2/21 Tonka - AMPS 130, +3 104, +6 128, +8 83, +10 99, PMPS 94, +2 79 , +4 59

[jmalasiuk]

Tonka seems to be doing nicely on 1.0 unit, even after his 6 cycles post reduction have passed. He might be a touch high for the tight regulation goals, especially since the only time he sees those green numbers is when he's not eating much, but it's been a lot easier on my stress levels to see him above 4 mmol (72 mg) when I want to go to sleep or work. And again, the Bravo meter that we're using does seem to test a touch higher than the One Touch anyway.

I think I'll leave him at this level for the week, since the vet is wanting to see him stable (i.e. not actively dropping) before she does his dental work, and he seems to be stable right now. Fluctuations are all in the same range, at least. We can work on getting that much tighter after his dental, if that's necessary.

Seem like a decent plan? Or are the numbers he's seeing right now considered good even for the tight regulation protocol? I saw somewhere that the goal was to have them below 100 mg all the time, but that requires risking that he gets too low too often; the "normal" range has been quoted as being from 50-130 mg, and he's been pretty well within that the last while, even with the reduction. I don't want to be increasing him up to 1.25 (the dose we skipped because Tonka was not eating as much as usual) if he doesn't need that. I just want to maximize his chances at remission, since it will be much less worrisome to be leaving him with our cat sitter's twice daily visits if he's not needing insulin and in danger of hypoglycemia. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't even be worrying about whether or not he ever got to remission, as long as he was well regulated.

 

[jmalasiuk]

And all that said, now he's heading down farther: 3.3 (59) at +4. So even considering raising him a smidge might be a moot point after all. At least until he decides that he wants to eat more than 1/2 can of pate per meal again

 

[Wendy&Neko]

It's a well know fact here that threatening a dose increase is a good way for kitty to show some action. You want him to spend as much time as possible in the 50-120 range. He's doing a great job at that.

 

[Jen&Eddie]

Hi Jordi! I don't think I've visited Tonka's condo before, but just wanted to pop in and say hello! Tonka's SS is looking GREAT! I know when my guy started get into much better numbers, he seemed to sometimes wobble around in blues a bit. I'd fret that Eddie was trending up and start talking about an increase, only to have him get right back to business the next cycle. I think sometimes those wobbly blue cycles can sometimes precede a busier cycle - kind of like the ominous flat yellow cycles.

 

[jmalasiuk]

Yeah, his numbers are getting harder for me to make sense of, now that they're much closer together. Could be all sorts of things happening, I suspect. His less than voracious appetite at the moment might be part of the issue. He doesn't eat, he drops, he does eat, he goes up for a bit, then drops. Can't complain though - his diabetic regulation is far better right now than mine, and I've been living with the damned condition since 1981! Mind you, his days are considerably more predictable than mine too (low carb food and middle aged lazy cat inactivity with a spurt of energy release from time to time)

Still heading downward: 3.1 (56) at +5. But I gave him a bit of 17% carb gravy and chunks food that he thinks is quite fine right now, and I think he's eating some of the remaining Low Carb pate too

 

[Jen&Eddie]

I'm actually wondering if Jordi might be angling for a reduction. To my eye, it looks like he's bouncing a tiny bit, and then he's sliding down through green numbers late into the cycle. If you look at today's two cycles, it kind of looks like one long slide downwards. Looks like he had a similar pattern starting with the AM cycle on 2/17 and slid all day down into greens through the PM cycle.

Just for future reference, with that 59 at +4, rather than feeding HC just yet, you might have tested in about half an hour to see if he dips below 50 and earns that reduction. I'll be curious to see his next test. He's not dropping super fast, but you may want to grab one at +4.5 to be on the safe side.

 

[jmalasiuk]

That could be. I'm still getting used to the concept of rebounds that aren't crazy high. His +5 test was 56 (when I gave him the extra food) and the +6 test was up to 76 (after finishing a good helping of his supper in addition to the bit of 17% carb food). I've been reluctant to let him drop too far lately, because I really need to start getting some sleep. I'll see what happens with him tomorrow during the day (will be out of the house for a few hours in the afternoon, but he should let me know by then what he plans on doing if he's dropping)

 

[jmalasiuk]

To my eye, it looks like he's bouncing a tiny bit, and then he's sliding down through green numbers late into the cycle.

One other thing to note about Mr. Tonka - he is one of those cats that does tend to drop a bit at +10 /+11. Just to make it that much more challenging to figure out what's going on with him

 

[Jen&Eddie]

Late cycle droppers are a challenge. Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's a double dip, or if it's a dropping number. Looks like Tonka sometimes does both. Today's cycle looks like an all-day slide, but he does have a few that might be double dips. Regardless, those late drops certainly force us caretakers to learn to shoot those low numbers! I look forward to continued great numbers from Tonka!