Nevermind; I’ll be home in 3 cycles (Vacation dose help please - BGs over 500 for several cycles)

Hi all -

I am out of town and my hubs is at home taking care of Snuggie. I had him on a vacation dose based on his declining BGs after being treated with antibiotics for a mouth infection. We were at 8u vacation dose bc he dropped lower than I wanted my husband to have to deal with. My hubs is having trouble testing and Snuggie’s BGs decided to increase as soon as I left. We are past what could be considered a bounce. I’ll be home Tuesday eve so only have 4 more cycles before I’m home.

My question is - we increased his VD from 8 to 9 and there’s been no improvement. Is it safe for him to bump up the dose another unit at this time?

i am not looking for critiques on how I’ve been managing him prior to this - I am doing the best I can given my own life situation, I just am hoping for answers on if we should stay ar 9 units even tho his BG is over 500 or if we can raise to 10 now. My husband is LUCKY he can get 3 tests a day so I don’t want to risk hypo.

Thanks!

Linked thread in Levemir / Lantus board:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...e-help-please-past-4-bgs-in-high-500s.260295/

 

@Wendy&Neko

@Suzanne & Darcy

 

He appears to be bouncing. See where he's at after the bounce clears.

Given the testing challenges, you would need to switch to SLGS, reductions at 90 unless you want to customize that (and change it in signature). What is.your target BG range for him? Target nadir?

The reason I ask is there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to how you're choosing to increase or decrease, no consistency. So whatever you choose as your range and reduction point don't matter, it just matters that you're consistent about what you do.

 

I’ll be home in 3 cycles. It’s a vacation dose, so I didn’t think I needed to change my sig or formally go from TR to SLGS, or notify the board that we changed a reduction point. I was reducing for the vacation ahead of time to see what happened. He had an infection and his BGs started tumbling once he was on antibiotic, so I was juggling that plus trying to find a good dose in case he kept tumbling, he didn’t.
I’ll be home by the time this “bounce” clears and will be able to test him so I’ll adjust his dose appropriately on Tuesday and go back to my inconsistent protocol that works for us. I’m sure he can handle one more day of high BGs.

 

Oh I see the note now. Most people put a line across so it's very obvious (like George), but my fault for not reading.

But I also meant in general, there isn't enough testing for TR. It's not a criticism, just with days and nights missing tests it's not safe to follow TR and let him get low - especially acro cat on Cabergoline and the possibility of tumor pulsing.

 

Hi Jill! I was wondering what happened to you; I had not heard from you in so long! So last week I checked Snuggie’s spreadsheet and tried to figure out what VD meant. After a few minutes, I thought…. Oh, vacation dose.
Anyway, I hate seeing those blacks, but since you are coming home on Tuesday, I would just wait if it were me. Then you can manage him again.

 

Am I missing something? When I look at Snuggie’s ss, I see quite a few tests under normal circumstances. Minimum of one mid-cycle test is being met on a regular basis and frequently a lot more during the day and there’s usually one additional test at night. That’s enough for TR, right?

 

Was it the green when he was on 11 units that caused you to drop it further to 9? I guess I weren’t home, I probably would not want any green at all showing up! I would be too worried.

 

I'm seeing a few days with missing tests, preshots, and night tests. Or am I confused and that's because she was on vacation during that time?

 

I think Jill was away and her husband was having problems with testing??

 

Ok then I misunderstood, ignore me!

 

@Suzanne & Darcy @FrostD

hi! Yes, to clarify I was actually out of town starting March 3 after AMPS. I started reducing to find a good vacation dose ahead of me actually being gone because he had been given antibiotics for a mouth infection and his BG just plummeted. If I was looking for his actual good dose I’d have been consistent with his reduction points but there were just too many variables. I didn’t want my hubs to deal with any hypo threat and at 9 u with his BG still tumbling I went cautious and went to 8 for when I actually left. I guess his BG was done reacting to the antibiotic and 8 was too low LOL. We bumped him to 9 and barring horrible weather I’ll be home this eve so will start bumping him up.

overall he’s been doing well. We bought a cat fountain and his constipation issues have resolved, his UTI cleared, and his kidney values are stable if not slightly improved. Im def anxious to get back home and get him on track with his dose again. Due to his mouth issues the vet has recommended a course of antibiotics every 6 weeks or so. He lost a tooth and his gums are inflamed but he has had gingivitis since we adopted him in 2007. We will keep plugging along until he tells me he’s done fighting, but he seems fully intent on maxing out each of his 9 lives

 

A good update, Jill. Kiss Snuggie for me! I had a cat who couldn’t undergo anesthesia die to CKD. We did one week on Clindamycin and three weeks off. Similar to what your vet has planned.

Have you ever looked into 1-TDC. It’s something you kind of squeeze onto their gums and I know some people on the CKD group who have had amazing results with it. I’ve been using it in my FIV cat because they have a tendency toward tooth problems. I forget now if Snuggie is laid back about these things or if he’s a fighter.