2/24 CRYSTAL AMPS 250 +10 353

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suki & crystal (GA)

suki & crystal (GA)

Member Since 2014
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Hi everyone,
Crystal gave me a nice AMPS this morning of 250 but unfortunately it didn't last long. She is due a dose increase tonight after 4 cycles and another attempt at using R tomorrow night (under Sandy's watchful eye) so hopefully we will see some better numbers.

I printed off her SS and was studying it to see if I could see a pattern developing. I put a cross on her nadir numbers for each day, the most common number seems to be +7 in the AM cycle and anything between +3 and +5 in the PM cycle but she's really not very consistent. At least we are seeing some yellow numbers each day for the last 11 days or so. I just can't believe the dose she is on is not bringing her down lower, I think she's going for the record of the highest dose cat on FDMB, a title I would rather she didn't aspire to!

It's DH's birthday today so have just made him a chocolate birthday cake, nice cosy dinner planned for tonight but big celebration party at the weekend (cats will be safely locked away as they aren't fond of visitors disrupting their routine). No doubt the dog will be in the thick of it though, he adores company and there is always the chance of a titbit.

See you tomorrow for another episode of the R saga.

Suki & Crystal
 
You're seeing more yellow. That shows progress!! We had one acrocat that got above 90u (I think, it was insanely high). She is now OTJ after SRT.

Don't get discouraged. Your spreadsheet is looking good with all the yellow!
 
Hi Suzanne and Peg, thanks for looking in. As there is no possibility of SRT here, I REALLY hope Crystal doesn't have to go that high before we get her to blue figures otherwise she will be going through the insulin (and my savings!) at an alarming rate. As it is DH has no idea how much her treatment is costing so far and thankfully doesn't ask - ignorance is bliss.
 
Another kitty that got into higher doses was Grayson. Lu-Ann used to post here occasionally. He was flat pink for the longest time and ended up getting his breakthrough around 50U. He did have SRT, but it took a while before it took effect. He went up a lot after SRT. Doing the more aggressive increases as you are doing, is what we think is a way to break through earlier.

I'll be watching the Crystal show tomorrow.
 
She needs what she needs. Those yellows show progress. And that's a good thing.

Vines that the "right" dose comes along soon. A couple of eyes from here will be watching the next R try....with vines aplenty beaming in, too.

Marilyn and Polly
 
Perry's Sooty got to more than 100u per dose, and then he was treated, but not with SRT. I think it was with the surgery that removes the tumor. He went OTJ afterwards. Crystal's got a ways to go to hold any records. I do think it helps keep the dose down to be aggressive with dosing like you're doing - every 4 cycles. You can increase by larger increments if you want - think 10%-25% depending on how close you are to a good dose.

I made the mistake of adding up the costs in the last few months of punkin's life. I want to say it was something like $900 per month. He was on all kinds of extra stuff - and fortunately it wasn't like that the entire time. But it was a huge cost. I'd do it all over again, though. I did the money calculations on the high dose forum and it isn't long before the cost of SRT was recovered just by the dose being decreased.

Another cost-saving measure you can consider is switching to Lev. Typically people switch from Lantus to Lev by dropping to 70% of the dose, although I wouldn't drop that far for Crystal because she isn't at an optimum dose on the Lantus. Around here Lev costs a little less than Lantus and some cats (a fair number of high dose cats) seem to need a smaller dose of Lev compared to Lantus. Something for you to consider when you run out of Lantus. Also, there are circumstances where you can buy insulin second-hand here in the US and it can be legitimate. I bought something like 4 boxes of pens for about $250, the cost of 1 box new, on Craigslist. Another FD cat friend who is local found the ad on Craigslist and passed it on me. An elderly diabetic man had passed away and his daughter was selling his left-over insulin. It was fine. I also picked some up for Suzanne a while ago from a man who had switched from Lantus to Lev and back to Lantus as he liked it better. He had several vials for $40 each. You just have to evaluate the legitimacy of the situation. Do you have Craigslist in France?

Crystal's ss is looking better! You're getting there - it's now been an entire week with nothing over 400!! No red this week - that's fantastic! You've also got a ton more yellow than ever before. Keep up with what you're doing!
 
Wendy, Marilyn and Julie, thanks for popping in. Looks like Crystal has a long way to go yet in the high dose stakes. Julie, we already switched to Lev on the 27 January in the hope of achieving a lower dose than when she was on Lantus. It has just dawned on me that there is just no way I could afford the sort of figures you had to for Punkin, I don't even want to think about the awful possibility of calling a halt to it purely on financial grounds. Prayers and vines for a breakthrough soon for my sweet baby. What a b....h this acro is. sorry, just feeling frustrated and upset, she doesn't deserve this.
 
Punkin had SO much going on besides his acro. It wasn't all related and there's NO reason you might expect that. You're doing everything you can. I think getting R into regular use is going to be helpful in getting control of her blood sugar. Just so you know, you should feel free to use the amounts of R you've tried already. You don't need someone to mentor you on the amounts you've already established are ok for Crystal.

Sorry I somehow forgot about the switch - i see it right there on your signature line. :banghead: let's blame it on the fact that i'm still semi-sick and not exactly brilliant.
 
No problem Julie, considering the amount of advice you give it's easy not to remember every individual cat's details (and you are brilliant!). Off to bed now as its 2pm, I'll update her SS in the morning but another nice yellow test just done at +8. I suppose I am just a bit sacred to do the R without supervision yet - need some of Sandy's BOS!
 
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