08/15 - Freaked out - Chewie AMPS 421 +2 379 PMPS 519 (!) +2 393

Yesterday

I was a little late for Chewie’s PM shot and she did eat a big meal at 6pm but so freaked out by that super high value - can anyone please talk me off the ledge and explain?

 

Her normal meal schedule used to be breakfast at 8, lunch at 1pm, first dinner at 5-6 then bedtime (second) dinner at 10.30-11pm
Now with her insuline at 8am and 8pm it’s not easy to reorganize meals… Today she had three full meals at 8, 1.30 and 6. I gave her half portion of LC canned before her PM shot. Any advice for meal timing would be welcome, I’m scared I’m messing up her BG even more

 

I will tag a few members for you
@tiffmaxee

@Wendy&Neko

@Bandit's Mom

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

How much before you took the PMPS did she eat? When new we suggest picking up food two hours before you give insulin.

 

She ate at 6pm and I did her PMPS at 8.20pm, shot at 8.30pm after she ate her snack.

 

Why do you feed her so close to shot time? Better to give a small snack at 6 and feed and shoot at 8.

 

Because it is our usual schedule, I have 4 cats total clamoring for dinner at that time :-/
Plus she is skinny and I’m trying to put weight back on her, so it didn’t seem like a good idea to feed her less.
I guess I can feed the others as usual around 5.30pm and give her a snack instead of a full portion. She is ravenous, I have to keep her off other cats’ bowls while they are eating.

Will she be ok tonight with a number that high? My heart sank when I saw it on the meter.

 

The insulin is wearing off by pmps so it’s best to feed most of the food the first half of the cycle. Is it possible to move her shot to 6? Then you could feed her a meal at that time. We suggest pulling food 2 hours before shots so it’s not a food influenced preshot. She’s ravenous because her bg is high. It’s fine t feed her as much as she wants to get her to gain weight. Just not within two hours of shots for now.

 

Thanks for explaining - makes more sense now thinking of it as wearing off in the second half of the cycle.
I can’t move her shot at 6, but I will change the brood’s meal schedule. Hopefully her BG will look better when I test her at +2. Poor baby.
Three cheers to another tuft of grey hairs that probably just sprouted on my head!

 

It's not unusual for cats to have high numbers when they first start out on insulin. There are several reasons her numbers could have been higher tonight, feeding late in schedule is one of them.

A post you may wish to review: Feed Kitty As Much As They Want? The answer is no.

 

@Virginie I can totally relate to how you feel. When we first got Hendrick started on Lantus, and even for weeks and weeks after my heart would always fall at the sight of high numbers and I felt like I was doing something wrong or he wasn't making progress. But this is a very long journey and you have only taken one step, it is going to take a while before you see improvement in the numbers. People told me to be patient, to remember that it's a marathon not a sprint but I wanted my boy better NOW, not later. It is very hard to mentally deal with imo. Because it is typically such slow and plodding progress. Hang in there! Listen to the experts like Wendy and Elise (Tiffmaxee). You will get there in time.

 

@Hendrick Cuddleclaw you absolutely summed up how I felt last night! Couldn't have phrased it better. Especially after finding out that it was my fault for feeding her too close to her second shot. I try to remind myself that it will take time, but worry constantly about her... Everyone has been and keeps being so helpful and supportive here though, we're really lucky to have you and ever so grateful for all the support

 

Hi try and remember to put the date in your title, I would try to get some note tests in around @+6 for both cycles especially at night to try and find his nadir ( lowest point in the cycle. The more tests the better, Mix then up everyday, Some @+4, @+6 for both cycles , next day @+7 and @+7: cats usually drop lower at night
Think of it as filling in the pieces of a puzzle

 

Ah yes, sorry, I edited the title to add the date. Work has been crazy busy so I haven't had the time to do more tests, but I'll try to do better in the next few days. Hopefully having changed the timing of meals will also help make her numbers a bit more predictable.