11/5 Lucky

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all4mymarine

all4mymarine

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I have such a hard time getting up on weekends to shoot at his normal time :YMSIGH: And, I've been sick so it was hard to get out bed! So I thought with it being an hour late, his BG was going to be in the high 400's. Nope. 325. That is a pretty low AMPS for Lucky so I was surprised. I shot 1.1u

I lowered Lucky's dose yesterday. AMPS was 377 so I shot f1.2, nadir was 239 and PMPS was 390 and I shot 1.3. I know it's going to take a couple of cycles to possibly see improved numbers from lowering and I may have to adjust lower. I'm just going off gut feelings at this point, I don't know what else to do. I feel like a higher dose should have made a difference, and it didn't, cycles were just high and flat with a blue every couple of days and then right back up to high and flat. But then maybe we didn't get high enough?

I feel like I come here every couple days and complain about how things aren't working right and keep doing the same things. Raise dose, lower dose. I know I need to switch his insulin, I don't like change lol He seems pretty happy with the lowered dose. Yesterday he was all lovey. He's never been a lap cat but twice this morning he's jumped up and laid down with me. Right now he's laying on my feet snoozing and purring away :mrgreen: Totally not like Lucky but I'm not complaining!
 
This is the best place to come and complain. We know just how you feel. I wish for a manual for ProZinc every single day! I do like the numbers on the lower dose and hope this will be a good restart.

It does seem like some cats start insulin and diet change and may even have an immediate reaction. And then they start moving higher. If you ever get really discouraged, check Asher's spreadsheet. (Donnahc) They started out beautifully and then he got wonky and had been wonky for months. Donna just kept plugging along. Every once in a while, Asher would throw her a surprise. Now he is regulated and generally in beautiful numbers, even though he still surprises her once in a while. (He is unusual in that he requires pretty high doses on pretty low numbers, but it works for him. Donna got there after months of data and trying different things. So he is not the usual cat, regulated on small doses, but should be the poster boy for ECID.) My point is not that every cat needs higher doses, but that when you figure out what works for your cat, they can get regulated.

Remission is always looked at as the goal here. But many cats (even on Lantus - check some of the cats there who have been on Lantus for years) will not go into remission. They may need the help of insulin forever. But then the hope is that both cat and parent will incorporate it into their lives and be thankful for regulation and good health and a happy cat.
 
It is so difficult. I hate to admit this on an open forum, but when Kitty and I first started...I tried so hard. I wanted to be the "best diabetic cat Mom" in the world. I read everything. I tried different doses. I worried myself to death.....and ultimately, I got very poor results as a whole. I would come here every week or two and voice my opinion about prozinc and that I just wasn't seeing good results. And to add insult to injury....I would see kitties come to PZI and their beans would have no idea what they were doing...they would follow any advice, never read, never researched and in a month their kitty would be OTJ! Don't get me wrong, I wish no one anything but the best results with their diabetic kitties, but it just didn't seem fair. Why couldn't I get it right? Why couldn't I regulate my Kitty? What was I doing wrong?

And after months of many trials and tribulations, I finally accepted that every kitty will not go OTJ or even get regulated. And, I accepted that my Kitty was complex and that I would just continue to do the best I could. Kitty finally went TID and the results have been much better, but it still isn't as good as I had hoped for....the best medicine for me, was to read other kitties spreadsheets and to bear witness to the efforts so many put into their kitties only to get results like me. I realized I wasn't alone.

It is hard, but you are doing a wonderful job. It is not personal....some kitties just respond better than others.

Hopefully, the lower numbers and Lucky feeling better will be the beginning of better days. Just remember.....Lucky is "lucky" to have you.......hang in there and enjoy every day......you are doing a great job.

Have a good day!
 
It is important to talk about your hopes and frustrations. If we don't, others will think they are the only ones. I love that saying "Your Mother told you life was FAIR?" There seems to no rhyme or reason for why some kitties do well and some kitties struggle. My only thought is it is like cancer in humans. Two people can get the same cancer at the same time, have the same treatment and one goes into remission and one dies. It has to be something in their bodies that reacts differently to the medicines and to the cancer.

All I can say, Kim, is that Kitty is so lucky she has you. If she had another bean, she would probably have been dead months ago. I have never seen such a complex diabetic kitty and such a caring mom. The beans who come on and post every day and whose kitties go up and down and are so difficult to figure out - you are the heroes here.

I would never discourage anyone from trying another insulin Sometimes that is the answer. But sometimes it is just the kitty. A good example is Sue and Samwise. They struggled with such highs and lows on PZI. They changed to Lantus and they are still struggling. One day he throws a green and the next he is in the 400s. He may be staying in the lows longer on Lantus but he is far from regulation. He is just a difficult, complex kitty.
 
Thanks to both Kim and Sue for their posts about ''doing the best we can with what we're dealt."

I too want so bad for Alex to get better and to go OTJ-have obsessed about it and still do sometimes :oops: -mostly because I want him to be healthy and happy and partly for selfish reasons. (I'm still yearning for a true vacation, but we only have 1 friend who for a weekend or so, will give Alex his shots, but not for a week I feel guilty for wanting to get away, but I do). I still haven't given up that Alex might go OTJ, but I feel as time goes by, it's getting to be more unlikely.

As Kim says, Lucky is very lucky to have you as his Mama! Hang in there (and so will we all!)
 
Ginny, you have to figure out a vacation where you can take Alex! It is so important to have a change of scenery. Once we took Oliver to Seattle for a 2 week vacation. We got a VRBO(vacation rental by owner) house that accepted pets. We got his feeder and box and bed all set up. Every day we would go out and visit with our kids or see the sights, have lunch and plan to be back by the pm shot. Oliver loved his new home - it had big windows right next to the comfy bed covered with pillows, and birds to watch.
 
