Transitioning to wet food

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Jenn ~ Thomas

Jenn ~ Thomas

Member Since 2023
Hi,
@Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)
I had to start a new thread. We were discussing the 7 day numbers and the amount of insulin. I just started transitioning Thomas to wet food last night. I am giving him 1/4 cup dry and 1 tablespoon of the wet. He eats it in about 2 hours.

I should have his automatic feeder tomorrow. What kind of schedule should he be on as far as eating? how much and how often? I know 2 hours before is AMPS and PMPS he cannot eat.

For history information (in case it helps everyones answers): Honestly for 10 months he has been eating Hills w/d dry food at 430 am then again at 615 while getting insulin, then eating again in the evening and getting his insulin at 615pm. 4 weeks ago he was on 12 units. Last weekend I started charting and we switched to 2 units.
 
At least 2 hours before both preshot tests am and pm. He can eat after of course. Most of us feed the 2 largest meals at shot time with 3-4 smaller meals and snacks through the day. I’d aim to have 2 meals/snacks in the auto-feeder during the day and at least one overnight. With Vetsulin, since it peaks at about +4, maybe have one set up around +3,+4 and another a little later in the day.
 
Great! Ok so what about his insulin? Should I keep it the same and see how this week goes. I read the article about switching to wet food and the author was adamant about lowering the insulin. I just started switching him last night but it doesn't seem like the numbers are changing much. Can someone let me know about the feeding schedule? Do I feed him first in the am and then let the cat feeder do the rest? at what amounts? Also opinion about the insulin. Thank you!
 
You will probably maybe once the transition is complete but that’s why you’re home testing daily so you can monitor the bg and if it’s being influenced and how much
 
Is there a timeframe that it should take to complete the transition? I could actually go cold turkey because he loves the wet food.
 
I would not increase the dose now that you have started to transition the food to low carb. It’s possible Thomas is bouncing from the yellows also.
You might not see immediate change in the BGs as you are doing it in small increments and have only just started.
I would take at least a week to do the transition. Be guided by the article about transitioning.
Yes you still need to wait the 30 minutes after feeding to give the shot even if the preshot is high. You don’t want sudden drops as that will only trigger bounces and more high numbers.
You will need to be testing more than once a cycle during the transition to catch drops.
 
@Bron and Sheba (GA) Hi! I was already
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
That is quite a good drop to +3. I would suggest you get another test done at +5 to see if it is still dropping and I would give a snack now.
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I was already asleep when you posted. I just woke up (5:50am) His BG is 518. He did eat alot more yesterday because he loves the wet food. Seems like he ate twice a much. I assume that is why it is so high this morning?? Also he has been wanting to eat since 415 am (2 hours) because that is his routine, especially on weekdays. We don't feed him when my boyfriend gets up anymore so I can test when I get up.
 
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Jenn ~ Thomas said:
@Bron and Sheba (GA) Hi! I was already

I was already asleep when you posted. I just woke up (5:50am) His BG is 518. He did eat alot more yesterday because he loves the wet food. Seems like he ate twice a much. I assume that is why it is so high this morning?? Also he has been wanting to eat since 415 am (2 hours) because that is his routine, especially on weekdays. We don't feed him when my boyfriend gets up anymore so I can test when I get up.
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I would say that the 518 this morning is a bounce from the numbers last night, not the extra wet food he ate yesterday. I think Thomas most likely dropped lower after the +3 of 290. Bounces can be triggered from fast drops, drops low, and drops lower than they are used to.
When you get a before bed test that is quite a lot lower than the preshot like last night, I would get up later and check it again to keep Thomas safe.
 
@Bron and Sheba (GA) Hi! I set my alarm early so I could hopefully catch you! We don’t leave food out for Thomas after 11pm so that he won’t eat before the amps. By 4 am he is going crazy wanting fed. Could this be why his numbers are high? What if its high again this morning when I do Amps (in about 30 min)
 
Jenn ~ Thomas said:
@Bron and Sheba (GA) Hi! I set my alarm early so I could hopefully catch you! We don’t leave food out for Thomas after 11pm so that he won’t eat before the amps. By 4 am he is going crazy wanting fed. Could this be why his numbers are high? What if its high again this morning when I do Amps (in about 30 min)
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Have you thought about buying an automatic timed feeder that would allow you to give him some overnight snacks but by turning the bowl 2 hours before preshot, he would not be able to eat?
He might be really hungry at 4 am because he drops lower.
Have you tried testing him then? How is the transition going over to the low carb food?
 
