6/28 Bix

Guess it's time for Bix's semi-monthly update. He is doing well, but still tending to hover a little higher than I'd like. I'm a bit all over the map on my strategy right now, partly b/c I can't afford to run through a lot of test strips, and partly b/c he is doing pretty well so I've taken a bit of a "good enough" approach. I'm not sure if he'll ever go OTJ, especially being on steroids (Budesonide isn't in the Pred class of troublemaking, but probably doesn't help anything).

Lately I've been experimenting with shooting a micro-dose on lower PSs (like 130s) since he can take SOOOO long to drift up to a shootable #, and I can often tell from his increasingly weak hind legs that he needs insulin (legs always go back to normal a few hours after a shot that's more than a token dose, regardless of his BG #s). Not much success though. I can't tell that 0.1 or 0.2 budges him back into non-diabetic #s, and 0.6 or higher seems to cause a mild inverse curve. Guess I'll plow through 0.3, 0.4 & maybe 0.5 and see if any of those is the magic #, or start waiting a little longer to shoot, maybe try 140 as a no shoot. His response really seems better when the PS is higher and then he gets a nice drop to non-diabetic #s, but I also know from past experience with him that I can't wait TOO long to shoot even when his #s are lower, or his back legs get super-weak, and then eventually he'll go into a lot higher #s.

So anyhow, still fumbling around I guess with trying to find the right PS/dose combos for him. Wish I could get him into greens more, but sometimes it just seems like he is allergic to them.

Note: I'm using the iPet, so in my head I deduct about 30 pts to approximate what it would be on a human meter, though that is really just guesswork with all the meter variation that is possible. So in my mind at least, a 100 for him on this meter is more like a 70 in other people's spreadsheets, and a 150 is more like 120 on someone else's spreadsheet (hmmm, I'll have to think on that one a bit!). So I guess from that POV he may be getting what would be greens in a normal SS.

If anyone has suggestions, bring 'em on!!!

 

Joanna, I wish I had some suggestions for you! It does look like Bix is staying in good territory the majority of the time, so that's good news. I like all the blue on his SS! He's in a difficult spot, too low to shoot consistently, but higher than you would like him to be consistently.

Would it be an option to use the Relion meter for a while and shoot a little higher dose (0.3-0.5) on lower ps#s like you were considering? Maybe he needs a slightly more aggressive approach, but he's doing so well that I would hate to see him move backwards!

Maybe others will have more ideas...either way, I hope you start seeing some greens soon! :smile:

 

I LOVE cheap strips. .30 (per strip) doesn't seem like much, so if I'm not sure, test again. I guessing the I pet strips are more?

I think SO many things affect their numbers, and if Bix is on other meds, I'm betting that is going to make things confusing for you guys. I think you're doing the best you can.

Have you tried methocobalamin B12 tablets for the back leg weakness?

 

you know joanna, i think your bix is a little like my tom. he is consistantly in a certain range almost regardless of what i shoot. i don't see that you .8 really does more than your .2 and the reason may be his #'s are not really diabetes percipitatated but due to something other.
i do think the 137 is the same as the 134...LOL, you asked!
i have come to believe tom rely's on the insulin i give him however i think his #'s are what they are regardless of .5 or 1U. i stay with the 1u in the am and the .6u in the evening becuase....well, just becuase.
that's just what it looks like to me. other causes for our #'s. not a lack of insulin.

btw, tom is typically high blue low yellow in the am
and always low to mid blue in the pm.

 

That's funny Lori, sometimes I do feel that way, like it doesn't really matter what I shoot (at least under 1u), his response isn't all that different. It's funny b/c he used to seem so sensitive to changes of even 0.1 or 0.2 but now it seems like the picture is a lot different. I like your "just because" strategy, LOL, that is mine too I guess. And I'm sure he needs the insulin - I can see so clearly the pattern with his hind legs with shots vs. no shots for a while.

Nancy, I haven't ever tried the B12. When he gets more insulin his legs seem fine, so anytime I've thought about it I talk myself out of it (plus can't afford more meds!!!). Am I right that when I don't see any signs of neuropathy then he doesn't need the B12 (i.e. if the insulin seems to fix it, then no need for B12)? Or is it something that's good to give anyhow?

The iPet strips run about 64c, the Ultimas I forget exactly but I'm thinking they were in the high 30s, so yes definitely cheaper. I tried that for a while, but started to feel like it was more dangerous since I was playing with shooting at lower PSs and then not feeling like I really knew when he was in diabetic #s or not (so if I wanted to shoot on a 130 say, on the Ultima that might register as 100, which I definitely did not want to shoot on!!!). Back when I used that was when I had him going about a week between shots since his #s were just riding in the low 100s, and after I while I started to feel like it was confusing me more to have perhaps falsely low #s. His patterns have changed some though since then, so maybe it's worth switching back to the Ultima for a bit and seeing how he does. Maybe when my current supply of iPet strips gets low.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

 

joanna have you ever bid on ebay, that's the only place i buy my strips. i have a trick too for knowing when i can get the best bids if you want.

 

Methocobalamin B12

I got them at a health food store, I think a bottle was around $12-14, but I'm not really sure because it last so long I think I've only bought them twice. I get the 1000 mcg (MICROGRAMS) sublingual tablets. People on the board who really have trouble with neuropathy give 3 full pills /day (3 grams). I have never given anywhere near that much. I break them in half or quarters (250-500mcg) and throw them in the food most days. It's a water soluable B vitamin so it should be safe. It is suppose to help support the nerves, that are damaged by toxic levels of blood glucose, that cause the neuropathy. If he's showing signs it might be worth it.

 

Nancy, I think I could handle THAT for the B12, somehow I thought it was a more elaborate specialty order type thing. Thanks for the info, I will add that to my shopping list.

Lori, I'm so scared of eBay, lol!!!! Guess it's worth a look though, I will check it out.

He fooled me again last night, here was how yesterday went:

+24 130 0.1u
+6 146
+12 114 (?!?)
+25 128 (this morning)

Inverse curve on 0.1u??? I'm thinking this ends my experimentation with shooting on a low PS (although oddly this has given him good #s in the end!). You are confuzing me kitteh!!! I'm thinking I'll go back to a PS something like 170 ish (in theory, 140 on a human meter). If he hovers in mid 100s for a long time, I'll decide at that point if I want to shoot lower or not.

 

yep he's quite the mystery is'nt he???
i'll tell ya, i know less about computors than anyone and i find ebay to be very easy to use.
if you want me to explain any of the safeguards to you i can pm you my phone #.
i think i pay half price or less for my one touch and my accu check strips.

 

Joanna,
Just be sure it says methocobalamin b12 , because that is the "active" easily absorbed version (not just plain b12). It is a pink chalky tablet, that almost instantly dissolves when wet, into a reddish powder. It is a SUBLINGUAL tab, (dissolves under a human's tongue) but I just throw it in the food. It might have been $14--$20 ?, but it lasts a long time.

 

Cool - I saw some sublingual B12 at the store today but it was "Coco... something" so I passed on it... I can remember it's "Metho... something or other", lol, so hopefully there's not more than one kind that starts with that prefix! ohmygod_smile

Ebay I always wonder where they got the strips from that they can sell them cheap. Like there's a black market or something in diabetes strips that they've tapped into... Of course I don't worry much about identity theft or real threats that are out there, just tainted test strips, guess I'm paranoid about the wrong things!

Tonight we got +36 108 :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: longest he's gone in a while in good #s... guess he's showing off since we're talking about him. :lol: