1/17 Pearl AMPS 309, +1.5 250 +3 190

Margaret and Pearl (GA)

Margaret and Pearl (GA)

Member Since 2020
Hello all!

Today I am continuing to work on Pearl getting to more stable BG levels consistently. I have started adding in 1tsp MC food when the drops begin. Usually they happen between +1 and +2, so I am testing at +1.5 to try to catch it - so far so good today I was able to catch it with a 60 point drop instead of more.

I do believe I need to increase dose - hoping to do that tomorrow to 2U Lantus. Does she look stable enough to do so, with all the bobbling? Her lowest NADIR on 1.75U has been 127 but we haven't seen numbers that low in awhile now. Should she stay on her current dose a couple more days (8th cycle tonight) to see what pattern continues?

We are so tired today, Pearl is tired of her ear getting pricked (yes I make it good for her with a TREAT but even so...), and I am just...tired from lack of sleep. I am slowly learning to pay more attention to the low numbers than the high ones.

Link to yesterday's post: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...32-2-305-3-323-4-250-etc.241599/#post-2721141
 
Butters & Lyla said:
I hope you both get some rest today.
Butters sometimes gets tired of the ear pokes too, so I always make sure to take more time in between tests when she is higher and give her poke breaks whenever I can. I hope Pearl's ears feel better soon.
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Thank you, Lyla! Lately Pearls pattern has been so wonky to me - blues to reds in same cycles I just didn't know what to do about the testing frequency. I somehow found myself so worried with the bouncing and dropping in the same cycles. I think part of that could be a Pancreatitis flare.
 
Max had chronic pancreatitis a few years before diabetes. It does complicate things. I found for him if I started medications that worked for him at the first sign of a flare they didn’t get as bad most of the time. Does Pearl get all of the meds all of the time? I assume cyproheptadine, cerenia, gabapentin, and bupe are for it? Have you ever tried ondansetron for nausea or is cerenia working really well for you?

You are testing way more than needed. When you see a red like on the day cycle of 1/15 and 1/16 no need to test until PMPS right now. The night of 1/14 I would have stopped at ++3 or +6. You will learn. On 1/13 it was a flat yellow cycle so +6 would have been time to stop. If not sure, post and ask until you have a better handle. It’s a huge learning curve but you will soon understand her cycles better.
 
Margaret (and Pearl) said:
Thank you, Lyla! Lately Pearls pattern has been so wonky to me - blues to reds in same cycles I just didn't know what to do about the testing frequency. I somehow found myself so worried with the bouncing and dropping in the same cycles. I think part of that could be a Pancreatitis flare.
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Came here to say similar what Elise told you about testing. I was really nervous and overtested in the beginning too. I was so sure Butters would just drop into the lime green numbers at any moment. Keep reviewing your spreadsheet data and look at others and see what they do. Every Cat is Different (ECID) but reviewing spreadsheets is a great way to learn some things.

Butters also has chronic pancreatitis though I didn't know that until after she was diagnosed with diabetes. And I've also had challenges with managing both too so I can relate.:bighug:
 
tiffmaxee said:
Max had chronic pancreatitis a few years before diabetes. It does complicate things. I found for him if I started medications that worked for him at the first sign of a flare they didn’t get as bad most of the time. Does Pearl get all of the meds all of the time? I assume cyproheptadine, cerenia, gabapentin, and bupe are for it? Have you ever tried ondansetron for nausea or is cerenia working really well for you?
Click to expand...

Howdy - Pearl only gets the Bupe when she has a flare, but she really behaves SO MUCH BETTER on it. My vet won't allow it long term. The Cerenia is daily yes and the Gabapentin also. The Cyphroheptadine is actually for her asthma and allergies! So aside from the Bupe she gets everything else all the time. When she has a flare, I also start Sub Q fluids every other day unless her gums get pretty tacky in which case I do it daily.
 
tiffmaxee said:
You are testing way more than needed. When you see a red like on the day cycle of 1/15 and 1/16 no need to test until PMPS right now. The night of 1/14 I would have stopped at ++3 or +6. You will learn. On 1/13 it was a flat yellow cycle so +6 would have been time to stop. If not sure, post and ask until you have a better handle. It’s a huge learning curve but you will soon understand her cycles better.
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LOL! Well, at least this is better than not testing ENOUGH! Thank God i don't have to increase that - we are exhausted! Thanks for recommending asking about amount to test, that never occurred to me. And thanks for the training here on historical data - super helpful!
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Came here to say similar what Elise told you about testing. I was really nervous and overtested in the beginning too. I was so sure Butters would just drop into the lime green numbers at any moment. Keep reviewing your spreadsheet data and look at others and see what they do. Every Cat is Different (ECID) but reviewing spreadsheets is a great way to learn some things.

