2/25 Sid dosecrease - Updated SS

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Lydia & Sid & Jake(GA)

Lydia & Sid & Jake(GA)

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I agree Laurie. His afternoon numbers weren't too great. I know I'm supposed to hold the same dose over the course of 2-3 days, but I decided to increase him to 1.4 because I can monitor him better on the weekend than I can during the week. I've been testing him about every hour and I see no evidence that he is going anywhere below 200 and this afternoon his lowest point was 280. He really needs to come down below 200 and that means more insulin unless I'm missing something. I appreciate any thoughts you have on the increase - whether a good idea or no... :-D

Whole cat report - seems ravenously hungry. Did I mention he has gained a pound? In the hospital he was down to around 4 pounds and he is now 5.4. He grooms, purrs, talks, etc. He doesn't play though but hasn't since December when he was first hospitalized. He is 15, but he was very playful before he became sick and had favorite toys that he liked to carry around the house while he meowed the entire time. He has not done that in a long time.

Last condo http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=64583
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

Hi Lydia,
I saw the discussion on the increase in your prior post earlier today, and I think it's good logic to step up to 1.4. As you said, there is plenty of room below his current blues to go lower. I had also seen your post that he had put on over a pound and that is fantastic news! I do think he'll get back to the "playing", but the little things are huge when they happen. I think it was in the "whole cat" thread that you mentioned he was scratching at his scratch board, and just that is a good sign. And eating better. You are doing such an incredible job of caring for him and juggling so many meds and so many different conditions at the same time. Sid is sooooo loved, and you know that he knows it.
Take care of you too, Lydia!
Carl
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

Hi Lydia, I understand what you are saying about the increase....you are there to monitor. I know he has room, but remember that you are shooting TID, that's a 0.8u total increase for the day...40% increase for today, and 1.2u increase by tomorrow.....60% increase over two days...I think that's a lot to increase over a short period of time. Please monitor closely. I know you want the numbers down, but if you rush it, you risk him ending up over dose. JMHO

The other issue is that he may start diving very fast with that big increase, and then he will bounce. I would keep an eye on how fast he is dropping and use some higher carb food if necessary to slow him down a bit.

I'm glad he is feeling good enough to groom, purr and talk, and hungry is good! I saw that he gained a pound the other day, that's wonderful news! I hope he continues to gain. I know what you mean about walking around with a toy in his mouth meowing....Mr T does it all the time. It's like he has to announce, "I got it!" I hope Sid starts feeling good enough to play again soon.
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

Hi Lydia,

It sounds like you guys are hanging in there. I don't know how you find time to keep everyone updated, with everything going on...but you do!

I don't know if this is helpful, but all I have to share is recent dose adjustments with Marilyn. Even though ECID, Sid and Marilyn started ProZinc only days apart, so maybe the "settling in" factor comes into play with both of them. My SS isn't updated, and is "under construction" right now...so I'm going off of memory...

Marilyn was at 1.6u BID, and getting some nice strings of blue, but still diabetic numbers. I increased to 1.8 BID, and she took a dive on one cycle, and her duration was too long on another. So thinking that 1.7u BID would do the trick, I shot that for about 3 days, and her numbers were just horribly high the entire time. It just wasn't making any sense. So I went back down to 1.6u BID, so I could rethink our next step...and she took a dive on the 1.6 units! Right now, we are at 1.4u, and she is catching some good "blue runs", while I continue to rethink where we're heading.

I don't know that Marilyn's experience will be helpful for Sid...but that 1.7u BID dose had me thrown for a loop. Her numbers were so crappy, but I already knew that 1.8u BID was too much. As it turned out, 1.6u BID was already too much at that point...I just didn't know it yet. I don't know this to be true, but is it possible they have both been on ProZinc long enough now, to be "settling in" and needing less insulin? I don't know...it's just a thought.

I hope that wasn't too confusing and/or irrelevant. You, Sid, and the "others", keep hanging in there. My thoughts are with you. You are awesome!

Deb
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

Deb,
About diving... when you say "took a dive", how deep was the water and how high was the platform?
I am a numbers geek and like to do percentages in my head for exercise...
carl
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

I agree with Laurie. That is a big increase. Watch him carefully.
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

hi lydia. just popped over to see how sid is doing.
i know you have a lot on your plate, but when you get a chance will you please update his ss?
happy to hear he's gained weight! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

I should have had Carl do the percentages in his head....I did them on a calculator and I put the numbers in wrong. ohmygod_smile It's not as high of a percentage as I said it was....27% and 40%.

