10.01. Simba AMPS 346 +2 346 +9 278 PMPS 205 +2 131 +3 85 +3.5 88 +4 90 +5 86 +7 153

Yesterday’s thread:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...64-8-130-11-229-pmps-241.241223/#post-2715698

My mum measured his BG and gave him 3 units this morning. I’ll be fully awake in a few hours to measure +2. Hopefully we’ll be headed down to lower numbers again today!

 

Uhhh, still at 346 two hours post-shot. He's immediately showing symptoms of not feeling too well - drinking more water and being less active. Poor bubba. When can I expect lower numbers again? I guess there's no point measuring his BG today as actively as yesterday, maybe one more time before PMPS.

 

Yes, he is bouncing and will likely be high through the cycle. One more test at +9 or so should suffice. Bouncing is normal and can take up to 6 cycles to clear. As he gets used to lower numbers, the bouncing reduces and then goes away. Some cats flatten out faster than others.

 

Aw that’s good. 6 cycles meaning 3 days? +9 might be a tough one as he would have just eaten. I hope he feels better again soon! I’ll try to catch him going to the litter tray today to use the ketostix.

 

Yes. Can be as long as 3 days. Can clear sooner. Differs from cat to cat.

The reason I suggested +9 was to fill in the gaps in your SS. To test at different hours in different cycles to get an understanding of how his Lantus curve is. Of course, numbers during a bounce are quite wonky.

 

Just get a quick test before he eats....I often do that with Luci. She's so focused on getting food, she's easy to work with...just a suggestion.

 

Simba got a little snack now to keep him happy until 5pm when I’ll measure the AMPS + 9. It’ll be 2.5 hours since he had food then so hopefully that doesn’t affect his BG!

I also successfully stuck a Ketostix under him when he visited the litter tray and compared it to one that had been put under running tap water at the same time. The colour was pretty much the same as the “negative” indicator, wasn’t close to the more pink colour next to it.

 

Well done simba for spending a good time in the blues yesterday!

Hercules is also bouncing today... so frustrating, isn't?

 

I could really tell he was enjoying it, hopefully we get back to the blues soon! And well done for Hercules with the streak of greens!

It really is frustrating and it makes me anxious seeing Simba less comfortable with the current numbers. But we will get back on track, I’m sure of it He is currently sleeping like an absolute goon, very unaware about the upcoming AMPS +9.

 

Back under 300 at AMPS+9. For some reason my spreadsheet isn't showing the number in the US mg/dl tab?

 

I see that. Could you share the editing link of the SS so that I can take a look?

 

Love the photo!!
I can also tell by Butters' behaviour that she is uncomfortable when she is in higher numbers. She can be a bouncy cat. It feels like such a roller coaster when you see great numbers, and they stay high for cycles after, but it's very common.
Yes you will get back on track. Let Simba do what he needs to do now to clear his bounce, and you try to make the most of these bounce days. Once Simba starts spending more time in lower numbers, you will be spending much more time testing him.

 

How do I do that? Haha sorry I have no clue!

 

I think it’s the key to get as much sleep as possible during this bouncing... in preparation for the lower numbers. You’ve done so much testing last night, Butters is such a champ loving the green!

 

How do you input numbers in the SS?

 

I have the SS open on my laptop or the google sheets app on my phone. Both have worked fine up until tonight!

 

I'm going to take this conversation to PM so that this thread doesn't get too long for others to read!

 

Simba's come down even more since +9 which is nice! Feeding him now and giving 3 units, I might be in for a frequent testing night after all

 

Back on the blue wave at PMPS +2. Simba will get some food in one hour. Should I measure again pre-food or some time after? His BG has NEVER been this low post-dinner.

 

That's a good drop from preshot, looks like he is on the move, I'd test at +3.

 

Another drop at PMPS +3, Simba's at 85!!! I'm fully expecting him to dip lower than that tonight and kind of anxious for it to happen too. Should I mix some HC food into his night snack?

 

You fed him at +3, right? What did you feed? LC? or MC?
I'd get another test in an hour (+4) and then post and go from there.

 

That's the night snack I'm just about to give! I'll feed him the usual and see how it goes! My boy has an appetite for days, so he won't mind eating tiny bits throughout the night if that's what we need to do.

 

Now would be a good time to start recording on your spreadsheet what food you feed Simba and when. This will help you learn what works and what doesn't when managing his cycles. We all tend to do this. You'll see on others' spreadsheets including Butters.

