? 01/13 Merry - After 36 hrs of fighting low greens/lime green it's the first time I'm not shooting

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LuanneP

LuanneP

Member Since 2017
I'm so tired today. I was up pretty much all night with Merry due to all his low BG readings. He hit one blue in the PM cycle after having some honey to get him out of the lime green & that one just barely made blue.

So, you'll see in yesterday's convo that I gave Merry a reduction for his PM cycle to 4.5u. This was based on a 43 at +5.5 in the AM cycle because had I not left work early & intervened when I did he would have definitely hit 40 or lower. In his PM cycle he hit 36 at +8.25 and the only reason he had a blue after that was due to the bit of honey I rubbed on his gums so I could try to get a bit of sleep.

At AMPS this morning he was 70 and because he went below 40 in his PM cycle last night I gave him another reduction to 4.25u. I wasn't sure if we give back to back reductions like that but I decided to do it since it was shot time & others weren't on the board to reply. If he doesn't hold it well that's ok, I'll increase him again but it's too worrisome with fighting to keep him out of the lime green literally all day & night long. I'm hoping once his depot drains a bit from the 4.75u that he'll remain at good numbers but we'll see.

At +1 he's 4.7(85).
 
Merry is 2.1(38) at +3. This morning he likes the HC gravy again so he ate it up on his own. I'll be checking him again in about 20 mins.
 
@Myagi and Heidi Yes, I'm fine just very tired! I didn't have a chance to sleep yet, Merry keeps foiling those plans. I was supposed to have my horse back riding lesson this morning but my instructor cancelled which I was fine with because I didn't want to leave Merry & I was so tired. I do have to run into town to get some more HC food since I went through so much last night trying the different flavors when Merry decided he didn't like it. So far today he's eating it though. He was only 2.2(40) at +3.5 so I gave him a bit more HC with a bit of honey this time. Need to get him up a bit so I can go into town.
 
You must be so tired!

Asia didn't respond all that well to honey and when I switched to Karo it made all the difference. Not only could I get her numbers up, but they generally will stay higher for a couple hours depending on how many drops I give her.

You want to get his numbers higher. Do you have maple syrup or Karo that you could try? Also, maybe give him more gravy than you had been.

Don't worry about the back to back reductions just yet, like you said, once you see numbers trending up, you can take him right back to 4.5. Is he eating okay?
 
@Stacy & Asia I don't think we can get Karo here. I haven't been able to find it. I use real, unpasteurized, local honey if that makes a difference, not the cheap grocery store stuff. I do have pure maple syrup as well that I can try. I've only been giving him the gravy and it's a fight to keep him in the greens. I wonder if that "R" word might be happening ;) I'm not far from town & I need to go in to get him more HC food so I won't be too long & will check him as soon as I get back in the door. I just gave him some more HC which he's eating fine today.
 
LuanneP said:
@Stacy & Asia I don't think we can get Karo here. I haven't been able to find it. I use real, unpasteurized, local honey if that makes a difference, not the cheap grocery store stuff. I do have pure maple syrup as well that I can try. I've only been giving him the gravy and it's a fight to keep him in the greens. I wonder if that "R" word might be happening ;) I'm not far from town & I need to go in to get him more HC food so I won't be too long & will check him as soon as I get back in the door. I just gave him some more HC which he's eating fine today.
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Ah yes, probably an American thing. Regardless, try to find some syrup or something different he may respond to better. And definitely get some really HC food if you can find it!

There are a few different reasons they can be racing down the dosing ladder like this. You can see on Asia's SS in December, she's just done a bit of that too. It's awesome when they start responding to the insulin, isn't it?
 
Stacy & Asia said:
Ah yes, probably an American thing. Regardless, try to find some syrup or something different he may respond to better. And definitely get some really HC food if you can find it!