I have an auto feeder coming. Hopefully today. He loves the fancy feast. I started feeding him half dry and half wet today.
 
Ok. I suspect he might have been dropping lower overnight for a few nights and as you have been progressing with the transition, the BGs have lowered. He was most likely lower than77 overnight.
So this cycle, skip the dose. I doubt he would rise high enough for you to give a dose even with a stall.
So the new dose moving forward will be 1.5 units, twice a day…if he is high enough to give a dose.
I have gone down to 1.5 units because I think he most likely dropped lower than 77 overnight and we want to be safe.

You are going to have to test more frequently for a while to keep your boy safe as he is on the move.
That will mean more testing during the day if possible and definitely more testing at night. You will need to set the alarm and get up during the night while you are doing this transition. Can you do this?
 
Make sure you give him a good breakfast as well as snacks during the cycle. Try and get a couple of tests to ensure the BG is rising

ETA Don’t forget to put the food you are feeding into the remarks column of the SS each day so we can see where you are up to with the transition.
 
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Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Ok. I suspect he might have been dropping lower overnight for a few nights and as you have been progressing with the transition, the BGs have lowered. He was most likely lower than77 overnight.
So this cycle, skip the dose. I doubt he would rise high enough for you to give a dose even with a stall.
So the new dose moving forward will be 1.5 units, twice a day…if he is high enough to give a dose.
I have gone down to 1.5 units because I think he most likely dropped lower than 77 overnight and we want to be safe.

You are going to have to test more frequently for a while to keep your boy safe as he is on the move.
That will mean more testing during the day if possible and definitely more testing at night. You will need to set the alarm and get up during the night while you are doing this transition. Can you do this?
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Yes I can. I will try to get home during the day today. Thank you for your reply! Sorry so short. I am late for work!
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
YES. He is bouncing from the 77 this morning and also from not getting insulin this morning. The 77 this morning has told you that the 2 units is too much insulin. Your new dose moving forward is 1.5 units unless he drops under 90 again.

Sorry I didn’t get to you earlier. But I see you gave 1.5 U! :)
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I just did another test and it was 459. I am getting ready to go to bed. Should I set an alarm to get up and test before the AMPS?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Probably still bouncing from the 77 yesterday morning.
Give the normal dose of 1.5 units and feed well and leave food out if you are heading to work.
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ok! he ate the whole can this morning for breakfast. usually he only eats about maybe half and then I leave the rest out. Hopefully this will be good that he ate all of it!
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
This am cycle is the 6th cycle of the bounce, so you might see the BGs drop lower either this cycle or the next.
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I will be gone today but I have my auto feeder set up and plan on being back by the time he needs the PMPS. He is on 100% fancy feast today. Since you said he might drop, should I leave some dry food out in case?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Sorry I’m just seeing this. What did you decide to do?
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Hello! I put 1/2 a tablespoon into his feeding in the automatic feeder at 8am (1.5 hours after insulin) and then put fancy feast in at 1 and 3pm. He didn't eat anything after the 8am feeding. (So he ate at 6am a full can) and at 8am full can plus some dry food. We were 1 hour late and his numbers were high. He ate a can of food. I tested again still high.

I just did his AMPS and it was 101. He ate 1/2 can. He will not get insulin since it was under 200 correct? I will be doing every 2 hours today.
 
Jenn ~ Thomas said:
just did his AMPS and it was 101. He ate 1/2 can. He will not get insulin since it was under 200 correct? I will be doing every 2 hours today.
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I see you have fed him already.
1 would skip the dose.
He could have dropped lower during the day yesterday and then bounced up to the reds at PMPS.
You might need to reduce the dose to 1.25 units. I’ll tag @Suzanne & Darcy to see what she thinks as she is a vetsulin user.
 
This will give us a chance to see how the full transition to low carb wet food has affected his BG. That should help us decide on a dose tonight as well.

What time zone are you in, Jenn? And what are your shot times?
 
It’s starting to look like he would have been okay with a small dose of insulin this morning. Look at what a difference the low carb food has made! He looks to be creeping up a bit, but not too much yet. I’m East Coast too.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
It’s starting to look like he would have been okay with a small dose of insulin this morning. Look at what a difference the low carb food has made! He looks to be creeping up a bit, but not too much yet. I’m East Coast too.
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Oh good! I have been great help but everyone is in very different time zones from me. I started a new thread on this subject because this one is close to 50. What numbers would he have to not get insulin?
 
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