4/23 Charlie AMPS 116 +2 66, +4 81, +5 74, +10 99

Yesterday's post

Jeez louise! We both got 8 HOURS of uninterrupted sleep last night!! By the way he was following me around for food this morning I thought his AMPS was going to be high, but I was pleasantly surprised!

He could end up getting another reduction today if I let him. Is this normal or should I try to stagger the reductions by carbing him? I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I just want to make sure I'm timing these right so they don't all catch up at once.

 

I just tested at +2 and he's at 66. I was stuck in meetings and couldnt test before. I gave some HC food that he's eating now. He's acting fine

 

He's working that insulin! HC feels like the right move so early in the cycle. Test again in 30 mins.

 

Okay. Will do. I'm panicking a little bit

 

I know it's scary, but deep breaths. He's not in the danger zone. A tablespoon or two of HC should keep him steady.

In similar situations when Noogi dropped suddenly and I panicked too I added a half a teaspoon honey. It's really not necessary til the BG drops below 50. But maybe you want to try some now as a test just to check how he responds and to reassure yourself that it is a tool you can use if you need to. It does shoot the BG up for a short period only, so you will need to keep testing in the next hour or two. I think you will feel less panicky if you know how well honey (or karo) works.

 

Hi Jess, Helen is giving you great advice. Congratulations on the reduction Charlie earned!
I assume you will go down to 5.25 units tonight?

He’s decided he needs less insulin!! That’s good news!!
Sending you hugs. I hope he steadies out so you can feel more calm.
That’s low enough Charlie!!

 

Okay, that's a good idea. I think I'm going to wait until the HC kicks in and then try the honey so I can keep track of what does what

 

Thank you, he sure has I guess! lol. Wendy had suggested doing .5 decreases until I get to 5, since that's what the increases were past 5. So he'll go down to 5 tonight. I may end up skipping his shot depending on what PMPS is. I haven't set a no-shoot threshold for him yet, but I'm thinking I should set it at 120 or 130.

 

Oh wow, the HC food brought him up to 78! Do you think I should still try the karo to see what it does or hold off for now?

 

Already coming up nicely on the HC I think? Good job.
Probably not necessary to try honey.

 

Yeah I was surprised how well that worked given the MC food doesn't really seem to do too much haha. I'll hold off on the honey. I don't want to give him more new stuff to learn how to digest if I don't have to. Whew. Thank you so much for helping me, that was scary! I'm thinking I'll do MC food at +3 then maybe back to his regular food after that?

 

Our messages crossed. I'd hold off on honey for now. He is obviously pretty carb sensitive and responds well to HC. Great to know!
Honey is like HC-squared. He'll probably sky-rocket and you don't want that
If/when you do try it as a test start with 1/4 teaspoon in some LC or MC food.

 

Yip, that sounds good.
Pleasure to help. You are exactly where I was about three or four weeks ago!
Congrats on the reduction. I suspect it won't be long til the next one. Go Charlie!

 

Congrats on that reduction!

 

Thank you! He's doing so well I'm so proud of him

I remember you having to shoot a reduced dose a couple of times--is there a standard for how much you're supposed to reduce by? I'd rather not skip a shot entirely but some of his preshots have been too low for my comfort level lately (like today lol)

 

Thanks Marielle!!

 

Congrats on the reduction. He's done so well in a short amount time! Great work Jess and Charlie!

 

I'm proud of him too! And you, for getting him to this point.

Thank goodness we write all this down on our spreadsheets - had to check!
Once Noogs got out of insulin resistance and into the greens I think I skipped only one shot when he had a 76 at AMPS and went down to 68 after I delayed a bit (03/24). I couldn't monitor him that morning. He was on pink by PMPS, and I remember wishing I had done a partial dose. But then I got a lime (and a reduction) the next morning so I reckoned it was maybe fine to have skipped.

I did do some skips and partial doses when I was changing his food to LC in Jan/Feb, but he was still very up and down in those days. A partial dose seemed to work better, less bouncing. But Charlie hasn't bounced too much the last few days no not sure it is comparable.

