Re: 12/1 Mikey +10/311 AMPS 239 +2/185
Jenn pm'd me these questions:
Can you either exlplain or direct me to where I find out what a bounce, clearing, surfing, curve are and what the difference is between them? Most importantly how do I know which is which when I look on the SS
A bounce is when a kitty gets into lower numbers than it used to and the liver reacts by releasing counterregulatory hormones and glucagon to get the numbers up to what it feels is safe. Let's say your kitty has been running in the 300s and then comes down to 185. That is a lower number than the liver is used to and so it does what the liver is supposed to do and it brings the BG up back to where it "knows" it is safe. Kitties bounce until they don't....it depends on the cat. I always recommend people look at Mocha's SS (under "members" look up PeterDevonMocha). She bounce for 21 months and then stopped and went OTJ in three weeks. We call this bouncing "liver training school". On the SS, a bounce is usually depicted by a low number the cat doesn't usually get to followed by high numbers. Look at Gracie's SS. She got a 53 on the a.m. cycle 11/30. She started bouncing late in the same cycle and continues to do so.
It can take up to 72 hours (6 cycles) to clear a bounce. Some cats take longer. Check out Tess's SS....she just bounced for 11 cycles and then came down with a vengeance. But we typically say wait six cycles after lower numbers followed by high ones before you change the dose. The bounce clears when the liver quits releasing the counterregulatory hormones and glucagon and the BG starts to come back down. When a cat clears a bounce, it looks like Mikey's SS on the a.m. cycle 11/27. He started high and then did a little dive into lower numbers but then his liver panicked and back he went into a bounce.
Surfing is usually in reference to a cat that is in nice, green numbers without any food management. So if Mikey gets into the low 50s and just stays there and you don't have to intervene in any way, that is surfing. Sometimes we do say "surfing blue" but I think that might be a habit of mine. Mikey was surfing on the day he got the greens. Also, check out Gracie's SS the pm cycle of 11/27....once she got into green...she just surfed there all night without any food.
A curve is what the insulin does in a 12-hour cycle. In a perfect world, the BG would slowly come down to a low number that is not that different from the PS and then go back up. If you took his BGs for one cycle and plotted it on a graph, you would get the "curve". Of course, sometimes (like the other day when Mikey came down fast), it might look like a "U". In a tightly regulated cat, it will be almost flat.
I know you are really busy, but I encourage you to check out other SSs. You can learn SO much....I am constantly studying other SSs trying to pick out patterns, etc. Many beans in LL do the same thing.
Let me know if I haven't answered clearly. You're learning alot really fast!!
