12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/44

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Pumbaa

Pumbaa

Member Since 2012
Pumbaa was increased to 3.25U of Levemir at last night's PM dose.

I just gave Pumbaa some 9% carbs food at AM +4.5 to try and slow down his drop, since we have a long way to go to nadir.

AM +6 = 62. I gave a little more 9% food. At this rate, he's going to earn a dose reduction on his second cycle at 3.25U.

AM +7 = 56. Gave a little more 9% food.

AM +8 = 69. Did NOT give more 9% food.

AM +9.25 = 44. Gave more 9% food. Earned a dose reduction.





Suze
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Bumping this up because Pumbaa hit 44 at AM +9.25, on his second cycle at 3.25U.

This is why I was hesitant to raise him last night.

If seems really stupid to decrease his dose two cycles after raising it, but decrease I will.

Thank god I was able to stay home all day today and test him. Thank god I had turned down theater tickets for today because I had web design work to do. Thank god I was giving him 9% carbed food throughout the day to try to keep his numbers up. I didn't give him any at +8 because he had gone up to 69, but then, without the 9% carbs food, he dropped down to 44.

I think tonight that he gets straight 9% carbs food, instead of the 4/5/7% that I would normally feed him.

Suze
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

"I'll take 'Dose Reductions' for $300, Alex." ;-)

I know that some people will say that the dose increase to 3.25U last night could not possibly have affected Pumbaa this quickly, on only his second cycle, because of the time it takes the shed to fill. I also know that some people will think that I am absolutely crazy for taking a dose reduction when Pumbaa had only been on that dose for 2 cycles.

But...this is the second dose increase in a row where Pumbaa went below 50 within the first 2 cycles. And it's entirely within the realm of possibility that he did on 12/1 as well.

I wonder how low he would have gone today had I not been here to give him small portions of 9% carbs food to try and slow this down? It was interesting at AM +8, when I didn't give him any 9% food, and he dropped from 69 to 44 in one hour. I am now a firm believer that, while Pumbaa didn't appear to be sensitive to the difference between 4%, 5% and 7% carbs food (which he is normally fed), he is sensitive to the extra boost of the 9% carbs. And tonight, since his PMPS was 100, he and Larry were fed 9% carbs food for the evening cycle. I do have at least one can of HC food on hand, as well as honey, but hope that I won't have to break either out. I also pray that Pumbaa doesn't bounce big after that 44 this afternoon. nailbite_smile

Sheila has been trying for ages now convince me that Pumbaa is very insulin sensitive. I still haven't figured out what she has been seeing that I haven't, until just recently...as in the last couple of dose increases.

The good news in all of this is that Pumbaa loves his greens, and had many bursts of juvenile delinquent energy during the AM cycle. *LOL* And I also like the fact that the higher carbed food doesn't fill his belly as much as it would take with lower carbed food, and that he did a good job grazing on the higher carbed food when I gave it to him.

I don't know if Pumbaa will stay low tonight, or bounce. I hope he doesn't bounce, and I'm ready for his staying low as, since my cell phone stopped playing any alert sounds Thursday night, I borrowed two travel alarms from my mom so that I can still try and nap on the sofa and actually have an alarm to wake me up at testing time. I've relied on a cell phone alarm since Pumbaa was diagnosed, and not having this is really a bummer, and I can't afford to hire a percussionist to sit in my living room for 8 hours at night and hit the cymbals repeatedly when I need to wake up and test the little guy. *LOL* That would be perfect, though! (Addendum: My new phone should be here on Wednesday, thankfully!)

Right now I am re-reading this very interesting thread explaining "the shed".

Suze
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

So happy you were home today, too! Goodness, Pumbaa, you sure wanted to splash around in the green lagoon today! Just a tad bit on the low (and scary side!) Good luck, Suze! Many blessings from me and Shasta
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Thank you, Deborah and Shasta! :)
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

I think that, often, bounce clearing cycles can be very active ones and cats can go low on them and bounce back up. But then they sometimes just fizzle a bit. It will be interesting to see what Pumbaa does.

One thing I recommend is when you've fed 9% to bring him up and he comes up, then feed him the 4% to keep him up. So I probably would have fed him 4% at +8. You're trying to keep those mid cycle numbers up so he doesn't earn that reduction so fast.

I don't know what Sheila means by "insulin sensitive". I don't think Pumbaa is all that different from many other cats here and I don't think he's responding to the insulin any differently than a lot of cats.

Great post by Libby on the depot :-D
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Marje, the 4% food was out and available to Pumbaa the entire AM cycle for him to free-feed on. I was augmenting it with small portions of the 9% in a different dish to try and keep Pumbaa's numbers up all day so that he wouldn't drop too low and earn a reduction. The problem at +8 was that I didn't give him any of the 9% and he dropped from 69 to 44 in an hour. Hindsight is always so much better than foresight. :YMSIGH:

Yes, it will be interesting to see what Pumbaa does tonight. :roll: I'd love flat, safe greens, and an uninteresting night, but I doubt that is going to happen.

