12/27 Willie PMPS 345*, +1.5~439

[Christie & Willie (GA)]

Yesterday’s Condo

*Using Relion through this cycle.

We are home safe and sound! Willie did pretty well on the trip... this time we got him to at least nap some on a few occasions. I think being back in the apartment has him sad. Since we got home, he's been holed up in the armoire in the spare room, which was one of Miss Belle's favorite hiding places and not a spot he really ever sought out. I've gone over our main rug (thankfully, we have all hardwoods) with the vaccuum and baking soda. The weekend after my trip, I'm renting a rug doctor and am going to shampoo the carpets with biokleen rug shampoo (great natural product for pet odors and any other odor that responds well to enzyme cleaning), wash all the blankets, pet beds, etc. Going to do some reading on how to best help him handle his grief. Right now, I suspect he smells her everywhere, which must be hard for him. I wish I had time before I left to do all of this, but unfortunately, I just don't. I'm also going to have a cleaning crew come in and

We started the Fortiflora tonight with our dinner. I had mixed it in at first with his food bite with supplements and he seemed disinterested. Held the packet under his nose and sprinkled a bit more on the food and he went nuts for it.

Starting to get nervous for this weekend and for dealing with FD (mostly) by myself with only limited support from my sister and a full-time job. I can request to work at home for two days a week, but the timing will raise eyebrows at work. If there are others in LL who are doing this on their own while working full-time, I'd love it if you could either respond with how you deal with TR under those restraints... or PM me. I am close enough to drive home over lunch, and I can get some spot checks from my sister, but it just seems really daunting right now. Though, I think that is somewhat the lack of a good night's sleep talking.

I'm going to have to decide what to do about Willie's dose for this weekend. I am leaving Thursday morning and am gone through late Sunday night. A sitter will be coming in twice daily to feed Willie, test him and give him his insulin and other meds. My sister will be covertly stopping by during the day (when her work schedule allows) and will be doing spot checks as well. Technically, I'm not allowed to have anyone in the house while the sitter is in charge, but with the FD and the grieving, I honestly don't know that I could stop her from coming over even if I tried. I've been so pleased at how he's been responding to Lantus, I just need him to slow it down for a weekend!

It appears that whatever his skin issue is, it is continuing to spread outward from the original affected areas. Will be scheduling the skin biopsy/dental hopefully for the week I return so we can get to the bottom of it (and remove any remaining tooth roots that Willie hasn't reabsorbed).

If anyone has experience with out of town situations, I'd love to hear how you handled it. I just want to make sure I'm keeping Willie safe while I'm gone!

One more thing... if anyone is checking out our SS, I've modified the color coding to reflect the Alphatrak's numbers so that it is consistent with the protocol.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day. I've got to get back to cleaning, so no condo hopping for me tonight. Will check in over my lunch hour tomorrow!

Christie and Willie

 

[Nicole & Baby]

Re: 12/27 Willie PMPS 345*

I am here.. if you need anything at all.. I do work on the Plaza & can stop by for a spot check or feeding.. if you want me to, I can inbox you my # ;-)
I know how scary it can be & I work in the area you live :YMHUG:

**Side note, are you using both meters? If so.. it is best to stick with just one, I use the Relion & recommend it.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: 12/27 Willie PMPS 345*

I work full time but I have flexibility with my schedule. One of the things I did do was alter my shot time so I could at home to get several early checks in. Gabby has a tendency to nose dive early in the cycle so I am generally able to catch the drops.

What you may find helpful is an timed feeder. There are several models around. Some have 2 compartments and some have 5 compartments. As long as Willie will eat during the day if his numbers drop, you're in good shape. You can also make "catsickles" -- you add water to canned food to make is soupy and then freeze it in ice cube trays. When you want to leave food, you can leave a few and they will melt so there's fresh food available.

With respect to dose, I would post on Wed. and ask for suggestions regarding a DPS (dear pet sitter) dose. Generally, what I've done is lower Gabby's dose sufficiently that there's very little risk for her numbers dropping since there's no one around to test mid-cycle. You'll also want to set up a demo syringe using a colored liquid so there's no question that your DPS will know how to measure the dose.

 

[Christie & Willie (GA)]

@Nicole-- We should definitely exchange numbers! My sister gets her work schedule for the week tomorrow (they run on a wed-tues cycle), so if she is somehow scheduled for all day shifts, I may take you up on your offer. I at least work at 63rd and 435, which is only 15 minutes from home. I can at least run home over lunch and get a spot check in and spend some time with him, but if I'm ever in a situation where I need a spot check mid-day, it is comforting to know you work close by! Given where I work, I can also get to OP in 10-15 minutes as well, so please let me know if you ever need help as well! I can take my lunch pretty much any time between 11 and 1:30, and I usually end up eating while i'm working after lunch anyway!

@Sienne-- thanks for the suggestions. I'm planning on making catsicles tomorrow. Great idea on the colored syringe! Thankfully, this sitter has experience with diabetic kitties, and our in-home visit is Wednesday night at 6, so I should have a good idea of what the dose will be. I am thankful that my job is very flexible. My boss has a work-at-home agreement that allows her to work a few hours in the morning at home as needed. I might be able to do something similar as long as I'm in the office during our core hours of operation (I think those are 10:00-2:30, minus your lunch), which would allow me greater flexibility to do spot checks. My clients are almost all out of state, so the bulk of what I do can easily be done out of the office. I may be putting in for a supervisory position as people retire/get promoted, and so I'm nervous about fully disclosing why I'm seeking schedule changes. Thankfully, the supervisor i'd be serving under just had a cat go to the bridge not too long ago after thyroid cancer treatments, etc. So I know he would be understanding at least on some level.

I've been really surprised with how well Willie has responded to Lantus so far. Given that he'd been on a raw diet for awhile, the vet had gently encouraged me not to get my hopes up, as it was likely something secondary causing the diabetes and that I shouldn't expect the insulin to work that well... certainly not this quickly! I just want to give my boy the best possible shot at remission, even if it is a long one!