? 1/13 Archie AMPS AMPS 347, +2 541, +4 451, +6 405, +7 499 Bounce, not enough insulin, meter broken?

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cmb

cmb

Member Since 2017
Hi all,
so confused by Archie's numbers - he's so consistently high? Is this just the 1000th bounce (I'm exaggerating - but just a teeny bit) or is it the reduction to 0.75 or is the meter broken? If it's a bounce - it's been almost two weeks on insulin and his body is still freaking out? How long do you expect to see these bounces / high numbers? What do you think? Thank you!
 
Here's the link to Archie's condo from yesterday. We link the previous day's thread (aka "condo") to the current day so it's easy to back track if you need to find information.

Bounces are hugely frustrating to everyone. Unfortunately, there's no good answer to your question. Some cats bounce all over the place in the beginning, then the numbers settle down. Some bounce, stop bouncing, and bounce a bit for who knows what reason. Others continue to bounce. You might want to look at other kitty's spreadsheets to get an idea of how other cats have responded to insulin and bouncing.

Part of the issue is that no one knows exactly how long Archie has been diabetic. Most of our cats have been diabetic for longer than when the diagnosis was made. As a result, their bodies get used to being in higher numbers. That's part of what makes it so hard to overcome the bounciness -- it's like your kitty's body is giving you a hard time for wanting those high numbers to go back to being in a normal range.

Two weeks on insulin is not a long time. I suspect it feels like forever to you but it's not. It takes a week for the insulin depot to form. One of the biggest lessons you'll learn in managing Archie's diabetes is patience. We are not in charge of this process. Your cat is leading the sugar dance and all any of us can do is follow.

Have you decided whether you're going to follow the Tight Regulation Protocol or the Start Low Go Slow method? You're testing enough to follow TR. It's more aggressive than SLGS and it might be a good option for your kitty. You may want to read over the stickies and decide. They differ with regard to the criteria for when you reduce the dose and how long you hold doses. With SLGS, you would hold the dose for a week (unless a reduction is warranted) whereas with TR, you would hold the dose for 3 days. It looks like the dose reduction has failed and it would make sense to raise the dose back to 1.0u.

If Archie is losing weight, I'd feed him more.

 
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Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Have you decided whether you're going to follow the Tight Regulation Protocol or the Start Low Go Slow method? You're testing enough to follow TR. It's more aggressive than SLGS and it might be a good option for your kitty.
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I think I'd prefer the TR method (because it we wouldn't need to wait so long to adjust the dosage), I'm waiting on my human meter to arrive.
 
You're luckier than most of us -- you have some idea how long this has been going on. Regardless of how long Archie has been diabetic, the principle is the same. His body has gotten used to be in higher ranges. A former member here had a friend who was diabetic. Her friend commented that she felt lousy initially if her numbers dropped into normal range. It took a while for her system to get used to being in non-diabetic numbers again. I suspect it's much the same with our kitties.

 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Most of our cats have been diabetic for longer than when the diagnosis was made. As a result, their bodies get used to being in higher numbers.
Click to expand...
Could it be that he was diabetic as a result of the surgery? We switched his diet from mostly dry food to low carb wet food along with giving insulin and I guess I'm wondering if we should have tried to manage with diet change only at first. Sigh.
 
The only reason that the dental surgery might have had an effect is if there was an infection. I honestly doubt that was a factor. Did the vet prescribe steroids for any reason? Steroids are notorious for raising BG levels.

There's no way to know for sure if trying to manage Archie's FD with food alone would work. Keep in mind that if his numbers were high and didn't fall into a better range after changing his food, you might have risked diabetic ketoacidosis which is not something I would wish for any kitty. There are trade offs.

Please don't get frustrated. Take a few breaths. This is truly a marathon and not a sprint. You're doing everything you need to be doing. Give Archie a chance to settle in.
 
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If you are going to follow TR I think youncan increase to 1.0 unit.

BTW, my Max bounced for a year. Then I got him tightly regulated. It can be a marathon rather than a race for many. Hang in there. :bighug:
 
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