Misha 5/25 AMPS 86; weird numbers yesterday, cowardice this morning

[Squeakycats]

What am I going to do with this kitty? Most recent previous thread: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/misha-5-23-amps-97-pmps-110.178309/

I wanted to get more mid-cycle data, and yesterday was "lucky" enough to have to stay home sick, so I got some...and it made me wonder if I gave a "fur shot" without knowing it yesterday morning--he stayed between 106 and 116 all day (Alpha Trak). And he SLEPT literally all day--good grief! I don't know how typical that is, and it was a very rainy/sleepy kind of day, but still.

Last night he was at about 116 pre-shot, so I cheerfully shot .25; he dropped to 83 within a couple of hours but was holding steady there at +5. He woke me up a couple of times in the night begging for more food (I had left some out). This morning he was at 86. I have gone for it at that level before, so I gave him a drop. When I checked him a couple of hours later before leaving for work, he was hiding under the bed, which he generally doesn't do if he's feeling well. I couldn't test him without chasing him out with a broom, which obviously I like to avoid. So I freaked out and gave him a whole pouch of moderate-carb food (put it under the bed with him; don't know if he ate it). My DH and I are both unable to come home at all early today, so I was worried about leaving him.

I don't know what to make of this! I can gather more data over the weekend, but it makes me so nervous to shoot when he's under 90--and yet I don't know how else I can get him to settle in the green zone. I don't feel like I really know when he hits his nadir--I guess trying to establish that is the next step? He seems to drop awfully quickly--I thought the insulin wasn't supposed to really kick in until maybe +4, and I thought most cats had a nadir around +6 to +8, but I'm wondering if he reacts much faster...

They really like to keep us on our toes, right?!?

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

They really like to keep us on our toes, right?!?

Yes, they do. Since you can't be home at all today to monitor, your plan with a drop and some MC food was a good one. Safety first.

He is really looking so good! Hopefully yesterday was just a sleepy sort of a day for him.

 

[saltycat]

You did the best you could by shooting a smaller dose and leaving some higher carb food out. A quick look at Misha's SS, it does look like she onset's pretty quick but stays relatively flat. I see a lot of lower +2's then PS numbers. This helps you gauge what kind of cycle it will be. My cat is a later onset cat, if I see a drop early in the cycle, I know to be on my toes. Some mid-cycle tests would help you see her patterns a bit better.

That SS is looking very good, nice steady decreases and you are down to just a drop of insulin. A few nights ago you skipped and Misha didn't miss a beat, that leads me to believe the pancreas is starting to work better.

Might need some advice from the lower dose cats, but seeing as how you are using the alphatrak, it might be getting close to an OTJ trial. The AT2 reads higher then the human meters most of us use and that means some of those blues would be green on a human meter.

Hang in there.... These cats are extremely good at confusing us.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I thought the insulin wasn't supposed to really kick in until maybe +4,

On Lantus, +2 to +3 is a more typical onset, though some are earlier. You might want to get some tests around +1.5, +2, +2.5 to figure out when Misha's onset it. That'll help you know when you might have to give some extra food to keep him steady. Knowing the onset, nadir, and duration can really help you manage your cat's numbers.

 

[Squeakycats]

Thank you! I'm going to be testing him like crazy this weekend, poor little guy.

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

My cat was one of the rare ones who nadired very early. Hers was usually at +2. Each cat is different.

I have a suggestion as I had to do the same thing.

I took multiple cardboard boxes ( made them the size i needed to fit under the bed perfectly. I even taped some together so she couldn't wedge
in between. I only left a bit of room on the edges ( much like hotel beds )
so that she couldn't get out of my reach. She still had a place to hide if she wanted but she couldn't get out of reach.
I hated using the broom too.

 

[Squeakycats]

Excellent idea--thank you!!!

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

They really like to keep us on our toes, right?!?

They shure do!

Is good that you can monitor him during the weekend, one thought when Babu started getting closer to his OTJ trial and I had to start lowering his dose, his patterns changed and he started going down very early in the cycle, not saying that's the case but just wanted to share it with you

 

[Squeakycats]

Oh, that is really interesting! (And I'm so happy for you and Babu-Chiri that he's OTJ...) I will try to see if that's happening with Misha!

I think I'm going to start taking Relion measurements when there's enough blood, too--not to drive myself crazy comparing the two meters, but to fully envision the alternate reality in which I only ever used the Relion meter...a reality where he might be getting ready to go OTJ?

I would check with my vet at this point, but her recommendation that we reduce his shots to once a day (rather than continuing with twice a day but reducing the dose) makes me think she'll regard this entire enterprise of testing and small dose adjustments as insane...

 

[Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey]

I would check with my vet at this point, but her recommendation that we reduce his shots to once a day (rather than continuing with twice a day but reducing the dose) makes me think she'll regard this entire enterprise of testing and small dose adjustments as insane...

I'd bet on it. You know what you're doing. No need to bring the vet into it at this point. Better to avoid things you know you'll disagree about so you can maintain a good relationship - at least, that's how I approached it, and it worked pretty well.

I took multiple cardboard boxes ( made them the size i needed to fit under the bed perfectly. I even taped some together so she couldn't wedge
in between. I only left a bit of room on the edges ( much like hotel beds )
so that she couldn't get out of my reach. She still had a place to hide if she wanted but she couldn't get out of reach.

Ha ha! I have so much stuff stored under my beds that my cats can't get more than half an arm's reach in! It wasn't done for that purpose, but it worked out well.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

I would check with my vet at this point, but her recommendation that we reduce his shots to once a day (rather than continuing with twice a day but reducing the dose) makes me think she'll regard this entire enterprise of testing and small dose adjustments as insane...

Probably my vet got so scared about low numbers that he would have had me not to shoot under 250 and also just once a day, so what I did is when he asked me how Babu was doing and what his numbers were, I just said Oh he is ok and his numbers are going down a little but within safe numbers ( never really told him what safe numbers really were ) and eventually just called him and told him Hey good news seems Babu is on remission.

 

[Mandy & Rex (GA)]

Haha! I haven't spoken with my vet since Rex was diagnosed and he told me to start with 3 units and bring him back in 7-10 days for a curve. That was 2 months ago. I did tell him I planned to find a FD support group. Now I need to call and have it added to the file that Rex is in remission.

I echo what Veronica said about the cat going down earlier in the cycle. It got to the point where almost every +2 was too low. I didn't do +1 because it was always food influenced.