Suzy dosing?

B

babysittercats

Member Since 2020
Hi, getting mixed answers. 12 hours exact and her numbers are higher than "normal" but still lower so I'm hesitant to shoot, but if I don't her numbers skyrocket. Thoughts? Thanks
 
Have you fed her yet? Hopefully the answer is no and you can test again. When you get a PS you're not sure about shooting, you should stall, don't feed and test again in 20-30 minutes to see if the number goes up without the influence of food.

No matter which dosing method, she has earned a reduction today by dropping below 50 (TR) or 90 (SLGS) so you'd drop her dose down to .75.

The reason you're seeing so many crazy numbers is because you're not following any dosing method. Every time you change the dose you disrupt the depot and you get wonky numbers. Basaglar needs to be given at the same dose both AM and PM.

You can't dose Basaglar based on the Pre-shot...it's dosed based on how low it takes them.

The 567 you saw last night that you thought was due to skipping the shot was more likely due to her "bouncing" from a low number she got on the AM dose. I highly suspect that the 112 you got at PMPS was probably her blood glucose going UP and she probably dropped very low on the morning cycle but since there aren't any tests, there's no way to know for sure.

As for tonight, I'd bet money she's going to bounce again because she dropped so low during the AM cycle.

Can you test tonight?
 
It will also help us to help you if you post more often and use the format we're used to. I'm really not trying to be hard on you, but you don't understand how to use the insulin you're using yet so you're not going to get good results.

It's not your fault or anything....learning how the depot insulin's work takes time and lots of explanations and help from others who do understand them. If you'd post daily (or at least several times a week), you'd get more help as people start to look for you and people will explain things in different ways so hopefully one of the explanations will make sense to you.

Here's some info on Getting the most from your forum experience that may help.
 
Posting daily is not realistic for me. I was posting every few days but continued to only get 1 or 2 responses. What people are telling you it makes no sense to me they tell me to change the dose but there when I change the dose they tell me I have to give the same every day which is it? She would be getting no insulin if I went down every time she went low.
 
babysittercats said:
I was posting every few days but continued to only get 1 or 2 responses.
Click to expand...

You've gotten everywhere from 2 to 38 replies on each of your posts. On this post that only had 2 replies, the 2 replies you got really did answer your question. You needed to reduce the dose as well as Wendy also asked you to look at how we usually post here so it would be easier for the people scanning the board to know what's going on. There are hundreds of cats here and only a handful of people who are comfortable giving dosing advice. Being willing to advise someone else on dose is a massive responsibility that not everyone is comfortable with (or don't have the experience with your type of insulin to reply). The last thing anybody wants to do is give advice that could possibly hurt or kill somebody else's cat.


babysittercats said:
it makes no sense to me they tell me to change the dose but there when I change the dose they tell me I have to give the same every day which is it?
Click to expand...

There are times you should change the dose....and there are other times you shouldn't. Diabetes isn't a "set and forget" it disease. That's what I meant by you don't understand how your insulin works yet. It was a good 5-6 months of me posting daily and getting explanation after explanation before I started to get the idea and felt comfortable making my own dosing decisions.

When she drops below 90, you need to reduce the dose...period. Since you can't test enough to do Tight Regulation, that leaves Start Low, Go Slow and dropping below 90 is the "reduction point".

Then you hold the same dose for a week (unless she drops below 90 again) and run a curve (test every 2 hours for 12 hours).

When we see the curve, we can advise you on whether you need to go up in dose or if you should continue to stay where you're at.
 
To clarify when I say two responses I mean two people I'm not counting multiple replies by the same person. I'm just feeling very frustrating because I'm getting complete opposit suggestions of what to do. I missed one time, but otherwise did a curve last week. I can't do a curve every week.
 
You don't need a curve every week if you can do enough spot checks to see how low the dose is taking the cat. If you can't get spot checks, a curve is needed. In the case of 1.0 units, that dose is taking Suzy into dangerous low numbers which could potentially hypo. Please lower the dose to 0.75 units. Anything below 50 means the dose must be reduced immediately. Cats have the unique ability that their pancreas can heal, and when that happens, their dose has to be lowered for safety. It looks like Suzy's pancreas has done some healing.

I am saying the same thing as Chris, please reduce the dose, for Suzy's sake.
 
Lindsey (@babysittercats)

I’ve read through every single thread you’ve posted and, to be quite honest, members are giving you consistent advice but you aren’t listening. You asked several times about bouncing and I read at least three explanations by experienced members.

In this forum on this board, there are two dosing methods, TR and SLGS. Those acronyms have been explained to you several times and those methods linked. You refuse to read them. They are not that long. We are here to help you but we are not here to spoon feed you which means you have to take the horse by the reins and be willing to learn. We will be happy to answer as many specific questions about those dosing methods as you have but you are responsible for reading as much as you can and then asking the questions.

I’ve seen many suggestions to help you and the response is always “no” or “I can’t do that”. We’ve helped hundreds and hundreds of members over the years with more constraints than you have but they’ve been willing to learn and to make some sacrifices. If you aren’t, please just tell us.

It is incumbent upon you to read and learn. It is incumbent upon you to post according to our posting guidelines which have been given to you a couple times. No, you don’t have to post every single day but it will help you to do so. Otherwise, we are constantly reacting to water under the bridge (actions you’ve already taken in the ensuing time between posts) which make it harder to help you.

Neither dosing method has hard and fast ”rules” although the closer you adhere to them, the better progress your kitty will make. SLGS specifically states it is “guidelines”. We won’t offer advice in a vacuum, where we cannot tell how you are making dosing decisions, if we can’t tell how low a dose is taking your kitty, or if the SS is not up-to-date.

