2/23 TAZ, AMPS-434, +4-270, +7-176, +9-195, PMPS-245

He has a vet visit on Saturday, so I'm curious what the vet will say. (He doesn't know I've already raised him since last time.) I made a color coded chart like our spreadsheets, to give him the bigger picture. Lol
 
SaraMV said:
He has a vet visit on Saturday, so I'm curious what the vet will say. (He doesn't know I've already raised him since last time.) I made a color coded chart like our spreadsheets, to give him the bigger picture. Lol
Click to expand...
Most vets just wont talk about it...they dont like it but wont address it... I would hold my ground with him though because his numbers are better since you've increased.
 
Rainbow Conti said:
Most vets just wont talk about it...they dont like it but wont address it... I would hold my ground with him though because his numbers are better since you've increased.
Click to expand...

I am trying to follow the SLGS protocol on this forum, but it's hard sometimes when I ask questions and don't get responses back. I get confused or don't quite understand a lot of things. Like, I think Taz keeps bouncing but I don't fully know what I'm looking for on his spreadsheet to know for sure. I also know that he nadirs early and doesn't seem to drop down hardly at all at night. Which doesn't seem normal?
 
If Taz were my cat, I would be giving him an increase, even with the blues you've been seeing and taking into account the human meter. There's room for an increase and he's been on this dose long enough with nothing scary going on.
 
Do you use the little question mark icon in your thread title when you have a specific question that you would like answered? That gets more eyes on your thread from the moderators.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Do you use the little question mark icon in your thread title when you have a specific question that you would like answered? That gets more eyes on your thread from the moderators.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I think I'll be increasing him tonight. Do you think he's bouncing a lot?

If it's something I really need help with, I do put a question mark in my title. I know there's a lot of people here that needs help though. Sometimes I'm worried that I post and ask questions too much.
 
Last edited:
Rainbow Conti said:
I would say you could even increase tonight... but I would want more experienced members to weigh in since you are using an AT I have no experience with that meter.

Come on Taz I see you trying :bighug:
Click to expand...

I am so confused by the way glucose works. I don't have any diabetics in my family (knock on wood), and when my brother's cat had it years ago, we just gave 1 shot a day and hoped for the best. Taz usually nadirs around +3 in his AM cycle. Today he is lower at his +7 than he was his +4. I seriously want to cry because every time I think I'm finally beginning to understand how he's reacting to insulin (nadirs, bounces, etc), everything changes. :blackeye:

Suzanne & Darcy said:
No. If there are things you don't understand you should put the ? in there. That's what the Board is for.
Click to expand...

Thank you. :cat:
 
Have you seen this before? Sometimes visuals help.
upload_2022-2-23_20-48-13.png


As a reminder (copied from sticky):
+0 - PreShot number.
+1 - Usually higher than PreShot number because of the last shot wearing off. May see a food spike in this number.
+2 - Often similar to the PreShot number. Onset begins around +2 for most cats. You'll probably see an active cycle if the +2 is the same/similar OR lower than the preshot number. Continue testing!
+3 - Often lower than the PreShot number.
+4 - Lower.
+5 - Lower.
+6 - Nadir/Peak (the lowest number of cycle. NOTE: ECID. Not every cat has a mid-cycle nadir. Adjust the hours on this example to fit your cat.)
+7 - Surf (hang around the nadir number).
+8 - Slight rise.
+9 - Slight rise.
+10 - Rising.
+11 - Rising (one of the quirks of Lantus/Levemir/Biosimilars: some cat's blood glucose numbers dip around +10 or +11... not to be confused with nadir).

Those are "typical" cycles, but as it says each cat is different. Nadirs can and do move around, we have no control over that, it's just whatever biological processes doing their thing.

BUT - bounce breaks often have a later nadir. These higher preshots (today, 19th, 20th) are a clue he went lower/dropped faster overnight than he was used to. My guess is he likely hit blue again last night around +6. Then he bounced - which can take up to 6 cycles to clear. But Taz seems to clear them the next cycle (19th, 20th, today), or at most after 2 cycles (12th). So when you see such a high preshot come down as far as it did today (or 19th, 20th) - it can mean a later nadir, always good to get later tests when that happens.

Another thing is anecdotally, flat yellow cycles like you saw yesterday can mean action to follow. I too would have stopped testing after +4 last night, but something happened later to cause a bounce. It happens sometimes.

*It is possible today wasn't a bounce. Last night doesn't totally convince me it is, but the combination of high preshot and later nadir make me think it is. Could just be one of those random things that happen (or even a bad strip).
 

