2/5 Joe AMPS 351 - First day of testing +2 232, +4 404

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Mel and Joe

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Trying to get regular tests for the first time today in preparation for a switch to canned food. I'm actually pleasantly surprised to see yellow after his shot. It's nice to know the insulin is doing something.

We've been on Lantus 1U for 1 week, Vetsulin 2U the week prior. We got our first tests yesterday. I'll be home most of the day today so I should be able to get several readings before his pm feeding.

Looking for advice on when to start the food switch. Tonight and watch him closely?
 
Re: 2/5 Joe AMPS 351 - First day of testing

Morning Mel! Great job with your SS...not sure what to do about the switch to canned...I did it cold turkey with my two.
That was way before I did any testing too...you are in control now as long as your can test. I would try it and see how Joe does.
If he won't eat the canned alone, then maybe you will have to sprinkle some dry on to get him used to it. My two jsut loved the canned so i had no problems....

I give them food in the morning and evening right before shooting and then snacks at +4 and +8 during each cycle...
There are different methods of feeding and everyone has their own schedule. Was Joe free feeding the dry? You might want to give snacks in the beginning so he doesn't feel starving. We mix warm water to the canned food too...using FF and Wellness.

Monitor during the day and also get at least one test before bed tonight...more if you can...You are doing a great job! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 2/5 Joe AMPS 351 - First day of testing

Hi Mel,

You are sure to see a big change just with the switch to wet food. Sami was on all dry food before I found this forum and I immediately converted all of my cats to wet. I almost immediately saw improvement in her numbers. We just started an experiment with Mini Meals, and so far it is working well for us. You can read all about our mini meal schedule on Sami's Condo from Yesterday.

With the help from all the experts on this Forum Sami is doing great, and you should will see some great changes in Joe very soon.
 
Re: 2/5 Joe AMPS 351 - First day of testing

Welcome to LL!

Just in case you haven't been overwhelmed with information, I'll be the first to say take a look at the permanent messages ("stickies") that are the starred items at the top of the Board. There is a huge amount of information there about Lantus, our dosing protocol, links to slang, getting a curve, etc.

Great job on getting your SS up and running. A question though -- are you shooting only once a day? You don't have a PMPS test noted or an insulin dose in the evening. I'm concerned because in cats, due to their high metabolism, Lantus is dosed twice a day. If you forgot to fill in the information, could you update the SS when you have a chance? Please take a look at the dosing protocol that we use for more information. At some point in the near future, you will want to get a curve (i.e., testing every 2 hours during one 12-hour cycle) so you have a better sense of when Joe's nadir is and how Lantus is working.

Mel & Joe said:
Looking for advice on when to start the food switch. Tonight and watch him closely?
Click to expand...
Pat was lucky that her kitties were easy to shift to canned food. I was lucky with Gabby, as well. Not all cats understand that the dry stuff or high carb (HC) food is bad for them! If you look at Lisa Pierson, DVM's website on feline nutrition she discusses how to transition from dry to canned food. Mixing the two is a gradual way to make the transition and offset some cat's tendency to reject the canned food (if they are dry food "crack" addicts). You might want to give Joe a snack/sample of canned food and see if he inhales it or walks away. It will give you a better sense of how to approach switching over and whether you need to do a slow transition. (I'm presuming you've seen Janet & Binky's Food Charts and know to select the foods that are less than 10% carbs.)

You will need to keep a close eye on BG levels as you get rid of high carb (HC) food. Many cat's numbers will drop considerably once the HC food is out of the picture.

Please ask questions! The front end of the learning curve is a bit overwhelming and we're here to lend a hand.
 
Re: 2/5 Joe AMPS 351 - First day of testing

He got 1u last night. We were unlucky with our tests and forgot to update the shot itself.

Just added +4 and it's high again. I had a hard time with the test so he got a treat about 30 minures ago. I need to get some better treats!
 
Re: 2/5 Joe AMPS 351 - First day of testing

Mel and Joe said:
He got 1u last night. We were unlucky with our tests and forgot to update the shot itself.

Just added +4 and it's high again. I had a hard time with the test so he got a treat about 30 minures ago. I need to get some better treats!
Click to expand...

In the beginning, I had a lot of trouble testing Sami too. I tried with the lancet tool and without and no matter what I did it never seemed to work right. I was sometimes poking her 6 and 7 times before I could draw blood. Then I started using a warm washcloth to warm up her ears before poking and that help tremendously. Now I just check her ears before I start and if they are cold I warm them if they are warm I just poke. After 8+ pokes a day for over a month I am a pro at it. It will get easier.
 
It's getting easier although it still takes multiple pokes sometimes.

My toddler is trying to help me today. Pulling the strip out of the meter, pulling Joe's tail. I think this evenings tests after Dad gets home will be much easier :).
 
Pulling the strip, pulling Joe's tail -- probably all the same to your toddler (lol)!! At least someone is having fun!!!

Just a thought - give treats with testing. When you said you gave a treat 30 min. after, that's fine but you also want to give a treat any time you poke Joe's ear. It doesn't matter if it's a successful or unsuccessful poke. He'll be much more cooperative about testing if he makes the association between getting poked and getting a reward like food! If too much time transpires between the test and the treat, you lose the power of the treat being a reward for the test. You end up rewarding whatever it is that Joe happens to be doing at the time.

If it is taking multiple pokes, try to make the 2nd poke close to the first. It may help if you have 2 small droplets, they may coalesce into one that's big enough. As you test more, Joe's ear will also begin to bleed more easily. And, as Tina mentioned, a warm ear will bleed more easily than a cold ear.

Some meters also use less blood than others. That may be a factor as well.
 
He's getting treats but I didn't have any "good" ones so I think they were showing in his numbers. Picked up some LC treats this afternoon so that should help.

Gave canned food before his PM shot. I'll check him again in 2 hours.
 
Re: 2/5 Joe AMPS 351 - PMPS=288

288 was PMPS? that's good....Joe is looking very good.
Good that you are getting another test tonight too....
:thumbup
 
Welcome to Lantus Land! Keep us posted as the food switch occurs, hopefully you'll be lucky too and it will happen easily. Joe's numbers look good so far!
 
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