04/26 Kitty PMPS 174 +1 146 +2 106 +3 110 +10.25 280

The removal of dry food is really helping her numbers!

If you are not comfortable with following TR, maybe you could look at a lower reduction point with SLGS? Say 80 or so? Will give you some room to increase the dose.
Anyway, see where she lands after she clears the bounce. She came pretty close to green a couple of days back.
 
Okay, she's down to 190 at +10.25. I should probably be good to shoot the full dose if she's still hanging around there by PMPS, right? I know if she goes over 200 I'm good, and I've shot the full dose as low as 151, just want to be sure.

I hope eventually I will be confident enough in doing this without having to asking for advice every time.
 
Not sure who is around, but I had a feeling she'd keep going down. 174 now at PMPS. Not sure what to do since she's going down and not up.
 
Well, I waited 20 more minutes and checked again and got 160 again, so was staying flat. Couldn't stall any longer or risk not having enough time tomorrow morning before work. Made the executive decision to shoot the full dose. Hopefully I made the right decision.
 
tiffmaxee said:
I would shoot the full dose if you can monitor and have supplies.
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Just wondering, what should I do if a similar situation happens and I'm not going to be around to monitor? I have a feeling its going to happen one of these days before I have to go to work.
 
What you need to do is gather data when you can monitor, so you have something to go by. That plus leaving food out are how to keep her safe. Whether you leave LC, MC or HC depends on what the data you gather says she's likely to do in similar situations.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
What you need to do is gather data when you can monitor, so you have something to go by. That plus leaving food out are how to keep her safe. Whether you leave LC, MC or HC depends on what the data you gather says she's likely to do in similar situations.
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I'm gathering all the data that I can. When making the decision to shoot the full dose tonight I took into consideration the data on 4/19. From +9 in the AM cycle to the PMPS on that day she was dropping similarly today and PMPS was around the same, which is why I decided it would be alright to shoot the full dose tonight.

When it comes to leaving food out for her, can I use the auto feeder and set it for a specific time or do I need to leave food out for free feeding? She likes to eat everything I give her and I worry about scarf and barf, and then she'll be left with nothing. I always set the auto feeder to give her another meal at +4 of the cycle.
 
I'm glad she eats from the autofeeder. A meal at +4 seems like a good plan for now. If lower and/or dropping faster, you could also add a snack at +2. Or up the carbs.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I'm glad she eats from the autofeeder. A meal at +4 seems like a good plan for now. If lower and/or dropping faster, you could also add a snack at +2. Or up the carbs.
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Okay, thanks.

I just took a +1 reading. Should I be concerned she's already dropping? Not even a food bump?
 
+2 is 106. Looks like we are going green tonight. I'm concerned because I thought onset isn't usually until +2 or +3 so I'm worried that she is already at 106 at +2 with still a few hours to go. On 4/24 PM cycle she had a nadir at +2 but I feel like that might have been her liver panicking. Anything I should do at this point? Feed anything? LC, MC?
 
Stay with LC for now. She is still at the upper end of normal numbers. She is breaking a bounce and that is why the additional downward momentum.
Blues and greens can be very scary at first but once a kitty starts getting regulated, you see gentle cycles. Take a look at other spreadsheets here and you will know what I mean.
 
Corey & Kitty said:
So you think I should feed her more now? Whenever someone suggests that I "feed a little" I give her 1/4 of a 3oz can of fancy feast. Is that enough in those situations?
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Just a teaspoon of food after a test when she is dropping or in lower numbers is good. You don't want her getting too full if you need her to eat later in the cycle.
 
Corey & Kitty said:
I'm concerned because I thought onset isn't usually until +2 or +3 so I'm worried that she is already at 106 at +2 with still a few hours to go. On 4/24 PM cycle she had a nadir at +2 but I feel like that might have been her liver panicking.
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I would look more to 4/19 as an example. Like today, she was breaking her bounce, which can lead to late nadirs or numbers going lower into the first part of the next cycle. Got our paws crossed for a hint of green tonight.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I would look more to 4/19 as an example. Like today, she was breaking her bounce, which can lead to late nadirs or numbers going lower into the first part of the next cycle. Got our paws crossed for a hint of green tonight.
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I think I might have spoke too soon about seeing greens tonight. Just checked at +3 and she's flattened out at 110.

Do you think I need to keep testing at this point?
 
Corey & Kitty said:
I'm gathering all the data that I can. When making the decision to shoot the full dose tonight I took into consideration the data on 4/19. From +9 in the AM cycle to the PMPS on that day she was dropping similarly today and PMPS was around the same, which is why I decided it would be alright to shoot the full dose tonight.

When it comes to leaving food out for her, can I use the auto feeder and set it for a specific time or do I need to leave food out for free feeding? She likes to eat everything I give her and I worry about scarf and barf, and then she'll be left with nothing. I always set the auto feeder to give her another meal at +4 of the cycle.
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Just be absolutely sure that autofeeder works how you want it to, sounds like it does. I've seen people not test it out first (or forget about a time change, or batteries) - lo and behold it didn't rotate/open at the right time.

Depending on how many slots, if you're worried about scarf and barf you can always add an extra rotation after say 30 or 45 mins with a little more food.
 
I agree with Bhooma, the goal is to see some green and hopefully less pink. However, if you are following SLGS, you hold the dose for nadirs between 90 and 149. And you have seen nadirs between 100 and 109 a few times now on this dose.
 
FrostD said:
Just be absolutely sure that autofeeder works how you want it to, sounds like it does. I've seen people not test it out first (or forget about a time change, or batteries) - lo and behold it didn't rotate/open at the right time.

