12/27 Tiger AMPS 466, PMPS 396

Tiger has stayed in the 400s all day. Usually by now he has at least gone into the 300s.. a little confused to what’s going on.
 
I know he stays at the same dose for 7 days. Do we change on day 7 or day 8? I was doing okay as long as his numbers were at least dipping down but kind of freaking with his flat 400s today. He has been acting his self up till now where he is now quieter and less active it seems. Maybe I am over reacting? So frustrating to put him thru this and not seeing it getting better!

I know we need to up the dose.
 
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You will do a curve on the 29th. Then, you will increase or decrease by .25 depending on his numbers. I think it is safe to say he will most likely have an increase. You hold the dose for 7 days, on day 8, you do the curve and adjust dose accordingly.

Yesterday, I explained what is most likely going on with his numbers.

You also shared that he eats med and high carb food. He is also feed throughout his entire cycle instead of shot time, +1, +2, and +3.

While it may be frustrating, on the surface, these are the issues we know that are causing the high numbers.

Hope this helps.
 
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I thought the ff grilled was a med carb food? It’s like 9-10 carbs I believe. As for his kibble , science diet, gluco support, I have not found any numbers for. My vet recommended it. I am now mixing it with Dr Elseys doing a gradual change over. Total he gets a day is about 1/4 -1/8 c. I thought I was doing right…didn’t realize this was considered high carb diet.

He does eat an extra bit once in the middle of the day, and once at night. Nothing to eat tho 2 hours before preshot test.

I understood about his number diving and climbing but today they never dove down, stayed flat and high. That is what I was wondering about.

Thanks for help! I understand about the dosing change protocol now for what day to change.
 
His pate is medium. I'm not sure which one you give, but I think they were all 14%. His kibble from the vet is high carb. If you want to give me the numbers off the bag or search the forum, someone has previously said the carb %, I am sure. I have no doubt it is over 20%. Dr. Elsey’s is low carb. The majority of food he eats is either med or high. Also. Dr. Elsey’s caused serious GI issues in my cats and many others. This could be another thing bothering Tiger.

Feeding them anything after +3 can and does shorten the duration of the insulin.

As for his numbers remaining high today and not coming down, I can only speculate. He was high yesterday and barely came down in the evening too.

Remember, this is a very slow process. It takes awhile to understand and comprehend all these details. You are doing great. You aren't doing anything wrong, per se. I'm just letting you know the steps I would take to improve his numbers if he were mine. I also understand he has food issues. I get that you can't snap your fingers and those be resolved. Changing just his feeding times may make a difference. It certainly has with my cat. Getting him on all low carb diet will also make a difference. He needs FF pate, not grilled. They are around 4% in most flavors. check out the food chart.
 
I need to add, I still give them each a tablespoon every morning of the Dr. Elsey's. They were kibble addicts and don't like the other crunchy freeze dried options. If I give them more than a tablespoon, they have issues.
 
Also, adding...I write the percentage on all my cans when I get home. If I don't know it, I open the food chart.

Doing this prevents you from feeding him anything he truly shouldn't have on a regular basis. We only give those foods if numbers need to come up quickly. Not when our cats are in the 100s. Hope this gives more insight.
 
Oh yes! Sybil (Basic's Mom) is right. A lot of people have complained about their cats getting tummy troubles from the Dr. Elseys. If your kitty is already prone to tummy issues you might want to reconsider using it.

You're clearly very caring and concerned about Tiger, and you're doing really good. It's just a learning process, that's all. As you learn more, you can make adjustments. So don't be too hard on yourself. If you can switch to an all low carb diet, that will probably help with the BG numbers. Just something to consider. Hang in there!
 
Thanks for the encouragement, both of you. I tried for a few days of mixing the pate with the grilled to start switching him over to pate and he got sick the 2nd day. So I thought it might be the pate. Now dr. Elseys doesn’t sound good for him either. I also ordered the Young Again kibble but haven’t tried it yet.

I feel like I am between a rock and a had place and about to cry. Right now he is huddled in his bed, cowered down and looking pitiful. I feel like he hates me and I am not doing him any good. I know he is not going to want to eat pre shot tonight, I can tell he is feeling terrible and dreading his shot.

changing eating times is hard as his tummy needs something in it every 6 hours or he throws up vial.
The ff grilled is 9-10 carbs per chart. No numbers on the SD kibble.

I’ve had so little sleep so I know that’s not helping.

Hopefully it gets better soon, not sure how much more I can do.
 
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I'm sorry he isn't himself as of late. If you think there are other issues that could be going on with him, you may want to take him in.

I'd also ask my vet how many calories he should have. He may not be getting enough. The FF cans are usually between 70-90s. You said he get 2 of those a day. I'm not sure about the amount of kibble or the calorie count on it to tell you that. Do you weigh him at home? If so, compare his weight at last appointment to weight today. Make sure he isn't dropping any.
 
If he's feeling bad then sometimes just getting the food in him is enough to worry about. Don't stress yourself out more worrying about this food or that food. Give him what he likes and just keep trying to make small adjustments as you go along. At least that's my opinion.
 
Deb, he shouldn't even feel his shot. You aren't failing him, but you are stuck in your head thinking you have. You haven't. He is picking up on your energy though. Try to take a walk around the outside of your house before doing his shot.

