Oliver’s dose - when not to shoot?

Oliver’s numbers have been so much better… we are just looking for some guidance on how to proceed with these lower numbers. His bg was under 100 this morning and we weren’t sure whether we should shoot or not.

Tia!!

Hello. It’s good to hear from you! I have been looking at Oliver’s spreadsheet and do have some ideas and observations. May I please reply to you tomorrow so I can be more thorough?

Suzanne & Darcy said:

Hello. It’s good to hear from you! I have been looking at Oliver’s spreadsheet and do have some ideas and observations. May I please reply to you tomorrow so I can be more thorough?

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That would be wonderful. Thank you. He didn’t get checked as usual today…. His humans have a tummy bug and couldn’t make it happen : / But it will be interesting to see what his numbers are this evening. He seems to be doing way less bouncing.

I was pleased to see the progress on his spreadsheet. I still want to give you a proper answer and some guidelines that you can follow. I think you need to start shooting the lower numbers with the full dose because he’s not dropping particularly low on the .25 dose, and it looks like he can handle the full dose. But I will give you some specifics later. It has been such a crazy time both here on the board and in my own life. I have I didn’t want to give you a short shift answer. I wanted to give you a really well thought out, well-considered recommendation — as I looked at his spreadsheet and made observations on what I think you should do. I’m really sorry to hear that y’all have been sick!

Suzanne & Darcy said:

I was pleased to see the progress on his spreadsheet. I still want to give you a proper answer and some guidelines that you can follow. I think you need to start shooting the lower numbers with the full dose because he’s not dropping particularly low on the .25 dose, and it looks like he can handle the full dose. But I will give you some specifics later. It has been such a crazy time both here on the board and in my own life. I have I didn’t want to give you a short shift answer. I wanted to give you a really well thought out, well-considered recommendation — as I looked at his spreadsheet and made observations on what I think you should do. I’m really sorry to hear that y’all have been sick!

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Thank you for taking the time despite all the craziness. I pray everything is okay and that things take a turn for the better and settle down in your own life.

IdahoOliver said:

Thank you for taking the time despite all the craziness. I pray everything is okay and that things take a turn for the better and settle down in your own life.

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Hopefully things are calmer in your life as of late. Just had some happy news to share. It’s looking like we may very well be in remission. So thankful.

Hello. That is wonderful. I was just looking at his spreadsheet. There are a few numbers on there that are bothering me. He shouldn’t be going over 120. The 130s bother me. Hopefully, he won’t do that again. It’s possible that his pancreas needed a little insulin support to complete the healing of the beta cells — even a drop dose for a few weeks. Just keep testing him a.m. and p.m. His other numbers are a slight bit higher than I would like, but for some cats that’s normal for them— as long as he doesn’t go over 120. If you see his numbers creeping up you can always restart insulin at a tiny dose.

I will add the official OTJ Trial instructions for you below:

Here are the OTJ trial instructions.

• Start the trial on the next green pre shot.
• If he/she is green at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time; just feed small meals and go about your day. If he/she is blue at your normal "PS", feed a small meal and test again after about 3 or 4 hours. If his/her number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!
• Post every day so we can monitor your progress and see if any tweaks are needed. Please use the “OTJ Trial” dropdown prefix on your subject line every day so we can closely monitor the trial.
• He/she may have a sporadic blue number. Don't panic but post before you decide whether to shoot so we can have a discussion.
• After 14 days of no insulin, we have a party!!

Sometimes the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support in the form of resuming insulin. It's not the end of the world if that happens; we just give him/her the support needed. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to take our time to get that than to rush into remission just to have it fail later on.

Once he/she is through the trial successfully, you enter a new phase. Your cat is still diabetic but has now become diet-controlled. Continue feeding low carb food in the manner successful for your kitty. If you decide to change his/her feeding schedule, let your meter be your guide to the best times to feed. Avoid medications with sugar in them and steroid medications unless they are medically essential. Continue testing blood glucose weekly for the first month and then monthly forever. It's a good idea to weigh him/her monthly. Weight should remain stable. If he/she seems "off" or sick, or is showing signs of diabetes (excessive drinking, eating, urinating, weight loss), test his/her blood glucose right away. Keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy; dental issues can bring a cat out of remission. If you see rising blood glucose numbers, it's time for a visit to the vet!

Thanks for sending that! Those higher numbers were days that my daughter failed to keep him out of his brother’s dry food. We switched our other cat’s food to Dr. Elseys low carb to prevent bugger problems. But yeah…. That dry food messes with him.

IdahoOliver said:

Thanks for sending that! Those higher numbers were days that my daughter failed to keep him out of his brother’s dry food. We switched our other cat’s food to Dr. Elseys low carb to prevent bugger problems. But yeah…. That dry food messes with him.

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I’m very glad to hear that because I was going to ask if possibly he had gotten into some contraband food. It still will be important to keep him out of the Dr. Elsey’s as much as possible (not always under your control, I understand!) I have seen many cats whose BG spikes due to Dr. Elsey’s, but their caregivers are reluctant to give it up due to the convenience of it.

You sure are nice to help chaperone a group of high schoolers to Disney! It must be wild.

I would start an “official” OTJ Trial when you get back and are in control of things. I am really happy for your sweet boy. He’s a gorgeous fellow. My Oliver is an orange cat too.

Suzanne & Darcy said:

I would start an “official” OTJ Trial when you get back and are in control of things. I am really happy for your sweet boy. He’s a gorgeous fellow. My Oliver is an orange cat too.

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I think you are getting me confused with another poster. We aren’t going to Disney…. I wish. Lol I’ll start a new thread for our OTJ trial on my next post. His numbers were a bit higher than we have been seeing last night and this morning. But not over 120. Will keep a close eye on that today. Hopefully they work their way back down.

IdahoOliver said:

I think you are getting me confused with another poster. We aren’t going to Disney…. I wish. Lol I’ll start a new thread for our OTJ trial on my next post. His numbers were a bit higher than we have been seeing last night and this morning. But not over 120. Will keep a close eye on that today. Hopefully they work their way back down.

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I did. I am sorry. But I still am very happy about your Oliver… and I still have an orange kitty named Oliver. Sorry.