11/12 Nick AMPS=301;+6=401; +8=374

[Nicksmom]

Didn't sleep well and got up after 3 hours at 7:15 - saw Nick still on my dad's bed sitting looking at me. At 2am +3 from 11pm shot (+6 from normal 8:20 shot time which I delayed ) last night, I tested and gave shot and went back downstairs to read latest posts on here. That number had me frustrated. Before I went to bed at almost 4 I went to see him in my dad's room and I heard him belch or hiccup and he was licking lips so I knew his tummy was upset. (maybe the new freeze dried snacks that he inhaled when given). So I gave him 1/4 tablet of Pepcid AC. This morning he was still licking lips but sitting up (knew it was only 3 hrs since tablet) so I petted him to let him settle more and went downstairs with other cats meowing for breakfast. I was in kitchen & had just given the other two their food when Nicholas comes in the kitchen goes over to his dish and sits and turns head to look at me. So I tested him first - which would be +7 1/2 from 11pm shot and he came down more to 301 - ok at least its coming down from 2am. and I put some food in his dish and he ate it just fine. Then he went up to windowsill sitting and is watching the bits of snowflakes that have come this morning to NYC. Then I sat down with MUCH NEEDED and he came off window and came over to sit next to me. Then I came on here. Will test and shot at 10:45am ( start of 15 min earlier shot increments)
So he is coming down, hopefully leaving 'the bounce' and settling into the 4u, whatever upset stomach he had the AC took care of or is taking care. And now i will go have my breakfast little easier - Oatmeal to settle MY stomach!! He has never ever lost appetite since day one, he will eat no matter what. The only vomit was morning of the day he was DX in January when vet gave him reglan and did blood test and found the sugarland. Me however have had no appetite or felt like just eating junk when he's had me upset at numbers.

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Re: 11/12 Nicholas AMPS=301

I know this is harder than it sounds but try not to focus so much on the numbers. Better numbers will come in time. Plus with Nick you have complicating health issues to deal with.

One thing that sometimes gets forgotten around here because everyone gets so focused on holding the cats as low as possible because we want remission so badly for them. Is want REGULATION actually is, and that is under 240 at preshots and around 100 at nadir.

With some cats getting them well regulated is the best we can hope for and that definitely doesn't mean we've failed them or we're bad sugarcat parents. It's just the opposite we're excellent care givers because we are willing to test and shoot for the rest of our cats lives. An OTJ cat is easy to care for they take no real extra care other than diet and an occasional test here and there. It's the ones that are forever insulin dependent that takes a very special and loving bean to care for them.

You need to realize how lucky Nick is to have you as his person. You already stepped up for him when his heart condition was diagnosed, then you stepped it up even more when he became a diabetic. I'd say he choose extremely well when he chose you to be his momma bean. So give yourself a pat on the back, take a deep breath, and lace up those dancing shoes.

This dance is a marathon not a sprint. And when you are feeling like you are spinning your wheels because of others great numbers. Go look at those spreadsheets and see how long it took to get there. For most it didn't happen in a week or even a month or two, it took months upon months sometimes even a year or more.

Nick didn't become a diabetic over night and he isn't going to be "cured" overnight either. And you are more than likely to see improvements in the whole cat long before it's reflected in the numbers. Like him playing with his bone shaped pillow last night.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn and The Fur Gang

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: 11/12 Nicholas AMPS=301

A second reminder from the peanut gallery. Nicholas is more than a set of numbers. He is a beloved family member, first and foremost. Never forget that. How he is feeling, the 5 P's (peeing, pooping, purring, preening, playing) along with his appetite tell us a lot about how he is doing.

Don't look at Wink's SS and thing that he went into remission really quickly. He was at a cat shelter for months before I fostered him and his numbers were horrible, high 300- 600's, severe diabetic neuropathy, horrible matted fur, huge bare patches all over his body where the fur had fallen out, giant flakes of dandruff, UTI after UTI. Not a well kitty at the time. Today, he acts normal, chases my other two civies around the house, jumps everywhere including the kitchen island when the gas cooktop is going scaring me half to death. But you know what, he is feeling great now

The whole point of this sugardance, is to get our kitties feeling the best they can. It takes time but you'll get there. We have confidence in you and are here to support you all along the way. I'm sure that Nick will be feeling better over the coming months too. Believe that with all your heart.