There are a few different reasons they can be racing down the dosing ladder like this. You can see on Asia's SS in December, she's just done a bit of that too. It's awesome when they start responding to the insulin, isn't it?
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Just a curiosity question - can dry food be used as HC?
 
Tracey&Jones said:
OK, Merry too far! Too Far! Momma Bean needs some rest!

I hope he settles down for you to some nice safe numbers soon!

Karo is basically corn syrup.
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Yes, but HFCS is banned in Canada and EU, maybe they don't want regular corn syrup either? It's very much an American thing.
 
I don't think it is banned in Canada - I was reading an article this summer that due lower tariffs on HFCS in the NAFTA agreement the doctors are saying it is causing us Canucks to be fatter as it is being used in more products. Can't comment on the UK however.

Either way I don't use the corn syrup, honey or maple syrup. Jones allergy test came back as he could be allergic to them so I have stayed away from them. I've had to use gravy food, Kitty's KD food and whiskas.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Others with more experience will undoubtedly chime in, but you may want to consider a BCS tonight, or a fur shot so that you can get some sleep. You have to look after yourself as well.
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What does BCS stand for? I checked the link to the slang but didn't see that one.

I've been trying to decide what to do tonight. To me it seems counter productive to give insulin when I've been fighting for the last 3 cycles just to keep him safe. He did earn a reduction again this morning so that would put him at 4u or perhaps he needs a larger reduction than that. I'm not sure what to do tonight but there's still 6.5 hrs until shot time to figure it out.

I know I won't be able to stay up all night two nights in a row. I'll fall asleep whether I want to or not and then I'd probably end up calling in sick to work on Monday because of being too tired.

Merry was 2.9(52) at +5 and I gave him some more HC gravy & a bit of maple syrup.

I also have some Whiskas canned, @Tracey&Jones reminded me when I read her reply. So far I've been using FF Gravy Lovers. Merry usually has good food spikes from his regular food but right now the HC food is barely doing anything.
 
BCS - Big Chicken Shot. A lower dose then normal, half dose etc.

The KD is like 26%. It seems to hit within 30 mins. So need something to get over that hump but a tsp was good enough to get him up.
 
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I went over the cat food chart again because I have tons of different brands & types of food here due to the different health issues & tastes of all the other kitties here and I forgot that I had some Wellness Signature Selects & they have 28% carb instead of 15% carb in the FF Gravy Lovers. I gave him some of the Wellness gravy & he ate it right up so hopefully that will raise his BG more than the FF.
 
Well the Wellness Sig Selects with 28% carbs didn't do much at all. He's 2.8(50) at +7. I just put some honey on his gums & gave him some more of the 28% Wellness gravy. I'm having a nap now too before I fall down.
 
Merry isn't a bouncy cat these days. His curves are relatively flat. I'd ask the experts for dosing advice tonight.

Merry has proved his point. Hoping the Wellness will raise him enough so that you can catch a nap. Going down the scale in a hurry is hard on the human.
 
The big unknown with a reduced dose is you don't know if the depot will kick in. Not all dose changes have an immediate effect.

To be honest, I'm more concerned that you're exhausted. Unless you see that Merry decides to bounce, if you're worried that you won't be able to monitor, you should consider skipping the shot and see where things are in the AM. It's very likely that the drop into the 30s today was a result of Merry's depot not having caught up with the reduction. Unless draining the depot by skipping doesn't seem to be working, a back-to-back reduction often results in less than desirable numbers but there are also times when you need to take the reduction for safety reasons.

 
Thanks @Sienne and Gabby (GA) :)
Merry was 4.2(76) at +10.25 & then 3.1(56) at +11. I think the HC food & honey from +7 have worn off now.

So, if I skip a shot tonight will I have to monitor like crazy tomorrow? I know it really depends on Merry but in general how does that usually look after skipping a shot? I have a few things to do tomorrow so will be out for a few hours. And then Sun night I can't be up all night with him again because I have to go to work on Monday & I won't be able to go to work if I'm awake all night. He earned another reduction today so then tomorrow morning would I give him 4u? I'm not sure how to handle back to back drops below 40 & how reductions work when that happens.
 
