I don't think you can mix TR and SLGS dosing methods just because ...I have taken a modified reduction number for SLGS but even it isn't that low (below 50 is really low) and we are on wet, LC food.
I don't think it is about testing enough - it seemed to me to be about predictability. From what I read on the post
here on this page about the differences between dry kibble in doing TR vs SLGS it was the same statement folks on here have said... not just that there isn't enough information for TR with dry, but that dry food as a variable is just less predictable in regulating BGs and using it to intervene during the cycles. On top of that .. you free fed, right?...so the meals aren't even the same from injection to injection which cause some variability in blood sugars in and of itself. It does seem like too many variables to me...lots of moving parts.
Can you intervene with food like some others can when the cats need to be a little carbed up at the +1 and +2 even with some of the food limitations you have?....seems some of the advice that is given for others as far as just shooting a lower number and giving some food to ride out the onset might not look the same for you with the free feeding and limited LC,MC,HC options- I could be wrong but it's worth asking and getting a plan together...
this is from that post : from a member/moderator since 2008
DRY FOOD AND TIGHT REGULATION PROTOCOL
The bottom line here, in my estimation, is that we just don't know how dry food will affect regulation. The Tight Regulation Protocol is very aggressive and we cannot afford to have unknowns when we are letting cats run below 50 on insulin. I personally am not willing to take that risk with someone else's cat.
From a personal perspective, my cat Kris Kringle ate dry food due to other health issues. I didn't necessarily find his numbers to be higher with dry food, but they were definitely unpredictable (and after all these years I'm usually pretty good at understanding numbers). I tried to keep him over 60 so I would have time to intervene if he threw me a curve ball. Are chances of remission as good if you do not let them run lower? Probably not, but I'd rather have my cat alive and on insulin than dead because of an error in judgment.
PLEASE REMEMBER
The Tight Regulation protocol is aggressive, and our modified version is slightly more aggressive than the original. We feel safe allowing our cats on Tight Regulation to run as low as 40s because we know the dose is a safe one for that cat at that time. We know that because of the way we work up to a dose, and the way we work down from a dose. It is not about the number of tests or how many cycles a dose is held, it's about gathering the RIGHT data rather than just a lot of it.
Cats following SLGS will probably not have all of the safety nets in place, therefore you will probably not be able to approach 50 with the same confidence that the cat is safe. If you are sure that low numbers are ok for your cat, that is fine, but please do not ask anyone else to tell you it is safe. In my mind, if you are asking, that means you are not confident so I will probably steer you back toward the guidelines.
I also think that not wanting to wait "weeks " to find the right dose doesn't specifically mean that if you decided to try TR that you would not necessarily have to stay on a dose for weeks at a time. I have looked at several SS for those on TR and once they started to find the occasionally blue- the doses were held for weeks- then nice greens...the same thing. Held the dose for awhile...sometimes they had to go back up and sometimes they got to reduce again.
The right dose is the one that works for your cat.
I'd say either adjust the amount of time you hold a dose - maybe try 5-6 days before an increase to start
OR think about modifying the number you take reductions to below 80 or something for awhile- but
NOT both. Especially if you aren't able to feed meals at set times to at least control the food variable and aren't testing past the +6 mark because you don't think you need to.
Not criticizing at all...just worried and trying to helpful plus offer solutions.... and again...I'd rule out arthritis/ age changes with the limping...
