2/15 | Jude: AMPS 174; +5.5 70; +7 92; PMPS 243; +2.5 187; +5.5 103

Hi Mary! Just catching up a bit. I’m not sure I would have done so many reductions, in a matter of a few days, given that you likely still had the larger depot influencing and he didn’t technically earn them. The 1u likely would have helped reduce the depot some, I might have stuck with 2.25u and stabilize the depot. Just my 2 Canadian cents ;)
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Hi Mary! Just catching up a bit. I’m not sure I would have done so many reductions, in a matter of a few days, given that you likely still had the larger depot influencing and he didn’t technically earn them. The 1u likely would have helped reduce the depot some, I might have stuck with 2.25u and stabilize the depot. Just my 2 Canadian cents ;)
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Hi Christie, I’m not sure if you looked back at my daily condos, but Jude was having problems nose diving here lately. I couldn’t keep him in safe numbers on the 2.25 dose without a lot of carb manipulation. He was getting too much insulin on 2.25, and I knew he didn’t earn a reduction, so I asked on the forum and was advised to drop his dose to 1.50. The 1u shot was simply bc I couldn’t monitor him that day, and he was going low on the 2.25 dose, so I wanted to keep him safe while I was gone. I’m not sure how I could have reduced the depot, as you say, but would like to hear your thoughts.
 
Marielle said:
Yes, we saw some greens. This is probably not the ideal dose. I’ll hold him here for 4 cycles to see where we are and then increase. At least he’s not nose diving anymore; that was nerve-wracking, not to mention killing me with sleep deprivation. You and Pookey have a great day!
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Also, unrelated, but did you see Elise’s comment on Andrea and Merme’s page today about a +9 snack given to bring the blues down at the end of a cycle? Might come in handy for you and Pookey.
 
Marielle said:
Also, unrelated, but did you see Elise’s comment on Andrea and Merme’s page today about a +9 snack given to bring the blues down at the end of a cycle? Might come in handy for you and Pookey.
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Yes! That’s a great tip. We tried it before but I think it’s mostly for lower doses like under 0.5 units.
 
Marielle said:
Hi Christie, I’m not sure if you looked back at my daily condos, but Jude was having problems nose diving here lately. I couldn’t keep him in safe numbers on the 2.25 dose without a lot of carb manipulation. He was getting too much insulin on 2.25, and I knew he didn’t earn a reduction, so I asked on the forum and was advised to drop his dose to 1.50. The 1u shot was simply bc I couldn’t monitor him that day, and he was going low on the 2.25 dose, so I wanted to keep him safe while I was gone. I’m not sure how I could have reduced the depot, as you say, but would like to hear your thoughts.
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Yes, I sure did :). A few observations. The cycles you were getting with 2.25u were influenced by the larger depot, arguably still some of the 3u even into pm cycle of 11-Feb. Most certainly thereafter 2.75u was still in play, even into pm cycle of 13-Feb albeit the BCS shot that morning of 1u would have depleted the larger depot some. Here’s the thing. When following TR back to back reductions don’t often work because there is some consideration that must be given to the larger depot continuing to affect between 4-6 cycles after a reduction. Looking back to when you reduced to 2.75u, you dropped down to 2.25u which is a larger reduction, then went much further down to 1.5u on February 14th. All that is to say, the reductions in dose were too much too quickly IMHO, and I don’t think you actually saw what 2.25u was doing or could do.

Now, some food for thought on the HC. I see you were only feeding 1 teaspoon. That may have been part of your difficulty. Back when I started waaay back when, I was taught to feed 2 teaspoons and see if that helps encourage a surf. If it does, then great, once the surf has started try going back to 2 teaspoons of perhaps higher LC. Sometimes by feeding only 1 teaspoon, you aren’t giving enough to prop them up and to me it’s actually safer to feed 2 tsps when using food to manage the curve.

That said, most definitely if one needs to feed a lot of HC in order to steer, then that too has to be taken into consideration. Would it have been enough for me to say go down in dose more than 0.25u, no, but that is probably a matter of opinion. Like I said earlier above, I don’t think you were seeing 2.25u in action.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Yes, I sure did :). A few observations. The cycles you were getting with 2.25u were influenced by the larger depot, arguably still some of the 3u even into pm cycle of 11-Feb. Most certainly thereafter 2.75u was still in play, even into pm cycle of 13-Feb albeit the BCS shot that morning of 1u would have depleted the larger depot some. Here’s the thing. When following TR back to back reductions don’t often work because there is some consideration that must be given to the larger depot continuing to affect between 4-6 cycles after a reduction. Looking back to when you reduced to 2.75u, you dropped down to 2.25u which is a larger reduction, then went much further down to 1.5u on February 14th. All that is to say, the reductions in dose were too much too quickly IMHO, and I don’t think you actually saw what 2.25u was doing or could do.

