11/19: Saoirse Update - Sugar Dance Math

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Critter Mom

Critter Mom

Member Since 2014
ORIG THREAD TITLE: 11/10- Saoirse Update

Hi all,

Things aren't great here. After all the excitement the other day my sleeping - and consequently Saoirse's schedule - went all over the place at the weekend. We're back to normal schedule today but I'm not sure whether I screwed up on her insulin injection. I've dropped her dose to 0.2 IU SID, but her numbers are trending up again. Peak BG is just below the upper TR threshold. :sad: Maybe I should have just stepped back to 0.25 SID. I was nervous after her ladyship's gopher number last week. Not sure what to do ...

The next 2 weeks are going to be uber stressful for both of us because we're moving house. It's a PITA trying to find out who the utility service providers are at the new place. Oh, the joys of unregulated markets! Not. I've lost the plot completely. No food in the house because my PTSD-frelled memory blithely dismissed my friend's mum's reminder that she would not be able to get my groceries last Saturday. Tried to order emergency pizza last night but they were closed. I'm trying to order stuff online but my appetite has disappeared again. I know I need to eat but I just look at stuff and think, "Meh!" :roll: I'm desperately, desperately tired and I can't think straight. Wish Scotty could just beam us from one place to the other.

I don't want to play anymore. It's my ball, an' I'm goin' home. :YMSIGH:
 
Re: 11/10 - Saoirse Update

Oh Aine

I feel for you. I felt like that all last week. Honestly a good meal and a good sleep will help loads. I ended up going to Burger King of all places last night as me and my partner were so exhausted from watching and stressing over remi yesterday and today I have just hoovered up cake and chocolate.

I must admit I am still a little confused over the exact numbers are for tight regulation. Is that the renal threshold of 120 or 6.6- no idea what that would be for your alphatrak. Could you hold steady and see if she levels off at 0.2?

Hugs to you and Saoirse

Sarah and remi
 
Re: 11/10 - Saoirse Update

After much long and thought out consideration I have decided that being an adult just isn't working out for either of us...lol I just had to run to the grocery store and stock up on food because while this weekend was gloriously in the 70s tonight they are forecasting our first snow storm to hearld in the coming of winter, the rest of the week won't budge out of the 20F for daytime highs and silly me thought Friday while doing my weekly marketing, Oh I'll just wait and run up to the farmer's markets during the week when they'll be less crowded..Yeah they'll be less crowded because their under two feet of snow and the veggies are frozen solid..lol

Oh well if I could I'd can you up a few jars of the spaghetti sauce I have simmering on the stove at the moment...Tomorrow it's a vat of chili con carne. I make large batches and either freeze or can the leftovers as my go to stores when and if we get snowed in this year again. Since we just moved I have no clue what the snow removal schedule is for around here, the other place it was pretty much Spring..heheheh

Take her back to the .25 until after the move, she is going to be stressing herself and picking up on your stress as well so she 'shouldn't' try to chase gophers again.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/10 - Saoirse Update

Teacher: "What do you want to be when you grow up, Áine?"

Áine: "Tall."


Thanks for your support, ladies. Sorely needed.

That home cooking sounds fab, Mel. :cool: ( critter_mom_DROOL_icon ) A cyber food parcel's better than no food parcel at all. :smile: I've got a Le Creuset dutch oven. Maybe when I move to the new place and I reach the top of the queue for a support worker to be assigned to me I'll start getting some use out of it again. I used to absolutely adore cooking, especially for a crowd. The women on both sides of my family were great cooks. One of my cousins is an award-winning chef. His food is outstandling. He does this wonderful freshly made fettucine with wild mushrooms and white truffle oil. I'm not a huge dessert fan, but his sticky toffee pudding is a little bit of heaven on a plate. Mmmmmm....

I must admit I am still a little confused over the exact numbers are for tight regulation. Is that the renal threshold of 120 or 6.6- no idea what that would be for your alphatrak.
Click to expand...

The top end of the TR healing range - I use 7.2 on an Alphatrak.
 
Re: 11/10 - Saoirse Update

Aaaaaand we have a +12.5 of 5.2. Hnnhh??? Based on recent data, looks like another +12ish nadir and maybe I didn't muck up the injection this morning after all. Mel, is there any chance you'd look at Saoirse's numbers for me?
confused_cat

Dosing 'schedule' (ahem) over last few days:

Friday: 0.2 IU at 11:27
Saturday: 0.2 IU at 15:35 (mammy late on parade because she was poleaxed :oops: )
Sunday: 0.2 IU at 11:22 (a big overlap but thought it was safe based on body of recent data and I needed to get back to schedule knowing the week ahead was going to be tricky)
Monday: 0.2 IU at 11:00 (easing back to normal schedule)

The Lantus vial was started on 19 August.