You’ve stated many times that you can’t get four tests a day and yet, many days, you’ve actually done a good job of testing. We certainly have enough information to tell you she needs less insulin right now. Wendy and Chris both asked you to drop the dose, so you should be shooting 0.75u until she drops below 90 for SLGS or below 50 for TR.

The members here are warm, caring, and compassionate and they will do everything they can to help you and Suzy but you are her caregiver which means you have to meet us more than half way so we are giving you the best advice we can to help her.

If you don’t have insulin syringes with 0.5u markings, you need to find them (Walmart has them). As Wendy told you, magnifying glasses, under lights, etc, can help you dose more accurately. If you were posting and reading, you’d find that we have many ways to microdose consistently.

I hope you will read back through your posts and see how much people are trying to help and I hope you will become a partner in this.
 
I don't know how you can say what I have done or not done. You can't! You don't know me. I rather have no responses than ones that are not even giving advice just tearing me apart. Thanks for nothing.
 
babysittercats said:
I don't know how you can say what I have done or not done. You can't! You don't know me. I rather have no responses than ones that are not even giving advice just tearing me apart. Thanks for nothing.
Click to expand...
I can read your posts and see what you tell us you have done and are not willing to do. My goal is not to “tear you apart” but to inform you what your responsibilities are and how you can help us help you.

Let me give you an example. Shot time. Several members tried very hard to help you with a shot time that might work better but you refused their help. You said you can’t do 6/6 because sometimes that interferes with your job although you said you are home by 6 pm to feed them and wait two hours to shoot at 8. If you are shooting at 8 am, you must be home at 6 am. What about 7/7? The whole goal was to find a shot time where you could possibly get one test before you left for work and before you went to bed.

In all the years I’ve been here, I’ve never had to suggest this but perhaps we aren’t the best fit for you if you aren’t willing to read, learn, follow a method, post in accordance with our guidelines, appreciate the people who are trying to find solutions for you.

I am certain we could help Suzy and you with your cooperation; we don’t like to lose members but, as I said, you have to do your part.
 
Last edited:
Hi, honestly looking back at old posts mean very little. Half of what you brought up is no longer true. I do the best that I can and sometimes that means I can't test/shoot exactly every 12 hours or can't test much more than twice a day (pre shot). As you see some days I can do more than others. If people aren't willing to try and help me with what I CAN do then that's fine, there has to be someone out there who is.
 
babysittercats said:
Hi, honestly looking back at old posts mean very little. Half of what you brought up is no longer true. I do the best that I can and sometimes that means I can't test/shoot exactly every 12 hours or can't test much more than twice a day (pre shot). As you see some days I can do more than others. If people aren't willing to try and help me with what I CAN do then that's fine, there has to be someone out there who is.
Click to expand...
I actually disagree about looking back at old posts because there is a consistent pattern which was clearly evident to me.

Everyone has a demanding life and circumstances so it’s not uncommon to not always be able to shoot every 12 hours exactly. Again, you should be able to get more than two tests a day. Besides PSs, if you get home by 6, you can test then, test at PMPS, and grab a before bed test. If you don’t shoot in the morning until 8, you can get a test at 7.

If your circumstances (e.g. shot time) change, let us know and we can suggest times you can test but if you shut us down every time, you leave us no options to offer you advice.

We are very willing to help you. Are you willing to read the stickys and learn the basics, select a dosing method, be open to our suggestions, etc?

It was suggested you take a dose reduction by two very experienced members but you did not. If you read the stickys, you would know we have a procedure to help you shoot the numbers you are skipping, like tonight. An 87 is a very safe and shootable number and members can help you learn how to shoot safely to keep Suzy moving forward on her progress.
 
Last edited:
Hi, I don't know what stickys are on here ?

I tried to get help when I needed to make a decision the other night but nobody responded for several hours too late to do anything. Everybody else have other things to do i understand that. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want help, but I want to understand the WHY not just be told what to do. I'm not comfortable shooting at 80
 
At the top of this forum - looks like this:
upload_2020-8-9_12-16-6.png
 

Attachments

  • upload_2020-8-9_12-16-6.png
    upload_2020-8-9_12-16-6.png
    221.2 KB · Views: 86
babysittercats said:
Hi, I don't know what stickys are on here ?

I tried to get help when I needed to make a decision the other night but nobody responded for several hours too late to do anything. Everybody else have other things to do i understand that. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want help, but I want to understand the WHY not just be told what to do. I'm not comfortable shooting at 80
Click to expand...
If you don’t post your subject line as we recommend in the post Wendy linked for you (and it’s at the very top of the page Sue linked for you), we have no idea that you need help at that moment. Chris did reply to you a little later (less than two hours) which is still within the timeframe that you could shoot. However, no one knew you needed help with shooting.

Again, it’s up to you to read all the info we have out there, which is very readily available, so that you know how to post a subject line that indicates you need help at that moment.

FD is largely about staying informed. We will support you and answer questions but you must be willing to read, read, read. We are all volunteers so that means all the Stickys and Info posts have been written by those of us willing to take our personal time to do the research required to write those posts. The very least you can do to help Suzy is read them. You will surely find some of your answers within them and the ones you don’t, you can ask about.

This is a community of support and learning which also means the more you read other threads and look at other SSs, the more involved you are with other members and their cats, the more you learn to help Suzy, and the more other members reach out to you, the more you and Suzy benefit. It’s a give/take.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top