3/30 Ivy Amps 331, +3.25 151, +4.25 130, +6 154, +9 69, Pmps 122, +1.25 217, +3 249 Libre

[Staci & Ivy]

3/29/24
Amps: 331
289 at +1 on libre

Good morning,
Day 2 of increased dose 4.25 units Lantus.
Last night took her to Libre Lo range for hours. Libre stops transmitting data while in that range for long time periods. It sucks. (I’m sure it’s not supposed to do that. It must be that humans don’t spend long periods of time in the Lo range (which for her when I test on handheld had been in the 80s) so it’s not built for this.
Tested with Contour Meter to check her.
Then at +5 Libre failed. By 11:45 pm I was installing a new Libre. (So tired)
Got only a few hours sleep on the couch.

Gave 1st dose of Methimazole for hyperthyroidism last night transdermal in ear.
It’s given 2X a day, alternate ears.

Appetite still not great. She went to bowl this morning, ate a bit then back in her bed. Then we do a dance of me holding the bowl under her mouth to eat and some spoon feeding. Then she got out of bed, ate a little more…then more of the hand feeding.
Hoping we can get this under control. It’s not that she’s not eating. It’s just that she’s not really interested in eating on her own.
We’re supposed to go out to dinner tonight with friends but I don’t know how that’s gonna work out with all this extended time required of me to get her meal into her. Plus if she’s not going to eat her snacks from the auto feeder that could be a problem while I’m out

Have a safe day everyone

 

[Jack & Mopem'sMom]

Oh Ivy give mom a break and eat on your own. I'm sorry Staci, I hope you can manage to go out and get some rest tonight. Sometimes the hyperthyroidism makesmy heart rate go up and feel jittery so I always think the cats must feel something similar. Maybe once the methimazole starts working she will, eat on her own again. It's so hard, I just wish they could speak the language we do and tell us what's bothering them. Keeping you both in my prayers

 

[Mikanmama (Mikan GA)]

Oh boy. What a long night you had.
Express shipping of
Good luck with Methimazole. I hope you will start seeing the effects soon!
Ivy loves you to wait on her. Maybe once Methimazole start working, she'll feel more up to it on her own.
It's just so stressful when our babies don't eat. Every preshot, I am a bit nervous as I watch Mikan eat.
Sometimes, she eats with a gust (yay day), other times, she barely licks it and goes away (oh no! open another can!).
Are you planning to use any topping? I've used Young Again flavor enhancer. Sometimes, that seems to work for Mikan.
Hope Ivy surfs nicely and you will be able to go out without having to worry

 

[cecile & bella]

I'm sorry to read about your night, you must be so tired. Does she like pumpkin, or other things like that, cheese, maybe? Would she get more if you topped her food with something, as others have suggested?
I hope the hyperthyroidism meds start helping soon.

 

[Karolina & Nestle]

Good meowning Staci and Ivy!
I'll take that sunny start on the Libre.
I'm sorry you didn't get much rest. We're sending you some much needed CATpuccinos
Good luck with the dose increase and the new medication. Hopefully they help Ivy feel better very soon. And hopefully her appetite comes back.

I hope she eats and is stable enough this evening for you to go out for dinner and enjoy yourself a bit. You deserve it!

Happy Caturday

 

[thornmallow__]

I'm so sorry Stacy. Sending you lots of love and strength. You are the best caretaker and hopefully you can take a moment to rest.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Oh Ivy give mom a break and eat on your own. I'm sorry Staci, I hope you can manage to go out and get some rest tonight. Sometimes the hyperthyroidism makesmy heart rate go up and feel jittery so I always think the cats must feel something similar. Maybe once the methimazole starts working she will, eat on her own again. It's so hard, I just wish they could speak the language we do and tell us what's bothering them. Keeping you both in my prayers

Hi Christine, I’m praying she regains her nice regular appetite. I am finding this additional illness very, very stressful. I appreciate your support

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Oh boy. What a long night you had.
Express shipping of
Good luck with Methimazole. I hope you will start seeing the effects soon!
Ivy loves you to wait on her. Maybe once Methimazole start working, she'll feel more up to it on her own.
It's just so stressful when our babies don't eat. Every preshot, I am a bit nervous as I watch Mikan eat.
Sometimes, she eats with a gust (yay day), other times, she barely licks it and goes away (oh no! open another can!).
Are you planning to use any topping? I've used Young Again flavor enhancer. Sometimes, that seems to work for Mikan.
Hope Ivy surfs nicely and you will be able to go out without having to worry

Hi Kit, I know what you mean about always worrying about will they eat at precious time. I always worry about that and try to make conditions for her very Zen and quiet and no one else around so she can focus on her job of eating. I haven’t used any toppers yet. I don’t really have any in the house, but I certainly can try the Parmesan theory because that I have, and put it on a small bit of food to see if she likes it at all.

