2/8 Disco PMBG 77,stalling,+12.5 66, +13 56,+13.25 56,+13.5 49,+13.75 49,+14 39,fed 2tsp LC

Is he still acting like his normal bald little self?

 

Sheesh... Disco. Did he eat all of his supper?

 

Yes

 

He's dropped 40 points in about 2 hours without any insulin.

 

Yes! Even thats freaking me!

 

I think 1 tsp of MC food is in order. Up you go a bit little buddy.

 

I have fancy feast gravy lovers, if I pour the gravy off and give them a teaspoon of the shreds will that be MC enough?

 

Yep

 

Ummmm, not sure. How about mix 1/2 tsp of the shred (without gravy) of the gravy lovers and 1/2 tsp of your LC food mixed together.

 

54 @ 10;50pm

 

Be sure to write in your SS what you did tonight (what you fed him and at what time). It will be a good reference in the future.

 

Sorry I'm checking messages on my phone and I seem to have missed a few

 

Ok. That's better. Now hopefully he doesn't go to the moon tonight. Test in 30 minutes to be sure he is still in good numbers.

 

Yes, I turned on my laptop to see if that helped but I can’t even seem to gather my thoughts enough to type

 

I will do that on my laptop

 

How are you guys doing?
I might feed some- just some- MC food next time you get numbers dropping under 40 after stalling. Looks like his +1 is usually higher than his preshot number but wasn't tonight.

 

I know I should remember this from the dose I skipped on Feb 3, but in the morning when it’s time for his AMPS, Do I give his insulin at the usual time of 8 AM?

 

Hi! Thanks for chiming in! What do you all usually keep on hand for MC foods?

 

For MC I use FF grilled in gravy. Here's the food info to find something that would work in your area.

https://catinfo.org/chart/index.php

 

Yes, usual time as long as his numbers warrant a shot.

 

54@11:05pm, same as at 10:52pm

 

Ms. Freckles is starting on her upswing for the night. She had a nice cycle tonight. I think Teri, you are fine from here on in? I can't see Disco's numbers going down after all that he's eaten, let's just hope he keeps at least one paw on the Earth tonight!

Good night. I'll check your spreadsheet tomorrow to see how things went. I'm also very curious what the experienced people would have advised in your situation tonight. I'm always learning.

 

Thx! Available here so will get some tomorrow

 

It may take another 15 minutes or so for the food carbs to kick in.

 

retest in 30 min. That Disco... he's quite the character!! lol

 

Forever grateful for your help! See you in the morning, sleep tight

 

You can put your @+2 and @+3 numbers in their right column on the SS now.

 

Nitey night. Glad you stalled and didn't shoot tonight. Things could have got REAL exciting!

 

Oh yeah, that makes sense, silly me

 

61@11:25pm

 

What a night for you guys!

 

Just a couple random notes from what I read. First, food takes 20-30 minutes for the numbers to impact the blood sugar. ECID. Testing any sooner than that to see if number rise isn't worth while.

You never shoot below 50. When he hit 49 a while back, that was the time to call it a skip unless you were willing to really move shot time a couple hours. You always feed the 40's. Which influences the blood sugar and you'd have to wait to see if he really started zooming up before shooting. The 30's always means high carb food.

Looks like Disco is one of those whose numbers really drop without food on time. Good information to tuck away. He's done the late cycle dive a couple times. Might want to think about occasionally getting a +10 when you suspect it's time for him to break a bounce. That way you can give him a light snack at +10, hopefully prevent that diving, and not have a carb influenced preshot.

Since you skipped tonight, you can shoot whenever you want tomorrow morning.

Congrats on the reduction - he really didn't like 3.0 units!

 

Thank You! So glad to have your input. I need to try and organize and therefore remember

 

When you have a moment, it will help you in the future if you put down some notes in the Remarks column as to what food, how much and when you gave it tonight. One of your jobs is to find out how carb sensitive Disco is, how much food of what carbs he needs at what point in the cycle.

 

Whoo! Looks like I missed a lot of excitement last night! So glad you skipped. This was the kind of night I was fearing when I advised to skip a couple nights ago because I couldn't stay up with you guys. You just never know what these kitties are planning! Looks like it was a good night to gather data on the kinds of tricks Disco has up his sleeve, though, and how he responds in certain situations. Great job!