Hopefully one of the more experienced members can give you some advice.

If Charlie does decide to race down the dosage ladder you are probably going to be out of your comfort zone for a while. Those weeks when Noogi did it were wild! I kept wanting him to slow down, but he had his own agenda. Seemed like I was testing him non-stop and constantly shoving carbs in his face. But I felt like I just had to adapt and go with it as I did not want to stop his momentum. It was exhausting but exciting. And really only a few weeks - we are in much calmer place now.

 

Thank you Kat!

 

Ah, okay. That's what I'm remembering then. You're right that I don't think our situations are comparable, but thank you so much for looking into it and explaining.

With SLGS, I have a little flexibility to set my own no-shoot/token dose threshold, but it's generally recommended not to shoot below 90, which I definitely am not comfortable doing anyway. I've been trying to figure out where I want to set it the last couple of days. I was thinking 120. It seems like his drops are a little more unpredictable whenever I shoot below that. I hope someone can pop by and give some guidance as well as I have a feeling I'm gonna be in a bit of a pickle tonight at shot time haha. When you did do the partial dose, how did you arrive at the dosage you ended up giving?

I'm so glad you and Noogs are in a much calmer place, I remember when you were doing all the testing and carb-stuffing well. I remember looking at your spreadsheet one day like "oh my god, when does she sleep??" I'm hoping the SLGS reduction point and no-shoot threshold help slow things down a little bit (fingers crossed emoji).

Thank you for the heads up and thanks again for being there with me today. Your help was so appreciated. I feel a bit more confident now if and when that does happen again

 

That 74 is telling you that that HC given at +2 has worn off. Since he's at or near his nadir, he should be coasting the rest of the cycle. K' Charlie?

This cycle is still being influenced by the 6.25 and 6.0 unit depot. Which just tells you the power of the larger depot. My suggestions to people with cats on larger (north of 5 unit) doses is to try a half dose after a reduction is earned this way, to try to drain the depot faster.

When glucose toxicity is broken, the ride can be bumpy for a while. Soon enough you'll catch up to where he should be.

 

Ah, perfect, thank you! I'll plan to give him 2.5 units tonight unless he's lower than the no-shoot threshold, in which case I'll skip. Is that right?

Then tomorrow AM the reduction will go into effect and I'll give him 5?

I actually already gave him another small spoonful of MC. But good to know the HC lasts about ~3 hours

And here I thought it was bumpy already

 

He did fine last night when you shot 120. He seems to be in a pattern of lower during the day and bouncette at night. But that could change.

 

Okay. You're right, and maybe he won't be below that by PMPS tonight anyway

 

Oh I just realized I read this wrong--did you mean a half of one unit or half of his dose?

 

I was going to ask that too!
Good luck tonight Jess!!

 

I'm glad I reread it! haha. Thank you so much!

 

Wow, Jess! Look at Charlie go - he's really showing you how he works that insulin. Love that he's broken that glucose toxicity, but I know he can be stressful and a lot to manage. You're doing such a great job keeping up and keeping him safe.
Hope he keeps it calm for you tonight

 

@Wendy&Neko sorry to tag you (please lmk if that’s not appropriate). Can you please clarify the above? I think I misread your original comment

 

Thank you!! Luckily he himself isn’t too stressful, it’s this awful disease that is! I’m grateful that he’s so cooperative and tolerant, even when I can tell he’s sick of the poking and being made to eat.

Thanks for the encouragement and reassurance, it’s helpful to hear

 

Ah sorry! I meant to say "it can be stressful" - Charlie can doing nothing wrong but it's so great to hear that he's so cooperative and tolerant. That really is so nice to feel like you're not constantly disturbing him and shaking things up.
Safe surfing

 

Hahaha right? Our benevolent little overlords *bowing*

 

Half his regular dose.

 

Don't want to speak for Wendy, but she has recommended to shoot half the dose, to drain the depot at next shot time.

 

Thank you Angela (and Wendy)! Will do.

 

Important note - this is only for higher dose cats, where the depot can be especially "annoying".

 

It sure is!