Thanks guys, it's nice to be reassured that you aren't alone. I get so caught up (obsessed haha) in the numbers and other information that I don't talk a whole lot about the frustrations, until it just gets to be too much and then I'm at my wits end and then it ALL comes out! lol My cats are family members so I do what it takes. Yes, it is very time consuming but I'm still working on making everything fit into a schedule. And I'm still working on getting dh on board to learn how to do what I do. I need help :YMSIGH:

Sue, that vacation sounds amazing! Asher sounds like Lucky, nice response at the beginning and then all wonky and unpredictable. As of right now, regulation is my immediate goal, then I'll start shooting for remission. It seems easier on my nerves that way :smile:

So now onto the good news for today! +6.5 was 171!!! We saw a blue!!! But that almost guarantees a bounce :roll: I'm expecting to see a higher PMPS. If not, then that is fabulous! I'll stick with 1.1 tonight I think. If you look at his SS, every 5th day he gets a blue and then his numbers stink. It's very weird. I'm hoping this blue isn't because it's the 5th day again.
 
Interesting about the blue repeating ever 5 days or so, I wonder if that is how long it takes him to clear the bounce. If it is, that is much longer than we had previously thought, we used to say 2 to 3 cycles. Hummmmm.

Hang in there, we all have alot of the same frustrations. When Harley came out of remission a year ago last June I was positive that is was stress induced and I would get him off again in no time at all but that hasn't happened, I came close but Vet #3 switched us to Lantus and he never responded to it the way he should have so now we are back on Prozinc and I'm starting over. Deep sigh. And after all of this time I still have no patience, I WANT HIM REGULATED AND I WANT IT NOW!! :cry:
 
I'm one of those people that Kim mentioned....well not "that bad", but pretty much. I came to the board a month after Bob's dx. I listened to my vet a lot (I had one of the better ones I think). I went through the "hand-holding calm-the-newbie" process on a different site - sugarcats.com. Some of the people there were former FDMB members from way back, and a couple still post here on occasion. They had the "job" of welcome this newbie, and helping climb off the cliff I found myself on at first. It was actually them that pushed and convinced me to come to FDMB, so I did.
In the days Bob was still getting insulin then, I never posted asking for dosing advice. I wasn't "doing it right", and I had no interest in spending all my time defending my methods or my vet. So I just read a lot. And I tried my hand at playing "welcome the newbies" when they asked something I actually could answer. I had by that time become a huge fan of "Binky"s" charts, and saw first hand the positive effect it had with Bob, so I passed that on to as many people as I could. I never advised about dosing. I didn't feel qualified to.

And, once Bob went OTJ about 5 weeks after I joined, I made sure and thanked everyone. Whether they realized it or not, they had helped me tremendously. Not by directly answering my questions necessarily, but because I was sitting here just soaking up all this amazing knowledge and experiences they'd post every day.

I also felt some measure of "guilt" - because really looking back at it, it was fairly easy for Bob and I. It didn't seem that way while it was going on, but when I see all the people who have been treating their sugarkitties for so long, and with such difficultly, I felt that I'd gotten by very quickly and easily.

So I came to PZI, because if I knew about any type of insulin, naturally it would be the one I used. And I met an incredible group of beans. You guys (gals) are such wonderful people. All I've wanted since the day I came here was for every single one of you to get your kitties OTJ, so you can feel the way I felt in July when it happened for Bob. Along the way, I think I've made many good friends, even though we've never actually met one another. And I feel like I know your kitties, and I can share in your happiness on the good days, share lots of laughs, and feel sympathetic when you have (or kitty has) a less than perfect day. If I can't do anything else for you, at least I can try to make you smile. It's kinda easy from where "I sit" to feel positive. I always try to look for the "bright side", and when I find it, I try to make you aware of it.

Many (most) of you have been through so much more than I have as far as time, effort, and testing/treating. You're all much better dancers than I am too. Every day, whether I post or not in your threads, I read them. Sometimes I have something to say that I think is helpful. Other days, I'll just try to brighten your day. Occasionally, I just "got nuthin'", so I'm silent. But I'm thinking about you and your cats, believe me.

What I've come to understand is that not every kitty, and not every bean, will get to the point where kitty is OTJ. That makes me sad, but then I try to think "well, isn't a long and good life just as good?" And yes, it is just as good. Look at your dear furry sugars. Most of them are okay with diabetes. They aren't anywhere near as troubled by it as we are. They still jump and run and purr and cause mischief, and love on you and ask for pets and treats and love back, right? They know, and I know, and YOU KNOW as well - If it wasn't for you, their "bean", they would have long ago gone to the bridge. They would have lived the last weeks or months of their lives in misery, and eventually died from a "disease" that they didn't need to die from. They literally owe you their lives, and they absolutely "know" that.

I know that day to day, this is really hard for some of you. For some of you, maybe not so bad. You really need to understand and accept what exceptional people you are. You took this diagnosis by the throat, and you've dealt with it. You've "bought" your kittys months and years that they would not have had without you and your dedication and love.

Don't EVER be afraid to come here and vent your frustration or your fears, or your sense of hopelessness. Every time one of us is "down", there's a big crowd of us that enjoys nothing more than picking you "up". Because each of us knows that when it is "us" that needs a lift, that same crowd will be there for us.

You all are the best. Don't ever doubt that. And whether your sugarkitty ever goes OTJ or not, you've been doing a super job, and you will continue to do so no matter what.

Carl
 
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