Attachments

  • upload_2022-2-23_20-48-13.png
    upload_2022-2-23_20-48-13.png
    30.1 KB · Views: 155
FrostD said:
Have you seen this before? Sometimes visuals help.
View attachment 63579

As a reminder (copied from sticky):
+0 - PreShot number.
+1 - Usually higher than PreShot number because of the last shot wearing off. May see a food spike in this number.
+2 - Often similar to the PreShot number. Onset begins around +2 for most cats. You'll probably see an active cycle if the +2 is the same/similar OR lower than the preshot number. Continue testing!
+3 - Often lower than the PreShot number.
+4 - Lower.
+5 - Lower.
+6 - Nadir/Peak (the lowest number of cycle. NOTE: ECID. Not every cat has a mid-cycle nadir. Adjust the hours on this example to fit your cat.)
+7 - Surf (hang around the nadir number).
+8 - Slight rise.
+9 - Slight rise.
+10 - Rising.
+11 - Rising (one of the quirks of Lantus/Levemir/Biosimilars: some cat's blood glucose numbers dip around +10 or +11... not to be confused with nadir).

Those are "typical" cycles, but as it says each cat is different. Nadirs can and do move around, we have no control over that, it's just whatever biological processes doing their thing.

BUT - bounce breaks often have a later nadir. These higher preshots (today, 19th, 20th) are a clue he went lower/dropped faster overnight than he was used to. My guess is he likely hit blue again last night around +6. Then he bounced - which can take up to 6 cycles to clear. But Taz seems to clear them the next cycle (19th, 20th, today), or at most after 2 cycles (12th). So when you see such a high preshot come down as far as it did today (or 19th, 20th) - it can mean a later nadir, always good to get later tests when that happens.

Another thing is anecdotally, flat yellow cycles like you saw yesterday can mean action to follow. I too would have stopped testing after +4 last night, but something happened later to cause a bounce. It happens sometimes.

*It is possible today wasn't a bounce. Last night doesn't totally convince me it is, but the combination of high preshot and later nadir make me think it is. Could just be one of those random things that happen (or even a bad strip).
Click to expand...

You are AMAZING! Your response made so much sense and would explain why we've been seeing red a couple of times but they disappear back to yellows/blues within a cycle or two. I was also wondering if this AM was a bounce but I didn't understand why the nadir was later than usual. I've only seen that happen a couple of times. Your comment answered that for me. I've been trying to get more PM readings but it's hard because I have a hard time going back to sleep after I get up to test. I'll easily lay there for 2 hours tossing and turning, which isn't good on work nights. Once I do get back to sleep, I don't want to get back up and test again. But I've been trying to do at least one nightly.

We did a curve on Sunday. If he's dropping without us catching it, do you think I should hold the dose or increase it?
 
SaraMV said:
I am so confused by the way glucose works. I don't have any diabetics in my family (knock on wood), and when my brother's cat had it years ago, we just gave 1 shot a day and hoped for the best. Taz usually nadirs around +3 in his AM cycle. Today he is lower at his +7 than he was his +4. I seriously want to cry because every time I think I'm finally beginning to understand how he's reacting to insulin (nadirs, bounces, etc), everything changes. :blackeye:



Thank you. :cat:
Click to expand...
@Gus the Furminator can you give some support here? Sara is really struggling and it occurred to me today after reading your thread and seeing all that you have been through with Gus who has just been an incredibly unpredictable. You must have some words of wisdom for her. Gus is doing great now, but I bet there were a lot of times that you had your doubts.
 
You're welcome!

This is where you have to make reasonable inferences. I really don't think he went below 150-175, if even close to it. With SLGS you hold the dose if nadirs are 90-149, and hes hit that twice we know of at this dose. But it's been a few days, minus the few gaps in testing. If you have trouble monitoring at night or some days, I'm inclined to say hold. But if he were my cat, I would increase by 0.25U to see if I could nudge him down a little bit
 
Also, thinking about the red this morning… if you ever get a really high or really low reading that you didn’t expect, be sure to retest to make sure that you didn’t have a bad strip (it happens.)
 
I really really appreciate the help. I felt so overwhelmed today when I saw the lower number at his +7. It totally caught me off guard.

I was able to test for ketones for the second time today. As far as I could tell, it was negative. The strips are either negative or jump to 5. So I guess if there were trace ketones under 5, they wouldn't show up on the strip.

Since he dropped to 119 on the day we did the curve, I didn't increase him. I was going to wait and see how this week went, but then with the pinks and today's red, I was second guessing that decision.
 
When I look and see everything that you and Taz have been through in such a short period of time - and how well you have done with him - I am very impressed. It’s only been since the beginning of the year and he’s doing so much better. I will check in on y’all again tomorrow.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
When I look and see everything that you and Taz have been through in such a short period of time - and how well you have done with him - I am very impressed. It’s only been since the beginning of the year and he’s doing so much better. I will check in on y’all again tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Awww, thank you. I saved him from hypothermia when he was a tiny little guy, and he's been my baby ever since. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him if it's within my means. It's hard to find the balance between poking him too much, and not enough. My husband and I will be getting up a couple of times tonight, to get some readings. The goal now is to figure out when he reaches his lowest at night.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top