29-Nov Mav AMPS 473

Buzzing the tower yesterday

Someone was very pooped out this morning, he usually gets up before the alarm, but was very comfy curled up beside me

Most certainly possible, I seem to recall same time last year he started changing things up on me.

Nice to see you ...yes, that at least is one constant! He really is always happy and playful. Even when he was up there at 499 the other night, he was chasing his tail in the bathtub!

Hi Lyane, thank you . I see sweet Ti is keeping you on your toes! I wish I could find a human meter that I trusted, I don't like the Freestyle Lite, but the other available human meters need too much blood. Since I am using AT2 when I get those lower greens, they don't really don't leave me much wiggle room. I might go back to higher LC feedings, I tried that for a while and managed to keep him flatter, albeit higher flatter. You'd think he'd get used to lower numbers by now

 

Maverick, what the heck you doing up there?

 

Christie had sent me a PM regarding Mav's numbers.

it looks to me like he's bouncing. There's some possibility that your insulin was toasty, given that you started a new vial and he dropped into greens. However, he hit greens on the 1.75u dose previously.

One question for you -- are you reducing one numbers drop below 40 or you get 3 drops into the 40 - 50 range on separate occasions. Mav is a long term diabetic and I just want to make sure you're taking reductions at the right time. I'm not sure where the "under 50" falls on an AT2 -- are you using under 60 (which is what it sounds like from your note above)?

When was the last time he was in to the vet for a check-up or had a dental?

One of the strategies I used with Gabby was to try to give the maximum insulin I could while at the same time, avoiding reductions. In other words, if it looked like numbers were dropping, I'd intervene with food to keep her in a green/blue surf without allowing a reduction if I could. Ultimately, she earned a reduction but it was a matter of keeping her in good numbers to get her used to the lower ranges. Gabby was a bouncy kitty and prone to dramatic drops. It may be a strategy worth trying.

 

Thanks so much Sienne, @Sienne and Gabby (GA) I appreciate your help, knowing the Thanksgiving holiday is very busy for you and others in the US. The bouncing isn't new, and more often than not I can deal with it, though every now and again my frustration boils up .

You have given me a few things to work on, one of which is my reduction number, most of the time I just assess based on how things have been going, but really need to establish that. It may be a moot point, I may end up being forced to find a human meter anyway, the last batch of AT2 meter strips I bought from Amazon US got stopped at the border. I actually thought Customs might not release them, they held them back for 2 weeks, which fundamentally is just bizarre, I can't believe they would fuss about pet BG test strips

I will continue to experiment with food, I have had some success with higher LC feeding, but sadly those cycles don't seem to continue consistently. I had tried a few times to keep him just about 80 hoping the bounces and cycles would flatten out (see around end of October, early November, though this had been my strategy for a few months now) but that didn't really work out...the high numbers just return. Maverick generally tends to get poor duration (only when he doesn't ). This is another one of my issues, since I know that feeding after nadir can put the brakes on duration, but if I am lucky enough to see lower mid-cycle when I come home for lunch (especially when I have propped up numbers with higher LC earlier in the cycle), I feed LC in case he might continue to drop when I'm back at work.

Above all, he really is very happy and playful, which I am so grateful for every day. I just wish I could do better for him, I'll just have to keep trying, maybe at some point we'll get there.

 

You had mentioned you'd been giving some thought to changing insulin. I never switched Gabby to Lev because the later nadir didn't work for my schedule. You've certainly given Lantus a solid trial. You may want to consider a switch to Lev. I believe @Marje and Gracie switched to Lev and liked it a lot for Gracie. She may also have some thoughts about what may help with getting Mav's numbers where you want them.

 

He's due for a vetty visit in Dec, I'll at least get the script for Lev, yes, around the same time last year I pondered changing insulins, but wasn't sure how I'd navigate around the different onsets and nadirs with work.

 

I loved Lev so much that I wish I had started Gracie on it and skipped the Lantus. Although she did continue to bounce some times, it was minimized and she did so much better on Lev. Plus, with her, even small doses of Lantus stung her.

 

Christie, I remember that we have talked about the possibility of switching to Lev before. I took my time, not wanting to have to feel like a newbie all over again. And concerns about late nadir too. Like Marje, I wished I had switched earlier. Duration does seem a bit better, and it was better for Neko when she was in higher doses phase.

I found that getting +9/+10 and preshot were good indicators or cycle to be. Marje had luck with +2. Neko’s nadir was close to preshot, so a much more convenient time as I was home.