Butters also has chronic pancreatitis though I didn't know that until after she was diagnosed with diabetes. And I've also had challenges with managing both too so I can relate.:bighug:
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Thank you so much Lyla. I never thought to check out how others are testing (times, when to stop). This is helpful information.
 
Margaret (and Pearl) said:
LOL! Well, at least this is better than not testing ENOUGH! Thank God i don't have to increase that - we are exhausted! Thanks for recommending asking about amount to test, that never occurred to me. And thanks for the training here on historical data - super helpful!
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Definitely better than not testing. I’m just trying to help poor Pearl’s ears. There will be times you need to test every 20-30 minutes.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Definitely better than not testing. I’m just trying to help poor Pearl’s ears. There will be times you need to test every 20-30 minutes.
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Yes, please help her ears! And maybe I will get some sleep!

Ok - so her BG at +6 is now 202 (up from 190 at +3) so does this mean I don't test again till PMPS b/c there is an increase? I think I had gotten confused the past couple of days b/c she would go low then up then low AGAIN in same cycle and I didn't know where to stop!

Thank you!!
 
Yes. I think you can stop testing this cycle. Maybe get a + 11.5 just in case it’s lower than the +6 so you won’t need to stall as you would get a PMPS and see if on the way up.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Yes. I think you can stop testing this cycle. Maybe get a + 11.5 just in case it’s lower than the +6 so you won’t need to stall as you would get a PMPS and see if on the way up.
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Hi!! Question - her BG at +11.5 is 185, so hovering where it was at +6. How high does it need to be for me to shoot her at PMPS? What I mean is, how much increase is evidence that it is rising?
 
You are fine if it’s flat or around the same. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t continuing to go down and have a lower nadir. Still get the pmps. Nice cycle.
 
tiffmaxee said:
You are fine if it’s flat or around the same. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t continuing to go down and have a lower nadir. Still get the pmps. Nice cycle.
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Oh so good to know, will do I will get the PMPS and will shoot her.

Appreciate your input - she has never had such a nice cycle before! I am still on track to increase her dose tomorrow to 2U unless she needs to stay here longer? because she is settling in? or is that the perfect time to increase tomorrow, while she is doing well?
 
Hi Margaret,
Just looking at Pearls SS. You said the cycles look wonky.
I think the cycles are looking better than earlier on. You are getting a lot more blue BGs now which is great and Pearl is getting more used to the lower numbers and she's coming down from the bounces fairly quickly. She doesn't bounce for 6 cycles like many cats do!! Yes she is going up to redBG sometimes but only 3 times in the last 10 days..

Are you using both ears? When I was testing a lot I used up and down both left and right side of each ear to give the other spots a break.. I know the sweet spot is best but I had no trouble getting blood from other spots on the edge of the ears. Just a thought.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Are you using both ears? When I was testing a lot I used up and down both left and right side of each ear to give the other spots a break.. I know the sweet spot is best but I had no trouble getting blood from other spots on the edge of the ears. Just a thought.
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Hi Bron,

Thanks for your message! Yep, using both ears various spots up and down the edges. I think she does ok for a long time, then just gets tired of being messed with. But in general she is a tolerant girl. She loves getting a treat afterwards ;)

Thanks for encouragement about the RED numbers, they are scary and I always think afterwards "we will never have a red again", which of course I am sure is a laughable belief!
 
I always used to think similarly about Butters' numbers! She got stuck in pinks and yellows for quite some time and every day I'd be like, "Oh, today will be the last day I see a number in the high 300s". Gotta keep the faith!!!
 
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