12/10/12...Oreo AMPS :155

[oreosmom]

Greetings from Sunny San Diego,

I am pretty new to this area of the Board, so please bear with my mistakes. Oreo woke me at 4:30 this AM...the brat!! He gnaws on our metal lamp creating an aweful noise until we wake up. When he was skinnier (like when he was only 15 lbs.) , he did what we call the "kitty cannon ball"...that is he would climb up on the headboard and hurl himself down on the mattress! That would wake the dead!

Oreo 's numbers keep dropping. I feel quite happy about it, but fear the wrath of out vet who insisted that we keep him at a steady dose of Lantus. He is supposed to be at 1.75
(if it were up to the vet, Oreo would be still at 3 units and we would be living in the Animal ER) The question remains, do we want to get him into the green zone? My hubby and I don't know if we should shoot when he is low and frankly we are pretty scared. Also, as you might have read by now, he has GI Lymphoma and on prednisilone. So I just made an appointment with the oncologist ( a super good vet) and thought we should discuss it with him.

His numbers yesterday were: amps: 168, +7: 95, +9: 106 , pmps 139 +4: 114
Today: amps: 155, 1.5 units given, +7: 97

Question of the day: Can you test all around the ear rim? The outter edges of Oreo's ears look a bit sore.

Warm wishes,

Carol...Oreo's Mom

 

[ecurie]

Hi Carol,
I can't give you any advice, but i wanted to stop by and say HI. I'm sure one of the experts here will be by to answer your questions directly.
take good care and don't let your vet intimidate you. i know how that goes. been there, still doing some of that.
mary and oliver

 

[oreosmom]

Hi Mary and Oliver,

Thanks for the welcome and support!

Best,

Carol ...Oreo's mum

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

My cats have the same raw ear issue. I have been using neosporin to help and am giving one ear a rest so I might be focussing more in one area bit it gives the others a rest. It helps if the ear is warm first, and make sure you apply gentle pressure afterward to stop the bleeding.It just looks bad though - they dont seem to object too much.

I dont know much about Oreos health conditions and meds but his numbers look great. I would continue the way you are going on the 1.5IU dose if it sticks. Read the sticky on shooting at low numbers. Make sure you have karo syrup and HC ready. The more consistent and that you stick to the protocol the better he will feel and maybe even (subject to his health issues anti jinx).... OTJ.

Can you colour in your AMPS numbers? I missed them at first.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Hi, Carol and welcome to Lantus Land to both you and Oreo!

This is a photo of what's referred to as the "sweet spot." The reality, though, is that none of us hit just that spot all the time. I think anywhere along the rim is fine. This is a link to resources on home testing. There are a couple of photos of the "sweet spot" on a cat's ear.

Everyone is scare the first several times they shoot low. What I would suggest is gradually work your way down. There are several options you can consider when you see a lower than usual pre-shot number. You might want to take a look at this post on dealing with low pre-shot numbers. (The info is also in the sticky note on Shooting & Handling Low Numbers.)

Where I do agree with your vet is that you want to shoot the same dose at AM and PMPS. If you're finding that you can't bring yourself to shoot a low pre-shot number and you're having to consistently alter your dose, it makes sense to reduce the dose. Once you are shooting the same amount at each shot time, you'll be better able to make decisions about dosing. Lantus really likes consistency. If you shoot different amounts, the insulin depot will constantly be in flux and you won't be maximizing your use of Lantus.