8/15 Simon AMPS 164, +5 66, +9 89, PMPS 82, PMBG 91

Yesterday

Good morning! Shifted my shot time to 7 am/7 pm. Maybe this will give Simon a bit more fuel in the tank for the next few cycles, and allow me to get some extra post pm tests? Gave a solid 0.5 this am. Hoping for a good day!

 

Great start for a missed shot last night

This has prolly been discussed in Simon's previous thread(condo).....
You moved shot time by 30 minutes per day or 15 minutes per cycle?

 

Good morning ☀️! Since I skipped the dose last night I thought I had more flexibility? I may have misunderstood some advice I received last night?

 

Good morning Ms. Kyle! I also assumed wrongly you were a man I was super impressed with your communication style, lol!!
Since you skipped last night, I believe it's fine that you jumped into your new schedule.
Isn't that right @Briere Fur Mom, since last night was a skip?

 

Duh....LOL. Thanks Jan you're sooo right.

Ignore me Kyle


ETA: time for that next cup of coffee

 

My bad.....So sorry! Thank goodness Jan caught that.



ETA: Holy moly...contradicted myself in the same sentence

 

You are just being extra cautious, and I hope you'll do the same for me!!

 

Thank you yes I thought @tiffmaxee would guess my gender after I told her I cried when I looked at her spreadsheet ! I should probably change my name for online forums- no one really uses their real name anyway right?

 

Good morning. Not a bad start at all after skipping! I was just reading a post by a vet on one of the boards I’ve mentioned. He again said with chlorambucil on board give 8mg of cerenia and for many ondansetron at 4 mg 3 times a day often works better for nausea. I then remembered that my lymphoma kitty got 4 mg of ondansetron 2 times a day but that was 11 years ago! I like your shot time much better.

 

Right? Coffee is critical!

 

You know I thought about that after you corrected me. At the time I just thought how odd!

 

My name's not Briere Fur Mom

 

Well it was probably odd anyway! I tend to get sentimental about stuff ‍♀️

 

!!

 

Wow I need to check out that board. That is a lot of meds -what a bummer chlorambucil is so harsh! I will try it though- getting Simon to eat is critical obviously! Yes I’m hoping this new time will give us more flexibility- especially at night if I am having a freak out session!

 

I think most people do use their real first names. I get called Tina, which I don't mind at all! I'm Jan though! It looks like most put their name before their kitty's name. I used to think Elise was Tiffany before I looked a lot closer. I like "Kyle & Simon"

 

Aww thanks @Tina Marie and Jan ! I like my name and sometimes having people assume I am a man works to my advantage I think

 

When I first joined I didn’t want strangers to know my name. Tiffany and Max came to my home the first day so I used their names. I don’t know everyone’s real names either. I’m learning more and more.

 

I’d try for a +3. How’s the appetite today?

 

Kyle, have you considered seeing if there’s a tech at your vet’s office that would like to earn a little extra money and would be willing to come to your place and help you test? I had to do this with my first cat when she needed fluids. When my next one needed fluids I burst into tears! A woman at the ER turned me on to a nurse at her vet’s office. She came only once and my neighbor who hates people but loves cats came over too. We learned how together. It won’t take two and likely just one or two times for you to better get the hang of getting blood from the ear. Fluids for some cats is way harder. I taught my nephew and after a couple of times he got fluids down. Do you poke from the outside or inside? I always did it from the inside freehand. Just a thought.

 

I have been trying to get a sample since +2 if that gives you any idea how my day is going! Finally here we are at +5 with a 66!

 

That’s a good nadir. Feed a little if she will eat. After skipping getting these numbers shows she was definitely on too much Lantus.

 

Thank you for this suggestion @tiffmaxee! I know I will get the hang of this once I figure out what works best for me & Simon. Unfortunately we are still going through a lot of trial and error! I have always considered myself to be good at stuff like this since I worked on a number of wildlife studies early in my career- pit tagging, ear tagging, trapping, weighing, and even performing minor surgeries on small mammals. I am great with pilling and shots and fluids, but for some reason this ear thing has really been hard. I tried buying a different lancing device today (worse), different size guages (no difference), warming the ear longer (helped), and finally went back to lancing by hand (worked, finally!). I think Simons ears need ALOT of warming, and then I need to be pretty precise with the prick -which means I need to stay calm and have a steady hand. I worry so much about hurting him I know that is interfering. I have to remind myself that it has only been one week and I am still learning.

