2/23 Choco pmps 89, +1 87, +2 68, +3 56, +4 58, +5 66

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Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130

Hi Maria,

I am wondering whether Choco's dose should be reduced.

From the protocol sticky.

Reducing the dose...

* If kitty drops below 40 (long term diabetic) or 50 (newly diagnosed diabetic) reduce the dose by 0.25 unit. If kitty has a history of not holding reductions well or if reductions are close together... sneak the dose down by shaving the dose rather than reducing by a full quarter unit. Alternatively, at each newly reduced dose... try to make sure kitty maintains numbers in the normal range for seven days before reducing the dose further.
Click to expand...
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91

Hi Venita,

I was wondering the same thing but thought he had to drop below 50 before that could happen so I haven't asked. His numbers have been a lot lower the past couple of days so I wasn't sure if a reduction was in his future or if he was just at an amount that was good for him. Thanks for keeping an eye on his numbers. I definitely need someone looking over my shoulder to make sure I'm doing things correctly. Do you think he might be ready for 1 unit? Have a great day!!!
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91

Good morning guys .. very nice numbers today choco .. I hope they continue! have a great day guys!
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91

marleesan71 said:
I was wondering the same thing but thought he had to drop below 50 before that could happen so I haven't asked. His numbers have been a lot lower the past couple of days so I wasn't sure if a reduction was in his future or if he was just at an amount that was good for him. ... Do you think he might be ready for 1 unit? ...
Click to expand...

The protocol says 50, and he might have fallen below the 50 (and 50s) that you did get if you hadn't been feeding his curves the last two nights with gravy and HC.

I would say he's met the criteria for a dose reduction to 1U. I hope others will chime in on this point.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91

Good morning Natalia, Enana and Gordo! Thanks for dropping by. Choco and his big ol' self is sitting in my lap being all lovey dovey today which is making it very hard for me to type. :O) I hope you all have a wonderful day and we'll stop by later to check on Enana. :mrgreen:
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91

I see Venita's point. Sometimes, when you're feeding the curve it's a matter of how hard you're working to keep numbers up. If you are really struggling and using a fair amount of HC, then it may be worth reducing the dose. From the way Choco's SS reads, it doesn't seem like you were worried about numbers tanking. Because of Choco's history of DKA, here's what I would suggest. The next time Choco is skating close to a dose reduction, just feed LC and test more often -- like in 20 - 30 min. That way if numbers are going to drop below 50, you'll be able to catch the drop and bring numbers up quickly. Choco will then have earned the dose reduction.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48

Oh my gosh, what is he doing??? So I guess I'm going to feed him some LC with a little HC? Oyyy, this is a big drop.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48

Thank you Lisa. Now let's see if he's gonna be a good boy and listen. ;-)
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39 QUEST

What do I do at this point? He is dropping fast. HC and a drop of Karo?
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39 QUEST

Yes, HC drop of Karo. I think you've earned a dose reduction. My concern is for the days that you're at work and not home to help Choco.

You are doing a fantastic job, Choco is such a lucky little man.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39

Thank you Jennifer. That is my concern as well. I just gave him a tsp of HC food and a drop of Karo. I hope that is enough. I didn't want to give him too much. Have you ever heard of hair loss as a side effect to being on Lantus? Choco is still losing fur from an area of his tail. It is so strange.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39

Good job and great catch. Choco clearly was done with this dose. Please test in 20 - 30 min. You'll want to reduce to 1.0u tonight.

I don't know if this is what's going on with Choco's hair loss, but you might do some reading on "stud tail" to see if this describes what's happening. Otherwise, you might want to check with your vet. There could be some sort of skin problem.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39

You have fostered a lot of cats and some of the ones that came my way from GA had ringworm(RW). Did you foster Rudy and Comet last year or any of Santa's Team?

Normally that presents with some scabbing, but being that FD is associated with some autoimmune stuff and RW can really cause havic with immune compromised kitties, I might consider buying a woodslamp and checking for RW or see if your vet would look at him under a woodslamp. The DTM test is more effective but costly, up here around $70.

I have not heard of Lantus causing fur loss.

Some FDs present with a greasy feel to their fur and dandruff towards the base of the tail area. Could be that the fur got so dirty that maybe the folicles were affected. This is simply a guess on my part regarding the folicles. The greasy fur/dandruff, Tucker and Sadie both had that.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 4

Thank you Sienne, I will look that up.

Jennifer, I did not foster Santa's Team. It's about a 3 inch section in the middle of his tail underneath. It haven't seen him itch it at all but it almost looks like a layer of skin is coming off with the fur. My vet is off today so if I can't find anything, I will run him in on Friday.

So his numbers are headed back up but should I still maybe give him some more HC or Karo?
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 4

If he doesn't get above the 46 soon I might give more HC. Hopefully others will be able to advise.

Where's he at now?
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 46

It's your call on the feeding, Maria. If it were my cat, I would hold and test at 4.5. It usually takes more than .5 hour for wet food carbs to hit the system. You are likely seeing a Karo or liver rise.

Yep, 1U tonight.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 4

I just gave him 1/2 a teaspoon of FF/Beef Gravy Lovers and now he is eating his LC food. He's been a hungry boy these past two days. He seems very normal otherwise.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 4

Aww, shoot. I didn't see your post until after I fed him. It was only a little bit though.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 4

marleesan71 said:
He's been a hungry boy these past two days. He seems very normal otherwise.
Click to expand...

He may be feeding his curve himself.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 4

Some cats, like my Tucker and Misty(GA), when their numbers started to go low they automatically started to eat. They know/knew that their bodies needed the food and they took care of themselves.

