05/26 Boomer +11.5 182 PMPS 205 +3.5 247

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Judy and Boomer

Judy and Boomer

Member Since 2014
Hello, I spent most of yesterday on the main forum thanks to Boomer's low scary numbers! Today it's believed he may be bouncing due to yesterday's numbers. It was suggested I might post here as Boomer is on Lantus and complete control by diet is my objective.

He received 3 units this morning (my own stupid forgetfulness and it was 6:00 am; I had been told to drop to 2.75). So I'm planning on giving 2.75 tonight. PM shot due in about 40 minutes.

It was suggested I test at +11 which I did and the result was 10.7 (193).
Presuming PMPS is higher, I will shoot 2.75.

What if it's the same or lower?

I really appreciate everyone's help! Yesterday was quite stressful but the FDMB got me, and Boomer, through it!
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

Hi Judy! You made it to Lantus Land!
woot.gif
Welcome!

Things are a little slow today with the holiday weekend.

Boomer's spreadsheet is looking great already - he's already back in blues today! Did you shoot 2.75 tonight? How are Boomer's ears holding up after yesterday?

Keep asking questions as you think of things and we'll do our best to answer. Glad to have you here!
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

Hi there! Boomer's ear is sore so I've been trying to give him a bit of a break today; he was such a trooper yesterday!
I will be testing in 15 minutes and will post.
I hope the 2.75 wasn't too much given his levels.
Not sure what's going to happen this week; I have to go back to work tomorrow and my husband, although he has tested Boomer, isn't very good at it lol
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

I see your +4/137 - that's fine. only a drop of about 50 points in the 4 hours. I'd get another test at +5.

Is your Neosporin with pain relief? that really takes the owie out!
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

I've been trying to use the other ear! Last couple of times on his right ear I had to have my husband distract him since he kept knocking my hand away. cat(2)_steam
I'll try to stay awake long enough to get another reading lol

So tomorrow morning....normally I test/feed/shoot as soon as I get up. But I should test him and then again in an hour and as long as its steady or rising I'm ok to give him 2.75? That means delaying his breakfast by an hour and he's not going to be happy about that. What do I do if his level goes down? I have to go to work and my husband doesn't like needles :roll:
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

How about get up an extra hour earlier (ducks and runs...) than they normally get fed, and test then, and one hour later wouldn't that be his normal shot and food time?
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

I think I'll split the difference with you lol and get up at 5:30 to test him. That way I only have to delay his breakfast by30 minutes
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

one thing you can always do, judy, is leave low carb canned food out when you go to bed, especially if you're at all concerned that he might go low. He's moving slowly now - that was only 15 points in the past hour.

For tomorrow . . . it's always so hard when you have to go to work. The reason Dyana is suggesting a test before +12 when you would ordinarily give his shot is that it will allow you to see if he's rising between then and the preshot test, or if he's dropping. even 1/2 hr will help tell.

what would it take to persuade your husband to do some testing? :-D

some people manage things on their own, but it takes some creativity.

Sienne has moved her shot time so that she can get a +2 before she has to leave for work. That's a good strategy.

When you have low numbers, your first tool is food - that's our first tactic if there are low numbers. So sometimes people feed the cat at regular intervals while they are gone to work.

Many people get a timed feeder, which will open at times that you have set. we used the PetSafe 5 Compartment Timed feeder (available on Amazon, or i got mine at the local PetCo) - it has several handy features. You can choose the times you want set and there are 4 covered compartments, so the food tray can rotate and open 4 times. I tried it with punkin while we were home to make sure he would eat from it when it opened. It is very loud when it rotates and it first he was very startled by it, but he soon figured out that there would be FOOD in it! The main complaint on Amazon is that it doesn't open fully, but we found that if you always replaced the food tray in the base and then pressed a button to manually rotate it, that would let you know it's fully seated. As long as it is fully in the base unit, ours always opened.

If your husband is home during the day, perhaps he could be the timed feeder until you can get one! ;-) you could have him give a couple of teaspoons of low carb canned food every half hour from +3 until he's past his nadir. We don't really know what Boomer's patterns are yet. It's important to figure out when Boomer's nadir (low point) typically is, but you need a few more days to see that. It can change too. What would be ideal is if your husband would do some testing. I got my husband to hold punkin for me at first while i tested, then eventually he gave it a try. Before long, he was a full partner in it and i was able to have a little bit more normal of a life! I hope you can convince your husband to try.

