Doug N Libby
Member Since 2012
We’ve been away for a while (life – and, I’ve been sick since Christmas :sad: ) and I see so many new people that I’d like to take a moment and introduce my sweet boy/catch you up on where we are. Sorry for the length. (Not including link to the last condo since it was so long ago.)
Hershey will be (11) on March 1, 2013. We have never had a cat this old, so when he began losing weight and looking frail and greasy, we had no idea they were signs of FD. (Of course, when we found out…we felt like kicking ourselves. It never occurred to me that kitties could get diabetes! :cry: )
Hershey was diagnosed with FD 11/22/12 and began ProZinc 1/13/12, so today is his 1-year anniversary on insulin. When we received his diagnosis, I began reading A LOT and found this site – THANK GOD! I had a less than pleasant conversation (or two) with our vet and she said we were on our own. I have tried to share the protocol and what we’ve learned here with her, but I don’t know that’s she’s looked at it. June, 2012, when his first vial of ProZinc was about out, I called to get a new prescription. The vet kind of off-handedly said something about just tell her what we wanted to do, renew, change…CHANGE?! Okey dokey! So, we went with Levemir. Our vet said she knew nothing of Levemir. (She’d already told us we were on our own, so how would this be any different??) Doug said he thought she went along just to shut me up…okay…I truly believed this was what Hershey needed.
You can see from his SS that he has been known to throw a few curves and likes jammy parties! He had earned reductions down to .25u (shaving each time as we learned he doesn’t hold reductions well) as of 11/14/12. Nov 26, he gave us a (29), but it was only the 4th cycle he’d seen a green during the whole 12 day period. My gut was uneasy about a drop all the way to .1u (instead of a shave) but with Thanksgiving approaching I knew we’d be out of town several times. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him dropping too low.
Honestly, there have been a few times when I’ve looked back at his SS and just kicked myself for messing him up. He saw mostly pinks and only (3) greens during his time at .1u. We weren’t able to increase back to .25u until 12/10, way too long. Well, .25u had been a good dose, but not any more, only (1) green cycle. Let’s try .3u, (2) green cycles. How about .4u? No green cycles. Maybe we shouldn’t be holding the last good dose as long? Glucose toxicity? Okay, let’s try .5u – (1) green cycle. Hmmm…maybe...even though we shaved on the way down, we should’ve done the whole .25u on the way back up. Let’s try that, .75u. We have seen (4) green cycles of the (14) cycles we’ve had so far and more yellow than pink. We’re going to hold this and decide something at tomorrow's AMPS.
We have learned so much this past year. Hershey usually comes up easily on 7% carbs, but we have the 19% in the freezer, just in case. Hershey is a smart, SNEAKY cat and will hide just around the corner, hoping we get distracted and don’t take Oreo’s bowl up before he can get to it. (Hershey eats Wellness 4–5% and Oreo eats Friskies Pate’ 7–9%.)
When we began this journey a year ago, y’all may remember that it wasn’t Doug’s first choice to treat. He did it to shut my tears up. ;-) He’s a good guy, but as the financial provider for our family, was worried about the cost and it tying us down. But, what else can you do but treat the kitty that you committed to love and care for when you brought him into your family. When we started home testing, it was Doug who mastered it and helped me learn how to do it. Doug was also the one to give the shots until I felt competent to do them. And, with our current 5/5 shot schedule, it is Doug who gives the 5am shot. So, clearly, he wasn’t actually *opposed* to treating. ;-)
This past year has brought a lot of changes, but I am thankful for this site and the people here who have so patiently helped me learn soooo much! I’m also thankful for the extra time I’ve had with Hershey, for being able to see him feeling much better than I ever imagined he could and for the closer relationship I have with him now.
Hope y’all are having a fabulous day! Hoping to get by to visit. Made it to church for the first time since Christmas and am pretty much wiped out.
I'm including the family picture from Christmas, so I can't be accused of not being a proud Nana. ;-) :lol:
Libby (& Hershey, too!)
