3/1 - Xander | AMPS: 400+. Everything's getting so much worse.

Brianna & Xander

Brianna & Xander

Very Active Member
2/28/25

Morning everybody.

Somehow Xander's numbers are continuously getting worse. Last night's cycle didn't even see a single yellow, and the 400+s are back. Doesn't seem like that could be NDW because that was the end of day 3/cycle 6. He was getting limes on 1.25 and now 400s on 1.75.

Increased to 2 units this morning, but unfortunately now Xander won't even get into his injection spot for his Churu. Normally he goes nuts for them, running so fast to his spot that he slides and screaming for it. Today he wouldn't even go near it. Ran away when I tried to coax him up. My partner had to chase him and hold him so I could give the injection. So yay... Now we're back to struggling to even inject. That part had at least finally become the easy thing and we've gone all the way back to December in terms of progress.

So incredibly discouraged. I wish I had as normal a cat as it seems like most here do. Everything is always on hard mode, even the things that are supposed to be simple. I was so excited to switch to TR and finally not have to reduce every 5 seconds, but now he's just never getting any good numbers at all, no matter how much I increase. And now it's apparently going to be an epic fight every 12 hours to even inject him at all. I feel like he's dying and there's nothing I can do. :(

Happy Saturday ❤️
 
Hi Brianna, He's not dying. And you're doing the very best you can to keep him from doing so! I know those reds are scary and the fact that he hasn't gotten somewhat regulated is disconcerting. It just takes time. But look how far you've both come from the beginning of this year--look at all those reds--he's improved significantly since then. I agree with Tim--Xander has just not found the right dose yet.

BTW, what happens with the injection? Does it seem to give him pain?

Also, did the vet do a full blood workup and urinalysis on Xander when he was diagnosed? There isn't a chance he has some underlying infection is there? Did they check his teeth? When Jude came out of remission (in October), his blood sugar shot up, and we discovered he had a UTI (there were no symptoms--but Jude is prone to UTIs). Interestingly, back a few weeks ago when Jude's numbers were nose-diving all the time, and when his appetite waned, I took him back to the vet, and we discovered he had another UTI. He had no symptoms, AND his bg was diving all the time (counter-intuitive to the notion that bg shoots up when infection is present). It was strange. All that to say, I think cats are super good at hiding illness from us. And I do know that often infection can cause their numbers to go up. I'm just wondering if that's a possibilty?
 
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Brianna & Xander said:
2/28/25

Morning everybody.

Somehow Xander's numbers are continuously getting worse. Last night's cycle didn't even see a single yellow, and the 400+s are back. Doesn't seem like that could be NDW because that was the end of day 3/cycle 6. He was getting limes on 1.25 and now 400s on 1.75.

Increased to 2 units this morning, but unfortunately now Xander won't even get into his injection spot for his Churu. Normally he goes nuts for them, running so fast to his spot that he slides and screaming for it. Today he wouldn't even go near it. Ran away when I tried to coax him up. My partner had to chase him and hold him so I could give the injection. So yay... Now we're back to struggling to even inject. That part had at least finally become the easy thing and we've gone all the way back to December in terms of progress.

So incredibly discouraged. I wish I had as normal a cat as it seems like most here do. Everything is always on hard mode, even the things that are supposed to be simple. I was so excited to switch to TR and finally not have to reduce every 5 seconds, but now he's just never getting any good numbers at all, no matter how much I increase. And now it's apparently going to be an epic fight every 12 hours to even inject him at all. I feel like he's dying and there's nothing I can do. :(

Happy Saturday ❤️
Click to expand...


You do have a normal cat like everyone else. ❤️
It takes my husband & I both to grab Ivan. He’s a big powerful boy at 16lbs &
We have to come up with different ways to grab & pick him up every day.
Hang in there.

What are you feeding him?
Something carbby can make their number go up a lot.
 
I'm sorry you're feeling discouraged, Brianna. This is hard, so hard. I’ve read a lot of people struggling in different ways lately. I feel your struggle.

Someone always says on here to take a step back and breathe.... I hate hearing it haha but it's true, especially for our intuitive sensitive kitties.

Every single time I'm hesitant to shoot Petey, he knows, and backs away and tries to avoid the "bad shot".... every time.

