? 10/24 Fergus. PMPS 211

Dawnthebikegirl

Dawnthebikegirl

Member Since 2021
So I've gotten used to the high numbers and they don't scare me as much as the low ones do. I'm terrified for him to go hypo when i'm not home, which is often.

I checked his BG at +7 this morning and it was 157, then PMPS it was 211. My vet said not to dose him if he was under 216 but i didn't dose him yesterday so i didn't want to not dose him 2 days in a row. When i came home last night the meter read 475, then high at PMPS.

So today before PMPS i fed him, gave him a small bit of kibble and dosed him. Now at +2 his BG has gone up instead of down, but if the lantus kicks in at +2 (which is soon) it should start to drop. Right?

Gawd, I hope that makes sense. I hope i'm doing the right thing. I'll make a point of more testing moving forward and i will try to do a curve tomorrow. I wonder what is the next move. Just hold the dose? How do i get his pre-shot number to not go too low so i don't have to skip a dose?

I'm also having to convert these readings to the American numbers.. my glucose meter is metric. I hope i'm doing it correctly.
 
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@PerfumedCatMom
@Wendy&Neko
@tiffmaxee
@Bandit's Mom (for tomorrow)

Hope someone can offer some constructive advice here. I think Dawn should not skip doses. I also think she needs to go to SLGS - just for now. She is not getting good advice from her vet. She also needs to test him before shooting and feeding and hopefully we can get Fergus off the kibble. Let's see who can help her out here.
 
Thank you so much and i really appreciate the help. Like so much.

I'm gonna switch to SLGS, but I will try to get some extra tests in when I can. His dose schedule just messes so much with my sleep, and then I start making mistakes and panicking unnecessarily and feeding him kibble because I worry he will go hypo when i'm not home. That coupled with his inability to poop is just making me mental.

So I normally remove food 2 hours before, then test, feed and dose. Just like the FAQ's say to do. It's just that sometimes his appetite is so erratic. He will eat like crazy one day, then i have to chase him with the food bowl (or give him kibble !!) to get him to eat anything. It's like everything i want him to do he does the opposite.

Anyway. I hope i can get him on track.
I feel like a broken record, but knowing you guys are here to help is such a relief.
Thanks again for putting up with my panicked messages.
 
Dawnthebikegirl said:
I'm also having to convert these readings to the American numbers.. my glucose meter is metric. I hope i'm doing it correctly.
Click to expand...
Just enter the values on the World tab, the US tab will convert the numbers for you automatically. A favour to ask on the spreadsheet, in cycles where you skip, could you put either "skip" or "NS" for no shot. That way we know it was a deliberate skip/miss, instead of you just forgetting to enter the data.
Dawnthebikegirl said:
My vet said not to dose him if he was under 216
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We tell brand new people not to dose under 200, but you are no longer brand new. You have data. People following TR with experience will shoot a lot lower. Lantus is great at keeping low numbers flat. I loved shooting low numbers, I knew what to expect with the cycle (not much movement). High numbers could mean anything. If you are around and home to monitor, how about trying to lower your "no shoot" number to 150? Or another option is to shoot a reduced dose so he gets something into him. Since you got a mid cycle test today (well done!), then you knew he was on his way up at PMPS time. I'm glad you shot tonight.

Not sure what kibble you are giving him, but that's another possible reason for rising numbers tonight. If you feed kibble, you have to follow SLGS. TR requires all low carb wet or raw food.
 
Dawnthebikegirl said:
Thank you so much and i really appreciate the help. Like so much.

I'm gonna switch to SLGS, but I will try to get some extra tests in when I can. His dose schedule just messes so much with my sleep, and then I start making mistakes and panicking unnecessarily and feeding him kibble because I worry he will go hypo when i'm not home. That coupled with his inability to poop is just making me mental.

So I normally remove food 2 hours before, then test, feed and dose. Just like the FAQ's say to do. It's just that sometimes his appetite is so erratic. He will eat like crazy one day, then i have to chase him with the food bowl (or give him kibble !!) to get him to eat anything. It's like everything i want him to do he does the opposite.