If I didn't muck up the injection this morning, then I'm confused about the 7.1 mid-cycle number. Feeding schedule was normal, and no food change.
 
Re: 11/10 - Saoirse Update

Hey Aine,

Just took a look at her numbers and she looks great with what you are doing with her dosing, so if it isn't broke I wouldn't try fixing it. ohmygod_smile

Seriously that one up mid-cycle reading could have been from anything or nothing at all and just a bad read or a fluke. Like right before you took it she was having a dream about a bird or being chased by a dog or whatever it is that they dream about. Or it could have been nothing at all and just been a wonky test strip. As long as it is only one reading and all the rest are good I wouldn't stress over it and just chalk it up to just one of those things that happens from time to time.

There is nothing around here that gets eaten that isn't home cooked I think partly because I spent so much of my life eating out when I was working full time, now I can't stand fast food and we really don't have many good places to eat out here in town besides a couple chain restaurants which aren't really fine dining either. And I just plain love to cook. and learned from some of the best in my mother and grandmother. Since on my mom's side the women are French and on my father's side Italian and Irish. My older sister actually owned her own restaurant for many years and did all the cooking for it and my cousin is a top chef for a cruise ship so cooking is kind of in the genetics.

It's probably one of the drawbacks to moving back to my home town is that I now don't have access to some of the more exclusive food items like truffle oil or escargot, but I can still whip up a mean meal with just country basics. I'm with you when it comes to cooking for crowds, I wish I could do more entertaining than we have done in the past but maybe now with the bigger house we can start entertaining more and I can really pull out the stops in the kitchen.

If I could I would have you all over to the house for a Relaxed Lantus reunion and meet and greet. While I do have room to feed everyone, and probably enough dishes to serve everyone on, where to bunk everyone down at night might be a bit of a problem...lol only two bedrooms here, and one is now the office and the rest of the house is the kitty bunk house. lol

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/10 - Saoirse Update

Y'all are making me hungry! Aine I wish I was your neighbor and could drop off some chicken & dumplings. I'm not much of a cook, but my sister is. I'm the baker, or so I pretend to be!
 
Re: 11/11 - Saoirse Trending Upwards Again

Hi all,

Well today we're on a slightly higher carb food (3.3% vs 0.7%) because the latest batch of Saoirse's normal food looks absolutely appalling. The lean meat content seems to have been drastically reduced and it's not as moist. I wonder whether the new batch may have been influencing her numbers over the last few days. I posted yesterday that it was the same food, but I was thinking about the brand and flavour rather than the actual contents of the tin. It looks really manky. I've lodged a complaint about it with Zooplus so hopefully I'll hear back from them tomorrow.

BTW, my apologies to Mel. I keep two spreadsheets for Saoirse (the offline one has more stats) and I neglected to update the online one with some of yesterday's numbers before asking you to have a gander at what my girl is doing. She hit 7.1 mid-cycle. When you looked at her numbers for me last night, I'd only posted the 6.6.

My darling girl is steadily trending upwards. Don't know whether or not to fatten. :YMSIGH: I'd feel better if she was running under the 5.6 mark most of the time.

BTW can someone let me know the FDMB Alphatrak equivalent of 100 mg/dL, please?
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

You know I don't know on the Alpha question, I have always just added 30 points to get a rough estimate since all meters have a +/- of 20% I know that no number on a hand held meter is going to be exactly what the true lab generated one is, but it still is accurate enough to spot trends

I have several spreadsheets for all the cats just only the one for Autumn that I have linked in here..lol So I completely understand...I'm a data junkie.

You might want to try either fattening it or working out a tiny sliding scale since she is down to SID dosing.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

I've got to do something, Mel. For some reason she's not as strong this evening. Over recent days Saoirse had taken to snoozing at her testing station. Tonight she barely made the jump. :sad: :YMSIGH:

I'm switching to Smilla adult food tonight. The guaranteed analysis on the label is wrong - MINUS 0.4% NFE as fed. :roll: It's almost the same formula as their kitten food, so I'm working to a nominal 3% calories from carbs (kitten version is 0.7%).

