2/7 Zhoom Boy - dosing advice & questions about switching to TR

[CRL]

After a week of high numbers on a failed reduction we are finally seeing some beautiful blues with a dapple of green. The green, however, was 85 which earned him a dose reduction under SLGS. I did reduce the dose today but was hesitant to do so- it seems likely that we will return to the high numbers.

I see that in the TR protocol, reductions are not taken until a cat goes under 40 or 50. I am thinking of switching to TR. If I decide to do so, what are my next steps? Do I immediately go back to the 1.5 U or hold this new reduced dose for 6 cycles?

How does TR account for bouncing, because my Zhoom is a serious bouncer. How do I deal with that on the TR method?

I am sure I will have plenty more questions if I do make the switch, but I think this is a good place to start.

Hope everyone is well today. Here in NY state we are getting a ton of snow. It is nice to snuggle in and stay put in a cozy home.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Hi. Max bounced his whole first year. Then he was mostly in good numbers. I wasn’t aggressive at first. I would keep
The current dose and let the numbers guide you using TR. A drop under 50 would call for a reduction. After a year it’s 3 times under 50 or if ever below 40. With Max I eventually went to three times under 50 before a year when he kept bouncing. I’d start with following TR at first and see what happens before making any adjustments to it as just the switch to TR might work for you.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

As long as you are feeding all low carb wet or raw, with the testing you do, you could switch to TR anytime. And I would go back up to 1.5 units as that dose did not earn a decrease on TR. As for bouncing, it's only by spending more time in normal BG numbers, and getting used to them, does the bouncing slow down. Following TR, where he can spend more time in the greens, will help. However, it does depend on the cat. My girl took a year to stop bouncing to red anymore.

 

[Bandit's Mom]

As long as you are feeding all low carb wet or raw, with the testing you do, you could switch to TR anytime. And I would go back up to 1.5 units as that dose did not earn a decrease on TR. As for bouncing, it's only by spending more time in normal BG numbers, and getting used to them, does the bouncing slow down. Following TR, where he can spend more time in the greens, will help. However, it does depend on the cat. My girl took a year to stop bouncing to red anymore.

wow. a year of bouncing to reds? i guess i should stop complaining about bandit bouncing!

 

[CRL]

Hi. Max bounced his whole first year. Then he was mostly in good numbers. I wasn’t aggressive at first. I would keep
The current dose and let the numbers guide you using TR. A drop under 50 would call for a reduction. After a year it’s 3 times under 50 or if ever below 40. With Max I eventually went to three times under 50 before a year when he kept bouncing. I’d start with following TR at first and see what happens before making any adjustments to it as just the switch to TR might work for you.

Oh these bouncy kitties. Thanks for your advice

 

[CRL]

As long as you are feeding all low carb wet or raw, with the testing you do, you could switch to TR anytime. And I would go back up to 1.5 units as that dose did not earn a decrease on TR. As for bouncing, it's only by spending more time in normal BG numbers, and getting used to them, does the bouncing slow down. Following TR, where he can spend more time in the greens, will help. However, it does depend on the cat. My girl took a year to stop bouncing to red anymore.

Thanks. I do feed all wet food.

Forgive me, I do not really understand TR protocol yet - Please let me know if I am understanding these steps correctly - So, if I try out TR, I would go back to the 1.5 U and hold that dose for 6 cycles. And then,
- If his nadirs are greater than 300, increase the dose by 0.5 and hold for at least 6 cycles
-If his nadirs are greater than 200 but less than 300, increase the dose by 0.25 and hold for at least 6 cycles.
-If his nadirs are less than 100 - since those numbers are relatively new to him - I would hold that dose for at least 10 cycles.

The goal of TR is to keep kitties numbers overall below 100 and aim for the target range of a healthy cat (50-80) as much of the time as possible without going below 40 or 50.

Do I understand all of that part correctly?

This is also where my bouncing question comes in - it is my understanding that on the SLGS method I would not do a curve/increase a dose based on a bounce cycle - so, on TR, do I hold the dose until he comes off of a bounce or increase regardless? Does my question make sense, I am not sure quite how to ask it clearly.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

This is also where my bouncing question comes in - it is my understanding that on the SLGS method I would not do a curve/increase a dose based on a bounce cycle - so, on TR, do I hold the dose until he comes off of a bounce or increase regardless? Does my question make sense, I am not sure quite how to ask it clearly.

With TR, you don't want to increase on the particular cycle where they are breaking the bounce, Actually, that could be said of either dosing method. So, as long as it's not a bounce breaking cycle, and it's time to increase, do so.

You summary of TR above missed the part where nadirs are between 100 and 200, which means a 0.25 unit increase after holding 6-10 cycles. If uncertain while you are learning TR, feel free to post and ask.