? 12/26/2021 Mikey AMPS 272 +7 66 +8 55 + 9 132

Mikey’sDad

Mikey’sDad

Member Since 2021
Merry Christmas all

Mikey’s numbers have been pretty good since his 3.50 increase but today he went into hypo and I took action at +8 he was 55. I administers FF gravy which of course he loved and purred while eating and BG rose. I will check again in 45 minutes

He showed no symptoms and was his normal loving self.
I am right in not dosing him at PMPS time?
Tomorrow, should I resume his normal dose or adjust.
I appreciate all suggestions.
Thanks
Tom
 
When you say he went into hypo, was this reading based on the ReliOn meter? While it is good that you took action, I don't think 55 qualifies as hypo unless he had actual symptoms. I wouldn't skip a dose if it were my cat. You may want to wait for others to weigh in. It is good as a matter of practice to get +2 or +3 numbers so you have an idea if the cycle will be active. If you wait until later to test, you may find him already at or below a take action number. In this case you could have started feeding @ +7 and maybe kept him from dropping to 55. I don't know what number you have set for taking reductions but I would reduce by 0.25u at his next dose if he were my cat.

Is this your most recent post? ? 12/5 Mikey AMPS 41 +.30 287. It is always good to reference your most recent post so members have some history to grab onto before giving advice.
 
55 is a lower number than you are used to but it's still safe territory. You aren't following TR or SLGS, so it's hard to advise what you should do but I think he will bounce and be high enough at shot time for you to give the same dose. Get a +11 test if you can and post here. Someone will be able to help you decide.
 
Bama Kitty Mom said:
When you say he went into hypo, was this reading based on the ReliOn meter? While it is good that you took action, I don't think 55 qualifies as hypo unless he had actual symptoms. I wouldn't skip a dose if it were my cat. You may want to wait for others to weigh in. It is good as a matter of practice to get +2 or +3 numbers so you have an idea if the cycle will be active. If you wait until later to test, you may find him already at or below a take action number. In this case you could have started feeding @ +7 and maybe kept him from dropping to 55. I don't know what number you have set for taking reductions but I would reduce by 0.25u at his next dose if he were my cat.

Is this your most recent post? ? 12/5 Mikey AMPS 41 +.30 287. It is always good to reference your most recent post so members have some history to grab onto before giving advice.
Click to expand...
Yes, 12-5 was my most recent before today.
 
Katherine&Ruby said:
55 is a lower number than you are used to but it's still safe territory. You aren't following TR or SLGS, so it's hard to advise what you should do but I think he will bounce and be high enough at shot time for you to give the same dose. Get a +11 test if you can and post here. Someone will be able to help you decide.
Click to expand...
I actually thought I was following SLGS protocol until someone told me I was not and I just started doing it my own way. There seems to be an awful lot of diversity about protocol and what is hypo, when you should be concerneD. I find myself often baffled. I thought if 55 was a low number I should administer junk food, that was a dangerous number. Very confused. I will take his number in now and +11 is 444
Now, I feel bad about giving him the gravy food when he was 55
When should you NOT dose?
Thanks
 
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I'm not sure there is a lot of disagreement about dosing methods. We follow two methods here. With Tight Regulation (TR), you reduce the dose when the cat drops below 50. With Start Low Go Slow (SLGS), you reduce the dose when the cat drops below 90. It looks like during the day you're not testing much, so I would stick to SLGS. However, TR is what you can follow to get Mikey into better numbers. The problem with SLGS is that one holds on to doses for too long and it keeps the cat in high numbers. With TR, we're more aggressive with dosing.

Hypoglycemia is an event when the cat becomes lethargic, has seizures, passes out--these are the clinical signs of hypoglycemia. We don't call numbers like 55 hypo, instead we refer to them as "low numbers" because studies have shown that cats do not run the risk of having a hypoglycemic event unless they go below 50, and then it's only a risk, not an actual hypo event unless your cat shows the clinical signs of it. My cat was just at 44 and all she did was meow for food and she played with her toy after she ate, totally fine. That's not to say that every cat reacts the same way, so you should absolutely be mindful of how he is acting when he goes lower than usual.

I use the following guide for feeding the cat depending on the numbers I get when I test and when the test happens:

Below 50: High carb food (>16% carb)
Between 50 and 60: Medium carb food (between 10%-15% carb)
60 and above: Low carb food

If I test at +2 or +3 and there is a 100 point drop, I feed medium carb food even if the number is 80. The reason is that if the cat's numbers are dropping too quickly, that can produce a bounce up to sky high numbers. The higher carb food will smooth things out and keep the cat in safe, lower, healing numbers. We actually want the cat to be in numbers between 50 and 100 as much as we can.

I hope this is clear and makes some sense. If not, please ask, as it would be good for you to have an understanding of the methods followed here.
 
Tom, don't feel too bad about feeding the gravy food. It's easy to get spooked by low numbers you aren't used to. I've done it. Sounds like Mikey enjoyed the gravy food and had a nice meal. He'll process through it and get back to better numbers. There is a saying here, "shoot low to stay low" meaning you almost always shoot even if it is a partial dose. Always post with questions if you aren't sure and someone will help you. You haven't had any really low pre-shot numbers since 12/5. Your low number in today's cycle came at +8 with plenty of time to help boost the number with food before the next pre-shot and before the 2 hour window prior to pre-shot when you should withhold food to make sure your pre-shot number is not food-influenced.

You had a couple of cycles recently where he went into the 70s and may have even gone lower and produced a bounce in the 12/25 AM cycle. Looks like he is clearing his bounces fairly quickly because he was back down to 207 for PMPS. His AMPS for 12/26 at 272 looks like he would be pretty safe for the day. However, if you had taken a reading @ +2 or +3 you may have found him already below 200 which would have tipped you off to the possibility of the 66 and 55 that came in +7 & +8. You could have slowed the drop with LC food during that time.

This knowledge of how your cat reacts to food and insulin comes with time, data collection, experience and experimentation. Don't be discouraged. Don't give up. Keep reading other people's condos to see what you can learn from what they are doing and keep posting. You'll notice lots of people on here post every single day even when they don't have questions.
 
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