That entire thread about the depot is interesting. I have had in my head from the beginning that the shed can take "up to" 3 days to fill. I really don't think that that is Pumbaa's case anymore, based on his history. I think this entire time I've been ignoring the words "up to" when looking at Pumbaa's reactions to a dose increase. And since I've ignored the "up to" I have then considered bounces to be NDW when they could have already just been bounces to the dose increase. I need to go back and look at Pumbaa's history, keeping this in mind.

And, I know that some people insist the shed is a true thing and that current cycles aren't affected by the current dose, but others poo-poo that and think that the current dose does indeed affect our cats. More confusion for the caregivers. I just wish that some of this stuff was carved in black and white, and didn't depend on how the cat reacted. :-D

Suze
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Pumbaa said:
And, I know that some people insist the shed is a true thing and that current cycles aren't affected by the current dose, but others poo-poo that and think that the current dose does indeed affect our cats. More confusion for the caregivers. I just wish that some of this stuff was carved in black and white, and didn't depend on how the cat reacted.
Click to expand...

The depot does exist but it depends on where you are in the number of cycles of the dose...and also it depends on the cat and the dose. The larger the dose, the larger the depot, and the longer it might affect subsequent cycles after a reduction.

I have to go back to Gracie as an example since I know her. On an increase, it usually takes her ten cycles to really settle in. If she starts doing really well right off the bat, I figure it was the lower dose finally kicking in...maybe I increased her too soon but I just leave her and let her earn a reduction. Once I reduce her, I wait six cycles before I decide if she's faile a reduction.
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Marje:

Thank you for your time and explanations! I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You have the patience of a saint! (((HUGS)))

Sheila had brought up that my previous dose increases to Pumbaa where when he was already going down after a bounce, which caused great low numbers during the early cycles on the new, lower dose. It took me a while to see what she saw, but I finally did see it. Again, hindsight is wonderful!

When I raised Pumbaa's dose last night, I really didn't see that he was, in any way, on his way down in numbers. It seemed to me like he had petered out on the 3.0U dose, and was just going to continue bouncing forever. IR/GT was on my mind after yesterday's AM cycle numbers. So I raised him, hesitantly.

I don't know that I'll ever be able to predict the correct reaction to Pumbaa's numbers. I really feel like a failure predicting how he will respond to insulin changes. And having some people suggest increasing while others suggest decreasing just adds to my confusion of trying to figure out how best to dose my little boy.

I'm thinking that Pumbaa is going to hit below 50 again tonight. Based on his PMPS and his PM +2 of 76. Another thing I love about my little guy is that he wants to be near me when he is this low, so he's now sleeping in his wicker basket next to my printer. Time to go get at +3, and see if he's dropped any more.
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

You're welcome, Suze!

I don't think with his numbers last night that at PMPS you would have know he would come down today so fast. Gosh I wish I had a dollar for every time I raised the dose and had her come screaming down on me :-D

In terms of deciding which way to go when people are recommending both increasing and decreasing, while it can be confusing, it's also the beauty of this board. You get different opinions so you can look at his SS and use those opinions to see what YOU think is going on and the best way to approach it.

But what is important for you to know is that we all make the wrong call from time to time. I do, Jill does, Sienne does.....we are dealing with cats and even though we try to follow the patterns, sometimes they just do something different. That's where the power of testing comes in so if they throw us a curve, we can catch it and respond.

Hope you get some rest tonight.
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Too tired to post more than an "I thank you, Marje" right now. (((hugs))).

I need to go test Pumbaa again, and listen to him complaining that I have been testing him so much. And I need to go and check the chicken I am cooking for the drooler, Beck.

Some sleep tonight would be great, but I am more worried that the alarms I now have won't wake me up to catch Pumbaa before he dives too low and goes hypo.

Suze
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

This stuff always happens on the nights when I'm working the early shift...
So, good morning, Suze :-)
How's things?
Carl
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Good morning, Carl!

Pumbaa just tested at 97. :thumbup

I had given him HC at PM +5 since the 9% didn't seem to he slowing him down much. Then I set the travel alarm I had borrowed for +6, but it didn't wake me. :(

Now I get to go and crawl into my nice comfy bed for nearly 2 hours. My back is going to welcome that, as opposed to napping on the sofa!


Suzzzzzzzze (who wishes she was twins!)
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

97 is good!
I would pay good money for a two hour nap right about now. :lol:

Carl
 
Re: 12/15 Pumbaa AMPS/116 +2/129 +4.5/70 +6/62 +7/56 +9.25/4

Carl, I will take a nap in your honor today. Does that work for you? ;-)
 
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