It still bears watching. I hope it improves his numbers, Lydia! I'm watching for the SS update.... :smile:
 
Re: 2/25 Sid dosecrease

Good Morning everyone,

I updated his SS - I've been checking every hour except last night. He was 212 at +8. Then in the am was over 400 but that is not as bad as being HI like he was yesterday. I like his numbers better today. I hope he does not bounce though... I am keeping a close eye on him and have high carb food and karo on hand plus plenty of test strips. I only have to leave for about an hour and a half this afternoon. I won't go if his numbers are questionable though.
I have a question about his food. He eats Authority chicken pate (from Petsmart). He absolutely loves this food and will no longer touch any flavor of Fancy Feast. Do I assume the Authority Chicken on Binky's list is this food? Because there is also a flaked version which he also likes but is not always in stock.

For a recap of today:
4:00 am 329 gave 1.4U PZ
+1 461 fed 1/8 can
+2 469 fed 1/8 can
+3 473 fed 1/8 can'
+4.5 336 fed a tsp of food
+5.5 243
+6.75 104 gave a tsp of food
+7 104
+7.5 188
+8.25 (12:20 pm) 287 fed 1/4 can food and gave 1.4U PZ
 
I just wanted to add that I appreciate everyone's advice and keeping an eye on me and Sid!!

@Deb, I didn't think you were confusing. I get exactly what you are saying. Hopefully we can all get a handle on Sid as you were able to do for Marilyn. :-D
 
Looks Better! I like the yellow preshot at midshot, hopefully the numbers will continue to come down.
 
The blue numbers were nice! I'm sorry to see that he bounced hard from them. I'm not surprised, but I hoped he wouldn't be that dramatic! You did a good job trying to slow the drop, Lydia, and you shot at a good time at MDPS..he just was going up regardless. The good news is that you are getting more insulin into him, and that will help keep the ketones away. I know the high numbers worry you, but they are not from too little insulin, it's a bounce and hopefully his numbers will settle down lower when it clears. Hang in there! :YMHUG:

I don't know about the Authority food, the info on J & B's list is from 2007, so I suspect it is no longer accurate anyway. I did some searching and I could not find any updated carb info for Authority foods. Were you concerned about the carb %? Since he likes it, I would let him eat it....eating is important and you don't want to have to worry about that on top of everything else! I saw where you mentioned vomiting.....it could be related to the AB? I hope that stops!

You are such a devoted bean, Lydia....and you are doing a great job. Sid, please come back down....red is not your color, buddy!
 
Thanks Laurie. I wondered about the food more out of curiosity about carb level than anything. He really does love this food.
I hope the vomiting stops too. That makes me very worried because he always does that when he is getting ketones (or has them). I did test him and he was still negative today. I also caught Sid chewing on the bark of a plant. There are very few leaves in his reach (because it is very tall), but he may have nibbled on a new bud at the bottom. I put the plant away. I just hope that is why he vomited a little today.

I know I'm upset he bounced so much but I don't get why he would from 104 - that isn't even that low. Maybe it is for him though. Oh well. I hope for better numbers tomorrow.

Thanks for your advice Laurie :-D
 
It isn't always how low the number is, bouncing can be caused by him dropping lower than he is used to going. He has been dropping into the yellows, and he is used to that, but he's not used to blues, especially low blues. With the way you are feeding the drops, he hasn't been dropping as fast, so the bouncing from the fast drops was going away, and he was starting to flatten out a little...still too high, but flatter. Then you increased a lot, so he dropped a lot more, and boing! That was why I was concerned about the size of the increase....I was afraid that he would drop much lower and bounce hard. He's a bouncer! Mr Tinkles was too....I worked really hard to reduce his bouncing.

Now, don't feel bad, ok? This may work out fine, he may settle into those lower numbers when the bounce clears...so don't be discouraged! You are doing the best you can, and Sid is a complex cat...with the ketone risk, you have to be more aggressive. He is a major balancing act, and it's very hard!

I'm glad to hear no more vomiting!
 
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