2/6 LILY - AMPS 693, +11 = 564

Calicos are Best (GA)

Calicos are Best (GA)

Member Since 2019
Survived last night's fiasco! Thank you everyone! Got some sleep and checked Lily this morning. The human meter said HIGH, read the manual which said to check again if it says HIGH as the human meters only go to 600. Checked again and still said HIGH. So now I know why pet meters are handy in cases of too low or too high of a blood sugar.

Lily's AlphaTrak2 said 693, gave her 1.25 units as advised. Updated Lily's SS too.

Going to sleep some more and will check Lily later. :)
 
I was looking out for you and wondered how high she would be, well it seems your little Calico has a flare for the dramatic.

What you are seeing here is likely the start of a bounce, this results from the liver 'panicking' because Lily dropped lower than she has been used to in a while, so her liver worries that this is dangerous and starts dumping glucose into the bloodstream, resulting in high BG levels, this can last upto 6 cycles, but may clear sooner.
Hard as it is we ignore the bounces and base the dosing on the nadirs (or the lows) she has on non bounce cycles.

As you are following SLGS you will hold this dose (unless she earns another reduction, by dropping below 90 on the human meter) for a week, on day 7 you need to run a curve and look at the data you have to make a decision on whether you hold the dose or have to go back up again, it's not unusual to have to go up and down with the dose.

If you can get midcycle tests on a regular basis, both in the am and the pm cycles this can be extremely helpful when it comes to making a decision about dose, especially with a bouncy kitty.
By midcycle I mean anytime between +1 and +11, it doesn't have to be at +6. Some folk will grab a quick test before they leave for work, or if they're home well before PMPS they'll grab a test just as they walk through the door. Getting a before bed test is also a very good habit to get into. Obviously you'll just need to work around your schedule, but that extra data will be sooooo useful.

One other thing about the ss you haven't put the dose in last nights pmps slot.
Calicos are Best said:
Checked again and still said HIGH. So now I know why pet meters are handy in cases of too low or too high of a blood sugar.

Lily's AlphaTrak2 said 693, gave her 1.25 units as advised.
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True you get a reading but the way I always saw it it high was high, didn't matter if it was 605 or 665;)
That said it's good to have a back up to confirm that it's not just the meter gone wonky.:) particularly when there is a big jump from the last test be it a large increase or large drop.
 
Lily is well known for the dramatics! This has been my problem managing her diabetes. She is fragile and I know I need help. Thankfully there are so many experts on here! :cat: I wish I joined this site sooner in the summer before Lily was hospitalized. I don't know why the vets don't encourage this kind of treatment you guys teach on here. The vets actually discourage meter testing and keep the instructions very minimal. Both times Lily was hospitalized was because I wasn't given thorough advice. And some even tell you things that just don't make sense like the insulin is only good for 30 days and goes bad. (so untrue and have learned otherwise from my Mom who is a nurse)
 
We were in the same boat as well with our buddy Lou when he was diagnosed. They gave me a starting dose of 4.0u of Vetsulin (a fast-acting insulin) and sent home. My vet did suggest home testing, but only because I'm a lab tech. They assumed I'd be comfortable with the drawing blood aspect of it. Although they brought that up, they gave me absolutely NO information on numbers or what to do if he was too low. It's really disappointing and such a common theme around here. Thankfully, I am a knowledge is power kind of girl and I got right on researching feline diabetes. I found this page on day one and was able to adjust his dose to 2.0u (still too high, but better than 4.0u) based on what I read here. I had gotten a Contour Next meter kit from work (love working in a clinic for that kind of thing) and started testing a few days after he started insulin. It was a rough time and the insulin shots weren't going too hot for either of us, so I was afraid of adding the BG checks. Funnily enough, he handled the BG checks much better than the insulin shots. All-in-all, Lou might not still be alive if it wasn't for this forum. I desperately wish the type of hands on monitoring would be better known and advocated for in the vet world.

I am so glad that you were able to keep Lily safe through all the excitement last night! I hope this bounce doesn't last too long for you and she can get back into better numbers soon!
 