 

Just to understand for the next time we get numbers below 50 and they are going lower after stalling, when does one skip the dose and when does one feed and shoot?

Or numbers below 50 and falling are always skip?

 

If I may make some observations about Disco and the process last night. Just as an FYI, Wendy is often up late. She's on the west coast and is a night owl.

First, Teri -- you did great! My only observation is that on your spreadsheet, please use +time. I have no frame of reference for the time on the clock given that we're all in different time zones. If it's +3 and you test 15 min later, it's +3.25, 20 min would be +3.3, 30 min is +3.5, etc.

@Sue and Luci
@Judy and Freckles
@Bandit's Mom

There is a basic rule with low numbers, even if it's within 2 hours of shot time: "Feed the 40s." Instructing Teri to not give HC food when Disco's numbers were in the 30s was unsafe. Please think carefully when advising someone whose cat is in low numbers, especially if this is a relatively new experience for them. The caregiver is likely panicky and relying on someone with more experience to guide them. Feeding low carb may slow a drop but it may not stop numbers from dropping. There is no margin for error with numbers in the 30s. You give HC food.

The instructions for TR indicate that when a kitty is beginning to see numbers in the blues and greens, you hold the dose for 8 -10 cycles prior to increasing. However, I do think Teri was holding the 2.75u dose for too long. (The 2.75u dose was started on 1/25 and should have been increased on 1/28 or more conservatively on 1/29 if you were holding for 10 cycles.) @Sue and Luci - you can't use the same standard that you may use given your level of experience for someone else. Teri is new to FD and should be following the TR Protocol to the letter.

Congrats on the reduction -- even if it caused a few gray hairs.

 

Thanks for the clarification! We all learn something from these discussions

 

68@12:20am

I wish there was a love button instead of just the like button because I love how are you are guiding me and others in this group and I think I’ll feel like a newbie until the year goes by maybe longer… The information you just gave is etched in my brain now (and written on a sticky next to my bed!)

 

We all had to learn this process. I'm a firm believer in teaching -- providing that people want to learn. The more you understand the principles, the more independent you are and you're in a better position to pay it forward. (I used to hate it when someone told told me to do something for Gabby and I didn't understand why.)

 

Thanks Sienne. Just so I know for next time, the guidelines for feeding HC food stay the same even if the cat has not received any insulin for 14 hours?

Absolutely. I tagged everyone I could think of and continued to see who was logged in on the forum - but there was no response. I don't have experience with these kind of low numbers - especially when she had not even given the insulin yet so all we could really rely on was the stickies. It was a learning experience, and now I'm glad to know that the sticky is not just low numbers when insulin was given.

 

Everyone did great! Disco is fine, which is the important piece in this puzzle. Even if all someone does is provide support or is there to brainstorm with the caregiver, it's a huge plus.

 

Right... low numbers are low numbers, and must be addressed! Don't forget about the depot-- it's not just the current shot you have to worry about, it's the shots that have come before.

Could not agree more!

 

Thanks Nan. Good point. The information that I got from you Sienne and Wendy I've got written down in my book. I like the 'absolutes' eg. always, never - that are written down: NEVER shoot below 50 (which we followed), ALWAYS feed the 40's (which we never did), 30's ALWAYS means HC food (we never did this either - tried MC food).

Thanks for the learning experience.. but I would have preferred to learn while someone ELSE was supporting Teri! lol

 

323@+10.5 (dozed past the +10). About to do his AMPS, got up to get coffee and photo is “current” situation HaHaMeow!

 

What....? how....? that is a crazy pic from that angle, but they sure look comfy and happy!

 

I didn’t even catch that looks like a cat with two heads LOL

 

If a cat is very sensitive to carbs, MC may be fine. There can be all sorts of caveats -- like when in the cycle the low numbers occur, is it a vast drop vs dipping a toe below 40, etc. As a general rule, give HC.

 

what causes numbers to fall with such acceleration at the end of a cycle - when the effects of the shot are at the lowest?
kitty breaking a bounce?

 

@Bandit's Mom
It can be a bounce breaking or a late nadir.