbers, that is always best. Even honey is better than dry food if you are in a pinch.
 
You have had an interesting time with the fluids. I have the 20G needles and it seemed like it took a long time and the flow was not very fast. Susie also had some dampness on her fur afterward. Good luck with the increase, Gina. I need to increase too but I'm so afraid if Susie goes low then that will be the time she won't eat for me.
 
@Summer and Susie -- Have you ever tried Delectables Squeeze Up? Marketed as a snack, it comes in .5 oz tubes and is basically gravy that squeezes out in ribbons. Bama loves it. I have used it when he doesn't want to eat. I'll squeeze a ribbon over his food and he'll start eating. Looks to be about 14% carb according to one of the online calculators.
 
Bama Kitty Mom said:
@Summer and Susie -- Have you ever tried Delectables Squeeze Up? Marketed as a snack, it comes in .5 oz tubes and is basically gravy that squeezes out in ribbons. Bama loves it. I have used it when he doesn't want to eat. I'll squeeze a ribbon over his food and he'll start eating. Looks to be about 14% carb according to one of the online calculators.
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No, I've never tried it. Where do you get it?
 
Bama Kitty Mom said:
Vet gave me two sizes to try, BD brand I think. Size 20 and 18. I like the 18s because the fluids seem to flow much faster and are what I currently have. I did nick a blood vessel the first or second time as I saw the pink fluids had drained onto a pad under his chair. Vet told me he didn’t have a lot of space to hold fluids. It’s hard to grab a nice thick pad of skin on him. Maybe I should cut back to 75 mls. His camel’s hump seems to flatten fairly soon after even as his fur around the fluid hole remains wet for hours.
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Yeah, the 18s are big, but they flow faster so, for Bama, that sounds like what you need. The largest I use is a 19, but usually a 20 gauge - but that’s just for fluid-compliant kitties. ;)
 
Summer and Susie said:
You have had an interesting time with the fluids. I have the 20G needles and it seemed like it took a long time and the flow was not very fast
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20g is a nice small needle for the cat but will take a little longer to flow — especially if they are not the Terumo ultra thin walled needles that have more internal space for the fluids to flow (available from Thriving Pets). It’s important to hang the bag up as high as you reasonably can get it because that makes the fluids flow faster — you would be surprised how much faster.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
20g is a nice small needle for the cat but will take a little longer to flow — especially if they are not the Terumo ultra thin walled needles that have more internal space for the fluids to flow (available from Thriving Pets). It’s important to hang the bag up as high as you reasonably can get it because that makes the fluids flow faster — you would be surprised how much faster.
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Yes, I was surprised at how fast the fluid flowed with #18s and hangin' it high. :D
 
Summer and Susie said:
Do you think Bama felt the thicker needle? I'd love to speed up the process too but the 20g needles are intimidating enough. Going to a bigger needle? :eek:
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Yes, unfortunately he whined a bit until I found a good spot. He also has some scar tissue from 7 years of insulin injections and it is hard to find a place to jab where it will slide in easily. I get a fresh needle if I poke him more than 2 or 3 times before getting it in. I hate having to do it but he does seem to benefit from the additional fluid. Maybe I'll get the Terumo ultra thin walled needles from Thrivingpets.com that Suzanne and others have recommended. I have always hated needles, injections, the sight of blood, etc. I never would have imagined I would be doing all these things but I just tell myself that he needs me to do them and there is no one else available to do them but me.
 
Bama Kitty Mom said:
Yes, unfortunately he whined a bit until I found a good spot. He also has some scar tissue from 7 years of insulin injections and it is hard to find a place to jab where it will slide in easily. I get a fresh needle if I poke him more than 2 or 3 times before getting it in. I hate having to do it but he does seem to benefit from the additional fluid. Maybe I'll get the Terumo ultra thin walled needles from Thrivingpets.com that Suzanne and others have recommended. I have always hated needles, injections, the sight of blood, etc. I never would have imagined I would be doing all these things but I just tell myself that he needs me to do them and there is no one else available to do them but me.
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Seven years of insulin injections!! Wow!
 
I expected him to be a lot higher @ PMPS after his day in the blues but then, that may come later tonight. I sure could use a long, uninterrupted night's sleep after last night's curve and this morning's monitoring. He did not eat as well as he has lately. Maybe he was still full from his many snacks in the AM.
 
Nice stretch of blues today.

Sorry no one mentioned it yesterday, but typically increases go to 0.5 units at a time when you get to 5 units total dose. Think of it as a percent increase on the total dose. 0.25 units is just 5% of the dose. But if you are on smaller doses, 0.25 units is a much larger change.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Nice stretch of blues today.

Sorry no one mentioned it yesterday, but typically increases go to 0.5 units at a time when you get to 5 units total dose. Think of it as a percent increase on the total dose. 0.25 units is just 5% of the dose. But if you are on smaller doses, 0.25 units is a much larger change.
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Thanks, Wendy, that makes sense. I'll leave him at 5.25 for a few days. Does it make sense then to increase another .25 to get him to 5.5 before 7 days have passed? Say, after 3-4 days? @Wendy&Neko
 
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