Dropping Fast

Giomax

Giomax

Member Since 2018
Max is doing pretty well on TR but since I'm often not home to monitor he's just going too low for my comfort. Wendy recommended switching to SLGS. I've read the sticky. But can someone please help me out here? How on earth am I supposed to dose in .25 increments? What should his new dose be? 5.75? How?
 
Have you looked into the calipers yet? There's a great article on here about how to use them and getting those tiny increments. I 'think' Wendy may have sent you the link the other day? Very helpful in measuring the .25 increment on the syringe. As you can see from Luci's SS we're using .25 frequently - I couldn't have gotten that dose right without calipers....

Congratulations on Max hitting that nice string of greens last night - sorry he had to wait until the middle of the night to do that...he does seem to be responding very well to the insulin!

I got calipers from Amazon but then found calipers at Harbor Freight that were smaller/lighter and cheaper - they work just as well for $14. There's a digital display for setting the increments which makes it easy to change it back and forth (story of our lives here)...

These are the calipers I bought: https://www.harborfreight.com/4-in-digital-caliper-63710.html
 
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Digital calipers are great. I use them no matter what dose I give. Make sure they have the locking button. That way you only have to reset when dose changes. Once set you don't even have to turn on the display until you need to change the setting.
 
It's funny (frustrating ) because his numbers on 5.5 units were on the high side, but way lower on 6 units. Too low for me to feel comfortable going in to work. I went back down to 5.5 this morning. I'll try that again for a few days and see what happens. If high like before, will go to 5.75. Seems crazy a quarter of a dose! Insulin is so touchy.
 
My suggestion was if you are feeding kibble, then switch to SLGS. That was an important part of the suggestion. You cannot follow TR unless it’s an all low carb wet food or raw diet. Yesterday you were thinking about leaving out kibble during the day. High carb wet food for safety is an alternative if you want to stick to TR.

I hope the 5.5 units works for you this time. Just because a dose didn’t work once doesn’t mean it won’t work the second time.
 
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No kibble today, just 5.5 units instead of 6. Sorry, I don't really know what I'm doing, just going with what feels right ;------;
 
Max is 522 at +9 -- ha! Damn, this sucks. He's as high as when he had no shot at all! He had maybe a 1/4 cup of kibble last night but none at all since then. I don't get the feeling that this is a bounce either.
 
Definitely a bounce! Max is not used to greens, much less at least three hours of them last night. Could be a little bit of that high carb food still working in his system too, dry takes a while to go away.
 
Yikes! That's quite the drop. Do you have any high carb wet food? If not, add a drop of honey/karo to a tsp of his wet food, and test again in 1/2 hour. He's dropping too fast. And by the way, the numbers on the SS for today after the AMPS are down one row.

As for reduction, I am going to hedge. First, the numbers you are seeing now are from the 6.0 unit depot. The larger depot can influence 4-6 cycles after a reduction. Second, we need to resolve the question of SLGS or TR. The decision on dosing method is up to you, and the answer as to whether a reduction is earned depends on the dosing method.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Yikes! That's quite the drop. Do you have any high carb wet food? If not, add a drop of honey/karo to a tsp of his wet food, and test again in 1/2 hour. He's dropping too fast. And by the way, the numbers on the SS for today after the AMPS are down one row.

As for reduction, I am going to hedge. First, the numbers you are seeing now are from the 6.0 unit depot. The larger depot can influence 4-6 cycles after a reduction. Second, we need to resolve the question of SLGS or TR. The decision on dosing method is up to you, and the answer as to whether a reduction is earned depends on the dosing method.
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I've decided on SLGS I think. Still feeding him all wet food (unless he drops crazy like he's been doing, then I chicken out and give him a kibble snack). So I shouldn't reduce tomorrow? I want to go to 5 units. Can I do that? It feels like the right thing to do for now. I'll be gone almost 12 hours tomorrow.
 
SLGS says to reduce immediately if you see an under 90. For safety, 5.0 units is fine.

High carb wetfood can work as well as dry food at raising numbers, with the added benefit that it doesn't last as long in the system. You can even get wet foods over 20% which should good for giving him a good boost.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
SLGS says to reduce immediately if you see an under 90. For safety, 5.0 units is fine.

High carb wetfood can work as well as dry food at raising numbers, with the added benefit that it doesn't last as long in the system. You can even get wet foods over 20% which should good for giving him a good boost.
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I'll have to invest in some medium and high carb wet foods. Do you know of any off the top of your head? For now I just gave him some FF with kibble mixed in. I'll be testing in 30 minutes.
 
Weruva Grandma's Chicken Soup is 21% and is one I did. If you do Fancy Feast, their Medley's in Gravy white meat/chicken/tuna broth and whitefish and shrimp recipe gravy are 20%. Their primavera line tender turkey in classic sause is also 20%. As is the Gravy Lover's beef, and most of the Delights with Cheddar. All of the Medleys Tuscany are 20% and above. Take a look at the sortable cat food list, and put a max 25% in carbs and see what comes up.
 
Just fed a spoonful of wet food with some corn syrup.

+15 minutes after last test and we're to 73, thank goodness. Testing again in 15.

+15 and we're at 115. I missed where you said to feed only a DROP of corn syrup. I gave him maybe half a teaspoon! Maybe a bit more? Is he gonna go way too high now? Heck...

Plus he had the dry food earlier as well! Somebody really needs to physically be beside me and guide my hands for me. They have no idea what they're doing...
 
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Take some deep breaths; you can do this. Proceed slowly while thinking about every action you take having a reaction.

If you haven't already, print, read and re-read the sticky notes on treating a hypoglycemic / drop in BG event.