Re the conversions between human and pet meters at lower numbers, I've seen two versions of the TR protocol with differing adjustments: One says to add 1.0 (18) to the human meter value to get the Alphatrak equivalent and the other says to add 1.7 (30) to the human meter reference number. This always worries me about the reference number quoted for hypo risk in the TR dosing schedules. Should the danger zone be 68 (50+18) as often quoted on this forum, or 80 (50 + 30) as specified in the TR protocol documentation??? I've taken the higher number as the alert signal for my spreadsheet colour coding. For completeness, my vet quoted 3.9 (70) as the hypo threshold on an Alphatrak. I use the number specified by my vet as the key reference figure.

I saw a related post on TR in one of Sarah's condos and asked about what the Alphatrak equivalent of a human meter 100 should be, but my question wasn't answered. Should I have posted it as a standalone question in TR? Maybe I didn't adhere to their posting conventions. I hope they don't think I was being rude. :?

Saoirse's 6.3 at +12: first time in over a fortnight that PMBG was higher than AMPS. I just tidied out her litter box and some of the stools are a bit squidgy, off colour and slightly ill-formed. I gave her a visual once-over and her abdomen's slightly fuller tonight as well.

I really hate backslides. For my girl, not for me. cat_pet_icon :YMSIGH:

How would a sliding scale work on Lantus, Mel? I'd like to explore that option.
 
Re: 11/10 - Saoirse Update

lak99 said:
Y'all are making me hungry! Aine I wish I was your neighbor and could drop off some chicken & dumplings. I'm not much of a cook, but my sister is. I'm the baker, or so I pretend to be!
Click to expand...
Thank you for the warm thought, Laura. Cyber chicken, dumplings and cake are all good! :-D
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

+14 - 7.8. Outside TR range for first time in 10 days (and the other ones were fasting spikes - this was only +3.25 after food).

:cry:
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

I'll jump on in a sec and take a look. Eating atm and on phone so can't open her ss

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

Thanks, Mel. I'll check back in a while. Loading up the timed feeders at this end.
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

Okay hon,

Just looked at her SS. Couple things come to mind...Could this morning's shot been a possible part fur shot because she stayed fairly flat. So some may not have gotten all the way in? Also looks like you may have fed a different food today...Am I correct or is this one you have fed before just not recently? If a new food to the rotation maybe she is reacting to something in the new food. Like Autumn will spike on beef. And I have a civie that will vomit on anything with shell fish. Both in and of themselves should be low carb, but because of a food allergy will spike the numbers. So watching ingredient lists might give you a clue if there is something food wise setting her off. I think it was Sheila's Jeddie or maybe Beau that would jump through the roof with dried egg in his food, she could feed him regular eggs off her plate with no problem but dried egg solids in his food shot his BGs to the moon.

Just tossing out ideas, sometimes you have to don your deer hunter hat and pipe and play Sherlock with these guys lol

Now as far as a sliding scale goes, first off I'm not sure it does work with Lantus, I know it works with Levemir, but while both are depot insulins they do form their depots differently. With Autumn I add or subtract a drop or two depending on her preshots if above 250 I add a drop to make her dose a fat .5 if below 120 I subtract a drop to make her dose a skinny .5. This seems to work with Lev because it binds and unbinds to a protein in the body, while with Lantus it actually forms tiny crystals that have to dissolve so I don't know if it will work the same way with Lantus.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

Two words: salmon oil.

One of the foods I tried to swap her to had a salmon oil supplement. She ate one dish OK but at her next meal she was pulling faces at it. Something in her diet has upset her tum (ref. iffy quality of some of her stools today above).

I used a chicken-based limited ingredient LC foo during day. Tonight I switched to Smilla Adultk
 
Re: 11/11: Saoirse Update - Trending Upwards

Hi Aine
sorry i haven't checked in with you in a few days. I hope Saoirse is Ok. I know how terrible it is to see them ill and not really know why.
I so hope you have figured it out. Sending healing vines and hugs to you both.
 
11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

And worse it gets. Dose increased to 0.25, Now starting to feed adult Smilla - estmated at 3% calories from carbs (poultry) - analysis info on label adds up to 100.4%. :roll:

Not getting anywhere with zooplus on the questionable batch of Kitten with Chicken food (0.7% carbs). In desperation I opened another can of the kitten food to see if would be better. The previous batch of kitten food was colourwise the same as the adult stuff. SIde by side, two freshly opened cans. The adult stuff looks reddish. The kitten stuff looks a dull brown. Reassured a bit that I am NOT imagining the difference.