 

The Sheba he gets is 6.7% kcal from carbs. Is that MC?

 

I'm not familiar with Sheba. Is that dry matter or guaranteed analysis on the label? If it is dry matter it is considered low carb. Labels are probably different in Finland than Canada.

 

Ahhh yes, I see that now! I'll start doing that

 

LC = 10% carbs and lower
MC = 11-15% carbs
HC = 16% carbs and higher

 

It's just food that I've picked up from the spreadsheet that's LC and available in Finland while I'm waiting for the online order to come. I guess I'll have to label all of the foods to get the hang of things!

 

Perfect! Yes, I write the % carb with a marker on all of my MC and HC foods. It helps if you're scrambling to deal with lower BG numbers. Butters' LC is homemade, or I'd write % carbs on those too.

 

That's really handy! I'll rummage through the pantry to see what I've got in terms of food he's eaten previously or food that my mum's cat eats. At least I've got some saucy-gravy foods and honey in case of a hypo, plus HC dry food. Eeek, hopefully it doesn't get to that!

 

That's good! Don't fret if you have to break out the HC and honey and use it sometime. That's also for dealing with drops below 50, depending on how low and how carb sensitive a cat is. That doesn't necessarily mean that Simba has gone into hypoglycemic territory!

 

Another question - how do you get the spreadsheet to turn a specific colour when measuring in between whole hours? I panicked and measured at +3.5, but upon entering this information the cell turned white.

 

I fill it in manually. On the toolbar, a little icon that looks like a tipped over paint can with a drop coming out of it. Click that and select the background colour. I can screenshot it if you need.
And yay for an extra test! All good data to have.

 

Okay, I've managed to colour it in. But its not converting to the US mg/dL anymore.

 

You have to type in in manually on the US form too. I usually enter the number into an empty cell on the world spreadsheet so I can see the mg/dL number on the US spreadsheet, then write it into the correct cell: 88 @+3.5 Then colour it green. Yep. I do this every time I get two tests in an hour or a test on the half-hour. I think everyone else who uses the world SS does it the same way.

Just remember to delete if you entered the mmol value in another cell in order to get the mg/dL conversion.

 

You'll have to manually adjust the US cell too, just take each mmol/L reading, multiply by 18, then replace the formula in the US tab with your manual edits. Manually colour code again to green as well.

 

Okay, thanks to you both! I think I managed to do it haha. So much to learn!

Simba's happily snoring on the sofa, +4 was 90. I'm debating a nap Measuring once per hour should be sufficient if he continues with these steady numbers?

 

Nice little surf , he's staying very nice and flat, I'd check once more before bed, to see numbers are still flat or on the rise. Maybe take a little break, wait until +6. Just curious, did you feed your usual food at +4?

 

I will check at +5 to see if I can take little break (and see if he'll make some space for me on the sofa!). I fed the usual food just after measuring +3. Didn't crack open any MC/HC. This green streak is a first for us, I am so happy

 

That works too . I often found with the earlier cycle drops on Lantus that Mav would start to come up by +6, but see how you go. If you are finding that numbers are on the rise by +5 or at least still flat, that's a good thing, and you likely don't need any more tests tonight. Let's see what the next test is, and go from there.

 

Is this a good website to use for calculating the % of carbs in food? http://www.scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html

 

I prefer this...
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/calculating-calories-from-carbohydrates.204051/

 

I think I'm on my way to setting a new testing record for Simba I probably hit the little vein in his ear, such a big drop formed in seconds! Steady going at +5. So, should I give it a rest for two hours or continue testing every hour?

 

Honestly, I'd give it a little break, he's really staying flat, which is lovely to see. You could give a little low carb snack now to encourage the surf, and since this is the first run of greens, it might be worth setting an alarm for +7 or +8? With Lantus, you'll often find the cycle starts to wane after +6, where the dose starts to lose its effect, so I'm certainly not worried about him dropping lower than the 80s. I used to drink a big glass of water so I'd be sure to get up

 

^ This didn’t age well

 

I’ll set an alarm for +8, he’s happily devouring his LC snack as I’m typing this. Simba’s a really good snuggle buddy so I’ll have him sleep next to me and usually wake up if he leaves my side!

 

153 as of +7. I think I can sleep until AMPS?

 

Sleep well! You did great tonight Lina, as did Simba

 

Thank you for surfing through our first little patch of green with us!

 

You're most welcome

 

Posts that mention plans to get sleep never age well. Our cats read them and make other plans.
Congratulations on your first green surf!