AMPS (177) +12 – Shot .75u at 5:00am + 1/16th-ish Miralax
+3 (149) – fed – Wondering if I should leave extra food out
+9.25 (75) – Probably should’ve left food out
PMPS (138) +12 - Shot .75u at 5:10pm + 1/16th-ish Miralax
+3 (145) - fed
+5 (180)
+7 (231)
Hershey will be (11) on March 1, 2013. We have never had a cat this old, so when he began losing weight and looking frail and greasy, we had no idea they were signs of FD. (Of course, when we found out…we felt like kicking ourselves. It never occurred to me that kitties could get diabetes! :cry: )
Hershey was diagnosed with FD 11/22/12 and began ProZinc 1/13/12, so today is his 1-year anniversary on insulin. When we received his diagnosis, I began reading A LOT and found this site – THANK GOD! I had a less than pleasant conversation (or two) with our vet and she said we were on our own. I have tried to share the protocol and what we’ve learned here with her, but I don’t know that’s she’s looked at it. June, 2012, when his first vial of ProZinc was about out, I called to get a new prescription. The vet kind of off-handedly said something about just tell her what we wanted to do, renew, change…CHANGE?! Okey dokey! So, we went with Levemir. Our vet said she knew nothing of Levemir. (She’d already told us we were on our own, so how would this be any different??) Doug said he thought she went along just to shut me up…okay…I truly believed this was what Hershey needed.
You can see from his SS that he has been known to throw a few curves and likes jammy parties! He had earned reductions down to .25u (shaving each time as we learned he doesn’t hold reductions well) as of 11/14/12. Nov 26, he gave us a (29), but it was only the 4th cycle he’d seen a green during the whole 12 day period. My gut was uneasy about a drop all the way to .1u (instead of a shave) but with Thanksgiving approaching I knew we’d be out of town several times. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him dropping too low.
Honestly, there have been a few times when I’ve looked back at his SS and just kicked myself for messing him up. He saw mostly pinks and only (3) greens during his time at .1u. We weren’t able to increase back to .25u until 12/10, way too long. Well, .25u had been a good dose, but not any more, only (1) green cycle. Let’s try .3u, (2) green cycles. How about .4u? No green cycles. Maybe we shouldn’t be holding the last good dose as long? Glucose toxicity? Okay, let’s try .5u – (1) green cycle. Hmmm…maybe...even though we shaved on the way down, we should’ve done the whole .25u on the way back up. Let’s try that, .75u. We have seen (4) green cycles of the (14) cycles we’ve had so far and more yellow than pink. We’re going to hold this and decide something at tomorrow's AMPS.
We have learned so much this past year. Hershey usually comes up easily on 7% carbs, but we have the 19% in the freezer, just in case. Hershey is a smart, SNEAKY cat and will hide just around the corner, hoping we get distracted and don’t take Oreo’s bowl up before he can get to it. (Hershey eats Wellness 4–5% and Oreo eats Friskies Pate’ 7–9%.)
When we began this journey a year ago, y’all may remember that it wasn’t Doug’s first choice to treat. He did it to shut my tears up. ;-) He’s a good guy, but as the financial provider for our family, was worried about the cost and it tying us down. But, what else can you do but treat the kitty that you committed to love and care for when you brought him into your family. When we started home testing, it was Doug who mastered it and helped me learn how to do it. Doug was also the one to give the shots until I felt competent to do them. And, with our current 5/5 shot schedule, it is Doug who gives the 5am shot. So, clearly, he wasn’t actually *opposed* to treating. ;-)
This past year has brought a lot of changes, but I am thankful for this site and the people here who have so patiently helped me learn soooo much! I’m also thankful for the extra time I’ve had with Hershey, for being able to see him feeling much better than I ever imagined he could and for the closer relationship I have with him now.
Hope y’all are having a fabulous day! Hoping to get by to visit. Made it to church for the first time since Christmas and am pretty much wiped out.
I'm including the family picture from Christmas, so I can't be accused of not being a proud Nana. ;-) :lol:
Libby (& Hershey, too!)
AMPS (177) +12 – Shot .75u at 5:00am + 1/16th-ish Miralax
+3 (149) – fed – Wondering if I should leave extra food out
+9.25 (75) – Probably should’ve left food out
PMPS (138) +12 - Shot .75u at 5:10pm + 1/16th-ish Miralax
+3 (145) - fed
+5 (180)
+7 (231)