Punkin had food from the timed feeder at +3 every day, and if his preshot was low, I also set it to open at +3.5, +4 and +4.5. Then either my husband or i ran home at lunch, checked him, fed him if needed, and reset the feeder with more food in it. sometimes we put high carb food in the feeder too. It was a crazy way to do it and took my entire 30 minutes lunch time, but that's what we did.

Some people make "catsickles" out of low carb canned food. Mix the food with some water and freeze in either ice cube trays or muffin tins, then store in a ziplock bag. Leave some out when you go to work - the larger ones will take longer to thaw than the smaller ones, so a combination of both might help. This is also another one that you'll want to try when you are home. If a cat will eat it immediately in spite of being frozen, that's not going to help, so you need to know that Boomer will wait and eat it when it thaws.

If you're confronted with a low number in the morning at preshot, you can post here - Dyana said that she's shooting at the same time as you and she usually checks in for people who need help before she goes to work. If you need help, put something asking for help in your subject line "should I shoot?" or "help" or something like that. There are guidelines in the Shooting & Handling Low Numbers on what to do when faced with a low preshot number if no one is available to help you.

Keep in mind that you can always skip a shot or give a partial dose if you are really unnerved at shot time. Boomer's looking great right now and I'd hate to lose his good momentum, but keeping him safe is the first priority.
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

Hi Judy, welcome to you and sweet Boomer. Boomer is sure looking good the last couple of days. You've been doing a fantastic job so far. :-D Are you by any chance in the eastern part of Canada? Guessing by the preshot time and the numbers. ;-)

A couple of things to note for here. When we post the numbers, like that AMPS 15.1, it's best to list it in the US format, so AMPS 272. Since the majority of people here are in the US, we list it that way to make it easier for them. And second, we update the subject line of the first post to reflect the up to date numbers so people can see at a glance on the forum what is happening with Boomer. If you go to your first post you wrote today, to the top right is a little edit button. If you click on it, you can edit the subject line. For tonight, it would be something like 5/25 Boomer PMPS 185 +4 137 +5 122. That way people can see if Boomer is getting into numbers where they should hop in and give some advice.

The other thing you'll find is that not all things available in the US are available in Canada - no surprise. :roll: The equivalent to Neosporin is Polysporin Complete with Pain Relief. The ointment version is better than the cream which can dry and stick on the fur. We don't have any Petco's in Western Canada, but Amazon has most of the automated feeders, and definitely cheaper than in the pet store.
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer PMPS 185 +4 137 +5 123 +9 94

Hi Wendy and Julie thanks for your suggestions! I usually post here using both numbers; don't know why I used just the one in the title! But I've switched it, and updated it.
Polysporin...I thought of using that but was afraid if he washed his ear and injested it, it would harm him.

I'm in Ontario

I do have an automated feeder bought back in march at Pet Smart---same price as Amazon believe it or not! :smile: So I set it up so that he gets a meal every 4 hours.

Next test would normally be his AMPS and I think he's going to be 7-8 range so 130-160. I am going to get up 1/2 hour early to test him then delay his next test/meal/shot by another 1/2 hour as it was recommended that I make sure his levels are still going up before injecting him. How much should I be giving him? I think I should be decreasing it again. I have to work tomorrow; my husband will be here with Boomer but he's not big on a lot of testing and when he does do it, he's not successful at it a lot of the time.
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer +11 62 should I feed and forget about shoot

Tested Boomer 30 minutes before normal and was planning on delaying breakfast/shot for 30 minutes but his test at 11.5 was 3.2 or 62. I think feeding now and forgetting about shot is a good idea
 
Re: 05/25 Boomer AMPS 15.1

Hi Judy.

Do you see the way the Subject Line from your last post doesn't reflect in this Reply? It doesn't reflect in your First Post either.
What we do is Edit the Subject Line in our First Post of the thread, and then do the Reply to it. That way the people looking at the page with just the Subject Lines can see that you have a question, or what the latest numbers are.

I think you made a fine decision to skip this shot.

I think we may need to adjust his dose down some more, in order to you to consistanting be able to give him his insulin.
Hopefully, we'll get your husband testing one of these days, which would be a great benefit for you. Eventually, you will be shooting lower numbers, but not yet, you don't have enough data yet.

