Trying to be brave shooting lower numbers

[Asiina & Alex(GA)]

Alex has been high for so long that now that finally the insulin is working I'm so gun shy about shooting at lower numbers. I know for everyone else yellows are no big deal or even considered high, but I'd gotten used to seeing pinks as "moderate" that yellows are still considered low for me. This will be the second night cycle in a row where he's been at around 15 (270) and I know it's probably safe, but it stresses me out and I keep wanting to lower the dose and/or stay up all night to monitor him.

 

[Lisa and little]

I get wanting to do both those things. Don’t stress yourself into a mess. Easier said than done I know. He hasn’t gone too low on his current dose. If you are nervous get a+3 and a +5 or 6 to see how low he actually goes. Having those numbers will make you feel more confident on what to do next time.

 

[Jasper Blue and Jay]

Alex has been high for so long that now that finally the insulin is working I'm so gun shy about shooting at lower numbers. I know for everyone else yellows are no big deal or even considered high, but I'd gotten used to seeing pinks as "moderate" that yellows are still considered low for me. This will be the second night cycle in a row where he's been at around 15 (270) and I know it's probably safe, but it stresses me out and I keep wanting to lower the dose and/or stay up all night to monitor him.

I have no advice just moral support and commiseration...
I feel the same way, we just gave Jasper insulin while yellow for the first time last night and it was stressful but he did ok. I tested him at +6 and he was safe enough to give a little food and leave some food out so I could sleep.
Hang in there, you're doing great.

 

[Asiina & Alex(GA)]

That's what I did last night and he was fine with that, so I'm pretty confident he'll be fine now. I'll still likely get a middle of the night test just to make sure, and I lowered it just a little bit, but it's hard finding exactly the right dose. I don't want to push it to hypo numbers and he's eating less now that he's more controlled, to the point that I worry he's not eating enough (when in reality he was overeating before).

Stressed when he's high, stressed when he's low. I'm sure one day I won't be stressed about it.

 

[Asiina & Alex(GA)]

And now tonight he's absolutely in NS range. I have no idea what's going on tbh. I'm sure he'll end up high overnight, but I think I just need to decrease the dose because he's all over the place. Of course today is the day that I'm not able to get those mid day tests so I really have no idea what happened in the last 8 hours. He's been eating less too and I'm concerned he's not eating enough, but it's hard to compare when before he was so ravenous and definitely overeating.

 

[Djamila]

Hi Asiina - the NS recommendation of not shooting below 200 is just for new folks who aren't comfortable testing yet, or who aren't confident in being able to steer with food if a kitty starts to drop.

If you get a number like that again, the first thing you want to do is stall and see if the number is rising. If it is, you can give the full dose. If it's not, you can either stall longer until it does rise, or you can give a partial dose. You shouldn't really be skipping doses at this point though.

I also wouldn't lower the dose. Your nadir values are still higher than you really want them, so lowering the dose is going to take you backwards. You actually want those PS numbers to start coming down like that. It's a good thing when you start to see better PS numbers.

It looks like you're doing some fine-tuning with the dose since I see cycles at 1.75, 1.8, 1.85 -- at this point I don't think you need to be doing that. Those types of shifts are better used when a kitty is in regulation numbers. You can make this a little easier on yourself by just holding a dose through a few cycles, and then changing the dose when it's time.