Hating on the dry food manufacturers BIG TIME right now. And on myself for feeding my beloved girl the carp that did this to her.

Not a good day in the Shire.

:cry: :cry: :cry:


(Thank you both for being there for us.)
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

I feel you aine

I think that dried food should come with a health warning. With regards remi wet food thrive the batches look quite different. Sometimes reddish, sometimes brownish and the sauce varies too. I haven't really worried about it and it seems fine but obviously if you are concerned then don't give it.

Could you take a photo of the two different ones and and to them or directly to the manufacturer?
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

Thanks, Sarah.

I expect some variation from tin to tin in wet food, but this looks more like a recipe change. There doesn't seem to be anything like the amount of muscle meat in this batch. I spoke to zooplus customer services and I must say I found them less than helpful. So much for their no quibbles return policy promises. I asked if they could check if they had another batch in stock so I could order more, that it wasn't about the money, but computer said, "NO!" :evil: There is so much being lost as more mom and pop businesses are wiped out by the big box corporates. :YMSIGH: Thankfully the Munchkin's eating the Smilla adult food today but I haven't a clue about how many carbs are in it because Matina screwed up the analysis on the can labels (adds up to 100.4% :roll: ). Zooplus failed to address that query, too. I tried ringing Matina but they don't provide telephone customer support in English und Ich habe nür ein bischen Deutsch. :oops:

Saoirse was able to hop up to her testing station for a snooze this afternoon. She is parked there at the moment, waiting for me to do her PMBG. She was curled up on the sofa earlier. That's a good sign she's feeling a little better. Looking at my line graph of Saoirse's numbers since the dose reduction the other day, I don't think it was fully earned and, like Mel, I'm seriously wondering whether her lower numbers the other day were due to lunar phase influence. Her numbers started heading for the higher 6's straight away (cf. trending steadily into the low 5's). :YMSIGH: Started on 0.25 IU SID this morning. I'm wondering about the viability of the Lantus. The vial has been on the go for a week shy of 3 months today. So many variables.. :?

We had the cleaner in again this afternoon so some progress was made on the house move but trying to get the admin side of stuff sorted is a complete mare. God be with the days where all one had to do was to notify the sole provider of the relevant utility of the date you were moving in in order to ensure the service would be OK on move day. Nationalised industries weren't as bad as the right wing would like us to believe. The estate agents won't accept a bank draft or electronic transfer. The world becomes more computer friendly and less user friendly with every passing year, and increasingly I feel like a walking anachronism. :roll: I'm absolutely shattered and my back and neck are really bad. I'll be laid up all day tomorrow. At least I managed to eat a Sainsbury's ready meal this evening. (Not ideal, but better than the pizza I've been subsisting on for the past few days. Any cyber chilli going, Mel? Pretty, pretty please!) All of us are stressy. I'm worried that the Noodle may be brewing up a stress-related UTI. Her tum was upset earlier, too. :sad:

All in all, definitely not a good day in the Shire. :YMSIGH:
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

Sending not only cyber chili but cyber still warm from the oven cinnamon rolls. Right now there are homemade noodles drying and tomorrow with become chicken noodle soup. :-D

I've decided that I need to clone myself. Too many irons in the fire right now here as well. Lol

Several things that I started planning before the move and just sat there or where shoved way down the list of priorities all seem to be suddenly catching fire and all at once. I'm beginning to feel for hampsters on a wheel. Just not enough me or hours in the day. Lol

And now we're in the deep freeze. The high for today was 15F. With my fibro this kind of cold turns me into a tin man that's been left out in the rain without oil. Not helpful at a time when I need to be going at warp speed. Sigh

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

PMBG (+12.25) 7.6.

I no longer have a tightly-regulated pusscat. Nausea symptoms worsening again. This Smilla food problem is a real body-blow. :sad:


ETA: Any experience with slippery elm, Mel?
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

Oh no aine. This is no good

I can't remember whether you ever got hold of any ondansetron? I really do find it helpful for Remi's nausea.

There are do many variables with diabetes! And we can't lock them all down. I will have to hunt around for some new food as the very high protein content of thrive is making his urea levels high and I don't think that's such a good idea in the long term.

Sorry i can't suggest much else but I am rooting for you and saoirse.

((Hugs))

Sarah
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

In humans ... yes. In pussy cats..no. But know where to look if that's helpful?

