24/02 Maggie AMPS 373 / +245 / +5,20 144

[hellen_maggie]

? - 23/02, Maggie, AMPS 345 / +3 223 / +5 124 / +6 126 / +8 151 / +10 187

Ηι everyone
After last night’s dose reduction (from 0.75 to 0.5 because the preshot felt low for our data), we woke up to higher numbers this morning, AMPS 373. Trial and error! I think reducing may have been the reason for the higher AM numbers. Next time we get a lower preshot similar to last night’s, I will take a deep breath and shoot our full dose. We still have a lot to learn on this journey, we are very much at the beginning.

Safe surfing to all the kitties today!

 

[Karolina & Nestle]

Good meowning
This higher pre-shot is most likely just her bouncing from the lower dose yesterday. It's quite normal. We'll see what she decides to do today.
You're doing great and she's in good hands.
Happy tuesday

 

[Mary & Jude]

Hi Hellen!

I just caught up on yesterday's post. I'm SO glad Maggie is feeling better after her vomiting episodes--that was super worrisome. You received some excellent advice yesterday about shooting lower numbers. I wanted to mention a couple of things that helped me when I first began. As others mentioned yesterday, you are going to eventually get into lower numbers with Maggie; that's the ultimate goal. When/if you get a lower than normal preshot number, there is a protocol that we typically follow for both SLGS and TR, and it's on this sticky: Sticky - Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR). Of course, you can (and should) always pop onto the board if you are concerned, and someone will be here to guide you. I bookmark these posts so that I can refer back to them when I find myself in the situation where I need them (though I used to get so nervous, that I couldn't make heads or tails of the posts without some guidance from the forum--I'm better on that now).

When you have a lower than normal preshot number and you post on the forum, the first thing someone will ask is this: can you monitor and do you have enough supplies (testing strips and medium/high carb food on hand) to monitor. I also wanted to mention why the food is important. When I first started with Jude's FD, I was SO AFRAID of lower numbers, but then someone helped me to understand that the tool we use to bring up a cat's blood glucose is food. If Jude has a lower than normal preshot number OR if he drops low during a cycle, I begin boosting his bg with small serving (1-2 tsp) of medium/high carb food (carb value depending on the bg number). Then I monitor to ensure the food is bringing up his bg number into a safe range. Here is a discussion about this concept, which is called feeding the curve: 8/10 TASHIE pmps=HIGH! +Questions***. It takes some time to get comfortable with this, but, for me, knowing that Jude wasn't going to fall off the edge of the world with his numbers because I had some control over boosting them with food helped me to feel more comfortable with shooting lower numbers and with encountering lower numbers in the cycle. I'm not going to lie; it still makes me nervous to shoot numbers in the 50s/60s, and it's always important to know thy cat (we get to know them by gathering data), knowing their proclivities related to insulin, but it's a little easier knowing I have some control over those bg drops by giving him food.

 

[hellen_maggie]

Hi Hellen!

I just caught up on yesterday's post. I'm SO glad Maggie is feeling better after her vomiting episodes--that was super worrisome. You received some excellent advice yesterday about shooting lower numbers. I wanted to mention a couple of things that helped me when I first began. As others mentioned yesterday, you are going to eventually get into lower numbers with Maggie; that's the ultimate goal. When/if you get a lower than normal preshot number, there is a protocol that we typically follow for both SLGS and TR, and it's on this sticky: Sticky - Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR). Of course, you can (and should) always pop onto the board if you are concerned, and someone will be here to guide you. I bookmark these posts so that I can refer back to them when I find myself in the situation where I need them (though I used to get so nervous, that I couldn't make heads or tails of the posts without some guidance from the forum--I'm better on that now).

When you have a lower than normal preshot number and you post on the forum, the first thing someone will ask is this: can you monitor and do you have enough supplies (testing strips and medium/high carb food on hand) to monitor. I also wanted to mention why the food is important. When I first started with Jude's FD, I was SO AFRAID of lower numbers, but then someone helped me to understand that the tool we use to bring up a cat's blood glucose is food. If Jude has a lower than normal preshot number OR if he drops low during a cycle, I begin boosting his bg with small serving (1-2 tsp) of medium/high carb food (carb value depending on the bg number). Then I monitor to ensure the food is bringing up his bg number into a safe range. Here is a discussion about this concept, which is called feeding the curve: 8/10 TASHIE pmps=HIGH! +Questions***. It takes some time to get comfortable with this, but, for me, knowing that Jude wasn't going to fall off the edge of the world with his numbers because I had some control over boosting them with food helped me to feel more comfortable with shooting lower numbers and with encountering lower numbers in the cycle. I'm not going to lie; it still makes me nervous to shoot numbers in the 50s/60s, and it's always important to know thy cat (we get to know them by gathering data), knowing their proclivities related to insulin, but it's a little easier knowing I have some control over those bg drops by giving him food.

Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for caring about us and for being so encouraging and supportive. It truly means a lot.
Yes, I have those posts bookmarked too so I can find them quickly if I need them. But I still genuinely panic when I see lower preshot numbers. Honestly, for me right now, even yellow numbers still feel low. I do exactly what you described, in the moment when I have to make a decision, I suddenly can’t understand what I’m reading because I’m so scared… even though I’ve read those posts 500 times!
I believe that with time, as I gain more control and gather more data, I’ll feel calmer and more confident. I know I still have time ahead of me to get there.
My biggest fear is that Maggie isn’t eating any wet food at all right now because of her stomach issues. The only high-carb food I currently have that she can eat is dry food (kibble), and I know it doesn’t act as quickly as wet food. I have bought some medium and high-carb wet gastro food just in case of an emergency, but my vet prefers that I don’t use it because he’s worried it may trigger vomiting again. He would rather I use honey if needed...
The truth is that I do feel that little by little I’m starting to relax. For example, today I gave her full dose with an AMPS of 250 and for me, that’s progress! Fingers crossed for a nice, safe surf today!

Thank you again for caring about my baby.

 

[Mary & Jude]

Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for caring about us and for being so encouraging and supportive. It truly means a lot.
Yes, I have those posts bookmarked too so I can find them quickly if I need them. But I still genuinely panic when I see lower preshot numbers. Honestly, for me right now, even yellow numbers still feel low. I do exactly what you described, in the moment when I have to make a decision, I suddenly can’t understand what I’m reading because I’m so scared… even though I’ve read those posts 500 times!
I believe that with time, as I gain more control and gather more data, I’ll feel calmer and more confident. I know I still have time ahead of me to get there.
My biggest fear is that Maggie isn’t eating any wet food at all right now because of her stomach issues. The only high-carb food I currently have that she can eat is dry food (kibble), and I know it doesn’t act as quickly as wet food. I have bought some medium and high-carb wet gastro food just in case of an emergency, but my vet prefers that I don’t use it because he’s worried it may trigger vomiting again. He would rather I use honey if needed...
The truth is that I do feel that little by little I’m starting to relax. For example, today I gave her full dose with an AMPS of 250 and for me, that’s progress! Fingers crossed for a nice, safe surf today!

Thank you again for caring about my baby.

Have you ever experimented to see how much of a food bump she gets from the kibble?? And how quickly?

 

[hellen_maggie]

Have you ever experimented to see how much of a food bump she gets from the kibble?? And how quickly?

To be honest, I haven’t actually done that yet. I assume you mean checking her glucose levels about 30 to 60 minutes after she eats to see how much the sugar spikes? I wasn't entirely sure I understood the term 'food bump' at first, but it makes sense now..

 

[Mary & Jude]

What is her feeding schedule? Does she eat when you give her shot? Does she eat most of her food at that point, or is she a grazer?

 

[hellen_maggie]

What is her feeding schedule? Does she eat when you give her shot? Does she eat most of her food at that point, or is she a grazer?

Her meals are before shots, +1, +2, +3, +4,5. 10 small meals per day..

 

[Mary & Jude]

Her meals are before shots, +1, +2, +3, +4,5. 10 small meals per day..

Is she still transitioning to the Ziwi from the RC?
I don't think I would try any experiments until she gets completely over whatever it was that was making her sick the other day. But when she's completely stable, maybe you can withhold one of those meals, letting the food influence pass from her system, feed and then test 30 mins after feeding to see how the food affects her bg.

 

[hellen_maggie]

Is she still transitioning to the Ziwi from the RC?
I don't think I would try any experiments until she gets completely over whatever it was that was making her sick the other day. But when she's completely stable, maybe you can withhold one of those meals, letting the food influence pass from her system, feed and then test 30 mins after feeding to see how the food affects her bg.

Right now, I've paused the transition (we’re still at about 20% Ziwi) until she fully recovers. I’m a bit confused, though... I assume we do this test to know how sensitive she is to carbs, right? But how exactly does this information help us in managing her treatment? Is it done in order to adjust the feeding times? Could you help me understand the goal of seeing that 'food bump'?"

 

[Mary & Jude]

Right now, I've paused the transition (we’re still at about 20% Ziwi) until she fully recovers. I’m a bit confused, though... I assume we do this test to know how sensitive she is to carbs, right? But how exactly does this information help us in managing her treatment? Is it done in order to adjust the feeding times? Could you help me understand the goal of seeing that 'food bump'?"

Sure, the goal of understanding the food bump is so that if/when their numbers drop, we can know what carb value we should give the kitty in case we need to use food to bring him/her up (so, yes, her carb sensitivity). That post I gave earlier on feeding the curve gives more of an explanation. And not everyone does this experiment, I was thinking about your concerns of Maggie going too low, and also the fact that you're only able to feed Maggie kibble, and a limited variety of kibble at that, and since food is the tool we use to bring up low bg, I was just wondering what effect her current kibble is having on her bg, and wondering if you could rely on it to boost her bg. But since you are feeding her every hour or so, and her numbers aren't going up much (if at all) after that food, it's likely that you would need something higher carb if her numbers dropped. For an example of feeding the curve, notice Jude's spreadsheet on 2/18: in his pm cycle, he dropped to the limes. I fed him some HC food mixed into his regular LC, which created a MC food. I wanted to bump him up out of those lower numbers, but not too high because if they get too high, they can bounce. So I fed him a little MC, tested an hour later, and then gave a little more MC, and I knew he would be okay through the rest of the cycle because his numbers were going up.

 

[hellen_maggie]

Sure, the goal of understanding the food bump is so that if/when their numbers drop, we can know what carb value we should give the kitty in case we need to use food to bring him/her up (so, yes, her carb sensitivity). That post I gave earlier on feeding the curve gives more of an explanation. And not everyone does this experiment, I was thinking about your concerns of Maggie going too low, and also the fact that you're only able to feed Maggie kibble, and a limited variety of kibble at that, and since food is the tool we use to bring up low bg, I was just wondering what effect her current kibble is having on her bg, and wondering if you could rely on it to boost her bg. But since you are feeding her every hour or so, and her numbers aren't going up much (if at all) after that food, it's likely that you would need something higher carb if her numbers dropped. For an example of feeding the curve, notice Jude's spreadsheet on 2/18: in his pm cycle, he dropped to the limes. I fed him some HC food mixed into his regular LC, which created a MC food. I wanted to bump him up out of those lower numbers, but not too high because if they get too high, they can bounce. So I fed him a little MC, tested an hour later, and then gave a little more MC, and I knew he would be okay through the rest of the cycle because his numbers were going upΤhank you for explaining this so clearly. It really helps me understand the idea behind the food bump and carb sensitivity.

You’re absolutely right, since Maggie is only eating kibble right now (and a very limited type because of her stomach), I honestly don’t know how much I can rely on it if her numbers drop. This is my biggest fear so far. And you’re also right that even when I feed her small amounts during the cycle, her numbers don’t really go up much.I think that for now, the only option I feel truly confident using if she drops is honey...
I think what I’m missing right now is experience and data. I’m still learning how her body responds. But your explanation makes a lot of sense and helps me think about it in a calmer, more practical way.
Thank you for taking the time to walk me through this. It truly helps more than you know.