04/16 Newbie Here! SugarFreeLucy...Bouncing along!

[SugarFreeLucy]

Hi All,

I have been posting in the Health Forum, however it was suggested that I come this way and check out the folks here! Here is the intro page that you may have seen last night posted on my behalf: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=68801

I have been trying my best to make good choices / changes for my diabetic gal Lucy....can honestly say I am overwhelmed, but also relieved that there are some amazing folks here to help at all hours!

Here is a bit of background on what has been going on...over about 6 ish weeks we had noticed Lucy getting quite thin, we chalked it up to her being on weight control dry food. Her sister is a larger (~22lb) gal and so we thougth the switch would help thin her out! We went on vacation for a week in early March, and when we came back, we took one look at Lucy and I was on the phone with the vet! I was also google-ing like crazy to prepare myself for the diagnosis.

The vet confirmed what I had suspected...Lucy is diabetic! This was March 12th. I was told to go out and get a human glucometer and come back the next day to be taught how to home test! Lucy was started on 1u Lantus BID and was sent home with Purina DM dry and wet.

SInce then, she has been all over the charts, as you can see from her spreadsheet!

She no longer eats any sort of dry food. As of April 6th she is eating FF and Grreat Choice (sophisticat) low carb canned. Her dose has been up as high as 3u BID, but has been reduced back to the original 1u BID and she seems to be bouncing along...just not as high as before.

Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=68599 <--Here is my most recent post in the Health forum

Thanks!
Val & SugarFreeLucy

 

[Vyktors Mum]

Bouncing along is correct! What you're seeing is a cat with a well functioning liver. When Lucy hits the green numbers which her body isn't used to anymore her liver reacts by releasing stored sugar and hormones to 'save her life' by getting her back up into the higher numbers that her body is used to. The bounce following a lower number can last 72 hours so what you're seeing is perfectly normal. As her body gets used to being in lower numbers again those bounces will flatten out and last for less time.

It looks like the 1U dose is just right for her at the moment but when it does come time to change we would only generally make changes by .25 units.

Are you looking for remission for Lucy? If so I would highly recommend that you follow the TR protocol and start posting her numbers here daily so that people can get to know her better and help you with her dosing requirements. You're going to have to fix your ss though - something has gone wrong with the US page and I'm about the only one over here that understands the world measurements!

You are doing a great job with her food and it is wonderful that you have a vet that encourages home testing.

Welcome to Lantus Land

ETA: you should check out the stickies at the top of this forum when you have a moment, there's a lot of great info there to help you out, including info on the TR protocol.

 

[SugarFreeLucy]

Thanks Vyktors Mum!

It is reassuring that what you are seeing seems normal! I am still new at all of the interpretation, I have however learned that my favourite colours are green and blue!
Yes, I am hoping for remission for Lucy, she is otherwise healthy and the vet seemed to think that was an acheivable goal too!

I have fixed my SS, so hopefully the US page is alright and can be read by everyone else here!

I have been reading up on the TR protocol as well as all of the stickies here, I will try and post regularly and would welcome any and all input re: dosing etc.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

hi val! welcome to Lantus Land!

we all watch for newbies and if you're posting regularly, will give you suggestions as we see things. you can always ask too - anything - people are used to answering a zillion questions.

the spreadsheet, oddly enough, doesn't work when i just clicked it - the tab opened as "untitled page." but when i highlighted and right clicked it, it did open in a new tab. strange. we'll see if anyone else has trouble too.

glad you dropped to 1 unit and are holding for the moment. consistency in dosing is important with lantus. you've done a super job at getting some mid-cycle tests. probably someone explained to you that we dose based upon the lowest point (nadir) of each 12 hr cycle. lucy is looking pretty great, actually. i'd say keep on doing what you're doing - seeing some greens and blues are fabulous this early in the game.

in case no one else mentioned it, the nadir can move around. it's not always exactly +6, so it's helpful to get different times of the cycle over the course of a few days.

glad you're here!