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

MommaOfMuse said:
I've decided that I need to clone myself.
Click to expand...

If I had a pound for every time I've said, "I need a Me" over the last number of years, I'd be a wealthy woman.

Cyber cinnamon rolls going down a treat. Nom, nom, nom ... :smile:
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

In regards to food try pming Elizabeth and Bertie she might have suggestions. Trying to think who our other old timer UK members are as they might also have suggestions too.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

Just tried Amazon (and ebay) at BJ's suggestion. No joy (apart from Smilla Dry. :roll: )
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

Hi Aine, I had not seen a post from you in awhile- I am so sorry to hear all is not well with you and Saoirse. It is very frustrating to find a good food, I know Saoirse has had pancreatitis, so there is always a fear of food aversions. nailbite_smile RE:the Slippery Elm Bark, you might shoot a PM to Marje(Marje & Gracie) Marje knows a lot and has written articles about using it for Gracie.

When my Tiger had her recent bout with acute pancreatitis, she was given Cerenia for nausea, it seemed to work well. I convinced my vet that I should keep a supply at home in case there are anymore flare ups. I will keep you and Saoirse in my prayers, it is so scary when our kitties aren't feeling well :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

In my part of the US, we send a batch of beef stew or minestrone soup for comfort- when someone is feeling down. So here's a pot for you, plus a fresh-baked apple pie because Washington is the Apple Capital of the world ;-)
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

oh my. everyone is having problems. the season change must be affecting everyone. sending healing to all of you.
and cyber food and cyber maids and cyber assistants to help with everything.
:YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

For your reading enjoyment Slippery Elm for Cats

You know I just thought of something...Are her higher numbers stress related? Is she picking up on the up coming move...I just remembered that both Autumn and Cassanova jacked up right before we moved and we were very careful not to let on that anything was happening until the last moment. We had it set so that once the new house was ready to move into we moved the big stuff then the cats, then return to pack up the rest of the house all on the same day. But they still knew, the routine around the house wasn't the same. Mom was gone at the wrong times and was coming home with strange smells. So they knew something wasn't right. Remember cats speak to cats with body language not voice. So she may very well be picking up on your stress and that is transferring to the numbers.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

Hi Ruth,

Yum!!! :-D ('scuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin... :oops: ) I haven't had apple pie for years ...

Ever since Saoirse's flare-up, I always watch her when she starts eating to look for any signs of nausea. Like you, I asked my vetty bean for some squirrel stocks of meds. It makes such a difference to be able to respond to problems straight away so that they don't get worse, isn't it! I found dealing with the pancreatitis much harder than the diabetes. I've been giving Saoirse ondansetron for the nausea (can't get cerenia tablets over here, only injections). She was needing it less and less - down to 2mg every 48 hours or so from 2mg BID - until this latest hiccup, but the adult Smilla doesn't seem to be agreeing with her as much as their kitten food. I tried to explain to the first customer service rep what a huge issue it is to find food for kitties with pancreatitis and that Saoirse's clinical signs and BG were disimproving but she just didn't grok the fullness of the problem. The second one at least tried to connect me with her supervisor. No offer of a call-back when the supervisor wasn't free, mind. (Got to externalise their costs, after all. :roll: )

Thank you for the suggestion about contacting Marje about slippery elm bark. My vet is kinda reluctant for me to try it (I've had some organic slippery elm bark powder sitting here for a couple of months hoping to persuade him). He called a feline specialist about it but s/he said that there was no scientific evidence to support its efficacy. (Wonder if it was the same specialist who looked at Saoirse's BG curves while she was still stuck on 3 IU BID Caninsulin + w/d Dry and pronounced her insulin resistant ... :? ) He has given me a supplement to try that contains milk thistle, boswellia and pine bark. I've been able to research the first two but I've found nothing about treating cats with pine bark. I called the manufacturer to ask them for research references so I could read up about the pine bark before deciding whether or not to give it to Saoirse. They promised me a call back. Two-and-a-half months on and I'm still waiting to hear from them. Pity they don't put as much effort into providing decent information about their products as they do into their marketing. After feeding Saoirse into pancreatitis as a result of misplacing trust in manufacturers' assertions about the suitability of their products, I don't take anything on trust from them these days.

How is Tiger doing? I hope she's fully recovered now. Blessings to you both. :YMHUG: cat_pet_icon
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

MommaOfMuse said:
You know I just thought of something...Are her higher numbers stress related?
Click to expand...

