1/16 Kim's Simon AMPS 267, + 3 87 Vaca Dose Help

Hello everyone, Simon has been doing very well. I can tell that he feels better. He has been doing more tomcatting around, cuddling, and generally his usual Simon stuff.
Yesterday:
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=61170

I leave tomorrow (Tuesday afternoon). I will give him Monday pm shot and Tuesday am shot, but I will be handing him off to my mom after that. She has cared for a diabetic cat (long ago) and has a healthcare background, but I am still not confident she will monitor him as much as I do. She's also keeping our two-year old son and he's VERY busy. She will have her hands full. I still feel this is the best option between vet boarding and pet sitter who can only stop in twice a day and is expensive.

Anyway, if you look at Simon's SS, he is dipping into the green at his nadir. I think his nadir is kind of early (+3.5?). I'm going to continue to run his curve today as I'll be home.

I am thinking of lowering him to .75 u for this trip. We will be gone 5 days. Thoughts on risks and benefits?

In the end, I feel like Simon should probably stay at 1.0 u for a little longer but just not sure if that's the safest in this situation.

Thanks to all!

Hi guys .. first, I have to say that picture of simon is just gorgeous!! Even mocha's eyes got real big :lol: No dosing advice from me .. I know it's hard to leave our kitties in the hands of others, but I am sure your mom will take excellent care of your kitty .. have a great day!

LOVE the name Mocha Jo Latte. What a fun name! Reminds me of this kitty that I got in second grade and died at age 19 right after I got married: \
In memory of Tassia, aka Birdie (she was Burmese and not Siamese, but the face and eyes looked like Mocha Jo!)

FWIW, I decrease Gabby's dose when I travel because my sweet kitty will take the arm off of my petsitter (a vet tech who works with cats only) if she tries to test. I think decreasing Simon's dose makes a great deal of sense.

You may also want to set a "don't shoot" number for your mom. I'd suggest that if Simon's numbers are lower than 150, unless she will be able to monitor, that she skip the shot. I'd also suggest setting up a sample syringe for your mom. I realize that this may seem like overkill since your mom has a healthcare background, but weird things happen. Best to set a syringe with a colored liquid so your mom has a comparison.

If you won't be accessible, do you want to give your mom your login info to FDMB? We'd be more than happy to lend her a hand if she has questions.

I will give her the login! That is a good idea. Do you think .75 u is a sufficient decrease? I don't have a good feel of how much is enough.

No dosing advice here either, since my cat is weird, just sympathy because I'm going through he same thing, except it's hard to reduce a .1 dose! You're lucky to have your mom to help and I'm sure she'll do a great job!

I know how stressful it is to have to figure out everything when you are going to be gone. My mom stays with my cats when we go away, but she is unable to shoot or test. I usually have to skip Simon's shots, although Simon hasn't been left for more than 2 days. My DH and I kind of tag team if we have a week vacation somewhere with the family. Not the best solution, but it is what it is. You are lucky your mom has healthcare experience.

I would probably do 1/2 of your usual dose to just be on the safe side, but you may want to see what others say.

I've decreased Gabby anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the dose but, Gabby will nosedive and sometimes doesn't eat the same when I travel. Simon's looked to be in a pretty safe range at his current dose so reducing by about 25% should be OK. What you might suggest to your mom is that if Simon isn't eating well, that she further reduce the dose. I think a lot will depend on whether and/or how much she can test.

Sienne and Gabby said:

FWIW, I decrease Gabby's dose when I travel because my sweet kitty will take the arm off of my petsitter (a vet tech who works with cats only) if she tries to test. I think decreasing Simon's dose makes a great deal of sense.

You may also want to set a "don't shoot" number for your mom. I'd suggest that if Simon's numbers are lower than 150, unless she will be able to monitor, that she skip the shot. I'd also suggest setting up a sample syringe for your mom. I realize that this may seem like overkill since your mom has a healthcare background, but weird things happen. Best to set a syringe with a colored liquid so your mom has a comparison.

If you won't be accessible, do you want to give your mom your login info to FDMB? We'd be more than happy to lend her a hand if she has questions.

Click to expand...

Sienne has some great advice here! As silly at that "sample" syringe may sound for your very experienced Mom...if you are doing that 0.75u dose...there are no lines on the syringe for it. So a sample syringe might be a good idea.

I know I also use the twist and count drops method to get those oddball doses too. So you might want to experiment a bit and determine if 1,2,3 drops out from the 1.0u mark is the dose you want. Then your Mom will have both the colored syringe and a physical action. Plus she just might thing you are nuts too!

Plus maybe somebody can post those pictures on how to get the 0.25u and 0.75u dose!

I didn't even know about twisting the plunger. That works very well! I just found the video that julie made that's on the lantus handling page. I'm not sure why I didn't see it before.
My mom already knows I'm nuts, but I got it from her

Of course he just threw me a pink number. He's a cat!

Kim:

Great suggestion from Sienne and I hope your mom can learn to do FDMB so we can help her if she needs it.

I'd like to also suggest that you shoot the reduced dose possibly Monday night but definitely on Tuesday morning. Because lantus has an insulin depot (aka storage shed), the shed from the previous dose can affect subsequent cycles. If you shoot the full dose Tuesday morning, your mom will be dealing with that shed Tuesday during the day and also possibly on Tuesday evening even tho she shoots a reduced dose. By you starting the reduced doses, she'll have less shed action to contend with once you are gone.

Here is a picture of .75u that you can print and have by the syringe:



Here's .25u:

Thanks everyone. Simon had kind of a roller coaster this afternoon/evening--not sure why that happened! I appreciate all the advice for me and my mom/caregiver. I think I'm going to go with a .75 dose, maybe on the skinny side. . .Kim

If it's easier for your mom, you could always lower the dose to 0.5u -- it's on a line!

The bad news is that Simon bounced off of that green today. (It was a fast drop from 267 to 87 at +3.5. His liver panicked!) The good news is that it looks like he's clearing the bounce in record time. You might want to get a test tonight at +4.

WOW...the Tortie Girls almost took my arm off trying to get a look at all the lovely kitties in this condo! :shock: ;-) ;-)