I try to keep her diet very, rigid since I make her food, I don’t give her commercial stuff. That of course makes it harder because I don’t really have anything else to give. But if needed, I could always try other things even if it’s a half a teaspoon of something just to stimulate her interest.

Plus when I prepare her food before each meal, I put all of her supplements into the food so it is already premixed with everything she needs, so that becomes an issue as well. Everything is complicated with Ivy isn’t it?
Hope you guys are having a wonderful day. Thanks for your continued support and suggestions. I’m always listening and interested in great ideas

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Good meowning Staci and Ivy!
I'll take that sunny start on the Libre.
I'm sorry you didn't get much rest. We're sending you some much needed CATpuccinos
Good luck with the dose increase and the new medication. Hopefully they help Ivy feel better very soon. And hopefully her appetite comes back.

I hope she eats and is stable enough this evening for you to go out for dinner and enjoy yourself a bit. You deserve it!

Happy Caturday

View attachment 69711

Hi Karolina, happy Caturday to you and the boys with love.
I sure hope she starts to feel more like her spunky self soon.
The eating thing is so stressful. I know so many of us deal with this in one way or another.
Thanks so much for all of your support. We really appreciate you. I hope you and the boys are having a great day and enjoy your weekend.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

I'm so sorry Stacy. Sending you lots of love and strength. You are the best caretaker and hopefully you can take a moment to rest.

Hi Z, thank you so much for the love and support. I really appreciate it. It’s so sweet of you. I hope you and Falafel have a wonderful weekend

 

[Staci & Ivy]

I'm sorry to read about your night, you must be so tired. Does she like pumpkin, or other things like that, cheese, maybe? Would she get more if you topped her food with something, as others have suggested?
I hope the hyperthyroidism meds start helping soon.

Hi Cecile, I may try the Parmesan cheese to see if that entices her at dinner.
Ivy’s not a snacker and she never eats table food so it’s hard to say what she would actually like.
She just eats her homemade diet normally, like a good little kitty cat, so this is all new for us. Trying to figure out what else might entice her. Because once I stick the food in her face, she’ll usually eat it. (Which is good)
It’s just that she’s not really independently going to the bowl and doing what she needs to do at the moment. So it’s taking me hand feeding her from a spoon (princess) or putting the bowl under her face, to get her to eat. I’m not sure what’s up with that.

I also medication make her feel better. So still trying to figure out what’s going on with her. Poor baby.
I hope you guys are having a great weekend and that your weather is getting a little warmer.

 

[cecile & bella]

Hi Cecile, I may try the Parmesan cheese to see if that entices her at dinner.
Ivy’s not a snacker and she never eats table food so it’s hard to say what she would actually like.
She just eats her homemade diet normally, like a good little kitty cat, so this is all new for us. Trying to figure out what else might entice her. Because once I stick the food in her face, she’ll usually eat it. (Which is good)
It’s just that she’s not really independently going to the bowl and doing what she needs to do at the moment. So it’s taking me hand feeding her from a spoon (princess) or putting the bowl under her face, to get her to eat. I’m not sure what’s up with that.

I also medication make her feel better. So still trying to figure out what’s going on with her. Poor baby.
I hope you guys are having a great weekend and that your weather is getting a little warmer.

Does she eat too often, maybe, and she's not hungry? Is there one time of the day when she eats more willingly?

 

[Gravy and Vicki]

I'm sorry she's not eating well. Gravy usually doesn't have that issue. But about a year ago, before diabetes, she went on a hunger strike and wouldn't eat one weekend. I got Beech nut baby food chicken and chicken broth and kept making sure she ate a little. She did like that. The next day I went into the basement and realized she had caught and mostly eaten a mouse. I guess she had a reason for not being hungry but I was so worried.
I hope Ivy feels better and let's you get some rest!

 

[Alicia & Kit cat (GA)]

Libre stops transmitting data while in that range for long time periods. It sucks. (I’m sure it’s not supposed to do that. It must be that humans don’t spend long periods of time in the Lo range (which for her when I test on handheld had been in the 80s) so it’s not built for this.