She could hardly miss the fact that summat's up. It's very small and cramped where we are at the moment, and the place is like I don't know what with trying to shuffle stuff around in order to get things packed (and that's not going well - getting the removals guys to do a good bit of the day 'cause I'm struggling so badly myself).

I don't doubt that there will be some carryover into Saoirse's numbers, but I don't think it's the whole story. Her abdomen's a tad distended today. Before her numbers started rising she would have scored straight A's for body condition: beautifully svelte. The nausea symptoms are more pronounced, so I have her back on 2mg ondansetron BID as of tonight (gave her a famotidine dose for good measure to see if it will help her to finish her timed feeds tonight). Her poops were a bit of a mixed bag tonight, as well.

ETA: Thanks for the link. Will check it out as soon as I can. Everything's all over the shop at the mo.
 
Re: 11/12: Saoirse - AMPS 8.2 (148) - Gutted

tibbs5 said:
oh my. everyone is having problems. the season change must be affecting everyone. sending healing to all of you. and cyber food and cyber maids and cyber assistants to help with everything.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Nadine! :YMHUG:

Sending healing vibes to your li'l fella, too. cat_pet_icon
 
11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

Saoirse's definitely got a GI disturbance. Definite abdominal distension. Stool frequency increasing. Stool quality deteriorating: slightly tan, softer and less well-formed, whiffy. This is definitely down to diet, not stress.

Please say a prayer that she doesn't get another full-on pancreatitis flare.

:cry:

ETA:

Finally got through to one of the customer service managers at zooplus and she was very kind and helpful. She really listened to the factors that affect a cat with pancreatitis and was very sympathetic when I told her about how long and difficult a process it was to find a food that didn't make Saoirse sick. She also listened intently when I described the differences between the batches of Smilla kitten food and asked intelligent questions about the quality variances; a big difference to the dismissive tone of the other zooplus responses I got yesterday. She has agreed to help us. She's going to check with the warehouse to see if they have a different batch. If they do, she's going to send some new food. Amazing the difference a little listening, a little compassion and a little understanding make.

Switching Saoirse back to the Kattovit Sensitive Chicken exclusion diet formula (paté - 4.4% calories from carbs). She doesn't do as well on it as on the Smilla kitten food. Also its more calorie-dense than the Smilla. I've got to watch the Munchkin's portions so I don't blow her daily calorie budget like I did a couple of days ago. :roll: :oops:

I've tweaked Saoirse's insulin dose back up to a fat 0.25 IU (marked as >0.25 on her spreadsheet). Her recent data supports the tweak. I'll see how she goes on that for a few cycles to gather data so that I'll have a current baseline to refer to for the Kattovit should Saoirse need another dose increase.

Sending positive vibes to all the beans and all the kitties. Hope ye're all in better shape than yours truly. Back & neck are really bad, and I'm soooooooo tired. I-)
 
Re: 11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

Oh Sweetie I feel for you!

It's amazing isn't it how much listening to understand rather than to reply changes things.. It is actually something that DH and I have battled with on occasion. He tends to listen to rely, rather than to understand. Which in turn tends to irk me.

We have all fingers, toes, paws and tails crossed here that she doesn't go into a full blown p-titis attack. Thankfully I have never had to deal with it in any of my kitties. Although I do truly understand how painful it can be, as Jon and I have a very dear friend that is more like a brother, whose son was dxed with chronic P-titis when he was 6 months old. The boy is now 16 and just underwent a complete removal of his pancreas and then they basically melted down the pancreas, removed the stem cells and reimplanted then back into his liver so his liver now functions as both liver and pancreas. Neat from a medical standpoint worrisome from a parent's.

Hopefully you can get some restortive rest as well today.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

I hope that Saoirse feels better soon. It looks like fattening the dose keeping her in the target range.
 
Re: 11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

hi Áine.
i'm so sorry your baby isn't feeling well. And i'm worried about YOU !!!! It's so hard to provide so much care for others when you don't feel well yourself.
Sending you big hugs and healing. :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
 
Re: 11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

Thanks for checking up on us.

Mel, on the same page as you re different listening styles. In general, I think men are more inclined towards the 'listen to reply' mode. They tend to do the "OK. Out with the problem quickly so I can fix it!" whereas women tend to want more detail and to weigh up options, or to want the other person to just plain listen while we get things off our chest and then let us get on with fixing stuff for ourselves, thank you very much!.