Anyway. I hope i can get him on track.
I feel like a broken record, but knowing you guys are here to help is such a relief.
Thanks again for putting up with my panicked messages.
Click to expand...
Dawn, we have all been panicked from one time or another. Can you adjust his 12 hour dose schedule to something more suitable and convenient for you? That is important because the shots need to be 12 hours apart. Will he eat just wet, low carb food? I see you are making raw food for him? Do you think you can get him off the dry food? Good that you remove any food 2 hours before the test and shot. There are a lot of people here that can help with the constipation issue. I never had that problem with Susie until the end and I had lots of different things I was trying but was never sure which ones were working. I was using psyllium husk in her morning meal. Only about 1/8 a tsp but I was never sure if it was helping. I have heard that pumpkin and slippery elm bark can help. Lax'Aire lubricant put on her paws so she would lick it off. So many things were advised. Surely we can find something that will work with Ferg.

I really hope someone comes online to help you. If not, I will do my best. I see you have already switched to SLGS. Always take reductions (.25 units) if Ferg drops below 90 but try not to skip shots unless he goes really low. Let's see what we can do to help you tomorrow. By the way, where do you live? I am on the east coast of the US and I go to bed early so I won't be around much longer. You are on a great site to help your boy. As I said before, if you have a pressing concern, put the "?" in front of your daily thread title. That will get you more attention.
 
I'm getting tons of help here and i super appreciate it.
I also will try anything...and have.

I make raw food, and he gets fancy feast pates for the most part. I give him the kibble when his numbers are low and scare me, or when he won't eat anything. The kibble is like crack and he loves it. I've got the Purina probiotic (i heard it has the food additive that might make food more appetizing when he doesn't want to eat) i sprinkle it on the raw food when he won't eat it, but sometimes that doesn't even work. I think he likes the texture of the crunchy food. I've also tried crunchy toppers, that he will eat for a bit, and then won't.

As far as constipation goes.. I've also tried everything. It works for a bit, then doesn't. Right now he's on 6ml of lactulose (twice a day) 50ml of subq fluids and then cisapride and slippery elm. I've also tried psyllium, egg yolk, probiotics.. you name it.

At this point, it's a motility issue (but he's on the max dose of cisapride so i can't give him more). His colon is stretched and the muscles can't push out the poop anymore. He needs a 3000$ operation that I can neither afford and won't do. He's 16 years old. I basically have to give him enemas every 4 days. It's ok. I'm not complaining. It's just a lot and I'm very tired.

What I've determined is I need to test more so I can get confident with shooting at lower numbers. Thank you Wendy&Neko for some very solid insight and advice about that. That's the goal.

Everyone on here is so helpful and kind. Very grateful for your help.
 
Summer and Susie (GA) said:
Dawn, we have all been panicked from one time or another. Can you adjust his 12 hour dose schedule to something more suitable and convenient for you? That is important because the shots need to be 12 hours apart. Will he eat just wet, low carb food? I see you are making raw food for him? Do you think you can get him off the dry food? Good that you remove any food 2 hours before the test and shot. There are a lot of people here that can help with the constipation issue. I never had that problem with Susie until the end and I had lots of different things I was trying but was never sure which ones were working. I was using psyllium husk in her morning meal. Only about 1/8 a tsp but I was never sure if it was helping. I have heard that pumpkin and slippery elm bark can help. Lax'Aire lubricant put on her paws so she would lick it off. So many things were advised. Surely we can find something that will work with Ferg.

I really hope someone comes online to help you. If not, I will do my best. I see you have already switched to SLGS. Always take reductions (.25 units) if Ferg drops below 90 but try not to skip shots unless he goes really low. Let's see what we can do to help you tomorrow. By the way, where do you live? I am on the east coast of the US and I go to bed early so I won't be around much longer. You are on a great site to help your boy. As I said before, if you have a pressing concern, put the "?" in front of your daily thread title. That will get you more attention.
Click to expand...

Thank you. You are so sweet and kind. I am being helped, and you are helping a lot too.
 
I'm guessing from the way your SS looks, you're out of the house during the AM cycle. I worked full time when I was managing Gabby's FD. She was a bit of a challenge when it came to her numbers -- she would drop fast and hard and had an early nadir. However, it allowed me to move her shot time to 5:00 so I could get a few tests before I left in the morning and if I had a late meeting, I could run home, check on her and feed and shoot, and be home to keep an eye on her numbers after my meeting. I am not a morning person but it was the best accommodation I could make to be sure she was in safe numbers.

An alternative to keep you calmer about Fergus' numbers when you're not home is to use a timed feeder. That way, you can be sure there's food out should his numbers begin to drop. Most cats will scrounge for food if their numbers are dropping.

Wendy said pretty much what I would had suggested. Regardless of whether you follow TR or SLGS, you will want to get more comfortable with lower numbers. If you are hoping to get Fergus into remission or better regulated, if helps if you're less nervous about closer to normal range numbers.
 
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