12/29, Dusty, PMPS 372

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Michelle & Dusty

Michelle & Dusty

Member Since 2012
Hi all! I just wanted to confirm with the experts that doing no shot this AM is a good idea. Or should I test again in 30 minutes to see whether she's on her way up and, if so, shoot?

Dusty had low numbers on the 27th at her PMPS and so I skipped her evening dose. But the next morning she was in the 400's. :o Yesterday she went to the vet and had to be given an enema, be put under, and be manually evacuated, so her numbers yesterday (even, I suspect, her AMPS) were likely quite messed up because of that. Still, I'd like to avoid those numbers from here on out.

At the moment she's eating, but being very picky about it. That said, since last night she's eaten much of a can of Wellness Chicken and Duck (her favorite), so she's definitely got some food in her. That was my last can of Wellness and there's no place in this town to buy more, so I'm hoping that she'll stop being picky rather soon.

I'd rather prefer to give her a dose today, just because I don't want to get in the habit of being inconsistent. In addition to skipping the 27th, I skipped her morning shot on the 26th because we were driving home from my sister's house and, when driving there on the 23rd, Dusty had a low blood sugar scare. (Nothing like driving through the middle of nowhere with a cat who, at her +3, shot a 115!)

(Apologies for the scattered nature of this! I got little sleep last night and haven't yet had my coffee this morning. :smile: )
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMBG 162 --- no shot?

I'm not an expert, and don't know Dusty's history, but if you can afford to stall, I think I would check again in a half hour like you said and if she's rising, shoot. Provided, of course, that you have plenty of test strips, HC food, and can be around to monitor. You can also shoot a smaller dose if that makes you more comfortable.
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMBG 162 --- no shot?

Thanks, Anne! I only have three test strips left and am planning a trip out to Walmart to grab some more. I was planning on doing that soon after giving her the insulin, though, so that (hopefully!) there would be no drop before I get back. That said, perhaps reducing to one unit for this morning would be a compromise of sorts.
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMBG 162 --- no shot?

It says on your spreadsheet that you shot the full dose. That's what I would have done, too, if I was going to be home to monitor. I would head out to Walmart to get those strips now (if you shot), and start today's testing with a +1 and a +2.
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMBG 162 --- no shot?

Ooops! It does say that. I think I get so used to just filling in the dose with the AMPS that I did it again this time. I actually gave her 1 unit right now (a little over an hour after her normal dosing time). She had gone up to 176, so she was on her way up. (I'll go fix the spreadsheet now.)

And yes - heading to Walmart now with plans to be back within the hour so that I can test her and, hopefully, figure out what food she's willing to eat. :smile:
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMBG 162 --- no shot?

Dusty is doing well!

For future reference, here is our information on Dealing With Low Preshots. For newbies in Lantus Land, usually people will go ahead and shoot if the number is around 150-180. Lower than that, we would probably have you follow the suggestions in the Low Preshots link the first few times to help you learn how Dusty responds to shooting at lower numbers.

I'm glad you got some insulin in, though! You have already learned that skipping shots doesn't work well for Dusty right now, so good job getting that 1u in. Now if you can get some tests today, we'll see how that works out. :smile:
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMPS 162, 176, +1 160

Thanks, Libby! I reread that information which was very informative. I think that I'll need to get over my fear of low numbers (and hypo) as my reaction to seeing anything in the low hundreds (or, egads! the greens!) is panic rather than happiness.

I've got the +1 at 160 (I dosed her at ~10:50 when Dusty was at 176) and will be getting a +2 as well. Dusty also ate about 1/3 a can of FF flaked tuna which will give (I hope!) a bit of a food buffer for the insulin.
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMPS 162, 176, +1 160

FWIW, you can order cat food on-line and it's delivered to your door. I use PetFood Direct. Wag.com supports FDMB and also ships free if your order more than $49. You can get the products you want. The down side is that you have to order by the case.
 
Re: 12/29, Dusty, AMPS 162, 176, +1 160

Thanks, Sienne! I'll check it out. I was ordering one or two of a variety of cans to figure out which Dusty preferred. Now that I'm getting a sense of what she likes, I think I'll be checking out bulk ordering online.
 
*sigh* So much for the low numbers of the morning. Though with the reduced dose and increased eating, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. I'm a smidge worried that she hasn't peed all day. (I've been watching - want to grab another ketone test!) But her stools have been pretty loose because of yesterday's enema. Perhaps the loose stools mean she's expelling her water that way rather than through peeing?

(Hurrah! Pee and a test. Ketones negative. Must have heard me typing about it. :) )

She has still been out of sorts all day today. I'm chalking it up to the anesthesia and perhaps some tenderness from the, ahem, manhandling she endured at the vet's yesterday. But I'm still a bit bothered that she's being very picky about food when, just two days ago, she wasn't. Fingers crossed this is temporary.

(Not peeing as much + not eating as much = Michelle worried about ketones! Dusty has gotten a lot of breath checks today. I'm glad she tolerates my anxieties. :-) )

I also moved her PM shot back to 9:30. Given that I delayed the shot this morning, it means there was only 10.5 hours between shots. That said, her numbers were high enough that it seemed reasonable, and I want to get back to the 9:30/9:30 split. Hopefully this was the right decision.
 
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