 

Right? Unfortunately part of our problem this morning was that after Simon ate very well this am, I shoved 8 mg of Cerenia and 2 mg of Ondansetron down his throat followed by a hefty syringe full of water, and I inadvertently induced vomiting. Probably pilled him too soon after eating? Anyway, up came all of that lovely fancy feast !! He hasn't wanted to eat since and I want to wait a bit before pilling him again. So we are having a rough day all around!

 

Poor boy! With those drugs you want to give about 30 minutes before feeding. and follow with a syringe of water. Have you ever put the pills in an empty gel capsule? That way you can combine them into one capsule. They make them cat size. The larger the number the smaller the capsule. I like size 3 and 4. You can buy on amazon or from capsuline.com. Also feed smaller amounts more often as opposed to a lot all at once.

I’m mixing up my he/she again. That’s because I now have two girls.

 

*ignore Me lol just saw you tried warming the ear! Hope it gets better for you. I use a make up pad/sponge under the ear when I prick it so I don’t get pricked and I have something “sturdy” to work with.

Do you use a heated sock of rice? It was a game changer for getting enough blood from Kitten when I switched to the human monitor.

 

Thanks for the suggestions @KittenTheCat ! Everyone is so kind and helpful here. I just started using the rice method yesterday and it definitely seems to help!

 

Boy/girl its all good!
Yes I NEED to buy those gel capsules for sure, especially now that he is getting several pills at once. Plus I think the Cerenia tastes awful so this might make it less yucky for him. I pretty much offer him a variety of different wet food every 1-2 hours and then leave it for him if he wants it. After about 2 hours, I throw away what he didn't eat (most of it usually) and try again. It is SO wasteful and depressing !

 

I used mine and Luci's real names Although some people only reply to 'Luci'...I think they know she can't read...

Well...for the most part...she can't read ... I think...

 

Simon is doing the NY Times crossword right now! He never gets very far though

 

LOL!! Sounds about like he's as good as I am at that puzzle!!

 

Amazon has size 3 and 4 gel capsules. You get get prime delivery tomorrow. Get either size 3 or 4. There’s not a huge size difference. Capsuline has a size chart.

 

Ordering now. But there is no such thing as next day delivery up here in the mountains!

 

Isn't it?

 

Okay PMPS @ 82. Once again not psyched to give him insulin at this number. Feed him and retest in an hour? @tiffmaxee I need your help

 

Have you decided if you want to do TR or SLGS? Actually you want to not feed and recheck in 20 minutes. If you feed bg will be food influenced.

 

I was afraid you would ask me that! Im not sure either set of rules necessarily apply to him as it seems his response to insulin is changing rapidly?

 

Because of his other issues I agree with you. Others won’t. He seems to be surfing. How’s his appetite?

 

It would be nice to find a dose you can shoot every 12 hours or abouts.

 

He just ate a bit. My feeling is- test him in an hour. If he is over 100 I will give him 0.25. If not, but above 82 I will give him 0.1. If he is lower than he is now, skip.

 

You could say SLGS, and shoot .25u (you had an under 90)
Looking at your skip last night, then the AMPS this morning is why I might lean toward the .25u
That would probably be what I would shoot IF you see BG coming up in the next 15-20 minutes. Of course you need to consider your ability to test, and personally I used my intuition (or Know thy Cat) quite a bit.

 

I think you should shoot .25. She unfortunately doesn’t know him yet. He just started Lantus testing with a 98 amps. That’s when we met.

 

Kyle having had a cat that was steroid induced I would not shoot this number-he is holding after a skipped shot which indicates his pancreas works. I know others disagree but this is a different situation and we aren't sure if he is even a true diabetic...

 

Shoot now so there’s time for lots of help if needed. What do you think?

 

I do see your point Jayla.

 

It feels like so much has happened since then! Its hard to believe I have only been testing him for 6 days!!

 

at most I would shoot a drop if you can test

 

I agree actually I am dubious that he has diabetes. I could try 0.1 just to keep a little in the tank, and prevent another bump up like he had earlier this week. I feel comfortable with that.

 

I know but when I saw your shot 1 unit with that amps I was so worried.
Is testing getting any easier? That’s another factor.

 

Yes, my thoughts exactly

 

Right? Well that was a big mistake obviously! Are you saying I should skip? Sorry now Im getting confused.

