3.23.15 Queenie +10 321, AMPS 382, +2 380, + 5 232, +8 143, +10 168, PMPS 184, +2 299

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Chris & Queenie

Chris & Queenie

Member Since 2015
Yesterday's thread


Don't know why, have no reason for this. Is it a bounce again? All I gave overnight for the low numbers was her regular low carb food and some chicken treats. Now we get that stinky pinky that Chis mentioned...

I am wondering if this spike could have been caused by giving her catnip at+5. Her number was 85 and on the rise. She doesn't go nuts O for catnip, it's just a little distraction for her so I could sneak back off to bed....
 
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Good morning Chris & Queenie!
I'm about to do a +11 on Liz. She might also be high due to the amount of food she ate overnight. haha your posts are very entertaining!

Like you, I have been looking at the spreadsheets and posts. You certainly appear to have taken the low numbers better than I did! And I read Karen's - whoa! Now I can't remember if it was before or after Lizzy's low numbers. Honestly, I am living and breathing feline diabetes right now on very little sleep and my brain isn't working!

I notice you switched from an AlphaTrak 2 to Relion Micro. How did that go?

Hoping Queenie has a good day! Go Queenie! :cat:(I wish they had a crown icon to put here!)
 
Vicki said:
Good morning Chris & Queenie!
I'm about to do a +11 on Liz. She might also be high due to the amount of food she ate overnight. haha your posts are very entertaining!

Like you, I have been looking at the spreadsheets and posts. You certainly appear to have taken the low numbers better than I did! And I read Karen's - whoa! Now I can't remember if it was before or after Lizzy's low numbers. Honestly, I am living and breathing feline diabetes right now on very little sleep and my brain isn't working!

I notice you switched from an AlphaTrak 2 to Relion Micro. How did that go?

Hoping Queenie has a good day! Go Queenie! :cat:(I wish they had a crown icon to put here!)
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Hi Vickie, I agree a crown emoticon would be nice. I've been thinking about calling Queenie " Your Highness"... LOL it's not the name I would have given her, but she's too old to change it now. And I know what you mean about living and breathing the FDMB...I can become obsessed when one of them gets sick. It helps (or maybe contributes to my obsession) that I work at home and can take this on. I simply can't allow it to be this big of a distraction long term. But unlike some of the other things I've dealt with, treating FD seems like it could actually be oddly rewarding because your actions have such an immediate and (hopefully) beneficial effect.

I started with the AlphaTrak because it's what the vet sent me home with. I think the vets are pretty much in the SLGS paradigm because that's what most folks can really deal with, and the idea of home testing just overwhelms most people. Us crazy cat ladies however are a different story :bookworm:, I really want to do as much as I can. I soon figured out the forum would be my lifeline for this kitty and since most of the data and mentors base advice on human meters it was a no brainer to make the switch. Not to mention the outrageous price of the AT test strips!!! I tested both meters for a day, just so I felt better... but I'm really glad I switched. Last week I went thorough nearly 100 strips. I have used several to test the other cats in the house and I'm really glad to have learned what the numbers mean.

It looks like Liz is going to keep you on your toes and there will be more sleepless nights ahead, but hopefully she'll settle into a dose, or just get OTJ as they say, quickly and be diet controlled. My next big hurdle is to figure out a feeding schedule. This kitty lost 1/3 of her weight over the past 6 months and I want her to put some weight back on. I want to get her on a low carb diet that the other cats can also eat and not break the bank and I think I can do that. I have 17 cats and feeding time is chaos as you can imagine. While I don't keep them on a strict schedule (unless it's about the meds), I do take my eye off of them sometimes and if I have a kitty on a special diet it can be a problem. (and oh yes, did I mention there is a husband and a dog involved too??) I already have several on special diets, but when they cheat it's not quite as much of a problem. It actually was going better than I expected when she was getting her shots around 12:00. It didn't interfere with feeding or fasting her and it gave me a little bit of breathing room when trying to feed and medicated everyone else. Just have to get up at 2 am for that +2 reading....but even so, if that 's the schedule her nadir would be early in the morning and not in the wee hours... But it was interesting to be up at 4 am and see how many others were also posting. Interesting culture, but so glad it's there.

And you? do you work at home?
Good luck with Liz today. i am lookin forward to a time I can be a little less self absorbed with mine and read more of the other posts and maybe help out. We'll see.
 
Good morning Chris and Queenie!!

This is definitely a bounce. That 51 last night is a lot lower than her body has gotten used to so her liver kicked into gear and released the stored sugars and hormones to get her back up...Ms. Liver just isn't real good at doing things half way, so the sugar and hormone dump sent her that high

Catnip (unless it's coated in honey) is a great treat for our kitties!!...LOL
 
Thanks @Chris & China. Looks like I can take a little bit of a break today, yes? I do want advice about tomorrow. I have successfully moved her shot time, but won't be here for a +2 after the AM shot. I know we will need to see the cycle, but if I'm worried she may go low tomorrow while I am gone, should I give just a little gravy as I'm heading out the door? She does seem to handle the low numbers well, no symptoms I can see, and I should be back by +7 or 8.

