10/05 Maggie AMPS 314, +2.30 264, +5 200, +8 205, PMPS 219, +2 263, +5 242 Confused About Our Pattern & Progress

[hellen_maggie]

07/05 Maggie AMPS 290 / +2,10 281 / +4,40 262 Flat curve

Τοday΄s readings: ΑMPS 280, +2,40 229, +5,20 196

Hi everyone,
I could really use some advice because I honestly don’t know how to evaluate Maggie’s progress or what I should do with her dose next. I’m feeling very confused by the pattern we’ve been seeing over the last several days.
On one hand, we’re getting very flat daytime cycles. I know flat cycles are considered a good thing in diabetes, but I thought the goal was flat lower numbers, not flat cycles at the higher ranges Maggie is still seeing. On the other hand, her PM cycles are usually much more active, and she often drops into much nicer numbers at night. So I’m struggling to understand what this pattern actually means. Is this progress? Is she still bouncing? Is the dose too low? I genuinely can’t tell anymore.
Google AI keeps telling me that Maggie is improving, and that these flatter cycles, even when they are still relatively high, may actually be part of the process toward stabilization and regulation. According to that explanation, the body first learns to stay more stable before the numbers gradually start coming down further. But honestly… I don’t know what to believe or how to interpret our spreadsheet at this point.
Right now Maggie is on 0.30U. Part of me wants to increase the dose once we complete 7 days on this dose because the numbers still seem higher than I would like. However, according to SLGS, I don’t think I can increase yet, since during these last 5 days on 0.30U we’ve already seen numbers below 150 multiple times during the night (125, 122, 115, 98, 93)
Maggie’s diet is now down to approximately 7.5% of calories from carbs, which honestly feels like a huge accomplishment for Maggie and her sensitive stomach, considering we’ve been working on this transition for almost 5 months already!!! She is still eating a small amount of kibble, though, so unfortunately I cannot follow TR yet.

So, right now I feel completely stuck between “the dose is too small” and “the protocol says don’t increase.” I would really appreciate some guidance on how you would interpret these cycles and what you would do with the dose moving forward.


Thank you so much everyone
Maggie sends love and wishes all the kitties safe surfing

 

[Bandit's Mom]

Hi Hellen, I know how disheartening it can be to not see the numbers you are expecting to see, but you've made great progress in transitioning Maggie to a low carb diet. From personal experience, I know how much of an uphill battle that can be! FD is also unpredictable and challenging and can often seem like 2 steps forward and 1 step back. You are doing great considering the challenges you are dealing with, so hang in there!

The aim with SLGS is to get her to spend as much time in the 90-149 range as possible. You don't want flat and high cycles. And you don't want only the stray nadir in the 90-149 range. Her numbers do seems to be trending up. You still have another day on this dose. Let's see what she does today and tomorrow and whether she reacts to all this talk of an increase.

 

[hellen_maggie]

Hi Hellen, I know how disheartening it can be to not see the numbers you are expecting to see, but you've made great progress in transitioning Maggie to a low carb diet. From personal experience, I know how much of an uphill battle that can be! FD is also unpredictable and challenging and can often seem like 2 steps forward and 1 step back. You are doing great considering the challenges you are dealing with, so hang in there!

The aim with SLGS is to get her to spend as much time in the 90-149 range as possible. You don't want flat and high cycles. And you don't want only the stray nadir in the 90-149 range. Her numbers do seems to be trending up. You still have another day on this dose. Let's see what she does today and tomorrow and whether she reacts to all this talk of an increase.

Thank you so much for your advice, Bhooma
If I understood correctly, I should increase the dose the day after tomorrow, provided Maggie continues with the same pattern. Unless, of course, she overheard our conversation about a dose increase and decides to behave herself

 

[Bandit's Mom]

If I understood correctly, I should increase the dose the day after tomorrow, provided Maggie continues with the same pattern. Unless, of course, she overheard our conversation about a dose increase and decides to behave herself

That's right

 

[hellen_maggie]

Something else I’ve been wanting to ask for quite a while now (just in case) is the following:

From time to time, Maggie has some pretty steep drops which, so far, I’ve been managing by feeding the curve. The only “food tools” I currently have available are high-carb kibble (24%) and low carb air-dried food (3%). These are the only two things her stomach tolerates, so for now this is what we have to work with.

So, when she starts dropping fast, I give a few extra pieces of HC kibble. However, the last time she had a steep drop, even though I gave HC kibble, she continued dropping for another 2 hours. I suspect that, because kibble is dry and heavily processed, it takes longer to digest and affect her numbers.

Would it make sense to crush the kibble with warm water and give a very small amount at a time, maybe mixed with the air dried food, depending the readings (for example, 1 teaspoon), so it digests and raises her BG faster? My goal would simply be to slow/control the drop when I don’t want her going below 80, which is our reduction point.

I know the ideal solution would probably be medium or low-carb wet food, but unfortunately that is a huge NO for us. I’m just wondering whether crushed kibble could raise BG a little faster, somewhat similarly to wet food.

I hope I explained this correctly and that it makes sense. And sorry if I overwhelmed you with all my questions

 

[Bandit's Mom]

Please don't apologize for asking questions! That's what we are here for.

My Bandit was a kibble addict and would not even lick wet food. I didn't find that HC dry food took any longer to raise her BG. But maybe its ECID. I'm don't know if wetting the kibble would make a difference in its digestion/absorption. I would think not.

It might not be the food at all. It's possible that BG reacts to the same food, given at the same time in the cycle, on the same dose, differently from cycle to cycle. You might find that in some cycles food brings her BG up much faster than in others. That's the joy of FD for you. Will she tolerate honey? If yes, you could try adding a drop of it to freeze-dried food and see what that does. It's all trial and error when it comes to feeding the curve.

 

[hellen_maggie]

Please don't apologize for asking questions! That's what we are here for.

My Bandit was a kibble addict and would not even lick wet food. I didn't find that HC dry food took any longer to raise her BG. But maybe its ECID. I'm don't know if wetting the kibble would make a difference in its digestion/absorption. I would think not.

It might not be the food at all. It's possible that BG reacts to the same food, given at the same time in the cycle, on the same dose, differently from cycle to cycle. You might find that in some cycles food brings her BG up much faster than in others. That's the joy of FD for you. Will she tolerate honey? If yes, you could try adding a drop of it to freeze-dried food and see what that does. It's all trial and error when it comes to feeding the curve.

Ughhhhh!!!!
How much information are we supposed to learn about feline diabetes before graduation day arrives??? How much more can an already exhausted brain absorb at this point????
I honestly feel like we’re all slowly earning medical degrees here!!!
And unfortunately, Maggie does not tolerate honey either
But honestly, if there is ever a situation where her safety is at risk, I won’t exactly ask for her permission first I’ll just rub a little on her gums if needed. Better an annoyed Maggie than a dangerous hypo situation.
But seriously, thank you so much for sharing your experience with Bandit. It really helps hearing from people who have actually lived through all this chaos.