MinnerPip
Active Member
Hi everyone and happy friday.
It’s been a minute. Last post was April 1, here.
This morning I took a small reduction, from 6 to 5.75. Stated as small since it’s only ~4%. She technically did not earn it by going below 50, but we’ve managed Minner’s reductions at a slightly higher cutoff and based on degree of feeding frenzy and feeding timing requirements.
Overall Minner has been doing well. Based purely on observation and sense, I think she feels better at levels around 100. She is noticeably different when she drops into 60s/50s, often vocalizing a lot and being restless, and/or the behavior changes are caused by rate of change.
THE BAD NEWS …. On Wednesday (4/16) night, Minner fell off the 2nd floor half wall in the loft overlooking our living room. This is about 20 feet (6.1m). We don’t know exactly where she landed, as we heard it and did not see it. My husband was downstairs at the time and heard a series of scraping noises, then the boom. All I can say is that it is a miracle that she is currently not dead or seriously injured. Not so much from the fall, as cats can actually fall from pretty high distances but more from the landing surface … we have a console table w/ audio equipment sitting below that loft. We found 2 shedded claw casings on hardwood below loft and scratch marks in wood of half wall in one area. After hearing the very loud noise, we found her hunkering under dining room table and her skin twitching. Within about 5-7 minutes I was able to check her blood sugar, it was 66 and it was right at +3 time. We can only assume she either fell asleep while perched on the half wall and then rolled off or her blood sugar declined so quickly from +2 that she became unsteady. I also wonder if she was much more below 66 and the stress of the fall gave her a quick bump up. Speculation.
Needless to say we have closely monitored her. She ate quite a bit after her +3 reading. She has used litter box like normal so far and seems fine now. She slept alot Wednesday night and didn’t move much from her sleeping spot on the bed until Thursday. I’ve since moved the raised cat bed that she jumps up on as stepping stone to jump up on half wall. She has been walking on and resting on that wall since we moved in last August.
This fall, coupled with the steady return of the need to feed more frequently to manage the nadir prompted me to attempt a small reduction. We’ll see if this is a good or bad thing over next 6 cycles.
On another note …. We’re about 9.5 months since starting insulin. Wendy had shared that some/many but not all IAA cats will see those antibodies subside in effect by the 1 year mark, sometimes even 9 months. I’m trying to be very cognizant of this. Maybe it has even started given that she took almost a 1U reduction 3-4 weeks ago and has been at 6U now for 3 weeks.
It’s been a minute. Last post was April 1, here.
This morning I took a small reduction, from 6 to 5.75. Stated as small since it’s only ~4%. She technically did not earn it by going below 50, but we’ve managed Minner’s reductions at a slightly higher cutoff and based on degree of feeding frenzy and feeding timing requirements.
Overall Minner has been doing well. Based purely on observation and sense, I think she feels better at levels around 100. She is noticeably different when she drops into 60s/50s, often vocalizing a lot and being restless, and/or the behavior changes are caused by rate of change.
THE BAD NEWS …. On Wednesday (4/16) night, Minner fell off the 2nd floor half wall in the loft overlooking our living room. This is about 20 feet (6.1m). We don’t know exactly where she landed, as we heard it and did not see it. My husband was downstairs at the time and heard a series of scraping noises, then the boom. All I can say is that it is a miracle that she is currently not dead or seriously injured. Not so much from the fall, as cats can actually fall from pretty high distances but more from the landing surface … we have a console table w/ audio equipment sitting below that loft. We found 2 shedded claw casings on hardwood below loft and scratch marks in wood of half wall in one area. After hearing the very loud noise, we found her hunkering under dining room table and her skin twitching. Within about 5-7 minutes I was able to check her blood sugar, it was 66 and it was right at +3 time. We can only assume she either fell asleep while perched on the half wall and then rolled off or her blood sugar declined so quickly from +2 that she became unsteady. I also wonder if she was much more below 66 and the stress of the fall gave her a quick bump up. Speculation.
Needless to say we have closely monitored her. She ate quite a bit after her +3 reading. She has used litter box like normal so far and seems fine now. She slept alot Wednesday night and didn’t move much from her sleeping spot on the bed until Thursday. I’ve since moved the raised cat bed that she jumps up on as stepping stone to jump up on half wall. She has been walking on and resting on that wall since we moved in last August.
This fall, coupled with the steady return of the need to feed more frequently to manage the nadir prompted me to attempt a small reduction. We’ll see if this is a good or bad thing over next 6 cycles.
On another note …. We’re about 9.5 months since starting insulin. Wendy had shared that some/many but not all IAA cats will see those antibodies subside in effect by the 1 year mark, sometimes even 9 months. I’m trying to be very cognizant of this. Maybe it has even started given that she took almost a 1U reduction 3-4 weeks ago and has been at 6U now for 3 weeks.
I know that must have been so scary for you and your husband and Minner. I'm so glad she wasn't seriously injured. I'm sure she was very shooken up and probably sore. Continue to keep a close eye on her. 
I think i might go move the table from next to it so he is less likely to jump up there.
. And seen lots of healing green in the mean time. There could just be some pancreatic healing going on. Underlying the IAA, she still has a pancreas that is partially working and trying to heal.