I was really amazed to see the activity on line in the wee hours this morning. You all certainly make us newbies feel like someone cares and will be there! I am fascinated by all the lingo. The lagoon? a furball? I can see how much you all take care of each other!
 
Here's a post that has a "List of our jargon" that might help (I notice there are some important ones missing though!)

Looks like Queenie is breaking that bounce! It's just too early to know where she'll be in the morning, so there's no way to really advise you on tomorrow yet. What you might do if she's in the 300's varies a lot from what you'd do if she was in the 100's

Generally speaking, you can always leave food out for her to eat later on as long as she won't just scarf it down as soon as it's put down. Another option is to make "foodcicles"...take a can of food, add water and put it into ice cube trays or mini muffin tins and freeze. Most cats won't eat what they can't smell, and when it's frozen, it doesn't smell (although there are always cats that didn't read that they're not supposed to eat frozen food!) Several hours later after it thaws, it offers a fresh meal. This is something you'd need to try first to see if Queenie is one that will eat them frozen or not

You can also leave your regular low carb food down and mix some water with it to keep it from drying out....again, if she eats it as soon as it's down, this might not work.

Auto feeders are a great tool too. The Pet Safe 5 is a favorite around here

We have people here from all over the world, so you'll usually find someone on 24/7! That's another one of the wonderful things about the message board!
 
Thanks @Chris & China - She's pretty good about grazing... so far :-) I'll try to get someone with experience to give me a little advice early tomorrow if I can. In general, I would say she's overall not as ravenous (probably getting bored with the DM). So I'm thinking she's going to need to go on more of a schedule. Besides leaving food down means she has to be isolated and long term I'd like to avoid that. Is a 4 X a day schedule typically good if the cat is eating reliably?
 
I feed China every 3-4 hours....4x a day is fine too...it's one of those ECID things!

We recommend small meals over big ones because small ones don't stress out the pancreas like big ones do. Also, you have to do some experimenting, but we see some cats who do a lot better if they get their food earlier in the cycle...all before +6 ..because after nadir, the insulin is starting to lose it's "punch" so you don't want to add food. It can "put the brakes on" the effect of the insulin even sooner

Again, you just have to experiment and see what works best for Queenie!
 
Chris & China said:
I feed China every 3-4 hours....4x a day is fine too...it's one of those ECID things!

We recommend small meals over big ones because small ones don't stress out the pancreas like big ones do. Also, you have to do some experimenting, but we see some cats who do a lot better if they get their food earlier in the cycle...all before +6 ..because after nadir, the insulin is starting to lose it's "punch" so you don't want to add food. It can "put the brakes on" the effect of the insulin even sooner

Again, you just have to experiment and see what works best for Queenie!
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Thanks! most helpful. Good luck with China tonight. wishing you easy greens :-)
 
Chris & China said:
We recommend small meals over big ones because small ones don't stress out the pancreas like big ones do. Also, you have to do some experimenting, but we see some cats who do a lot better if they get their food earlier in the cycle...all before +6 ..because after nadir, the insulin is starting to lose it's "punch" so you don't want to add food. It can "put the brakes on" the effect of the insulin even sooner
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Chris & China,
I just printed this out, but then I wondered about it. Isn't Lantus a delayed release insulin?
Thanks!
Vicki
ps I offered Liz some "diamond" ;) earrings for her pierced ears, but she wants turquoise bird earrings.
 
Vicki said:
Chris & China,
I just printed this out, but then I wondered about it. Isn't Lantus a delayed release insulin?
Thanks!
Vicki
ps I offered Liz some "diamond" ;) earrings for her pierced ears, but she wants turquoise bird earrings.
Click to expand...



Liz has good taste!
 
Vicki said:
Isn't Lantus a delayed release insulin?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is, but it still only lasts about 12 hours in most cats...for the first 6, it's "kicking in" and the last 6 it's starting to wear off...but that's a "perfect" cycle...and as we know, there's really no such thing, plus ECID so it's a matter of learning how each cat responds

If you think of a smile, that's kind of how each cycle will look ....the top left of the smile is AMPS...then gradually goes down until nadir...then back up again to "finish" the smile by PMPS :) example...start at 250...go down to 125 and back up to 250 (or even crazier...we've seen cats go from 400 to 40 and back to 400 in the same cycle!)

As you get better regulated, the "smile" flattens out ....example...you could start at 90, go down to 75 and back up to 90...so more of a "grin" than a smile...LOL ;)
 
Thanks, Chris. That makes sense, which is surprising since my brain isn't functioning due to numbers and lack of sleep. :confused:
 
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