You've come so far and Xander is so lucky to have such an invested, loving Mama. Keep looking at the bigger picture of data and I found that picture was usually a lot more positive than what the libre shows. :bighug::bighug:
 
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Hi Brianna,
I'm.sorry you're feeling this way right now. Every FD journey is different as is every cat. But I'm almost 100% sure every one of us had gone through hard times like yourself when nothing made sense and when it seemed that no matter what you do it's not working. Trust me. I've been there too. And yes looking at Nestle's SS now it's hard to believe but when he was first diagnosed he was just all over the place and his neuropathy was getting bad and it progressed so fast that within few weeks he almost stopped walking completely. I thought he was slowly dying too. But I kept going. And then I kept going even more. And finally one day it just clicked. It was as if he turned on a switch, did 180 and started coming back to me. His numbers started to improve and eventually so did his walking. And today we're here.
I hope others can also share their stories. Not only to give you hope but also to let you know better days are coming. And I know you're doing everything you can and more to take care of him and you're a wonderful mama to Xander.
Keep going and keep on fighting ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
 
Marielle said:
Hi Brianna, He's not dying. And you're doing the very best you can to keep him from doing so! I know those reds are scary and the fact that he hasn't gotten somewhat regulated is disconcerting. It just takes time. But look how far you've both come from the beginning of this year--look at all those reds--he's improved significantly since then. I agree with Tim--Xander has just not found the right dose yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mary. :( ❤️ Yeah, it just feels like such a kick in the gut to get these reds after having had such good numbers before! Makes me wish I'd started with TR instead of SLGS.

Marielle said:
BTW, what happens with the injection? Does it seem to give him pain?
Click to expand...

I think without the lidocaine it does; he's so sensitive. Sometimes he jumps sky high, but most of the time he either doesn't react at all or just flinches a little. I do always make sure I have the bevel up, come in at the right angle, etc. I think he's just sensitive.

Marielle said:
Also, did the vet do a full blood workup and urinalysis on Xander when he was diagnosed? There isn't a chance he has some underlying infection is there? Did they check his teeth? When Jude came out of remission (in October), his blood sugar shot up, and we discovered he had a UTI (there were no symptoms--but Jude is prone to UTIs). Interestingly, back a few weeks ago when Jude's numbers were nose-diving all the time, and when his appetite waned, I took him back to the vet, and we discovered he had another UTI. He had no symptoms, AND his bg was diving all the time (counter-intuitive to the notion that bg shoots up when infection is present). It was strange. All that to say, I think cats are super good at hiding illness from us. And I do know that often infection can cause their numbers to go up. I'm just wondering if that's a possibilty?
Click to expand...

Yes, she did! Originally he had some liver inflammation, but that basically disappeared after his first curve when we first started insulin, so it seems like it was directly related. At some point in early January I was worried about him having DKA or pancreatitis so he spent a day in the hospital being looked at and given fluids, etc but he didn't have either. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. He does have some tooth resorption but what we were told was that it wasn't quite necessary to fix yet, but maybe we're getting closer.
 
Tim & Pookey said:
Ugh, I’m sorry Brianna. I wish there was one trick I could tell you to make everything better.

Maybe you just haven’t found the dose yet. You’ve probably seen it here, cats go up in dose and then one day it’s like ok too much and they start coming back down in dose. Hang in there, you’re doing great.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Tim. ❤️ It was just one thing seeing no progress and another to be going in reverse and then now having a hard time even giving him injections again.
 
Cindy & Ivan said:
You do have a normal cat like everyone else. ❤️
It takes my husband & I both to grab Ivan. He’s a big powerful boy at 16lbs &
We have to come up with different ways to grab & pick him up every day.
Hang in there.

What are you feeding him?
Something carbby can make their number go up a lot.
Click to expand...

:( Thanks for commiserating! Ivan sounds like a lot to wrangle! Our guy is smaller, but he's so sensitive and afraid of everything.

He has Fancy Feast Classic Pate, all 3% carbs or less (unless he's low, then I give him some MC or whatever). He doesn't have an opportunity to get into any kibble or anything either.
 
Laurie&Petey said:
I'm sorry you're feeling discouraged, Brianna. This is hard, so hard. I’ve read a lot of people struggling in different ways lately. I feel your struggle.

Someone always says on here to take a step back and breathe.... I hate hearing it haha but it's true, especially for our intuitive sensitive kitties.

Every single time I'm hesitant to shoot Petey, he knows, and backs away and tries to avoid the "bad shot".... every time.

You've come so far and Xander is so lucky to have such an invested, loving Mama. Keep looking at the bigger picture of data and I found that picture was usually a lot more positive than what the libre shows. :bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...