So, my dad wears a libre, and from conversations with him when we compare his lows to Kit's lows, our safer lower numbers are not safe for humans (basing this all off conversations with him). They were visiting in July, and his libre woke him up because he hit 68 and they had to wake up and raid the kitchen for some carbs (he finished off the blueberry donut holes ).

I hope you're able to figure out something that gets her to eat. I know it's frustrating, and I hope it doesn't muck up the plans for tonight.

 

[Heike & BInie]

3/29/24
Amps: 331
289 at +1 on libre

Good morning,
Day 2 of increased dose 4.25 units Lantus.
Last night took her to Libre Lo range for hours. Libre stops transmitting data while in that range for long time periods. It sucks. (I’m sure it’s not supposed to do that. It must be that humans don’t spend long periods of time in the Lo range (which for her when I test on handheld had been in the 80s) so it’s not built for this.
Tested with Contour Meter to check her.
Then at +5 Libre failed. By 11:45 pm I was installing a new Libre. (So tired)
Got only a few hours sleep on the couch.

Gave 1st dose of Methimazole for hyperthyroidism last night transdermal in ear.
It’s given 2X a day, alternate ears.

Appetite still not great. She went to bowl this morning, ate a bit then back in her bed. Then we do a dance of me holding the bowl under her mouth to eat and some spoon feeding. Then she got out of bed, ate a little more…then more of the hand feeding.
Hoping we can get this under control. It’s not that she’s not eating. It’s just that she’s not really interested in eating on her own.
We’re supposed to go out to dinner tonight with friends but I don’t know how that’s gonna work out with all this extended time required of me to get her meal into her. Plus if she’s not going to eat her snacks from the auto feeder that could be a problem while I’m out

Have a safe day everyone

Oh Staci, that sounds so stressful! I really hope Ivys appetite improves when her thyroid hormones get more regulated. So cool, you make your own cat food! Maybe freeze dried meat as a topping is an acceptable compromise? I hope you get some rest in this stressful time and enjoy dinner with your friends. Since she was diagnosed with fd, I feel always uneasy to leave the house but every time I came back I found Binie in good health. Sometimes we need a break from each other. So I hope you really enjoy your time out!

 

[Fistuk & Shelly]

Hi Staci
You must be so tired of changing those Libre. It's a shame they don't work so reliably with low numbers.
I hope Ivy like this dose and gives you some good and safe action.
Fistuk honest eat on his own so I know how time consuming is. I've grown accustomed to it so I just factor this in. Can Ivy be ok if she doesn't have her snack if you're away?
I'm happy that at least she's eating and it's only a mater of feeding her. That's something.
Ivy, give mummy a break and eat nicely
You're doing a phenomenal job with her. Good. that you're going our for dinner. I hope you can enjoy it.
Wishing you a lovely Easter weekend

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Does she eat too often, maybe, and she's not hungry? Is there one time of the day when she eats more willingly?

It didn’t used to be a problem. I only feed small snacks at +1,2,3 to try to prevent her from dropping too fast and hard (I portion the food from her main meal and serve it in those times, about 1.5 tablespoons each time)
She doesn’t get any other food later in the cycle.
This is a very recent issue. So I can’t figure out why she’s suddenly not interested in finishing her meal or eating snacks on her own.
She used to go all of this reliably.
And if I spoon feed her she usually will eat it.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

So, my dad wears a libre, and from conversations with him when we compare his lows to Kit's lows, our safer lower numbers are not safe for humans (basing this all off conversations with him). They were visiting in July, and his libre woke him up because he hit 68 and they had to wake up and raid the kitchen for some carbs (he finished off the blueberry donut holes ).

I hope you're able to figure out something that gets her to eat. I know it's frustrating, and I hope it doesn't muck up the plans for tonight.

Interesting about your Dad and the lows. I’m just noticing this reoccurring issue where the Libre stops transmission for sometimes up to 2 hours when I believe she’s in the “Lo” range, since that’s where she was before it stopped giving data (and when I test her she’s usually been in the 80s or even higher on a handheld).
And sometimes sensor comes back after 2 hours and sometimes, like last night, it sends a message “Sensor ended, replace sensor” (at 11:15 pm). I always want to cry when that happens.
It just seems this circumstance makes it crap out, like it can’t handle it.
And I don’t know that humans works longer in that Lo range, which is below that 68 your Dad saw….

 

[cecile & bella]

It didn’t used to be a problem. I only feed small snacks at +1,2,3 to try to prevent her from dropping too fast and hard (I portion the food from her main meal and serve it in those times, about 1.5 tablespoons each time)
She doesn’t get any other food later in the cycle.
This is a very recent issue. So I can’t figure out why she’s suddenly not interested in finishing her meal or eating snacks on her own.
She used to go all of this reliably.
And if I spoon feed her she usually will eat it.

Maybe it's related to her thyroid and will get better soon

 

[Gravy and Vicki]

I'm sorry about the Libre. That sounds difficult to have to deal with. I hope you get to enjoy a nice dinner out!

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Maybe it's related to her thyroid and will get better soon

Praying that is true

 

[JoM]

Im so sorry. Im so new to this and have already experienced the sleepless nights. I feel for you. Im wondering what dose of Methimazole you started with. Some vets like to start higher than is necessary and it can really kill the cats appetite if they get too much too fast. The safest starting dose is 1.25mg 2x a day. Then you test in 3-4 weeks and adjust as needed, then repeat until you get the right dose to bring the T4 to the desired number.
Edited to say, nevermind, I see you started at 0.625 2x a day. Even safer dose. Very good. Now to get her eating!

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Im so sorry. Im so new to this and have already experienced the sleepless nights. I feel for you. Im wondering what dose of Methimazole you started with. Some vets like to start higher than is necessary and it can really kill the cats appetite if they get too much too fast. The safest starting dose is 1.25mg 2x a day. Then you test in 3-4 weeks and adjust as needed, then repeat until you get the right dose to bring the T4 to the desired number.
Edited to say, nevermind, I see you started at 0.625 2x a day. Even safer dose. Very good. Now to get her eating!

Hi Jo. Thanks for chiming in. Do you have a hyperthyroid cat? I’m hoping the dose does enough for her since so low, but I was so afraid to start too high from all I’ve read and heard.

I had to hand feed her dinner tonight. Have her 12.5%. Now I have to pray she doesn’t drop too low while I’m out for a few hours and that the Libre doesn’t shut down while I’m out since that means she’s Lo. And of course she’s coming off a flat blue cycle.

Sadly going out to dinner once a week isn’t as relaxing as it used to be. I do it to keep my DH happy and I know it’s good for me to do something social once a week and get a small break.
Sending you hugs of support, I know you’re stressed too. It’s hard. It’s so good we have each other to lean on here

 

[JLS12]

So sorry to hear Ivy's not eating on her own.

When we had a very ill cat with genetic issues, hubby had to hand feed at times. She was his cat and she preferred eating for him. It was the only way to get her "over the hump" and back to eating on her own.

I know you make Ivy's food, but could it possibly be that she's tired of it and needs a change or some variation?

 

[JoM]

Hi Jo. Thanks for chiming in. Do you have a hyperthyroid cat? I’m hoping the dose does enough for her since so low, but I was so afraid to start too high from all I’ve read and heard.

I had to hand feed her dinner tonight. Have her 12.5%. Now I have to pray she doesn’t drop too low while I’m out for a few hours and that the Libre doesn’t shut down while I’m out since that means she’s Lo. And of course she’s coming off a flat blue cycle.

Sadly going out to dinner once a week isn’t as relaxing as it used to be. I do it to keep my DH happy and I know it’s good for me to do something social once a week and get a small break.
Sending you hugs of support, I know you’re stressed too. It’s hard. It’s so good we have each other to lean on here

I do not have a hyper-t cat at the moment. One of my cats, Sophie had the i131 done and she is cured of hyper-t now. I never did the pills with her. But I have in the past with other cats. Ive had 4 cats with hyper-t. 3 had the i131 treatment. I learned with my first cat that had it (she didnt have the i131) that the vet had prescribed too high of a dose. I found the facebook group Hyperthyroid Cats and they were so much help. I ended up lowering her dose to 0.625 2x a day and then after a couple of tests raised it to 1.25mg and thats where she stayed.
I certainly know what you mean about not enjoying yourself when you go out. Im going to an afternoon play tomorrow. Cant do anything at night anymore because of having to give Karamelle her shot at 8:30pm. Im kinda blah about gpoing tomorrow. Especially with all thats been happenig with K's numbers the last few days.
Its all so stressful and exhausting. I totally understand how you are feeling. I really hope things even out for you and Ivy and she starts eating well again.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

I’m glad she’s popped up a bit to let you get out. I hope you can enjoy your friends. I know you’ll be ready to get home. Paws crossed the meds will help her feel better and she will start to eat.