 

You know, not all cats fit into the box. As you said a lot has happened since you started here. You need to do what you feel comfortable doing. No. I think a drop.

 

Last thought . . . And if you don't shoot at all, he won't be hurt, just maybe a tad high in the morning. Next test will be interesting!

 

Now we are likely really confusing her. Sorry.

 

Gut time. What is it telling you?

 

No you guys are awesome! Thank you so much for helping me! I am going to test again in 30 minutes and think about it between now and then.

 

I will be back in 30 minutes. I asked Jayla to join us since she had a similar experience minus the nausea. That’s frankly what makes me be cautious.

 

Okay thanks. Plus the road to the nearest ER is closed right now because of a fire. So that option will probably not be available to me.

 

Sometimes without food they drop more though.

 

I don’t think you will need the ER. If he gets low and won’t eat you can rub karo or syrup on his gums. Have you ever given him baby food? Mine would eat Gerbers 2nd 100%protein when they turned down their food. Something to buy for the future.

 

I just fed him! Was that a mistake? Honestly I think I am going to skip. We can collect the data and see how he responds. Otherwise I am going to be a nervous wreck, even more so than usual.

 

Did you get a BG test before feeding? You could get one still. I shouldn't have piled on so quickly and started confusing things! I got a little excited!
It's important, as has been said, that you are comfortable. All data is great

 

I just got one, it was 91. This is after eating, but honestly I can never get him to eat very much. All piling on is appreciated! I know you are trying to help and I am grateful

 

Is it +1 after the pm shot? Or + 13?

 

It takes 20-30 minutes for the food to kick in so that’s not good influenced.

 

That will be his pmps.if you skip it’s pmbg. 13

 

Okay got it. So what is the point of stalling and re-testing? Are you supposed to feed during this time or not? I feel like Ive read it both ways.

 

So when you stall you don’t feed You are checking to see if they come up to a number you can shoot. If you feed it’s good influenced. When they are on insulin and you wait too long to feed some go up but some keep falling and then you css as my shoot. TR would have you shoot. Usually they have a nice flat cycle and stay green. If they really need a reduction though they will fall under 50 and you know to reduce.

 

The saying is shoot low to stay low. You just don’t have enough data to know what he will do.

 

Okay got it. I feel too stressed out about shooting. If he experiences a BG increase tomorrow or the next day, I will know that these skipped shots have drained the depot and he is still relying on that for regulation. If his numbers hold tomorrow, I will know that his pancreas is at least functioning to some extent.

 

I am also thinking - depending on where he is tomorrow preshot, that I should just move to 0.25 and see if we an get back to a consistent am/pm dose for a bit. Get off the see-saw?

 

I second your idea, Kyle
And I bet you could use a good night of rest!

 

I do think his pancreas is functioning. That’s why the initial dose was too big. I was just going to suggest what you just wrote. When Max first became diabetic my vet had him in 1 unit. At his office he was 60 after a short time on a pet meter. My vet had me stop insulin for three weeks. He should have had me reduce his dose. Max wasn’t in remission. It was my fault though because I wasn’t testing. My vet was playing it safe.

I think I’d give .25 in the morning.

 

So amps at 7:00?

 

Thank you Jan! I will worry about the consequences of NOT shooting too, of course! But less than wondering if I sent him too low! I appreciate your support with this.

 

Yes, does that sound okay? If you want to sleep in tomorrow I will understand

 

There aren’t any consequences in skipping tonight. Better a day too high than ever too low! Relax! Take some you time. It’s just one shot. I skipped three weeks.

 

I never sleep in. I’m up at 5:30-6:30. Im a bad sleeper and my girls start bugging me early

 

All my pleasure. I hope we get to see Simon complete his insulin journey before long And good tummy wishes for your beautiful boy.

 

Thank you so much! I needed to hear this! You have been so awesome - I really appreciate all of your advice!

 

Okay good for us then!

 

Me either, on the sleeping in. I have 6 cats and a dog. Never need an alarm clock

 

Thank you so much! Wishing the same for Tina

 

Wow! For real! Your dog must feel very outnumbered!

 

Funny I just read this- sometimes I feel like I miss posts? Sorry I didn't see this sooner.

 

He LOVES Tina - they are best buds. The pup has always had cats! Springer Spaniel

 

Tha

That is awesome!! Simon tolerates the dogs but barely!