Thanks, Laurie. ❤️

I do at least try to fake it til I make it with the confidence and comforting! Usually that works. I had no idea him running away from an injection was coming today, so I don't think that was based on me specifically, but who knows. A couple of times recently he's tried to jump onto my desk (where I give injections) but slipped and fell. Maybe he randomly was afraid of that this time, even though he's had other injections since falling and was fine.

Thanks again. Today finally looks like a better day, but jeez, it really had to rip my guts out before I got that. :bighug:
 
Karolina KJ & Nestle said:
Hi Brianna,
I'm.sorry you're feeling this way right now. Every FD journey is different as is every cat. But I'm almost 100% sure every one of us had gone through hard times like yourself when nothing made sense and when it seemed that no matter what you do it's not working. Trust me. I've been there too. And yes looking at Nestle's SS now it's hard to believe but when he was first diagnosed he was just all over the place and his neuropathy was getting bad and it progressed so fast that within few weeks he almost stopped walking completely. I thought he was slowly dying too. But I kept going. And then I kept going even more. And finally one day it just clicked. It was as if he turned on a switch, did 180 and started coming back to me. His numbers started to improve and eventually so did his walking. And today we're here.
I hope others can also share their stories. Not only to give you hope but also to let you know better days are coming. And I know you're doing everything you can and more to take care of him and you're a wonderful mama to Xander.
Keep going and keep on fighting ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Click to expand...

Thank you, Karolina. ❤️ I'm really looking forward to the switch and the improvement! It's just been so hard to not just not see any progress but going backwards. I'm doing literally everything I can possibly be doing and it kills me to think tht that may not be enough.
 
Brianna & Xander said:
Thank you, Karolina. ❤️ I'm really looking forward to the switch and the improvement! It's just been so hard to not just not see any progress but going backwards. I'm doing literally everything I can possibly be doing and it kills me to think tht that may not be enough.
Click to expand...

We've all been doubting ourselves at some point during this journey. But it will be enough. Believe it ♡
 
I'm not sure if you saw the discussion we had here about insulin stinging some cats when it hits? I can try to find it if you'd like. I had posted because Jude was trying to bite me when I shot him--but only when the needle went in and especially when the insulin went in. Basically, what people said is that it could be the coldness of the insulin (which I tried to remedy by putting his syringe between the ear warmers for a bit) but also that insulin can sting some cats when it goes in. I think this is what happens to Jude. It's not so bad now that his dose has decreased. But I switched to shooting him while he is eating. Before, I was shooting him on the counter, where I could clearly see that I was injecting him (and not getting a fur shot), but I decided that I needed to try to let the food be a distraction. I think it has helped Jude. But, again, his dose has gone down a lot so it could just be that. I'm SO glad to see Xander hit some blues today.
 
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Marielle said:
he. saw. some. blues. today!!!!!!! That's great! Goooooo Xander!
Click to expand...

I know, after the complete breakdown I had overnight and this morning, he FINALLY responded. Even seemed like a really good cycle in terms of it not being a steep drop, starting earlier than usual and hanging out around the same number for a few hours! He also (after being suspicious of me all day) did go to his injection spot okay tonight. I could cry I'm so happy.

Marielle said:
I'm not sure if you saw the discussion we had here about insulin stinging some cats when it hits? I can try to find it if you'd like. I had posted because Jude was trying to bite me when I shot him--but only when the needle went in and especially when the insulin went in. Basically, what people said is that it could be the coldness of the insulin (which I tried to remedy by putting his syringe between the ear warmers for a bit) but also that insulin can sting some cats when it goes in. I think this is what happens to Jude. It's not so bad now that his dose has decreased. But I switched to shooting him while he is eating. Before, I was shooting him on the counter, where I could clearly see that I was injecting him (and not getting a fur shot), but I decided that I needed to try to let the food be a distraction. I think it has helped Jude. But, again, his dose has gone down a lot so it could just be that. I'm SO glad to see Xander hit some blues today.
Click to expand...

I have seen that mentioned! I've never felt like that was it mainly because he seems to react mostly to having his skin touched/maybe the startle of the poke, but it's definitely something to keep in mind. I'd imagine you're right that it's worse with higher doses too (2 is the most he's ever gotten). Xander's definitely not distracted enough by regular food, but he loves Churus, so I give him one of those to lick off a plate while I do it, and conveniently I just give it to him at my desk (so kind of the best of both worlds - eating but on a high enough surface to see what I'm doing!)

Thank you, Mary! I'm so happy too!
 
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