Your story about that poor young lad with pancreatitis made for some eye-opening reading. That must have been some tough ride on both him and his family. It's such a debilitating condition. I wish him a bright future free from his previous pain.

No rest unfortunately. I've got that dreadful tired/wired PTSD thang back again. I've had to take sleep meds the last couple of nights: the body's screaming for sleep but the brain just Wiil ... Not ... Shut ... Off. Got the worst of the utilities sorted out plus a couple of other admin bits but the red tape is driving me fahrbot. The phone line won't be active for at least a week after I move in but I've managed to get a mobile broadband dongle so I'll have internet access. Fretting over what sort of signal quality I'll get at the new place. With the agoraphobia I'm utterly stuffed if I don't have internet access.

Ran a food curve for the different variety. Not sure if the +5.5 was down to Lantus nadir time or pancreatic assistance. :? My Bonnie girl had a little afternoon picnic today but her tummy's definitely a bit swollen. She was up quite high by +13. Backslides ... :YMSIGH: I just want her to be well. cat_pet_icon No diarrhoea yet and I'm praying very hard that things stay that way. nailbite_smile

April, thank you for the good wishes for my baby girl. I'm glad I did the tweak. I think it may need another one in a while but with the upheaval over the move if she's on a dose that isn't threatening to take her too low for the next few days for safety's sake. I really need to get that food for her again: it made such a difference to her overall well-being. The healing was visible in her clinical signs as well as her BG numbers. I feel so sad when I see her poor tum getting bigger again. :cry:
 
Re: 11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

Hi Nadine. This someone really needed that hug! Mmmmmmmmwah!

:YMHUG:

I'm completely frelled. I-)
 
Re: 11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

Hi Aine, I am so sorry to hear Saoirse is not feeling better- how absolutely awful for you and I just finished reading your other thread regarding the food that she likes, how awfully frustrating! :YMHUG: :YMHUG: I was also wondering if you had tried Dr. Lisa's recipe for raw. I have considered it, but we regularly eat organic chicken and when I have offered raw to Tiger, she won't eat it. I could just see me buying that expensive grinder and all the ingredients and she wouldn't touch it. ohmygod_smile

I am praying for you and Saoirse, I hope she is not getting another pancreatitis attack. Now that I have witnessed it first hand, I would not wish that on anyone, sending tons of healing vines and prayers! :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

Thanks for asking about Tiger, she is doing so much better. She is eating on her own now, I have finally quit the prescription EN Purina Diet, she is back on Wellness now and no ill effects.
 
Re: 11/13: Saoirse AMPS 7.1 - Definite GI Problem

Thank you so much for praying for us, Ruth. I'm haunted by what my little one went through during the flare-up. There was one night when she was flaked out on the floor and I was praying really hard that she wouldn't be taken from me... :sad: That and the awful, seeming endless, soul-destroying process of trialling food after food after food and seeing them make her feel worse, not better. The Smilla Kitten formula made the world of difference to her and her nausea was lessening with every passing day. There are several foods that she likes, but the Smilla Kitten is the only one that really likes her back. :YMSIGH: I'm blessed that Saoirse has responded so well to the Lantus, so the diabetes is quite manageable for us. The pancreatitis flare was nightmarish. I'm so drained at the moment I know I wouldn't be able to nurse her through another one. I hope to the core of my being that she never has another one. Keeping fingers crossed that the switch back to the bland exclusion diet paté will keep her stable till I can get more of the Smilla. I wish the latter was available from small pet shops: that way I'd be able to get more personalised service for Saoirse - batch checking and so forth. Small can be very, very beautiful when one's needs don't fit into the neat little pigeon holes of which the giant corporates are so enamoured.

I'm delighted to hear how well Tiger's doing! Isn't it just the best when they eat under their own steam again - and back to a food that's good for them! I'm made up for you both! :YMHUG: cat_pet_icon
 
11/14: Saoirse Update - Pancreatic Activity???

Good morning, beans and sugar kitties,

Stress. Panic. Shutdown. Rinse. Repeat.

Hope all of your days are going better than mine. Munchkin's nausea is gradually worsening :YMSIGH: but thankfully I have meds to address it this time round so my darling girl is comfortable enough for now. Up to high doe with house move stuff. Have managed to secure mobile broadband dongle, but won't know if there's a signal at the house till I get there. nailbite_smile

Mel, if you drop by could you give me some feedback on the following, please?

Yesterdays' +22.75 - 7.9 influenced by fasting spike (mom screwed up the timed feeder setting. :sad: :oops: ) Fed 16g 4.4% carb paté. At least it's in euglycaemic range.