Now, some food for thought on the HC. I see you were only feeding 1 teaspoon. That may have been part of your difficulty. Back when I started waaay back when, I was taught to feed 2 teaspoons and see if that helps encourage a surf. If it does, then great, once the surf has started try going back to 2 teaspoons of perhaps higher LC. Sometimes by feeding only 1 teaspoon, you aren’t giving enough to prop them up and to me it’s actually safer to feed 2 tsps when using food to manage the curve.

That said, most definitely if one needs to feed a lot of HC in order to steer, then that too has to be taken into consideration. Would it have been enough for me to say go down in dose more than 0.25u, no, but that is probably a matter of opinion. Like I said earlier above, I don’t think you were seeing 2.25u in action.
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Thanks for that explanation, Christie! I'll definitely keep your advice in mind for the future. One other aspect I was struggling with as we were going through this ongoing nose-dive event was that, starting on 2/10, Jude lost his appetite, and often I couldn't get him to eat more than 1tsp and sometimes I couldn't get him to eat at all. So the "tool" I had to boost him if he went too low was not as accessible to me. When he was (on 2/13) a carb-manipulated 54 at PM+3, that worried me. And while he technically did not earn a reduction, the fact that carb manipulation was holding him at a low 54 indicated to me that he, without those carbs, would likely have fallen below 50 and would have earned a reduction. I know that we look at the numbers we actually see, but when we're manipulating them with carbs, I think that's something that should be taken into consideration. I'll leave him alone on this dose until the depot adjusts to the new dose (I think that's 4-6 cycles, right?), and then we'll see where to go. I suspect we'll be going up. Again, I very much appreciate the guidance and advice.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Hmm, nice +5. We’ll maybe Jude doesn’t care for my high level analysis of what he should do :p
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Yes, but I'd like to see him getting back to a nice, flat curve, not one with highs on the ends of the cycle. I just don't want to fight against the insulin to prop him up. I just want...what's the word for it...oh, yeah, regulation...that's the word!:banghead: :joyful:
 
Marielle said:
Thanks for that explanation, Christie! I'll definitely keep your advice in mind for the future. One other aspect I was struggling with as we were going through this ongoing nose-dive event was that, starting on 2/10, Jude lost his appetite, and often I couldn't get him to eat more than 1tsp and sometimes I couldn't get him to eat at all. So the "tool" I had to boost him if he went too low was not as accessible to me. When he was (on 2/13) a carb-manipulated 54 at PM+3, that worried me. And while he technically did not earn a reduction, the fact that carb manipulation was holding him at a low 54 indicated to me that he, without those carbs, would likely have fallen below 50 and would have earned a reduction. I know that we look at the numbers we actually see, but when we're manipulating them with carbs, I think that's something that should be taken into consideration. I'll leave him alone on this dose until the depot adjusts to the new dose (I think that's 4-6 cycles, right?), and then we'll see where to go. I suspect we'll be going up. Again, I very much appreciate the guidance and advice.
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You’re welcome, Mary :), sometimes just a regular 0.25u reduction will address the fact that HC was keeping them from earning one. Not necessarily wrong to go down more, but I always like to look at the cycles over several days and see what may or may not be influencing things.

I understand how worrying it can be when what is usually a happy to eat anything cat decides what you offer is no bueno :rolleyes:. Maybe something is in the air lol.
 
Hi @Marielle , did Jude get food this AM between PS and +5?

I think you might have to go up in dose. It's good to see greens on this dose, but those yellow preshots are :(. Let's see if he reacts to the threat of an increase!
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Hi @Marielle , did Jude get food this AM between PS and +5?

I think you might have to go up in dose. It's good to see greens on this dose, but those yellow preshots are :(. Let's see if he reacts to the threat of an increase!
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I don't know if he ate or not; I had to go to the doctor this morning, and I tested him as soon as I got back home. He did have food to eat, and much of it was gone when I got home, but there is another cat in the mix, so I'm not sure who ate it. Jude eats much more than Hazel, though, so I suspect it was him. I figured I would need to increase his dose given those higher numbers at his AM and PM shots, but I wasn't sure how long I needed to hold him at this dose.
 
Marielle said:
just want to make sure we're all on the same page. So, in the words of the phenomenal Clash, "Should I stay or should I go" with a dose increase and when should I do so, if one is warranted??
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You've had a lot on your plate these days :bighug:.
I would hold this 1.5 dose for at least 3 days/6 cycles. By then the depot will have readjusted and you'll be able to see what this dose can do.
 
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