I hope you have a good day at work.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63

Hi Dyana I think I did it the same way last time (amending subject) but lets see if it worked this time!
Updated Boomer's spreadsheet.
My husband will test; Boomer is due to eat in +3 so he will test prior to food. He doesn't want to test every hour but I think I can get him to test 2 or 3 times; what times do you suggest given that Boomer did not receive insulin this morning?


A good day at work? Well....my mind will be on Boomer and I'd rather be at home keeping an eye on him. But on the upside I am retiring at the end of June so I don't have that many working days left :razz:
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63

Hi Judy - too much tuna is not good for cats. It's OK for treats but not the main meal. And you have to get the stuff in plain spring water. Tuna in broth is made with onions and sometimes garlic which are not good for cats. For high carb food, I just use the Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers. You can pop the lid, press the lid down against the contents and squeeze out the gravy. The carbs is in the wheat floor in the gravy and a tsp or two of that does a fine job increasing the numbers. Just adding a drop or two of maple syrup or corn syrup to the regular food also works.

As for testing, since Boomer did not get insulin, but is still rather low this morning, it would be good if you could get a +13, or an hour after your last test. You want to make sure he's not headed under 50. But with breakfast on board he should be OK. If he's headed up nicely at that hour test you should be OK. If not, then a +2.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79

Hi Wendy, sorry by the time I was able to access this site at work it was almost +3 so my husband tested and Boomer came up very very slightly to 79.
It's very strange; I'm accessing the spreadsheet from work but it gives me the #s in US so I have to convert before I enter them. Not a big deal.

Boomer's automated bowl is due to open at +4 and I've asked my husband to test prior to Boomer eating.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68

My husband tested at +4 and Boomer's levels have dropped a bit to 68.
Boomer was due to eat at +4 and my husband indicates Boomer ate about 2/3 of his food which is typical for this feeding.
I've suggested he test again at +5 to make sure the food brought Boomer's levels back up.

Do you recommend a spoonful of gravy right now?
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 should we give gravy??

I think low carb should be fine. Your plan to test again at +5 is a good one.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

ok he came up a bit to 76 at +5

Not due to eat again until +8

And Boomer is getting really testy (no pun intended) about the tests. cat(2)_steam
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

looking great, judy!

he's surfing right now. if he's getting testy (hehe) i think your husband is probably ok letting him go longer between tests. if he likes to eat, your husband could wait an hour and then give him 2 teaspoons of his regular low carb food, even though the timed feeder is set for later. i think that's good insurance if he doesn't feel he can get another test in an hour.

the polysporin with pain relief - to me, all the value was in the pain relief. as long as you're not reusing lancets and you're applying pressure to stop the bleeding after you've tested, it's not very likely his ear would get infected. but the pain relief part is awesome. a while back one of my cats ran across my bare foot and scratched it in several spots. it was really bugging me, so i put the ointment on my foot and the ouch was gone in no time - like 15 minutes. i put it on punkin's ear (generously) every night and by morning it was healed and ok to go again. if i had to poke him a lot during the day, i put it on midday too.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

He will be relieved not to have to do another test right away!
Boomer won't get sick if he washes his ear with the polysporin on it?
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

You can apply the Polysporin (with pain relief?) then wipe off excess before testing.

The amount that could be ingested is negligible if applied thinly.

To reduce bruising (blood seeping into the tissues) apply direct pressure to the area pricked for about half a minute. I use a folded piece of toilet tissue to soak up any residue while blotting.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

I will start using the polysporin.
I have been applying pressure; probably not for half a minute but long enough to stop the bleeding.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

punkin wouldn't wait after he was tested, so we were lucky to get 5 seconds of pressure on, but it seemed to be ok. he was too busy leaping across the coffee table to get to the kitchen for his chicken treat!

i did wonder about whether it was a problem or not if punkin washed his ear, but we used it for 2.5 years until he passed and it didn't seem to cause issues. i would say i slathered it on fairly generously every night, too. if you have doubts, though, rub it in and don't use as much as i did. the directions said to apply liberally, so i did. their ears get awfully tender if you don't use anything.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

Beautiful numbers Boomer :mrgreen:

I've used my cat's neosporin with pain relief on myself too, and it took away the pain instantly.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

going to stop somewhere at lunch and pick some up!
Really anxious to see what Boomer's numbers do this afternoon! It's been 18.5 hours since shot; last test was at +5 (or + 17) and 76.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

i bet you can see why we're such fans of hometesting to keep cats safe. i always wonder how cats survive when they're being shot without testing. i'd never shoot a cat without testing now.