 

[nckitties3]

Re: 11/12 Nicholas AMPS=301

Hang in there hon, I know how hard it can be.
My Lucian and I went thru a real hard time for 7+ months on Lantus. It didn't work well for him at all. Now on Levemir, the change is astronomical. The chances are excellent that Lantus will work fine for him, you just have to get him to the right dose that's best for him and that takes time. If not, then there are other options.

Like Mel said, he is so fortunate to have you! You'll get it worked out and he'll be happier and healthier for it. I don't care if Lucian ever goes OTJ, as long as he is stable and healthy, I'm good with it. :thumbup If that means insulin for ever, so be it. You do what's best for your boy.

 

[Nicksmom]

Re: 11/12 Nicholas AMPS=301

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I will read them more thoroughly. I really need them. I have to tell you that I have actually cried this afternoon. I was so hopeful yesterday with that 188, and then in just couple hours it was all for nothing. And then this morning it was going down and I felt hopeful again and I just tested him at +6 and it was 400. That was when I broke down. He is so sweet and he does not deserve this, none of our cats do. I even asked God to give me the illness and take away from hm, as I could handle it better if me. I do not know if he rose because of his nausea (though he never stopped eating today and asked for it. He had his wet food, then he had raw gizzard to take his heart pill - actually he was DX with diabetes in Jan and was doing ok and then the heart thing showed up in July - I also would like him to gain a pound or two and do not know how or what to feed him to accomplish that. He had some more gizzards and has a good appetite. He pooped before with no problem and even scratched and covered up. He went on the windowsill to watch the snow and when I put some catnip on the scratching board for siblings, he came over to go 'coo coo' over it with them. But the numbers do make me very upset. I am going on this roller coaster with him. The only 3 hr sleep last night may also have my nerves on edge, but the numbers, I know what you are saying but I can't let go of the numbers. I almost do not want to post them on SS because in a way I am embarrassed at them being high. He did well on 5u and I am now thinking maybe I should have left him there and not tried to come down - yes reading the success of others made me want that for him too. He also seemed to do better when I gave him that Daily Best vitamin, but I stopped when ingredients were questioned.Yesterday I saw my old NichoLISH again and I thanked God and now I am back to feeling blue. He got to 188, so I know he is capable of doing so, but the upswing is what gets me reeling.

 

[Nicksmom]

Re: 11/12 Nick AMPS=301;+6=401;+8=374

Now two hours after 401 he is 374. :dizcat
And I gave him bit of 9 Lives liver & Chicken as reward for testing, and he ate it fine. He came running down the stairs at around 6:25 and that was why I tested him, since he jumped off the bed and came downstairs. He having more Liver & Chicken since his PMPS isn't until 10:30 tonight, so he will have more than 2 hours til then.
I will just test and shoot and not look at numbers so much. I will look at him and how he ism it will be hard but I will try hard. I will focus on him being alert, not walking on hocks, good appetite without ravenous and the P's. He cleans himself as usual sitting upright, bringing paws to face and then twisting to lick sides of body and bends head down to lick chest and stomach.

 

[nckitties3]

I can't even estimate the tears I shed the first several months. Hang on, it'll work out.

We are here for you and all of us have been thru the same things you're dealing with. You aren't alone.

:YMHUG:

 

[KPassa]

I can't even estimate the tears I shed the first several months.

Same here. I seemed to always be on the brink of a crying jag and my emotions seemed to coincide with Michelangelo's numbers: all over the place. It was one of those times when my stubbornness took over and I made it through those difficult months on sheer willpower alone. It does get better. I promise!

 

[Nicksmom]

Thank you for pulling off the ledge and for being there. I am also grateful for Jeremy & Gypsy so that I always have a furball to hug when distressed over Nick. Either one of them will also go and lay on the bed next to Nick which even if he just wants to rest I think he is glad for the company. They can be with him more than I can as I do housework, grocery shopping etc, ya know like people with normal lives do.
I am going to have some dinner now - I am going to have the carbs!
Thanks again, you guys, really. Its two words that don't say as much as I feel. I can promise that this will not be the last time I will be out of the ledge, but its nice to have those going through same thing, and who have also been on the same ledge at one time or another. drinking11

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Aw sweetie that is just what we do here and Lord knows we have all been on that ledge a time or six. And every one of us at some point will be out there again. Autumn and I have been dancing for nearly two years and she can still send me over the edge every now and then to this day.