AMPS ....... (wait for it) ...... 6.7! :o Only an hour after a medium-sized meal? :shock:

Please tell me this was her pancreas helping out. (Lie if you have to - I need some positive news about my girl really badly right now. nailbite_smile )


---- Lunchtime Bulletin ----

AM+3 (3 hrs after 6g PS snack and 4 hrs after 16g morning feed). Had to give Saoirse a little crumb of famotidine - she's semi-crouching and her head's drooping a little. :sad: At least the abdominal bloating does not seem quite as bad as yesterday.
 
Re: 11/14: Saoirse Update - Pancreatic Activity???

BIG SMILE if she dropped that much on food alone, then YES her pancreas is helping out. (nope not lying to spare your feelings)

Aine,

Have you ever done a food trial with her to see how much pancreatic action she has? Do you even know what a food trial is or how to do one?

Also do you have pain meds for her when she starts to have a flare up? What about sub-q fluids?

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/14: Saoirse Update - Pancreatic Activity???

Hello Aine,sorry to hear that your darling Saoirse is not feeling too good,Mel asked me to pop by,do you have a land line in yet?, if I remember last time we spoke you only had a cell phone.
If you do,PM It to me and I will give you a call.
On the subject of the dreaded pancreatitis how did Saoirse get on with the food parcel I sent to you? and have you started her on Aloe Vera juice? Let me know and we will take it from there. Diane
 
Re: 11/14: Saoirse Update - Pancreatic Activity???

Thanks Diane

I knew we had someone there that was dealing with the dreaded P-titis, which Knock Wood so far I've never had too. And what limited knowledge I have of it, wouldn't help because what is available here might not be there.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 11/14: Saoirse Update - Pancreatic Activity???

Thank you, Mel, for confirming what I hoped for this morning. I've never seen a drop like that before without insulin.

I religiously record mealtimes and test reading times on Saoirse's offline spreadsheets except on days where I really am losing it with the PTSD. Even then, what little energy/focus I have is directed towards the care of Saoirse and Lúnasa. (My little Noodlebug, poor baby, comes a poor second sometimes. :oops: Thankfully she knows I love her and forgives me.) I still get the majority of Saoirse's data recorded on those days. I don't know how to distinguish endogenous from exogenous insulin action. As already mentioned, this morning's test result has no precedent (soooooo glad I snuck in that extra test and didn't advance her insulin injection time a little, as I had been planning to do). What's the procedure for a food trial, Mel? How do you assess pancreatic activity?

Re pain meds, she has had bup on a couple of occasions but post-flare-up and until the food supply disruption her clinical signs had improved massively (no vomiting bouts - even after relatively long periods of fasting, no fur pulling, little or no hiding, only slightly meatloafy on very rare occasions and & much less tense, if you get my meaning). Saoirse is very med sensitive. If I do catch her crouching slightly, I give her organic catnip for its analgesic properties. She looks much, much more comfortable very soon afterwards (it has a soothing rather than stimulatory effect on her generally). I was thinking of maybe putting a teensy pinch in her food but I don't know whether or not that would be safe? If her discomfort were to get worse, I'd get another bup Rx from our vet. I've given her famotidine alongside the ondansetron and that's definitely helping. The real head-wrecker here is that I think the Smilla formulation was helping her to heal. I had been steadily reducing her ondansetron until the problem with the latest batch.

The abdominal bloating has come down a bit, I am pleased and relieved to report. It's about 60 hours since Saoirse's last BM - not unprecedented by any means for her, and she did get rid of a lot of poop in the 8 hours prior to that. (Yay for secondary monitoring!) I'm so relieved that she didn't get diarrhoea again. Urine output's slightly up based on the data, but it's a variance that would be expected if the actual moisture content of the food did not match the label analysis %. Frequency and clump sizes are in normal range. I hope that the paté food will keep her some way stable. I've got plenty of it in to keep her going till I can get Smilla again. I am hoping that it will calm down her system after giving her the Granatapet chicken (I definitely know salmon oil is one of her triggers now - had suspected it might be) and the Smilla adult food (probably too rich - higher offal content).
 
Re: 11/14: Saoirse Update - Pancreatic Activity???

Thanks, Mel and Diane for coming to help.

Need to do a BG check and feed the munchkin. Oh, yeah. I seem to recall I need to breathe at some stage. :YMSIGH:


Back shortly...
 
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