3/25 Rui AMPS 193 +2=137 +4=81 never been this low

[katieroc]

Not sure what to do. Rui had never been this low. Gave him 32 u this am but stayed home with him since he hasn't had an am number this low. I know "green is good" but frankly I'm scared to death. I will keep testing but so unsure about pm dose. Yes. 81 is normal but what if he keeps dropping.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

He's not moving fast - that's only 56 points in the past 2 hours. Have you given him some of his regular low carb food to help him surf?

After Punkin's SRT when I had moments like this, I gave a 50% shot next, then returned with a new lower dose in the morning. So if I were dosing Rui, I'd give 16u tonight, which will interrupt the green cycle and then follow it with something like 30u in the morning. However, if he bounces from being green today and is high by tonight, and if he doesn't go much lower still today, I might keep the same dose tonight.

Can you get his spreadsheet up to date? Times like this it's really helpful (essential) to be able to see what's going on by looking at it on the ss.

If he goes lower than you're comfy with today, you can always break out the high carb and give him gravy. Some acro cats seem to need a lot of gravy (like even the whole can) but punkin responded just like other cats to 1 teaspoon. You'll give some carbs then recheck in about 20 minutes. As long as he's over 50 he's fine - even though he's getting alot of insulin, you've worked up to that dose. But a little higher gives a little more room to work. Wendy took reductions at 70 for Neko after her SRT for the first little while, switching to 50 after she'd gotten to a lower dose.

 

[katieroc]

Thank you Julie! I just updated SS. I didn't give him the real high carb food (didn't want to do that unless he was in real trouble). I gave him some Tiki Cat (no carbs at +2=137 and FF roasted turkey at +4=81. Just tested him at +5=86. I'll keep testing. That you for the dosing advise. Though, when you say if he's high tonight keep the same dose, you mean the 32 u like I gave him this a.m.? He had some tests done at the vet this week. Blood pressure, normal. Thyroid normal. He another a repeat urine and it shows protein again, so they're doing the UPC. As I said, he hasn't been this low since Sept and my heart jumped when I saw that number.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

I think it's up to you. I was just thinking that if he stays surfing along in this 80 range and then bounces by pmps, i might keep the 32u dose. The question is what range do you want him in? If you're ok with these high greens, then keep the dose at 32u unless he gets lower. If it's unnerving and you'ld like him running higher, decrease the dose.

If you want him running higher and he doesn't bounce, you could always just go to 30u or so tonight and see how he does on that.

I decreased in advance with punkin post-srt. There wasn't anyone with an acro cat on the board at the time, nor anyone that had done the SRT. So I made decisions a lot based on my fears. I hate to admit it, but that's the truth. I was always afraid the SRT would suddenly click in and he'd be way overdosed, although that never happened. In retrospect, I think I could've let him run lower and i could've held doses longer that got him into green instead of decreasing in advance.

But . . . who knows - if i were doing it again maybe i would do the same thing. I wanted to protect him and there is just no clear road-map for the high dose kitties. You just take it one step at a time and make the best decisions you can at the moment. My husband and I called it "dialing for doses" - what will we shoot him with this time?

It's a bit crazy, isn't it?! But you're doing well and it's good to see Rui responding to the SRT!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

@julie & punkin (ga) - Katie is using the AlphaTrak 2, so those numbers in the 80's are more like the 60's on the human meters.

Great news that Rui is responding! It can seem like a bit of a roller coaster at times.

After our SRT and when Neko started going down, I asked the folks at CSU for suggestions as I was alone here too at the time. They said to reduce when Neko got below 70, which would be somewhere in the mid 90's ish on the AlphaTrak. It worked for us. It gave us a little bit of a margin of error that you want with the higher depot, rather that strictly following the protocol and waiting to reduce at going below 50 (68 on the AT). A few other of the high dose kitties here have since also used the same below 70 (human meter) guideline.

I like Julie's suggestion of going down to 30U next. I only once did the 1/2 dose for the cycle after. Neko always bounced so much that I didn't need to do it. I've heard others suggest a 2/3 dose (so that would be 20 units) the cycle after to drain the depot some, then start the following cycle with the new dose. But it's something you have to experiment with to see what works for Rui. You may need to do a 1/2 dose so I'd try it first if he's not bouncing and see how it works, unless he's bouncing high of course.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

ACK - my mistake. Glad you caught it, Wendy.

 

[katieroc]

Thanks Julie and Wendy. I just tested him and he's at 128 +8 so he's on the rise which I guess is normal. I don't know where he'll be at +12, but my instinct tells me "business as usual". I want him in the greens, but it was scary to actually see it. I feel like you did at one time Julie--what if the SRT kicks in and he suddenly drops drastically. I know there's no real formula for high dose kitties, per se, but I'd love to have a chart--if this, then that. I don't want to come off like a scaredy cat (forgive the pun), but I'm very unsure of myself and afraid I'm going to hurt him. Like how much to reduce when I have to reduce. I think if he's really up there tonight, I may maintain the 32 u. If not, then the 30 u unless for some reason he's really low, but that doesn't seem likely. I've had other animals with illnesses, etc., but this by far is the most challenging situation I've ever encountered with a furbaby. You really are wonderful people to offer your time and guidance.

 

[Marilyn and Sheldon]

You really are wonderful people to offer your time and guidance.

You nailed it with that statement. And I really understand this one, too:

what if the SRT kicks in and he suddenly drops drastically. I know there's no real formula for high dose kitties, per se, but I'd love to have a chart--if this, then that. I don't want to come off like a scaredy cat (forgive the pun), but I'm very unsure of myself and afraid I'm going to hurt him.

We've been at the post SRT for over six months now. I'm much more comfortable. But it took shaking through lots of uncharted territory for me to get to this stage. And we could not have done it without Julie and Wendy sharing their experience and knowledge and understanding.

Hang on.

Marilyn and Polly

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I know there's no real formula for high dose kitties, per se, but I'd love to have a chart--if this, then that. I don't want to come off like a scaredy cat (forgive the pun), but I'm very unsure of myself and afraid I'm going to hurt him. Like how much to reduce when I have to reduce. I think if he's really up there tonight, I may maintain the 32 u. If not, then the 30 u unless for some reason he's really low, but that doesn't seem likely. I've had other animals with illnesses, etc., but this by far is the most challenging situation I've ever encountered with a furbaby.

Yes, this is definitely challenging at first. But it's a good thing to see these numbers. Once you've been through a few low numbers, you will gain confidence. Post here any time you are worried about what to do.

Since it's a little over 3 months since SRT, Rui would be on schedule for starting to see some effects from it. At this point, it's best to be a bit cautious and take the reduction to 30 as his next dose. If he's under, say 300, then I'd do the half dose tonight and resume with 30 units tomorrow morning. It's much easier to go back up in dose if you need to. When Neko started feeling the effects of SRT, we were reducing a couple times a week. She never dropped drastically, but she did keep me on my toes. Using going below 70 (human meter) or mid 90's on the AlphaTrack as the guideline for when to take a reduction will give you a bit of control.

We decide the dose based on the nadirs or how low the dose gets him. If he bounces by preshot due to the greens today, try to ignore it. Wait 6 cycles for him to get over the bounce (unless he goes low again), then at that time you can evaluate whether he needs to go back up.

 

[katieroc]

Thank you all! Tonight should be just fabulous! LOL!