? 4/9 Callie AMPS high, immediate retest 480; I upped her back up to 1U

[Glennie]

I'm wondering if Callie's low BG last weekend was due to lack of appy and being upset because we weren't home. The reduced dose of .75 doesn't seem to be as effective as the 1U. Or it could be that I messed her up with 2NS and a reduced dose of .5.

The two NS were due 1) to not being available to shoot and 2) one morning she absolutely refused to eat anything. The .5 dose reduction was due to the BG 59 and visiting my son and his family and not being able to test all night.

Anyway if someone could look at her recent numbers and see if you think the increased dose back up to 1U was okay. I know asking after the fact is kind of stupid, but I did it and so any thoughts? And if I could find her nadir, it would be helpful, but she seems to be all over the place. Thanks!

 

[carfurby (GA)]

Don't be hard on yourself for the NS and reduced shot. You have to keep Callie safe.

I think you were okay to increase back to 1 unit because you haven't seen any green. It's hard to see her nadir because she seems to be bouncing a lot. The 404 on 4/7 could be from Callie sliding to blue after you quit testing. I also think this morning's number is from her going a little lower after you quit testing. Or those very low yellows caused her to bounce. She was clearing a bounce last night and may have zoomed down fast because of that. Are you able to get a +2 at night? If you could do that, you could give her a snack if her numbers have dropped fast (about 100 points since PMPS) to try and slow any drop and maybe help with the bouncing. I hope this makes sense. Ask me if you have questions.

 

[Glennie]

Don't be hard on yourself for the NS and reduced shot. You have to keep Callie safe.

I think you were okay to increase back to 1 unit because you haven't seen any green. It's hard to see her nadir because she seems to be bouncing a lot. The 404 on 4/7 could be from Callie sliding to blue after you quit testing. I also think this morning's number is from her going a little lower after you quit testing. Or those very low yellows caused her to bounce. She was clearing a bounce last night and may have zoomed down fast because of that. Are you able to get a +2 at night? If you could do that, you could give her a snack if her numbers have dropped fast (about 100 points since PMPS) to try and slow any drop and maybe help with the bouncing. I hope this makes sense. Ask me if you have questions.

Thanks for your insight. Yes, I can easily get a +2 at night.

 

[Glennie]

Don't be hard on yourself for the NS and reduced shot. You have to keep Callie safe.

I think you were okay to increase back to 1 unit because you haven't seen any green. It's hard to see her nadir because she seems to be bouncing a lot. The 404 on 4/7 could be from Callie sliding to blue after you quit testing. I also think this morning's number is from her going a little lower after you quit testing. Or those very low yellows caused her to bounce. She was clearing a bounce last night and may have zoomed down fast because of that. Are you able to get a +2 at night? If you could do that, you could give her a snack if her numbers have dropped fast (about 100 points since PMPS) to try and slow any drop and maybe help with the bouncing. I hope this makes sense. Ask me if you have questions.

Callie is pretty much eating whenever she is hungry except for the 2 hours before her AMPS and PMPS. I hope that's not messing her up. She is only 8 pounds, and she seems to need to eat often. She is only eating FF classic pate. I bought some YA Zero Mature, but she doesn't get to eat that for meals. It's used as a treat for after testing, and the civvies get it when they ask for it. She sometimes gets 3 or 4 Temptations after testing, and I also give her 3 or 4 of those when she absolutely won't eat (i.e. our trip when even they didn't work). The Pure Bites totally disgust her, but a few of the civvies love them so that's good. Just trying to figure out anything I might be doing wrong?

 

[carfurby (GA)]

Furball is free fed. She eats whenever she wants. It's always good to remove the food 2 hours before test time like you do. You have to find what works for you and Glennie with regards to feeding. I tried feeding Furball on a schedule at first, but she was always hungry.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

I have heard people give Temptation treats in order to raise low blood sugar. They aren't low carb - as far as I know. You may want to switch to a low carb treat such as freeze dried meats. Most economical way to get those is to buy them in the dog aisle (as I've been told, haven't done it) and break them up for a cat. We cooked chicken breasts for punkin, diced them small (1/2" cubes), froze most of it and kept a couple of tablespoons in the fridge. That amount would last 2-3 days. Good low carb treat and he loved them.

I definitely agree that it was good to go back to 1.0u. The 0.5u and NS were long enough ago that they aren't figuring in the picture now, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Instead of getting a pm +2, I liked to get a test at the last minute right before I went to bed. So many cats have their lowest numbers at night that this test can often be very revealing.

As far as when to feed - depends on the cat. Punkin's numbers would rise more if he ate in the second half of the cycle, so I didn't feed him after +5, unless I was raising low numbers. This is a trial and error thing to see if Callie is sensitive to carbs or not. Sometime try lifting up her plate after +6 and see if it improves her blood sugar.