His pancreas may be beginning to heal. working down the dosing scale can be hairy but is so encouraging. I want to show you Davidson's spreadsheet so you can see one example of what can happen when a cat gets to the right dose. In Davidson's case it was 2.75u, and Shawna worked him down the dosing scale until he went off of insulin just recently. Look at the week of February 3rd and see how his blood sugar began to come down. First the nadirs came down and then the preshot numbers until he was constantly in green.

There are 2 common ways we reduce the dose - one is if the cat goes below 50, the other is if the cat stays 7 days on one dose in normal numbers (50-120). Davidson mostly did the latter - so he took his sweet time going off, but we know that gives a cat's pancreas a good chance to heal.

Davidson is one example - he took longer than any cat i've seen to work off. cats do it their own way - some are fast down the scale, some are slow. We just follow their lead.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76

I see...all of a sudden he had low numbers.
I called it "kickstarting" the pancreas lol

As far as dosages go....right now I have to err on the side of caution because I'm not there to monitor him and my husband isn't there 100% of the time. So like I said I'm anxious to see Boomer's results this afternoon (actually it's approaching his meal time again in about 45 minutes; I'll ask my husband to test again. But unless there is an increase in a few points I won't be comfortable giving his shot. And tomorrow is one of those days when my husband will be away for a bit and it's right at his likely nadir assuming a shot tomorrow morning at the normal time.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer AMPS 63 +3 79 +4 68 +5 76 +8 145

So he jumped up to 145 before his scheduled snack time at +8.

I will need assistance please in about 3 hours when I have to decide on a dosage! Thanks very much!
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer PMPS 182 HOW MUCH SHOULD i SHOOT?

Just did the PMPS test 182 I'm not sure how much insulin to give. Could someone provide some assistance please? Thanks!!
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer PMPS 182 HOW MUCH SHOULD i SHOOT?

Judy, hold food, restest in 30 mintues. If the number is going up, go ahead and shoot the 2.75u. Since you skipped this morning, the depot is depleted some anyway.
 
Re: 05/26 Boomer +11.5 182 PMPS 205

i'm glad Donna was here to help you, Judy.

We need to get to a dose that you're going to be able to shoot twice a day. Some of us are talking about it. I'll try to get back to you tonight with some thoughts. He may bounce and keep going up. Shooting only once a day can bring on some wonky numbers, so we might need to reduce even further so you can do the shots every 12 hours consistently.

Do you work M-F? I know you said you retire at the end of June.
 
Hi Julie, yes consistent dosing would be good. Just did +3.5 yes he is still going up 247 spreadsheet seems to be having issues loading.

yes I work monday to Friday. My husband is here and did fine testing him today but Boomer is nervous around us now and it has taken two of us to test him the last 3 times.

I'm exhausted and going to bed now; I will try to check him .5 or 1 hour before next dose and I'll definitely check back here to see what you are recommending.
 
hopefully getting the polysporin with pain relief to ease his ears and giving him treats after every poke will help him get used to it.

sleep well!
 
Hi Judy,

So . . . tomorrow morning. A couple of thoughts. It looks like the dose he's on is getting some pretty good numbers. He's been reduced to 2.75 from the 3.0u dose that got him to 40 on the night of 5/24. The goal for a cat that's working towards remission is to keep the cat in numbers between 50-120 so the pancreas can heal.

He's been in that range a lot of the past 3 days. But, you've had to skip a couple of shots, which isn't ideal for the way Lantus works.

You have a couple of options. One option is to try to stay close to this dose, say 2.5u to keep these great numbers going as much as possible, and just skip or give a token dose if his number is too low to shoot.

Another option is to reduce further than that so that the numbers are always shootable. The downside of this is that he will go into higher numbers and will probably lose the flat low cycles. That might be something like 1.5-2.0u, perhaps.

There isn't a clear-cut answer. It depends on if someone is able to test him and your comfort zone. The ideal situation would be to stay with something fairly close to what he's on now, say 2.5 or the 2.75 and continue shooting him low, but that does mean he needs to be monitored. Remember that food can always be left available.

Hopefully this gives you some things to consider when you're shooting in the morning. It's probably time to start a new condo (thread) with tomorrow's amps. This one has gotten pretty long!
 
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