The goal is small adjustments to control BGs in gradual increments...
Way too low? A drop or two of honey or karo syrup on the gums or in a small (tsp) amount of food will typically and gradually increase the BG to a safe range. This small portion may need to be repeated until BG becomes stabilized.
If kitty is not conscious because BG is in a freefall, go to ER ASAP.
Kitty may bounce high due to the karo syrup and kibble, which may then cause a reaction of a sharp drop in the BG, so frequent testing to monitor is necessary.
You can do this!

@MrWorfMen's Mom
@Webdy&Neko
 
Thanks @Joanne&TinySole! Sadly, I don't have a printer, but the stickies are always pretty easy for me to access.

I'm going to test again in about 15 minutes. I do need to go to sleep very soon thought. I work an opening shift in the morning ;-----;
 
The goal is to regulate the BG. If you cant test because of work, it is best to let Max run a little higher.

I'm not sure how or why he went so low - I'll take a look at your posts and spreadsheet.
The long-term advisors here have excellent experience and you can trust them.

I did SLGS because I was too terrified to do TR. Either method can get Max OTJ.
 
Please stay vigilant. The corn syrup -although you gave him a lot as understand it, does not last very long as an influence to keep numbers up.
You need to make sure Max can hold his own above 50 for at least two hours without any high carb, medium carb. Put on some coffee, I'll stick around with you until either he's in the clear or someone else can take over if I need to sign off.
 
Joanne&TinySole said:
The goal is to regulate the BG. If you cant test because of work, it is best to let Max run a little higher.

I'm not sure how or why he went so low - I'll take a look at your posts and spreadsheet.
The long-term advisors here have excellent experience and you can trust them.

I did SLGS because I was too terrified to do TR. Either method can get Max OTJ.
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I have no idea why he went so low. He was in the 400/500 range before his PM shot, and then three hours later.....boom! Super drop. And he just kept dropping. It's extra weird because his nadir is never at +3 or anywhere near the beginning of the cycle.
 
Barbara & Uncle (GA) said:
Please stay vigilant. The corn syrup -although you gave him a lot as understand it, does not last very long as an influence to keep numbers up.
You need to make sure Max can hold his own above 50 for at least two hours without any high carb, medium carb. Put on some coffee, I'll stick around with you until either he's in the clear or someone else can take over if I need to sign off.
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I wish I could put on coffee and stay up all night, but I work at 7am tomorrow. He's not been below 50 yet--almost, but I caught him in time. No doubt he would have dropped into the neon greens had I let him.
 
Not sure either, but maybe a combo pack of Max clearing a bounce and the depot filling up again after the skipped shot. Hopefully someone more experienced than me will take a look at the spreadsheet and give you feedback about that.. For now let's concentrate on making sure Max is safe tonight :bighug:
 
Joanne&TinySole said:
@Webdy&Neko
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Missed that tag. ;)

Over a 100, you can wait for an hour for the next test. Can you wait up another hour? He could have been breaking a bounce today, hence the fast drop. Or it could be that this is the 5th cycle after the skip so the depot is building again, or both. Hmm, I see Barbara nailed that one as I was typing. :)
 
Giomax said:
I wish I could put on coffee and stay up all night, but I work at 7am tomorrow. He's not been below 50 yet--almost, but I caught him in time. No doubt he would have dropped into the neon greens had I let him.
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Yes, I understand your situation and I appreciate that. I'm not trying to be a hand wringer here but a drop from 402 at PMPS to 81 at +3 is nothing to play around with.
You need to make sure Max is holding his own for two hours after any medium or high carb has been given
 
Olive & Paula said:
Digital calipers are great. I use them no matter what dose I give. Make sure they have the locking button. That way you only have to reset when dose changes. Once set you don't even have to turn on the display until you need to change the setting.
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Which ones do you have... need to buy!
Thnx :bighug::stop:
 
At what + time are you? How long since he got the corn syrup? If you can, it'll really help us help you if the spreadsheet is kept up to date, or at least the subject line on your post.

You can also take the 911 off now, you have eyes on your post.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
At what + time are you? How long since he got the corn syrup? If you can, it'll really help us help you if the spreadsheet is kept up to date, or at least the subject line on your post.

You can also take the 911 off now, you have eyes on your post.
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Gosh, I don't even know. I've just been typing the numbers out on this thread as I get them. How do I update in 15 minute increments on the spreadsheet? Thanks so much for your support, guys!
 
Giomax said:
I wish I could put on coffee and stay up all night, but I work at 7am tomorrow. He's not been below 50 yet--almost, but I caught him in time. No doubt he would have dropped into the neon greens had I let him.
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Agreed! One of the most important lessons I learned here was to get a +2 or +3 every time!
 
Giomax said:
Gosh, I don't even know. I've just been typing the numbers out on this thread as I get them. How do I update in 15 minute increments on the spreadsheet? Thanks so much for your support, guys!
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@Wendy&Neko Right now we're almost +6 on the evening cycle.

Corn syrup was given about an hour and a half ago and he's been snacking on his wet food since.
 
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Here's an example of an entry for two tests in one cell
 
That's great! Looks like the last corn syrup was given about 2 hours ago? If that's the case an he's only had LC wet food since then and he's in safe numbers you are probably good to get to bed soon after one more insurance test.
 
Barbara & Uncle (GA) said:
That's great! Looks like the last corn syrup was given about 2 hours ago? If that's the case an he's only had LC wet food since then and he's in safe numbers you are probably good to get to bed soon after one more insurance test.
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I plan on testing again in about ten minutes. He's not only had wet FF. He's had some dry kibble mixed in as well.
 
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