 

[Glennie]

Furball is free fed. She eats whenever she wants. It's always good to remove the food 2 hours before test time like you do. You have to find what works for you and Glennie with regards to feeding. I tried feeding Furball on a schedule at first, but she was always hungry.

Thanks, Carla. It makes me feel better that you are free feeding also. Callie's PMPS was 362, and her +2 was 302. And she was having a snack around the +2 time. I don't know...

 

[Glennie]

I have heard people give Temptation treats in order to raise low blood sugar. They aren't low carb - as far as I know. You may want to switch to a low carb treat such as freeze dried meats. Most economical way to get those is to buy them in the dog aisle (as I've been told, haven't done it) and break them up for a cat. We cooked chicken breasts for punkin, diced them small (1/2" cubes), froze most of it and kept a couple of tablespoons in the fridge. That amount would last 2-3 days. Good low carb treat and he loved them.

I definitely agree that it was good to go back to 1.0u. The 0.5u and NS were long enough ago that they aren't figuring in the picture now, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Instead of getting a pm +2, I liked to get a test at the last minute right before I went to bed. So many cats have their lowest numbers at night that this test can often be very revealing.

As far as when to feed - depends on the cat. Punkin's numbers would rise more if he ate in the second half of the cycle, so I didn't feed him after +5, unless I was raising low numbers. This is a trial and error thing to see if Callie is sensitive to carbs or not. Sometime try lifting up her plate after +6 and see if it improves her blood sugar.

Thanks, Julie. Yes, the Temptations are a no-no so they are a very seldom treat, or if she absolutely won't eat, and then it's only 4 or 5. I've tried the freeze-dried meats, and she won't touch them. I've done the chicken breasts also, and once in a while she'll eat them, but more often not. But thanks for the ideas. Honestly when I changed her over to the Fancy Feasts, I was shocked that she would eat it, but I was thrilled. I had tried to get her to eat meat and eggs before, and she would have none of it. So thankfully she is eating FF. She does like cream so that's a treat I often use (about a tsp.), and once in a while she'll eat a tiny bit of cheese or a few bites of YA Mature Zero.

I did get the +2 as Carla suggested to see what she was doing, but I'll get the "right before bed" test also. I really wish I didn't hate testing so much. I'm not lazy--it's just the poking.

I'll try to lift her food at +6 to see how that affects her numbers, but I don't know if that will work or not. It sounds contradictory about her eating, because she seems to need to eat, but is pretty picky about it. If I am able to take food after +6, when would I test then? I can try it, but I don't know how she'll respond. Thanks for your input.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

I would just try to get a couple of tests in the last 6 hours of the cycle to see if lifting her food earlier makes any difference in her numbers. If it doesn't then you'll know that it doesn't matter if she eats until +10.

Cats ears seem pretty tough. Has anyone suggested Neosporin ointment with pain relief in it? I used it every night on punkin's ear, and I tested a minimum of 5-8, sometimes as much as 22 times in each day (that was unusual) and every vet looked at his ear and commented that s/he wouldn't have known that we hometested him. We only used one ear for 2.5 years. I scarred one ear while learning, and the other one bled easily, so we stayed with it. The pain relief obviously helped him. If you haven't tried it yet, it might be worth trying out on Callie.

 

[Glennie]

I would just try to get a couple of tests in the last 6 hours of the cycle to see if lifting her food earlier makes any difference in her numbers. If it doesn't then you'll know that it doesn't matter if she eats until +10.

Cats ears seem pretty tough. Has anyone suggested Neosporin ointment with pain relief in it? I used it every night on punkin's ear, and I tested a minimum of 5-8, sometimes as much as 22 times in each day (that was unusual) and every vet looked at his ear and commented that s/he wouldn't have known that we hometested him. We only used one ear for 2.5 years. I scarred one ear while learning, and the other one bled easily, so we stayed with it. The pain relief obviously helped him. If you haven't tried it yet, it might be worth trying out on Callie.

Julie, I am using Neosporin ointment after each test, but this last tube I bought doesn't have the pain relief. The store was out of it so I just bought the regular. That's a good reminder to get a tube of that again. So thanks! She sometimes gets where she doesn't want to be tested or have her shot. That's where she is right now. No fun for either of us, but it usually passes after a couple of days. Maybe with her numbers being lower today, she'll start to feel better. Thanks again.

I'm debating trying the food thing today. Seeing where her numbers go and how she's feeling.

 

[Glennie]

Julie, I am using Neosporin ointment after each test, but this last tube I bought doesn't have the pain relief. The store was out of it so I just bought the regular. That's a good reminder to get a tube of that again. So thanks! She sometimes gets where she doesn't want to be tested or have her shot. That's where she is right now. No fun for either of us, but it usually passes after a couple of days. Maybe with her numbers being lower today, she'll start to feel better. Thanks again.

I'm debating trying the food thing today. Seeing where her numbers go and how she's feeling.

Well, picking the food up at +6 didn't work yesterday. She probably knew all about and decided no go. Better a gravy lovers snack. LOL