? 6/20 Ivy AMPS 280, 325 +3, 273 +6 “night out/vaca dose” Question

[Staci & Ivy]

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...-3-394-6-378-9-vacation-dose-question.278731/
Higher bgs last day or 2. Peeing more and drinking is increased.
(Still on clindamyacin and Cerenia for surgery site healing.)
Maybe a UTI? (Having a culture done today while at the vet).

Been adding 2 tsp Fancy Feast 13% in with her LC food to boost carbs a bit.
Could she be allergic to FF thus possible UTI or cause more peeing?

I’m sure she is stressed from still having to wear the cone to keep her away from her leg healing site. (3 weeks of cone so far).
Lots going on. Complicated situation for us.
Question: Is there a strategy for a lower dose for an evening out (a vacation dose perhaps, for one evening?) I have something on the calendar in one week and not sure how to handle leaving her safely for 5-6 hours after feeding and insulin administration).
I would be about one hour away for the evening
How do we handle a night out? Is this even possible?
Thank you. @Wendy&Neko @Bandit's Mom @Christie & Maverick

 

[Wendy&Neko]

A vacation dose is typically just that, a dose for days away, not just hours. If you are away for just a few hours, you take a look at her numbers and decide if you need to leave just her regular food out, or boost it up with higher carb. Do you have an autofeeder she will eat out of? Lots of people work during the day so have the same situation. More tips in here: Is Tight Regulation Possible with a Full Time Job? Yes! The tips also work for SLGS followers.

Why are you trying to boost her carbs now? I wouldn't do that with the numbers she is showing. Stick to regular low carb food. Food allergies shouldn't be causing a UTI. It's the higher numbers causing her to pee more.

Ivy is still bouncing from the lower numbers a couple days ago. Hopefully she'll come down in the next couple cycles.

How much longer does she have to wear the cone?

 

[Staci & Ivy]

A vacation dose is typically just that, a dose for days away, not just hours. If you are away for just a few hours, you take a look at her numbers and decide if you need to leave just her regular food out, or boost it up with higher carb. Do you have an autofeeder she will eat out of? Lots of people work during the day so have the same situation. More tips in here: Is Tight Regulation Possible with a Full Time Job? Yes! The tips also work for SLGS followers.

Why are you trying to boost her carbs now? I wouldn't do that with the numbers she is showing. Stick to regular low carb food. Food allergies shouldn't be causing a UTI. It's the higher numbers causing her to pee more.

Ivy is still bouncing from the lower numbers a couple days ago. Hopefully she'll come down in the next couple cycles.

How much longer does she have to wear the cone?

Hi Wendy, at present her 6% LC food doesn’t seem to give her enough oomph work with the increased doses of Lantus. That’s why I dropped her dose by .25 unit about 8 days ago.
It seemed she needs more carbs to handle the level of insulin, since she was crashing so low/fast at most cycles.

I’m getting a reformulated LC recipe with possibly a slightly higher carb content.

So you think she’s just bouncing from low bgs?? (I still can’t tell when it’s a bounce! Is it when they see a low, for them, then they go high afterwards? That’s when she usually goes low, yet again).

I do have an auto feeder, but she doesn’t always eat when it’s dispatched. She sometimes just sleeps through it and misses the feeding.
If I leave her food out, she would just eat it when I put it out. Not save it for later.

The increased urination began 6 days ago.
Her bgs aren’t that much higher than they have been, so it seemed odd to me that suddenly she’s urinating so much more. I’m still seeing stretches of blues and yellows with greens thrown in.

As far as an evening out, I guess what you’re saying is maybe bump up the carbs a little bit for that evening and leave some snacks in the feeder, in hopes that she would eat it.
You wouldn’t do a reduced dose for that evening?

As far as the Cone, I think, probably by Friday or Saturday I will be able to ditch that. So a few more days, but I know it’s stressing her out which is difficult.

Thanks so much!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

No, I wouldn't reduce the dose for an evening. Due to the depot nature of Lantus, you'll still get the first part of the cycle looking like it would have without the one time reduction. And you'll be home in time for the second half I suspect.

The increased urination began 6 days ago.

Which is about the time the depot from the 3.5 unit dose would have worn off.

I still can’t tell when it’s a bounce! Is it when they see a low, for them, then they go high afterwards?

From the definition: Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).

Once they clear the bounce, numbers can go lower again.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

No, I wouldn't reduce the dose for an evening. Due to the depot nature of Lantus, you'll still get the first part of the cycle looking like it would have without the one time reduction. And you'll be home in time for the second half I suspect.


Which is about the time the depot from the 3.5 unit dose would have worn off.

From the definition: Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).

Once they clear the bounce, numbers can go lower again.

My problem is that if she’s going to drop low, it would be within the first 3-4 hours (especially at onset, when I will be out). So how would I handle that?

 

[Wendy&Neko]

First of all, predicting what her dose will look like a week from now (the evening away), is looking too far in advance. Cats insulin needs do change over time. Also, we don't even know if she's really going below 100 on this dose, cause there haven't been spot checks with the human meter. If she's hasn't been going below 100 on a human meter on this dose, it's not likely she will.

It's too bad you didn't get a human meter check when you saw that 66 Libre on the 18th. Seeing below 90 on the human meter means the dose needs to be reduced.

If you think she's going to be out in the first few hours after you go out, then you leave higher carb food out for her while you are gone.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

First of all, predicting what her dose will look like a week from now (the evening away), is looking too far in advance. Cats insulin needs do change over time. Also, we don't even know if she's really going below 100 on this dose, cause there haven't been spot checks with the human meter. If she's hasn't been going below 100 on a human meter on this dose, it's not likely she will.

It's too bad you didn't get a human meter check when you saw that 66 Libre on the 18th. Seeing below 90 on the human meter means the dose needs to be reduced.

If you think she's going to be out in the first few hours after you go out, then you leave higher carb food out for her while you are gone.

The only reason I didn’t spot check the Libre 66 read on June18th was because all my spot checks on human meter have shown the Libre reading needs to be under 50 to be under 100 on a human meter.
When I get a “Lo” or under 50 Libre reading, I do check with a human meter for safety.

I understand what you are saying about not knowing where she will be at the time of my plans. Just hard to decide to keep plans or cancel them.

If I leave wet food out for her, she would just eat it when I put it out, (not necessarily save it for it she needed for a a low drop). Makes it hard to know what to do to plan. But thank you for the suggestions!

It’s not an easy journey, but you know that.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Get an auto feeder and train her to use it by feeding her from it when you are home. That will make nights and time away from home so much easier.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

If you don't have an autofeeder, add water to it, mix it and freeze it overnight into a foodsicle. That'll slow her down.

Keep your plans to go out. It's something we've all learned to manage.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

If you don't have an autofeeder, add water to it, mix it and freeze it overnight into a foodsicle. That'll slow her down.

Keep your plans to go out. It's something we've all learned to manage.

Great advice and thank you ladies for the suggestions!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi Staci just wanted to pop in to see how Ivy is doing and take my mind off things foeca little bit
Getting that cone off can't come soon enough.