? 17 Dec | Girlie AMPS 248; +4:30=67; +5=92 Vacation question: go or no?

[Girlie's mom]

Condo: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...3-104-4-79-5-74-pmps-317.188105/#post-2088883

Darn! I think I could have prevented this shark dive on AT2 if I'd given her 8% instead of 6% at the +4 (70). It was a test, and I've learned my lesson. I could tell she was diving, hence the +4:30 test.

It's a tiny dive, though, so I wonder if I should reduce anyway? This is Cycle 11 on the 0.5 Units. I'll see how quickly she comes up on the 12% gravy - again, being conservative compared to previous dives where I'd give 16%. Also, technically, I'm still supposed to leave her at the vet's in 4 days (21 Dec), but I may not fly overseas after all. Not sure if that should be a factor in this decision?

Question for Levemir folks: The Levemir starts to kick in by +3 and really hits at +4. Her +1 and +2 are usually still going up, then the fall at +3 on. So even though 3 hours has passed since the shot, is this a huge dive from AMPS 248 to +3 of 88? I'm not sure how to see this from the Levemir perspective...

 

[Girlie's mom]

False alarm: 2 tsps of 12% bounced her up within 15 min to 97. I just gave her a little bit of 8%, so we'll see where she is in 20 mins. I think she'll hold on 8% or 6% now.

 

[Chubba (GA)]

Glad she is back up. Girlie, behave!

 

[Girlie's mom]

Glad she is back up. Girlie, behave!

She went up so quickly - and so high - that I really think it was my fault giving her the 6% at +4 (when the Levemir really kicks in) rather than 8%. But at least I learned something from my little experiment!

She's 97 after the 8%, so I'll stick with that and see how she is next test. Greens are our goal right now! Just not lime green...

 

[Girlie's mom]

@Osha , @Kris & Teasel , @Wendy&Neko , @Marje and Gracie

Just thought I'd ask the Levemir folks I know: The Levemir starts to kick in by +3 and really hits at +4. Her +1 and +2 are usually still going up, then the fall at (usually) +3 on. So even though 3 hours has passed since the shot, is this a huge dive from AMPS 248 to +3 of 88? I'm not sure how to see this from the Levemir perspective... Is she still doing deep dives from a Levemir perspective?

 

[Kris & Teasel]

@Osha , @Kris & Teasel , @Wendy&Neko , @Marje and Gracie

Just thought I'd ask the Levemir folks I know: The Levemir starts to kick in by +3 and really hits at +4. Her +1 and +2 are usually still going up, then the fall at (usually) +3 on. So even though 3 hours has passed since the shot, is this a huge dive from AMPS 248 to +3 of 88? I'm not sure how to see this from the Levemir perspective... Is she still doing deep dives from a Levemir perspective?

I think that’s a big dive. It’s likely to provoke a bounce.

 

[Girlie's mom]

I think that’s a big dive. It’s likely to provoke a bounce.

Oh darn! It's so hard to predict where she'll go and give the right carb food accordingly as she's usually going up at +2. So I hate to give her a higher carb at pre-shot as that makes her go even higher for +2...dilemma, dilemma...I guess I'll just have to proactively give her a higher carb food at PS and perhaps a MC at +2 and see how she goes, then, and hope it doesn't delay her journey down to nice blues and greens. Perhaps this is the reason, then, behind her yellow AMPS and yesterday's pink PMPS, do you think?

So when you look at Levemir, you can't really judge the shot number vs the onset time as easily as far as dives go as you can with Lantus - or at least, as I could with Lantus, as she did dramatic dives at +2 on Lantus. This is confusing!

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Oh darn! It's so hard to predict where she'll go and give the right carb food accordingly as she's usually going up at +2. So I hate to give her a higher carb at pre-shot as that makes her go even higher for +2...dilemma, dilemma...I guess I'll just have to proactively give her a higher carb food at PS and perhaps a MC at +2 and see how she goes, then, and hope it doesn't delay her journey down to nice blues and greens. Perhaps this is the reason, then, behind her yellow AMPS and yesterday's pink PMPS, do you think?

So when you look at Levemir, you can't really judge the shot number vs the onset time as easily as far as dives go as you can with Lantus - or at least, as I could with Lantus, as she did dramatic dives at +2 on Lantus. This is confusing!

I’ve found the same with Lev. I rarely see any action before +4 and then the nadir is evident for Teasel at +6 or +7 most of the time. It’s very different from Lantus in my experience.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

If you look at Gracie’s Levemir SSs, you’ll see she also would dive at +2. That’s why I tested then.

Levemir seems to be a little more variable from cat to cat. So, yes, you have to sort out the feeding schedule to catch that dive. I know.....and it will likely change.

 

[Girlie's mom]

If you look at Gracie’s Levemir SSs, you’ll see she also would dive at +2. That’s why I tested then.

Levemir seems to be a little more variable from cat to cat. So, yes, you have to sort out the feeding schedule to catch that dive. I know.....and it will likely change.

But she doesn't dive until +3 - aieeee, these cats! :-(

But it could just be if she starts from a higher number...so I have to get that AMPS down. Marje, I'm not sure whether I should reduce to 0.25 - what do you think?

 

[Girlie's mom]

Vacation question: I'll post this now, and again tomorrow as I know a lot of people might be asleep by now in North America. I've got a real vacation dilemma: When I go away, I'm going to have to leave Girlie at the vet's.

• I was supposed to to to the US to see my mom for 22 - 30 Dec (9 days for Girlie at the vet's)
• Seven weeks, later, I'll be going to India from 18 Feb - 4 March (2 weeks) to see an old friend who won't be around much longer. I will cut the trip short and return early if Girlie isn't handling things well.

I'm concerned about leaving Girlie in a few days and then for a longer time just seven weeks later. I'd appreciate the honest opinion of those who've gone on vacation and others.

• Is two weeks at the end of February next year too long to be away?
  
• Is going on holiday just not the thing to do if you have a diabetic cat?
• I'm also concerned re: how well Girlie has been doing lately and having that forward momentum ruined by going away over Christmas.

If I delay the US trip until later next year, I was thinking that I'd have two full weeks at home with her, and then another seven weeks before the India trip. She might (who knows) make considerable progress by then, especially as she seems to be doing so well lately...that's my desperate hope...

Any advice or thoughts would be so appreciated! And thank you in advance!

 

[Girlie's mom]

Still thinking re: the vacation thing...

Reduced to 0.25 tonight: not sure if I should have stuck with 0.5, but she did go below 68 on AT2, so I reduced.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

On the Lev cycles, I found that looking at the +9 or +10 and preshot helped my figure out what Neko might do in the early part of her cycle. Her onset was often not til +5, which often gave me a gap when I could lay off testing. But not always of course.

Glad you reduced tonight. That'll give you a chance to see what she does on 0.25 with the depot drained, before you go. Lots of people have holidays and a FD cat. Turned out Neko could travel, so she came with me.