I don't want you to be upset. I know exactly how you feel. You are doing great. Please stop being hard on yourself. This is an extremely complicated disease to understand and all the nuances that go with it. Throw the guilt and shame out the window. You are doing right by him. He knows that. Yes, this is scary for you both, but it will get better and easier.
 
And what Chrissy said is very true...him eating enough calories right now is very important. Not which carb content. Carbs matter but not if he refuses to eat all low carb meals.

Because diabetes will be taking a backseat if he doesn't get enough to eat.
 
Basic's Mom said:
I'm sorry he isn't himself as of late. If you think there are other issues that could be going on with him, you may want to take him in.

I'd also ask my vet how many calories he should have. He may not be getting enough. The FF cans are usually between 70-90s. You said he get 2 of those a day. I'm not sure about the amount of kibble or the calorie count on it to tell you that. Do you weigh him at home? If so, compare his weight at last appointment to weight today. Make sure he isn't dropping any.
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He has Been weighed at the vet every time the sensor is changed, at least once a week lately and has maintained 16.5 pounds.
 
Basic's Mom said:
Deb, he shouldn't even feel his shot. You aren't failing him, but you are stuck in your head thinking you have. You haven't. He is picking up on your energy though. Try to take a walk around the outside of your house before doing his shot.

I don't want you to be upset. I know exactly how you feel. You are doing great. Please stop being hard on yourself. This is an extremely complicated disease to understand and all the nuances that go with it. Throw the guilt and shame out the window. You are doing right by him. He knows that. Yes, this is scary for you both, but it will get better and easier.
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It is my fault if I can’t get it right. It is scary. I’ve never done so much reading and research. It’s just too much!
And all of it doesn’t agree with the other.
 
Deb, what are you getting wrong though? Do you understand everything about the disease yet? No. Neither do I.

I'm no one to talk you out of your feelings though. Sit with them for as long as you need.

No matter what you research, there is conflicting information. I'd stick to the information that is research, science, and experienced based. Other than some literature, this place is where I have found each of those qualities.

We are here for you. You and Tiger aren't alone.
 
I suspect part of the reason you are seeing higher blood glucose numbers is because of the Science Diet dry food. While it is marketed as prescription diet for diabetic cats, it is far too high in carbohydrates. Their dry matter basis from their website shows 15% but if you were to calculate the as fed value, it would be higher than that. Ideally you want to feed low carb food (under 10%).
 
Thanks for all the carb numbers.
Ty Diane, I will see if I can find those.
Had to get the robot vacuum to go under the bed and get him out from under there to get a reading and feed him. See what I am talking about? Too much for an old couple to crawl under there.
 
Ok just ordered some of the ff on the list. Will see if he will eat any of them.

anything I should know about the Young Again kibble that I have but yet to try on him?

so glad he finally went under 400 today, not a lot but I’ll take it.
 
There is some friskies that is low carb. While I don't love the option Basic stopped eating the FF a month or 2 in. Keep that in mind. Also, not sure if you use Chewy to order things, but it is a very impressive company as far as how they handle returns and their customer service as a whole is the most impressive I've seen in many years. If you have a petsmart near you, they allow you to return items too. I've had to do it throughout this entire ordeal because my cats are picky too. I'm hopeful you find a low carb food he will like.

I haven't heard anything, but I also haven't been looking. I only learned of Dr. Elsey’s after I ordered, my cats had problems, intro'ed very slowly, and then went searching for info on it. I was shocked at the reviews and message boards covered in complaints of GI issues and vet bills because of it. It doesn't bother all cats though. Dr. Elsey’s has no intention on returning to the previous formula either.

Any lower numbers are welcome, when they are running that high. I'm glad he got under 400, even if it was barely.

I hope you are able to relax this evening. You're doing great, Deb, whether you realize it or not.
 
We have a PetSmart right near us. I like the fact you can order small quantities to try. I use chewys too. They are a great company.
He has been eating ff for years so I hope he will like these. He never has cared for pate, neither of the other two did either.
They also ate the Friskies prime filets. Which are high in carbs.
I read some of that about dr. Elseys too but also a lot of good too, so tried it.
I am hopeful for the Young Again. I didn’t want to try them all at once in case something didn’t agree with him, but now I think I will try it soon.
Tiger is finally sleeping next to me on the couch. He’s had a rough day! Me too!
Thanks for the info, and most of all, the pep talk. I really needed it!
 
You are very welcome. I'm here for you and Tiger. The entire group is. Even though this feels so isolating and like the walls are closing in, I promise you, this gets better and easier. We've all felt this way during this journey at some point.

And your baby is laying next to you now. This made my evening. Thank you for sharing.

Biggest hugs to you.
 
Basic's Mom said:
You are very welcome. I'm here for you and Tiger. The entire group is. Even though this feels so isolating and like the walls are closing in, I promise you, this gets better and easier. We've all felt this way during this journey at some point.

And your baby is laying next to you now. This made my evening. Thank you for sharing.

Biggest hugs to you.
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Hugs back to you. I just noticed you were going through a drop while you were dealing with me. Bless you! Glad basics numbers came up for you. Thank you so much for being so selfless.
 
Our bases were covered over here. Needed to make sure yours were. It takes a village.

I hope you both get some much needed sound rest this evening.
 
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