One thing I learned very early on is you have to take care of YOU so you can take care of HIM. If you are over tired and not eating well and just plain stressed out you are going to be worthless to Nick. He needs a strong healthy mommy and so does his furry siblings.

Did you know that cats only meow when they are talking to us humans? It's true. With each other they speak with their tails, body language and a host of other verbal and non-verbal cues but the meow is just between them and us. But because of that instinctual non-verbal language of theirs the read us better than we read others of our own species. So he knows you are upset but he doesn't know its because of a silly number on a meter. All he knows is mom pokes my ear and gets upset so he wonders why he is upsetting you.

Cats live in the moment so while right now Nick knows he doesn't feel good he has no clue he is diabetic and what that could mean long term. And even if he did I doubt he'd care much because for him there is just the here and now. For him life is simple...hungry= eat, Thirsty=drink, tired =sleep love mom get mom's love back. So when you get upset when interacting with him he assumes it is him you are upset by and he doesn't know why or how to fix it. So he stresses out as well.

He wants the mom he's always known. The one that smiles and laughs at him, the one that pets and baby talks and cuddles and rains kisses all over him. This upset , stressed out crying woman is alien to him and he thinks its his fault. So you need to become an Oscar winning actress right now. You have to smile when you want to cry. Then come here and vent to us. That old "Never let them see you sweat" ohmygod_smile

Now to go back to what went wrong after that pretty blue pmps. First you waited nearly 2 hours late to shoot. This is where that difference between an " in and out " insulin like Humulin and a depot insulin like Lantus comes into play. That two hour stall caused his shed to start draining so when you did finally shoot he didn't get the full dose because part of it went to refill what had been used out of that shed.

Lantus is pretty unforgiving there it needs consistency both in dose and timing of shots to best do its job. Plus he hadn't seen blue in a few days so he bounced, they don't need to come close to hypo to bounce only go lower that they are use to or having a fast steep drop.

And by the way even long term diabetic with an experienced care giver can bounce Autumn was 364 last night when I tested her at +3 before going to bed. But because she has been at this awhile she was back in the blue this morning.

The worst that's going to happen if he stays high is you're going to have to increase his dose. And let him settle then still to high increase again until he comes down where you want him. Yes we could increase his dose greatly right away and force him from red to green almost over night but he's going to do nothing but dive and bounce dive and bounce. Or we can take him up slowly and let those reds become pinks then the pinks become yellows and those yellows become blues etc and let his body get use to each change slowly so it doesn't fight us back by bouncing back to what it now thinks as normal.

Now just something to make you smile. Nick has a dopulganger (sp?) Meet my Patches


Mel, Maxwell, Autumn and The Fur Gang

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

Hi extra sweet Nick and MamaBean! It's been a while since I stopped by - glad I did it this morning! Everyone above is right, don't let yourself dwell on those numbers too much - there are all sorts of things you can't control that will cause them to be higher than you expect. Wouldn't it be wonderful if insulin was like a chemical medicine - find that right dose and the world is perfect! KT and I have been dancing this sugardance for 2 1/2 years - I doubt we'll ever see that OTJ icon on his condo but that doesn't mean we ever lose HOPE. Dakota has been diabetic for 3 years - we'll also probably never see THAT OTJ either but that's OK too...we will continue to poke and test and hope....

BIG HUGE HUGS! You've done WONDERFUL so far and will continue!!! Celebrate - YARD DANCE!!! (a yard dance is one that's too BIG to do inside without breaking things!)....

 

[Nicksmom]

I never let him see me upset. I test him, and look at the number, and come right down stairs to get his treat. That is when I shake the fists.
Then I go upstairs give him the treat or spoonful of food and kiss him "Thank you for being so good for the test, sweetie boy". And then I leave and if I see one of the other two I pick them up and squish hug them. But cats are digitally build and even if not in same room I bet Nick can pick up the signals. Or one of the other two will probably rat me out to him when they see him.
You are right the only time I ever hear them meow is when they want one of us to do something for them. Feed, rub stomach, etc.
Well Nick meowed before he tries to hump Jeremy and when Jer hear that he knows to head for the hills or smack Nick when he gets close. Sometimes he looks at me & I pick him up to get him out of 'loves' way.