? 12/15;Gary AmPs 282 +4 348

Sepi

Sepi

Member
Hi. Gary was given a shot of Covenia on Friday. And, I'm embarrassed that I didn't research nor ask more questions about the why and the impact. He seems fine - no diarrhea, throw up, lethargy.
His glucose numbers seems wonky. And I'm again thinking that I'm not getting the shot in correctly. Also the new insulin is generic instead of brand, but I asked in the FB forum and they said should not be an issue.
He has a terrible skin rash on his ears and a few hot spots on his face. This vet thought the antibiotic would help? A skin test has come back this weekend and it wasn't ring worm, but there is some fungal. Now it will be 240 dollars to send the test back out for further details.
Could someone just take a look at his spreadsheet? I'm wondering if that jump from 1 to 1.5 and the 1.5 to 2 has made me miss the sweet spot? Thank you
 
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Question - is the FaceBook the same as posting here? I don't want to double up questions and take up members time. It would be easier to post a screen shot from the Libre daily graph so you can see the pattern..but I can't attach or upload using my phone and this site.
 
Sepi said:
Question - is the FaceBook the same as posting here?
Click to expand...
Short answer is no. The FB group associated with FDMB is not supposed to help with dosing. There are other FB groups out there too. Don't worry about posting on the FDMB associated FB group with questions too. We like seeing the spreadsheet here. I've been looking at them a long time and it's easier for me (and many of us) to see patterns in the spreadsheets.

When your spreadsheet says you "messed up the shot", what does that mean? Do you see or smell Lantus/glargine on him? It has a very distinctive smell. It's not unusual to miss or go short on the shot in the beginning, we call it a fur shot. If you do a fur shot, it will impact the Lantus depot and you can get wonky numbers as a result. You can mark on the spreadsheet when you think you might have done a fur shot by putting FS beside the units given.

To me it does look like Gary is bouncy, which is totally normal for a recently diagnosed cat. It also looks like he hasn't gotten to that good dose yet. In case someone hasn't shown you yet, here is the definition of bouncing:
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).
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Short answer is no. The FB group associated with FDMB is not supposed to help with dosing. There are other FB groups out there too. Don't worry about posting on the FDMB associated FB group with questions too. We like seeing the spreadsheet here. I've been looking at them a long time and it's easier for me (and many of us) to see patterns in the spreadsheets.

When your spreadsheet says you "messed up the shot", what does that mean? Do you see or smell Lantus/glargine on him? It has a very distinctive smell. It's not unusual to miss or go short on the shot in the beginning, we call it a fur shot. If you do a fur shot, it will impact the Lantus depot and you can get wonky numbers as a result. You can mark on the spreadsheet when you think you might have done a fur shot by putting FS beside the units given.

To me it does look like Gary is bouncy, which is totally normal for a recently diagnosed cat. It also looks like he hasn't gotten to that good dose yet. In case someone hasn't shown you yet, here is the definition of bouncing:
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).
Click to expand...
I think when I see that there is NO drop in his numbers during the cycle, I assume I must have blown the shot..I don't smell the Lantus, or find a wet spot on his fur. But I guess I assume it has to be something I'm doing wrong. Maybe I went too deep? (I had tried using needles that were 1/2 inch so longer that what I started with. Now I'm back with the original 5/16 inch. )
And thank you for that great explanation of bouncing. It had been mentioned when I first started caring for Gary in November.
And now I think I "get it".
 
If a cat is bouncing, you may not see a drop in numbers, you could even see them go up! If you didn't see or smell Lantus, you probably did it right.

Did you give a shot the PM of the 11th? The units cell is blank then. Which can impact the numbers of that and future cycles. For a great explanation of the many things that can impact what a cycle looks like, take a look at this Sticky Note:
What is the Insulin Depot?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
If a cat is bouncing, you may not see a drop in numbers, you could even see them go up! If you didn't see or smell Lantus, you probably did it right.

Did you give a shot the PM of the 11th? The units cell is blank then. Which can impact the numbers of that and future cycles. For a great explanation of the many things that can impact what a cycle looks like, take a look at this Sticky Note:
What is the Insulin Depot?
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure I gave him a shot on the 11th..
 
Sepi said:
I think when I see that there is NO drop in his numbers during the cycle, I assume I must have blown the shot..I don't smell the Lantus, or find a wet spot on his fur. But I guess I assume it has to be something I'm doing wrong. Maybe I went too deep? (I had tried using needles that were 1/2 inch so longer that what I started with. Now I'm back with the original 5/16 inch. )
And thank you for that great explanation of bouncing. It had been mentioned when I first started caring for Gary in November.
And now I think I "get it".
Click to expand...
I’m not saying you didn’t mess up the shot but I can say that even if the shot is perfect sometimes Methos didn’t drop (and still doesn’t but I don’t suspect a messed up shot as much). How do I know this? I was so distraught that I HAD to be messing up his shots in the beginning (because nothing changed) that I paid some cat sitters who were vet techs to come give him his shot. That was a huge relief to me…and his numbers didn’t change for them either. It’s so normal to suspect we had to mess up. But I think we often are fine and it is what it is. Good luck!
 
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