LizzieInTexas said:
I just googled "corn syrup in Canada"
https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/crown-lily-white-corn-syrup/6000132109164
ETA-might be where the pancake syrup is or in the baking aisle.
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Yes, I know where to find corn syrup but was just saying we don't have the Karo brand here as some think that's the best brand for corn syrup to raise BG. I always have real honey & pure maple syrup on hand as that's what I use myself so was hoping those would work just as well as corn syrup. But he didn't really seem to have much of a rise from either of those so I will get some corn syrup to see if he reacts better to that for next time.
 
I wish I had a crystal ball! Skipping tonight will help to drain the depot. Ostensibly, your AMPS tomorrow will be higher and you'll be fine to shoot.

One possible scenario is that Merry's pancreas has decided to wake up. When this happens, kitties race down the dose ladder. On the one hand, this is a wonderful thing. On the other hand, it can mean a lot of strips and a lot of sleep deprived nights. Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure what's going on.

 
LuanneP said:
Yes, I know where to find corn syrup but was just saying we don't have the Karo brand here as some think that's the best brand for corn syrup to raise BG. I always have real honey & pure maple syrup on hand as that's what I use myself so was hoping those would work just as well as corn syrup. But he didn't really seem to have much of a rise from either of those so I will get some corn syrup to see if he reacts better to that for next time.
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Sorry, Karo is just a genericized term here, like people call adhesive bandages "band aids". I don't think it matter which brand you get, but the sugar makeup is different than what is in maple syrup or honey and Merry may respond better to one form over another. Honey didn't much work for Asia. I tried the corn syrup and it did the trick, haven't tried to the maple syrup yet for her because corn syrup worked so well.

I agree with Sienne, if Merry bounced and was in really high numbers by now, that would be one thing, but you've got to be exhausted. Get whatever data you can (like if you wake up to pee) on the skipped shot just so you have a reference of what that looks like. Good job last night and today, I hope you get some rest!
 
Thanks guys :)

Merry is 2.3(41) at PMPS.

So I'll skip his shot tonight & I'll still check him a few times before I go to bed & if I get up in the middle of the night I'll check him. His poor ears are little tender now after all the pokes he's had. Do I still need to feed him HC food to get that number up even though he didn't get his shot?

In the morning, IF he's high which we suspect he will be, do I shoot 4u since he earned another reduction today by going below 40?

And if he's still green in the morning what do I do?

I need some ideas before hand so I know what to do when I get up & it's shot time.
 
I honestly think you're going to need to play it by ear in the AM. If you can get a test before AMPS and post if you have a question, that would be great. Folks know to keep an eye out for you to post.

Obviously, if Merry bounces, it's fine to shoot. All things being equal, I'd probably shoot 4.25u. I don't want Merry to lose momentum. If Merry is still in lower numbers, you may want to shoot 4.0u but if the reduction fails, take the dose back up.
 
Juliet said:
Well when Silver first when OTJ he told me by his numbers what he needed. I skipped a shot and he was still green in the am so I skipped again. Still green at pmps skipped again. Before I knew it he was OTJ.
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That would be so nice if that happened! I'm curious to see what number Merry will be at in the morning.
 
Myagi and Heidi said:
Ok Luanne. Don't know your plan for rest of cycle tests, but all you Ms. Bean have had is a "nap", so make sure you fill your depot too! Hugs for a much easier tomorrow (and a safe Merry overnight)!!! :bighug::bighug:
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Thanks @Myagi and Heidi :) I'm going to do one more BG check before bed. So far he's 6 at +2. I just want to make sure he's going to be safe so I'm going to do another at +3 which is only 15 mins from now & then go to bed. That will be midnight. Thanks for everything! :)
 
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