05/18 AMPS hi

[Mom-Mom]

I am not really sure how to work her tests at this point. She gets her shot(if needed) at 9:30, so I usually test her around 8am BEFORE she eats. She 9 outof 10 shes gonna be hi at 10am. Should I test her earlier and go with that?

 

[Dyana]

It looks like she's still bouncing. I would test her before you give the insulin.
Come on Mom Mom, lets see some pretty blues :smile:

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Laura - here is the link to your last post where Mom Mom got a 48 and earned a reduction down to 1.0U. From the protocol:

Reducing the dose:

If kitty drops below 40 (long term diabetic) or 50 (newly diagnosed diabetic) reduce the dose by 0.25 unit.

Mom Mom is considered a new diagnosed diabetic, less than one year, so earned a reduction on May 16th. That means her new dose should be 1.0U. I see you are still giving her 1.25U. Please reduce her dose - you may be giving her too much insulin. I also noticed an oopsie on her SS, it looks like yesterday morning you gave her 125U instead of 1.25. :lol:

As for testing, Marje had this recommendation in your last post:

Rhiannon is correct that you are missing some low numbers. It looks to me like Mom-mom could be diving on you. I would encourage you to get at least a +2 and a midcycle test every single day or if you work, a +2, out the door, in the door tests so we can see what she's doing. At night, at +2 and before bed test.

We need to see at least one mid-cycle test each night and day, so a minimum of 4 tests a day.

If you give the shot at 9:30, I would test her at 9:15, feed her, then giver her the shot. We all try to do that routine within 15 minutes.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I agree with Dyana. I think this is still the bounce.

In looking at Mom-mom's SS, I want to make an observation or two. On 5/15 when you got a 185 at AM +11 and a PMPS of 445, if it were me, I would have re-tested. That spike of 300+ points is possible but it could have been a bad test or bad strip. I'd wondering if that test was valid given your AMPS the next day of 48. FWIW, whenever I get a test that seems out of context with the earlier numbers, I re-test.

You might want to correct the amount in the dose column for yesterday's AMPS. (I hope you didn't shoot 125.00u of insulin!!)

She gets her shot(if needed) at 9:30, so I usually test her around 8am BEFORE she eats.

So, are you saying you test at +11 and then again right before you shoot? Are you feeding between +11 and AMPS? If so, that's a problem. You don't want your pre-shot values to be influenced by food. I test immediately before I give Gabby her first installment of her food and while she's eating, she gets her shot. This takes all of about 5 min.

She 9 outof 10 shes gonna be hi at 10am. Should I test her earlier and go with that?

I don't understand the first sentence.

 

[Mom-Mom]

I know sometimes I get careless (only with typing in the numbers). I did only give her a tiny bit over 1.00 because to be honest I wasnt sure. So tomorrow I will test around 7:30, feed her, then re-test or shoot(or not) at 9:30???? Sorry for driving you guys crazy but, thanks for putting up with it, Mom-mom and I appreciate you guys and keep you in our prayers EVERY DAY :smile:

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

You could also just test/feed/shoot at 7:30 if you can do the PM shot at 7:30 too (but you'd have to work your way back to the new time--you can't just shoot 2 hours earlier than usual)

If you can, then you could get a +2 at 9:30 am so you'd be able to have a better idea of where Mom-mom might go later in the cycle.

If the 9:30 shot time is what works best for you, then yes, you wouldn't want to feed anytime after 7:30, but if it works for you later in the day to shoot at 7:30 pm, it seems like as long as you're up at 7:30, you might want to consider changing your schedule.

You ALWAYS test before shooting...so if you are keeping your current schedule, yes, you'd want to make sure you test at 9:30 before you feed her again or give any insulin

 

[Mom-Mom]

So if I am testing at 7:30 she is prolly gonna be low (I hope) but, at +2, after she eats and all, she prolly gonna be hi again. Thats where I get confused. I am at 9:30 now, working my way down to 7:30. I know I can only gain 1/2 hour daily, right? But until then, what do I do if shes like low 100's at 7:30 but, hi at her AMPS time (2.5 hours later) ??? I do realize ALWAYS test before shooting but, I would not give her meds on low 100's right? Or is it not possible to shoot that high because of food. She is still eating the canned Fancy Feast Liver & chicken. I give her a whole can (little can) in the morning,a half can around 1:30 and another whole can at 6pm. I just get confused when it comes to the numbers still. For the most part I do understand but, I would rather ask then be sorry I didnt, ya know !! Thanks again.

 

[Deb & Spot]

Hi! Just dropping in to say hi to a fellow Pennsylvanian! I hope you can get this dance straight!
Mom Mom is a pretty gal!

