Re: 10/12 Napoleon AMPS 133 - have an idea, need advice,thou
Nice AMPS and lively lovely greens last night....
If a kitty is being driven to way lower than 50 by a smaller dose, then it might be a good idea to see what they would do without insulin. It is like an OTJ Trial but it is coming off a very low dose. But I don't think that a kitty getting 3.0u would have much success with eliminating the insulin completely.
I actually tried something similar in the early days with my Shadow. Since Raja was on such a low dose in the beginning, I did a test to lower his dose radically to see if I was giving him too much insulin. Bottom line is: I wasted a LOT of time and left him in the higher numbers for longer than he should have been. Yeah, my early months were kind of a waste of time and I can see that now.
I was not here in LL then....last year at this time as a matter of fact. I tried lowering his dose and then when I came to LL, I began following the protocol and kept increasing his dose.
There have been others who have tried to radically reduce the dose and experiment as I did....and it worked out the same for them as it did for Shadow and me. A waste of time. And I am sure it was detrimental to the kitty too. There is no such suggestion to do that in the protocol that we are following here. If there was a good possibility of getting better numbers doing this, more people would have success with that experiment. But I have never, ever seen it work. So I am giving you my firsthand experience with it.
Unfortunately, the bounces are very disturbing and we all wish with all our might to make them go away. It does seem that they will bounce and bounce until they do not bounce any more. Sigh. Beyond frustrating! We don't know when exactly they will stop bouncing...but we can see it after the fact when we look back on the SSs. The bounces get smaller and they don't last quite as long as they used to.
I think we have had the most success when I started making him wait for 3 <50 numbers in order to decrease his dose. He didn't hold dosecreases too well. It is more work to keep feeding small LC meals to keep him above 50. I try to hold him at a dose until he really shows that he needs a reduction. The protocol says to wait for 3 <50 on 3 separate days. We do that with kitties who have been here for a year or so. Newly dx kitties need only one <50 to earn a dosecrease.
I am all for trying mini meals and steering the numbers with food like that. But, doing checks like lowering the dose is not really a sound way to go about it, in MHO. So, yes I tried it and no, I wouldn't suggest it to anyone because it didn't work. But I give you credit for thinking outside the box! In the end, it is up to you of course. You will make your decision on what you read about it from others. So, there is my two cents on the subject! :mrgreen: My Shadow is my Problem Child...but following the guidelines here in LL has made a big difference in his numbers. I am so sorry that I wasted so much time in the past...but here we are now, and I am signing the praises of the Protocol. I see it working with Shadow...and that's good enough for me!! :razz:
Napoleon is doing great now....I like the trend that is happening right now...you are doing a great job Nicole!! :mrgreen: