? 20.6. Boris, AMPS 92 (dose advise)

Nava&Boris

Member Since 2022
Hi everyone,

Today was supposed to be Boris’s last day on this tiny dose before another reduction. However, after bragging here on the Message board a couple of days ago about how well he is doing:banghead:, his BG Nrs. went up a bit and he is now at the very end of the ‘normal’ spectrum (high 80’s to low 100’s), so I’m not sure how to proceed from here. I’m thinking to either hold the dose a bit longer, or even increase it again to 0.25 for a while.

Also, I was planning to give him a drop dose, but since I’ve noticed that the 0.1 u doesn’t do much for him in terms of lowering his BG, I’m now wondering if it would be helpful at all (it’s obvious that in the recent week or so, a tsp. of food was much more effective in getting him to a lower BG than the actual shot).

I’ll be happy if the experienced members of this board can advise me about what the next step should be. I also wanted to ask a more ‘general’ question in regards to the average BG: Can higher (but normal) BG Nr’s. indicate a weaker remission in a cat? Is it better if cats go into remission with BG’s mostly in the 60’s or 70’s than in the 90’s? I’m asking this because a lot of members here with well-regulated cats that already shoot tiny doses (or even nothing at all) seem to be happy if their cat stays in the lower greens.

Thanks in advance for your help…
 
Are you giving the small snack at +9 for both the AM and PM cycles?

You might want to review this post: Reminder: *earning* reductions and starting OTJ trials
Hi Wendy,
Boris gets a snack every +9 am with the automatic feeder and usually also in the +9 pm unless I am away for the whole day (I normally work from home so that doesn’t happen often:). In regards to the ‘earning reduction’ thread I am now confused; According to it, Boris qualifies for a reduction (below 90 on SLGS) but is not even close to qualifying for OTJ trial (his lowest readings on the 0.1 dose are only around 85-90 an he is mostly between 90-100). I would expect him to be on a more ‘normal’ range if he only gets a drop of insulin, no? Are you suggesting I increase the dose to 0.25? that way he will be able to spend more time within the heathy range (that’s normally 70-80 in his standards), and so perhaps he will become a stronger candidate for OTJ in the future (that is what I am thinking would be best for him actually).
what do you think?
 
Just to adress your question regarding “higher” normal range, Chico’s normal was 86 for all the 9 months he was in remission. In the moment when we saw 77 or 67 we knew something was happening and it did: he is out of remission ( the cause is another underlying condition and we are still trying to figure it out). My point is each cat is different, normal high is still normal :)

Boris looks great, cross our fingers for you two :cat:

p. s. Where is ur SS for before May? I would love to see your progress with SLGS, it is very rare that i see a cat get so close to remission with this protocol :woot:
 
Just to adress your question regarding “higher” normal range, Chico’s normal was 86 for all the 9 months he was in remission. In the moment when we saw 77 or 67 we knew something was happening and it did: he is out of remission ( the cause is another underlying condition and we are still trying to figure it out). My point is each cat is different, normal high is still normal :)

Boris looks great, cross our fingers for you two :cat:

p. s. Where is ur SS for before May? I would love to see your progress with SLGS, it is very rare that i see a cat get so close to remission with this protocol :woot:
Hi Marina,
Im sorry that Chico is back from remission...
My answer to your questions regarding the SS is also an answer for Bron as to why I’m not swapping to TR... It has to do with Boris's attitude towards testing. For a long time it was totally impossible for me to touch his ears, and even now, testing him 4 times a day is quite hard and has its price. In the long 7 months prior to mid april, I was trying to semi-regulate him with urinalysis stripes. He was above renal threshold for most of this time, but twice in that period I did manage to get the right dose and hold it. Both times Boris had the same pattern- after around 10 days his BG was going too low and he needed sharp reductions often skipping down in whole units (his initial 'good-dose' was between 3 to 3.5 units). I could tell that he is low by his behavior: nervousness and sudden hunger around 2 hours after the shot, and of course- consistently clean urine glucose tests. The second time it happened I managed to get him a little bit accustomed to the blood testing (using chicken pieces) but it is still a struggle and I guess TR would still be hard to manage for both of us.

I also have a feeling that like Chico, Boris is a lot more comfortable in the 80’s and the 90’s than he is in the 70’s or lower (he sometimes acts nervous and extra hungry on 70 as well), but I thought that it might be also a habit thing with him – after dwelling in higher BG for so long. I guess I will still have to use a lot of intuition regarding the dosing and the possibility of taking him off insulin.
 
According to it, Boris qualifies for a reduction (below 90 on SLGS) but is not even close to qualifying for OTJ trial (his lowest readings on the 0.1 dose are only around 85-90 an he is mostly between 90-100). I would expect him to be on a more ‘normal’ range if he only gets a drop of insulin, no? Are you suggesting I increase the dose to 0.25? that way he will be able to spend more time within the heathy range (that’s normally 70-80 in his standards), and so perhaps he will become a stronger candidate for OTJ in the future (that is what I am thinking would be best for him actually).
what do you think?
You are using a reduction point of 70, not 90 for SLGS. So that part of the thread I posted would change from reductions at 90 to 70. I am not suggesting an increase. I linked the thread for the discussion of what "normal" range is for cats is. As Marina said, some like to be a little higher than others. My non diabetic crew tended to high 40's and low 50's, unless on steroids when it went up to 70's.
 
You are using a reduction point of 70, not 90 for SLGS. So that part of the thread I posted would change from reductions at 90 to 70. I am not suggesting an increase. I linked the thread for the discussion of what "normal" range is for cats is. As Marina said, some like to be a little higher than others. My non diabetic crew tended to high 40's and low 50's, unless on steroids when it went up to 70's.
The reduction point of 70 is something that I decided upon quite arbitrarily since I realized that it was impossible to hold kitties in green Nrs. on small dosages with 90 as the lower limit. On the other hand, I don’t test that often and want to keep Boris safe (I have never ever 'caught' him lower than 70 other than a single reading of 56 after changing the insulin pen, but I guess that with testing 4 times a day at the most, it doesn't say much...). It is kind of a compromise Nr. that is more of a general guideline. The up side is that at least so far, my personal cat’s BG curves tend to be quite stable and not at all erratic or unpredictable. As I wrote Marina, I guess I’ll just have to further trust my gut feelings when it comes to future reductions or putting Boris on an OTJ trial.

I want to thank everybody here that responded to my thread today, and to my questions...It is much appreciated!:)
 
Back
Top