leaving for work, +3 67

tom got 1/2u on amps 209, +3 67
i hate that sharp drop....just gave him breakfast #2 to help..heading out door. his drops have been sharp then he hangs in a nuetral low 100 for a day. i'll do a curve today if i can get home for lunch.
just nervouse and wanted to share.
ideas anyone?
his ss is totally up to the minute.

 

could'nt stand it, came home and +4 1/2 87. this is a trend with him. peaking around +3 and sharply (150 bg's down) which is more evidence i can't possibly shoot those low 100's in the pmps.
we are stumped.
tom's acting droopy, floppy, don't know how eles to describe it. if i had'n tested him i'd swear he was too low. maybe coming down hard like that feels like crap, i don't know.
if i were aiming for a gentle curve i don't know how i'd get there.

 

I can sympathize with your worries. Blackie doesn't have normal curves anymore either and the unknown just drives me crazy. In looking at your spreadsheet, I think I would think about lowering the dose. That 1/2 unit looks a little much and is probably what caused that early drop. I am certainly not an expert, so hopefully others will chime in.

 

I don't blame you coming home from work - I would have done the same. It's scary, glad he is not hitting really low #s.

Was it a 209 or 290 PS? I think I saw one # in the SS and a different on in the post.

I'd probably try just 0.2u, or go back to the 1/3u you were using before. Looks to me like 1/2u is too much, even on a higher PS.

Were you trying a higher dose to see if you could get a better SID curve out of it? That strategy worked well with Bix, who tends towards shallow drops, but it doesn't look like it's the ticket for Tom! Looks like he's a dropper! If it were me I'd probably either stay with SID at 1/3u or so for a while and see if the PSs come down over time, or alternately, try a lower dose and see if I could go BID - there's even a "fat 0" people use if 0.2u seems like too much.

 

I think I would think about lowering the dose.

HAHA joanna , i just quoted you on that cuase i spend half my day doing just that....think about thinking about lowering/raising his dose.

i put a thread in TT cause i'm concerned with the +3 nadar and sharp drop. i don't think i've ever seen that before....such an early nadar (am i spelling that right?)
poor guy...i'm gonna test again +8 and see if he's still in the dd's.

it's exhausting....and trying to do life at the same time!

 

i did goof, it was amps 209 and i did up the dose by .01 to 1/2 u
i thought he might get better duration and stay dd at his pmps.
if you look he did the same sharp drop at +3 last week on 1/3 or maybe 1/4 u and went up 1 hour later.
this kitty is hitting a 3 hour nadar.
so strange.
i don't think it's the dose.
i don't know what to think.
he drops like a rock then hangs at a barely shootable # past 12 hours.
guess we'll be doing more testing.

 

I've seen before where they drop bigtime even by +2, but then trough after that (perhaps because they're usually getting some extra food at that point). When I've seen it, I think it was because they had a lot of overlap from the last dose, and/or the dose was too high. Not sure those are the case here though. And then I haven't seen those go up afterwards, more a long hang (probably still from dose too high).

Of course with Tom, it's hard to distinguish pancreas action from what you shot. It will be interesting to see what people say in TT.

 

How about trying to get some +1 or +2 numbers? Maybe he's dropping on his own after the shot and you don't know it. Just a thought. I did't think PZI could kick in at +1 or +2.

 

One thing that Terri told me back when Buzz was getting crazy #s on PZI is to get in +1s & +2s as well as +10s & +11s. She said (to paraphrase) that these #s will help you determine dosing, because you will know if your kitty tends to zoom up at +1, allowing you to perhaps dose a little higher and feel comfortable. If you get the late-cycle numbers, you will know when he's pooping out or starting to zoom as well.

I didn't get those tests in as much as I should have, but I did find the +1s and +2s to be really helpful in determining what I was going to shoot if there was a question in my mind of whether or not it was too much. Again, this is only data and can't serve as a foolproof guide of what to shoot, nor should it indicate that you SHOULD increase the dose (nadir should do that). It will just provide data that we don't normally get to help you during those questionable moments.

Just something to think about; sorry I don't have any other advice. I know the rainbow is frustrating, believe me. Buzz went through a similar rainbow (although not with the duration Tom is getting) during her time on PZI, particularly during the early days. She did eventually level off some, though. Keep doing what you're doing and keep on loving TomTom.

 

Just "listening" and trying to learn. Is Tom doing ok now? When he was droopy and floppy, but with ok bg numbers, did you give him a snack?

 

Lori,
Have you tried 0.1U? or 0.2U? Sharp drop is sometimes a sign of too much. Same with the long hang time. What do you think about lower doses and shooting BID?

 

ok i did a stupid move....i shot 1/2u (up from regular 1/3u) for his average amps of 209 to see ifi could get lower pmps. i could kick myself...i should know it does'nt work that way.
well as you know he crashed by +3 dropping 150 bgs i fed he came up to 87 an hour later.
by +9 he was 113 and at pmps he gave me his all time HIGH of 145 and i shot 1/3U even as i obsessed over letting it ride.
maybe the call was ok since this amps was 188, smidge lower than usuall. shot 1/4U
i iz confuzed :?
the 1/2 shot to big?????
stayed awake all nite worrying and had to get up at 5 am to go get my own pt/ct scan.
i'm already exhausted.

 

Lori, it wasn't stupid - you have to try things to see what works, and thankfully you already know what to do when it turns out not to be the right thing!!!!! Give yourself a break!

Sounds like you need to get some rest, and maybe focus on the fact that overall, his #s are AWESOME!!!! I'm the same with Bix - obsessing over every #, like 180 is some big tragedy, when both Bix & Tom are really in pretty good shape. Sure it would be nice if they would be even better but still, blue #s are pretty cool.

Maybe just pick a low-ish dose and a strategy you like (either BID with lower dose, or SID as you've been doing), stick with it for a week barring #s that are too low, or starting to go in the 300s or something, and then reevaluate at that point, and stop pressuring yourself for his #s to be perfect. I know it's easy for me to say that (I should practice what I preach with Bix, eh? ;-) ), but that's how it looks from here. Always easier to solve someone else's problems than one's one. :mrgreen:

Hope you are ok. I'm not sure what a pt/ct scan is (pet/cat scan?) - hope it is over soon and you pass with flying colors!!! (if colors in the scan are good, lol!)

 

As Joanna said, try not to stress over Tom's numbers. They really are pretty good and he's feeling good, right? I hope your tests come out negative and that you are feeling better soon. Take care of yourself.

 

you guys are so right. i was looking over his #'s the first time around back in '07 and i would have killed for the kind of #'s i'm getting now....my how our perspective's change.

 

nothing to add but good luck on the PET/CT.

 

i think i'm gonna try to stick with 1/4 dose and not check until +15 when i get home tonight. i think i can- i think i can -i think i can..... then again i'll probably go ahead and shoot a fat 1/3. i'm hopeless. i'm obsessive. i want our raincoat back (gone to the falls for those new to it)

 

Hmm yea, having had the Cancer myself I know PET is not for anything good.

Unfortunately this is the one type of scanning they will not give our pets yet!!!!

 

Lori,

I'm sorry this is so frustrating for you. But it's important to keep in mind that Tom is different from the other diabetics here. He needs a dental, so you're not managing insulin so much as fighting infection. I think you plan to stick with the 1/4 unit is a good one. If once a day dosing keeps him in the 100s and low 200s, that may be the best you can accomplish until you can afford the dental.