12/12 Pimp AMPS 240; +4 265; +8 309; PMPS 345; +2 325

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I've been posting a lot about canned food content, etc. I woke up this morning and realized I was probably overthinking it a bit. The Blue Wilderness that P ate last week should be just fine. He's been eating it on and off since day one of canned food. I think decent protein content and high calorie are really the important factors here.

He does need to gain weight, so I was offering wet food every few hours since I've been off work the last 1.5 weeks. There is YA free-fed, and that's what Pimp was eating during the day while I was at work.

My epiphany was this: what if YA has less effect on his sugars than LC canned?
ETA: The most significant variable that changed was the amount of wet he's eating, not the brand.

How do I isolate this variable while still making sure he has a high calorie intake? Yes YA is very calorie dense but he won't eat much at a time (just like the bag says they won't). If he does he pukes anyhow.

He also won't eat more than about 1/5 of a can (~40cal) at a time, and that's what he was getting 2 weeks ago...1/5 can @amps and 1/5 can @pmps. Somewhere around 1/4 cup of YA in between.

Why do I think this is a possibility? It's pretty clear on the SS when we finished the transition from "other" dry foods to YA. It was 3 days before it started raining reductions.

Thoughts?
 
I'll question myself, too...if canned food only effects BG's for a few hours, then he should have been showing me lower preshots. But that was not the case.
 
I'm not sure just how much analysis of food at quite that level of detail pays off. There seems to be smooch variability in the way the pancreas and its friends, the other organs, behave that there's that variable. Plus, I do think that as much as we tell ourselves we know the content of any food, who's to say it is really that way or that it is very consistent. Many of us have had the experience of getting a new flat of a favorite FF and having a kitty turn up her nose and walk away. Rosie suddenly stopped eating Turkey and Giblets. Was the change big enough to affect the breakdown--crabs, protein, etc? I don't know. But I would imagine there is a fair amount of variability in those cans and bags.
 
Starting to wonder about the juice, itself. Does it just suddenly stop working like that? I would think his readings would move a bit at least. My vial is ~70 days old. the vet told me it was ok to inject excess back into the vial, doing it himself the first time, so I did that for about the first 2 weeks, too. And I've dropped it 2-3 times. (good thing i wrapped it in rubber bands.)
I've got 2 cartridges that should be here next week, if he's not working the juice by then I'll open one of the new ones.
 
I've noticed a bit of a difference after starting Snick on her new pen. Her numbers seem slightly lower now than they were at the tail end of the last pen.
 
If it's NDW that should clear by tomorrow. He could be a bit wonky from the multiple dose changes, it could be your insulin, it could be that a bit of glucose toxicity has crept in or it could the cat factor o_O

If he hasn't improved by the time your new insulin arrives I would try a new cartridge just don't increase and start the new insulin at the same time in case it is the insulin.
 
all I know is that I thought if I controlled every variable - always fed the same food, same quantity, same times of day, gave the same dose of insulin - I could expect to get the same results.

Nope. Just doesn't work that way. Insulin is a hormone and the expression in the body varies. Absorption also varies by as much as 50% from one shot to the next. It's crazy.

And then add in the "is the insulin still ok or not?" question and you can go completely insane. With Punkin, we had the added question "is the acro tumor ramping up/down production of the hormones that block the insulin from getting into his cells?"

My response was to just work with the numbers we got and try not to over-analyze the rest of it. You just can't control it well enough.

I agree with Serryn's answer. I'd try the new insulin pen, same dose, and after 2 shots from the new pen if there is no significant change then I'd assume the old insulin is still fine and I'd go back to it, finish it, then return to the new pen.
 
To add another variable, he wasn't too keen on his pmps meal tonight. Wellness chicken that he usually scarfs. I even put chicken dust on it, and he still ate less than half. :confused: Possibly pancreatitis, or something else? What signs should I look for of something else being wrong?
He is due for a vet check soon I think, suppose I could try to get him in for that early next week.
I've had cats all my life but I've never been this involved with one, ever.
I'm going to try to relax and just let him do his thing until Monday morning. Haven't had a drink in 3 days and I think I could use one six tonight.
 
;) have a great evening! :D

have you read the Primer on Pancreatitis that Marje put together? It's in the "New to the Group?" sticky, near the bottom in the section of single topic posts.
 
Just looked through it for the 3rd or 4th time. I looked at the page on catinfo.com, i think it was, earlier today, too. He always sits in "regular" meatloaf and i know his BG's have been making him feel like crap for the last 2 months already. It's kind of hard to tell if there's something "extra" going on with him right now or not. I don't think he's in the "nauseous" position but he might be in the "pain" position. It's hard to differentiate that on his face.
 
Yoo Hoo!!! Mr. Pimp!!...Pretty kitty down near the lagoon...better hurry!! ~ China.... giving her best "come hither" look
batting-eyelashes-smiley-emoticon.gif
 
Andy & Pimp said:
To add another variable, he wasn't too keen on his pmps meal tonight. Wellness chicken that he usually scarfs. I even put chicken dust on it, and he still ate less than half. :confused:
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I found that to be very common with Wellness, and so have others. Neko was on Wellness before her diabetes diagnosis and every once in a while we'd get a lot number that she just would turn away from. Whether it was the plant the food was made from, or whatever supplier they used that week, who knows. Sometimes the tall cans vs. short cans made the difference. I've been known to find a batch with a known good lot number and hunt the stores for more of the same.
Andy & Pimp said:
I've had cats all my life but I've never been this involved with one, ever.
Click to expand...
Tell me about it! :rolleyes: I've never spent this much $$ on a cat either.

Paws crossed Pimp starts working that new dose tomorrow.
 
I have had the same with wellness--sometimes the gel/juice is lapped up and sometimes practically running away from it??? very strange -
for what it is worth my guy had/has mild pacreatitis -- We have found a few things that seem to be helping… 1 is a glandular made by Standard Process called "pacreatrophin"
he gets 1/4 tablet 2x a day as well as Herbsmith Microflora (a pre biotic-pro biotic-enzyme and herbs) I syringe this with baby food quickly as the enzymes work very fast and "melt" the baby food. I noticed a few days after using them together that he is laying sprawled out and loving belly rubs-he has a better appetite too. He has been on them for about 6 weeks or so…. pretty sure he will be staying on them long term.
 
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