Calicos are Best said:
Both times Lily was hospitalized was because I wasn't given thorough advice.
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What was she hospitalized for ? was it DKA?

eta do you think you could edit the tread title and put Lily's name after the date, I Keep missing your condo when I scroll down to search for you. Thanks.
 
My vet was always very helpful and informative about Max's diabetes. Of course, I'm a "need to know everything" kind of girl so I hounded them with questions, haha. Still, this forum has been an invaluable resource. Max's numbers are much better since I joined, he's brighter, and his neuropathy is improving. I don't think either of those things would have happened had I only been listening to the vet. These people are available all day, every day without an appointment and every "visit" is free of charge! Thanks guys!
 
That's quite a drop there at +5. Steady Lily, don't get carried away again.

If She continues on the same downward trend this could be her clearing the bounce, do you think you could get a +11 this evening, if she's still dropping could you post for advice then.

The depot of the larger dose is likely still doing the talking and may well drive her numbers down some more.
Just in case you missed my question earlier
Why was she hospitalized twice? Was it DKA ? or something else? Previous health issues can alter the suggestions I would make.
 
Thank you all for your insights! So encouraging to be a part of this Community! Kindness goes a long way in my Book! I am sorry I have not been as quick to respond today, but I have certainly been doing my homework with Lily's numbers. I am actually out of state living with family right now as My Mom is very sick. Lily is so important to me because she was My Mom's cat when I lived with my parents. When we both were moving away from each other in 2014 My Mom let me take her with me. So I have been Lily's mom for 5 years of her almost 8 yrs alive. (Lily will be 8 soon) I am going to lose my Mom soon and I can't bear to lose my Cat too! :(

Thank you for keeping a close eye on Lily following up Gill & George! I will set my alarm to check Lily's BG at 7:30 PM. If I don't post on here right away I will try to get it in the SS at least. I will check with you guys before giving Lily insulin.

Lily's history is she was diagnosed with Diabetes in December of 2016. She was only on Lantus insulin for like 9 days, literally. Then she went into remission for 10 months thanks to finding this community and reading a lot of threads, but I never created an account. That is where I learned Fancy Feast was the best food to feed Lily. I have been struggling with Lily's Diabetes since October 2017. Lily was hospitalized in October 2018 from pancreatitis. They did mention she had ketones in her urine. I haven't been able to stabilize Lily and have been so eager to get her back in remission.

After Lily's hospitalization this past October I changed Lily's diet to the kitten Fancy Feast as the doctors were pressuring me to do a prescribed diet. I kept asking them there has to be something else you can suggest besides prescribed. I kept mentioning this site and no doctors say anything about it. So at the least I was told a kitten diet might help, but no other brands. Well I had been following doctors orders and blindly giving insulin which took me a month or 2 to do after Lily's hospitalization. I was just doing blood curves every couple of weeks. (per doctors)

On January 2nd 2019 I did a curve and the doctor said Lily no longer needed insulin. No other instructions other than to stop the insulin. And so I abruptly stopped the insulin and 2 weeks later Lily was hospitalized. Of course being out of state doesn't help either. Thank God it didn't happen on the road traveling! Lily started being sick on the 14th. And by the 17th she was hospitalized again. I got standard bloodwork from a local vet before hospitalizing. Couldn't afford to get more bloodwork for pancreatitis testing. Just bargained to treat on a budget and act as if it were pancreatitis again. I am sure the second hospitalization and probably the first all happened from not having diabetes under control.

That's Lily's history in a nutshell. So thousands of dollars later she is still here! If I just joined sooner none of these hospitalization would have happened. (sigh) what can you do! Alrighty so I am going to get ready for dinner with family. Will check back with you guys and update in a little bit on Lily's Blood sugars. It's 5:53PM North Carolina Time. I'll try to check back at 730PM - 8 30 PM ish. (roughly 2 hours?)
 
Lily's #s Today:

AMPS = 693
+2 = 510
+ 5.5 hrs = 338
+11 = 564

Would you guys say that Lily should be given 1.25 units at 8:30 PM per her history and SS?
 
Gave Lily the 1.25 insulin dose tonight. Sorry I didn't check Lily at +12. I fed her and gave her insulin and thought I should have taken her BG again. I didn't think I had a good chance after starting to feed her.

Checked BG @ +2 = 464
 
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