Depending on how many slots, if you're worried about scarf and barf you can always add an extra rotation after say 30 or 45 mins with a little more food.
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Yes, I got one with 5 compartments. I read the directions carefully and it starts at compartment 0 which I leave empty, then at +4 it rotates to compartment 1 which I have food in, then at +10 it rotates to compartment 2 which is empty, just in case she has anything left in compartment 1, I don't want her eating after +10. I'm not using compartments 3 and 4 yet, so I could easily adjust it to provide additional smaller meals. I have a camera in my house set up that points at the feeder (I wanted to make sure its her eating from it and not my other cat) and it does rotate correctly at the times I've set it for.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I agree with Bhooma, the goal is to see some green and hopefully less pink. However, if you are following SLGS, you hold the dose for nadirs between 90 and 149. And you have seen nadirs between 100 and 109 a few times now on this dose.
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So basically, I need to consider switching to TR if I want to see lower numbers?
 
She might get a little lower over time. Or you could say that not all her nadirs are in the 90-149 range and make the case for trying 2.5 units and seeing if you can still keep her above 90. She's only seen good nadirs in 3 out of 16 cycles so far. If you want to see a lot more green than just some higher green, it would mean either TR or lowering the reduction point to 80 as suggested above. Though I'd probably hold off on doing that just yet, as you don't have even a months worth of data on Lantus.
 
Corey & Kitty said:
So basically, I need to consider switching to TR if I want to see lower numbers?
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Or customize SLGS like Bhooma suggested, you'll just want to specify what exactly you're changing (in spreadsheet and also signature) so we all know and don't ask a million questions. Usually the first step people take is changing reduction point to 80, and defining when they will hold the dose vs try an increase (for example, you may choose to hold the dose if nadirs are 80-100, but above that try an increase).

Somebody had also mentioned (I think, might be getting threads crossed) that it might be wise to stick with SLGS as written for a little while until you have a pretty good data set for a variety of scenarios, and you're definitely getting there.

I would say first get comfortable with the decision making around the lower preshots, understanding her patterns, and what food to leave and when. Once you have a pretty good intuitive feel for that, consider customizing. The way it tends to go is at first people ask what we think they should do, then it sort of slowly transitions to "I think I should do this, yes/no?", then able to do most on your own.

(That said my vote is still try an increase because I think you have some room, and overall her nadirs are still pretty high on most cycles)
 
FrostD said:
I would say first get comfortable with the decision making around the lower preshots, understanding her patterns, and what food to leave and when.
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This is the most difficult part for me right now. I don't understand her patterns. For a while I thought her nadir was typically around +4/+5. Then on 4/24 AM she had a nadir at +7. Then twice, tonight and the PM on 4/24 she had a nadir at +2. So far its not much of a predictable pattern. So I think maybe I just stay the course for now. Hold the dose with SLGS as written, and hopefully she will stop bouncing and patterns may start to become clearer. Does that sound okay?

Also, when it comes to food, I'm pretty much clueless. Since the switch to wet food, I've only ever fed LC and I have no idea when I should leave out MC/HC other than I believe Wendy said HC is typically reserved for under 50, which I hope wont be happening when I'm not around and have to leave out food. It just seems impossible to make decisions based on what food to leave out and at what times throughout the cycle should she be eating those foods.

If I have to rely on a feeder it has to be sort of rigid. When I leave for work its not like I can check her BG at +3 and decide then if she needs MC. I need to decide that 3 hours in advance and she may not even need MC at that point.
 
Anyway, she's up to 127 now, I have to be up in 5 hours so I'm heading to bed. Thanks everyone for your help tonight. I just hope I can get the hang of this. I feel like I don't know what I'm doing and my nerves are shot at this point and I don't know how much more I can take.
 
Feeding HC or MC can be used to help steep drops too. But you have to learn how carb sensitive Kitty is and whether she needs extra carby intervention.
 
They will not always be entirely predictable, we all wish FD were that kind to us.

But yes - from what I've gathered with your comfort level, stress level, goals for her - I would hold the dose and follow as-written for now.

She's still getting regulated and bouncing, so the patterns tend to be more wonky. Remember a lot of us have been looking at 20-30+ spreadsheets a day for awhile.

I'll save some pattern (and food) explanations for another day when your brain isnt fried :)

Do not lose sight of the fact that she is doing very well considering she was on Novolin prior and hasn't been on Lantus all that long. Or that you are also doing a great job trying learn and manage all this.
 
I think with a little more time you will feel ready to get more aggressive. Learn more about how she reacts to carbs and some of her patterns. The patterns will change but as you see her reaction in various situations it will be easier for you to make the switch. I think her onset is earlier than +3. Does she eat at +2?
 
tiffmaxee said:
I think with a little more time you will feel ready to get more aggressive. Learn more about how she reacts to carbs and some of her patterns. The patterns will change but as you see her reaction in various situations it will be easier for you to make the switch. I think her onset is earlier than +3. Does she eat at +2?
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She doesn't normally eat at +2, she eats usually only at shot time and then again at +4, but today I put a small snack in the feeder for +2 and then another slightly larger snack at +4. Checked on my lunch break, she at everything from +2 compartment and almost everything from +4 compartment.
 
Corey & Kitty said:
She doesn't normally eat at +2, she eats usually only at shot time and then again at +4, but today I put a small snack in the feeder for +2 and then another slightly larger snack at +4. Checked on my lunch break, she at everything from +2 compartment and almost everything from +4 compartment.
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This is good! You are doing really well.
 
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