This is why I leave FF out while I'm at work. If Kiki or Tucker go low they usually take care of themselves and eat. (knock wood - antijinx)
 
Re: 2/23 Choco amps 112, +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 4

Okay, well that would make sense. His number last night was in the 80's so maybe he had dropped pretty low while I was at work. He ate 2 cans last night and usually I'm good just to get him to eat half a can. Thanks Jennifer.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +1 130, +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 46, +4.5 52

Hi Maria.
My kitty used to do the same thing when he got low... he eat on his own.
If the food bowl was empty in the middle of the night - he'd jump on me and MEOW really loud in my face.
THAT would wake me up with a start! After the first time he did that I knew what the problem was, haha!

I got the Petsafe auto feeder and kept it full. And we both were happier. He had food, I had sleep. :lol:

Not all kitties will self-feed when they are low, some people have to force feed their kitty when they drop low.
Just ask Pat, Raja, Shadow; Shadow won't eat when he's low. That must be incredibly frustrating.

I'm glad you have a kitty that will eat without encouragement.

Congratulations on the dose decrease!
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52

Thank you CD. I feel very lucky to have a cat like Choco that is dealing with all these changes so easily. He is really adapting well and is such a good boy when it comes time to testing. It makes things so much less stressful.

Can someone tell me if I should be doing anything with Choco at this point? He has been at 52 for the last hour so should I just leave him alone (he's napping) or make him eat some food?
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52

I like that steady number. It isn't too low at this point and you can let him nap for a while. I wouldn't want him any lower - he has nothing to prove now. He's already earned his dose decrease and in an hour or so you might want to check him again and feed him a (lo carb) snack to keep him surfing around 55 and above. I hope he continues to surf evenly or with a gentle rise.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52

It doesn't look like he's planning to shoot up from the earlier HC. If he were mine, I would let him continue his nap, keep an eye out for clinical symptoms, test him at +6. Other than that, I would feed him LC when he asks for it (that is, if he is still surfing or on a slow upward trajectory at +6). If he has fallen at +6, it would be HC.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +2 91, +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52

Regarding the hair loss, I had a similar thought as Jennifer re. ringworm. Unfortunately, not all varieties will fluoresce under a Wood's lamp (black light). If the patch doesn't improve or keeps getting bigger or seems to get infected or if Choco is fussing with it, I'd talk to your vet.

FWIW, I would probably check on Choco at +5.5. Numbers can bobble around a bit as the HC wears off.

You might want to bookmark or print out this post on handling low numbers.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +3 48, +3.5 39, +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52, +6 45

I guess it's time to feed him some HC.

It doesn't look like any kind of ringworm that I've every seen. His dandruff is so much better than it was a couple weeks ago.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +3.5 39, +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52, +6 45, +6.5 5

On our way uptown. :O) Now it's time for me to eat some lunch.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52, +6 45, +6.5 58, +7 59

another JWD. I would not be surprised if great things are in the making
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +4 46, +4.5 52, +5 52, +6 45, +6.5 58, +7 59

Thanks Jen!

I hope so Dian. Another JWD??? Something something day??? Hmmmm, I can't figure it out. Can you help a girl out? :razz:
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +6 45, +6.5 58, +7 59, +8 60, +9 64, +10 82

Well, so nice of Choco to render the "do we decrease or not???" discussion moot... Congrats on the decrease!

You're doing a great job today! Fingers and paws crossed that the dosecrease holds and you continue to see such beautiful numbers!!
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +6 45, +6.5 58, +7 59, +8 60, +9 64, +10 82

Lol, I was writing on your condo as you were writing on mine. :O) Thanks and yes, I hope this decrease is a good thing for him. I really hope you can get some much needed rest tonight. :O)
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +7 59, +8 60, +9 64, +10 82, +11 87, pmps 89

I have a question about Choco's food tomorrow. Since he has earned a decrease to 1 unit and I just gave him his first dose of that tonight, should I leave out some HC food along with his LC tomorrow when I go to work? I am not sure when this new dose will start working and I don't want him to drop low like he did today and not have anything or anybody to help him. Thanks for any input.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +9 64, +10 82, +11 87, pmps 89, +1 87 QUESTIO

Often it takes one, maybe two cycles for the shed to be depleted. There's a reasonably good chance that you might see some low numbers tonight so don't be lulled into a false sense of security that since you lowered the dose, you don't need to monitor. As far as tomorrow, I'd suggest basing your decision regarding what kind of food to leave out on what the cycle looks like tonight but even more, what tomorrow AM looks like. If you can get a +11, it will also tell you if numbers are dropping at AMPS.
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +9 64, +10 82, +11 87, pmps 89, +1 87 QUESTIO

His numbers look soooo good and you have faced this head on! yohoo ooo flip_cat flip_cat
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +11 87, pmps 89, +1 87, +2 68, +3 56, +4 58

Okay, I'm thinking one more test and we will be off to visit Mr. Sandman. Whoooooo!!! Night all (I hope)!
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +11 87, pmps 89, +1 87, +2 68, +3 56, +4 58

nice surf, Choco!

I have been known to feed higher carb food for breakfast when the numbers surprise me. There is no long-term effect, so if it makes you feel better then just do it. :smile:

great job today!
 
Re: 2/23 Choco +11 87, pmps 89, +1 87, +2 68, +3 56, +4 58

Thanks Libby. That just might be the plan in the morning. I will at least have peace of mind while I'm at work and then this weekend I can really see where he is at without it.
 
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