 

[Mom-Mom]

Hello Deb. Thanks for the compliment on Mom-mom. Do you believe she used to be 18 pounds and now shes barely 8 pounds. Which is ironically 4 pounds more than when she was diagnosed. She was like a feather at 4 pounds. Anyway, Thank You. Have a great Day !!!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

OK..if you are shooting at 9:30am/9:30pm now you can either back up 15 minutes per cycle, or 30 minutes per day, so here's your choices:

15min per cycle
tonight, test/feed/shoot at 9:15pm
Mon morn...test/feed/shoot at 9am ....test/feed/shoot at 8:45pm
Tues morn...test/feed/shoot at 8:30am....test/feed/shoot at 8:15pm
Wed morn...test/feed/shoot at 8am....test/feed/shoot at 7:45pm
Thurs morn...test/feed/shoot at 7:30am...test/feed/shoot at 7:30pm....and you're totally switched over

30 min per day
tonight...test/feed/shoot at 9pm
Mon morn...test/feed/shoot at 9am...test/feed/shoot at 8:30pm
Tue morn...test/feed/shoot at 8:30am....test/feed/shoot at 8pm
Wed morn...test/feed/shoot at 8am...test/feed/shoot at 7:30pm
Thurs morn....test/feed/shoot at 7:30am....and once again, you're at the new 7:30am/7:30pm shooting schedule

If you DO want to switch schedules, and you're feeding 3 times a day, I'd probably feed Mom-mom a little extra snack late tonight before you go to bed so hopefully you can NOT feed him before 9am tomorrow morning (after you test)

There's no reason you need to be feeding her 2 hours early before testing...Just make sure there's no food for those 2 hours (in other words, don't get up early to feed...when you get up in the morning, that should be your "shooting AND feeding" schedule)

You can shoot anything over 150 to start with...so if you get an AMPS test and it's over 150, go ahead and feed/shoot. If under 150 (at least for now), stall, DON'T feed, and post for help. Retest in 20-30 minutes (and hopefully, during that time, someone can help to guide you)....If nobody is online, and the number is coming UP, go ahead and feed/shoot. If you post asking for help, make sure your subject line says something like "STALLING, please help!" so people who are scanning the board will notice.
Also, the Sticky Shooting and handling low numbers can help guide you too

As you get more tests and more data on Mom-mom, you'll learn to shoot lower and lower numbers. Most of us (once we have enough test data) will shoot anything over 50.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

i think where it's getting confusing is that it sounds like you're testing at 7:30 and using that number as her preshot number, but then 2 hrs later is when you're giving the shot.

Do I understand that right?

The preshot number is attached to the shot - so whatever number she is just before you shoot is the preshot number.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I THINK she's testing at 7:30...Feeding...then testing again at 9:30 and shooting Julie

So tomorrow I will test around 7:30, feed her, then re-test or shoot(or not) at 9:30????

That's why I suggested that if she's getting up early enough to feed at 7:30, it seems like it might be easier for her to just test/feed/shoot then...once she works her shot schedule back from 9:30 to 7:30

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

So you have a frame of reference:

Example of an ACTIVE, but NOT necessarily typical Lantus cycle:
+0 - PreShot number.
+1 - Usually higher than PreShot number because of the last shot wearing off. May see a food spike in this number.
+2 - Often similar to the PreShot number. You'll probably see an active cycle if the +2 is the same/similar or lower than the preshot number. Continue testing!
+3 - Lower than the PreShot number, onset has started.
+4 - Lower.
+5 - Lower.
+6 - Nadir/Peak (the lowest number of cycle).
+7 - Surf (hang around the nadir number).
+8 - Slight rise.
+9 - Slight rise.
+10 - Rising.
+11 - Rising (one of the quirks of Lantus/Levemir: some cat's blood glucose numbers dip around +10 or +11... not to be confused with nadir).
+12 - PreShot number.

Usually, your pre-shot numbers are relatively high since the insulin is wearing off. After you feed, numbers typically rise. (This is why you don't want to feed 2 hours prior to your shot time.)

What Chris laid out is one strategy for shifting your shot time. If Mom-mom's numbers are high, a different option is to shoot an hour early.

It sounds like you're concerned if numbers are dropping at +2. Gabby has an early nadir. If you look at her SS, you'll see how I deal with this. Chris' suggestion that shooting at 7:30, if that's possible for your schedule, will allow you to monitor longer after your AM shot. That way, you'll be able to steer Mom-mom's numbers if you need to.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

Hi laura,

just wondering, are you thinking that you are supposed to feed her 2 hrs before you give her the shot? most people don't feed after about +5 or +6 because feeding after then can drive up the numbers.

Some cats do ok with grazing all cycle long, but many get higher numbers if they eat from +6 - +12. For the cats that graze, the suggestion is to not let them graze after +10. Just wondering if we've mixed you up with those 2 things. That's where the comment about eating 2 hrs before the shot comes in.

If I were you, i'd just go with feeding her with her shots and in the next 4 or so hours after the shots, both morning and evening. Does that make sense?