3/27 Star...PMPS+1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69 +5.5=54

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quilterkitty

Member Since 2013
yesterday's condo

Busy day yesterday, courtesy of Star, but really nice to see those numbers. Dose reductions? We'll take 'em! Good start today. Wish I could go back to bed after being up late last night, but I want to get a +1 and +2. Beautiful moonset this morning. Benefit of being up early . . .
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114

Oh, I just commented on yesterday's condo - I missed this! Late nights with dose reductions is tiring but WONDERFUL! You and Star are doing so good!
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45

Was not able to do a +3 but got a +4=45. Feeding some LC with a tiny bit of HC stirred in. Star's last reduction was just yesterday, and the protocol suggests keeping him at the current .75 dose for seven days to see if he maintains the lower numbers; however, looking at his spreadsheet over the past couple of days, I think I'd rather go with another decrease right away. He seems to be more sensitive to the insulin now, and his dips are low enough that I'm nervous about sending him into a hypo episode. Also, I noticed after I dosed him this morning that there are some tiny bubbles in the Lantus pen we're using, so I'll toss that one and open a new one tonight.

For a week or more I have been thinking about when Star was diagnosed, and my vet said I could try just a diet change to get his BG under control or go straight to insulin. Because I was scared of his high numbers and had done only some preliminary research, I opted to treat him aggressively and went with the insulin (and the diet change) . As his numbers have fallen pretty dramatically over the last six days and stayed relatively low, I'm wondering if first trying the diet change alone might have been the better solution. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I've learned so much, and I'm not sure I would have been home testing him without also dosing him (not sure, I might have). And I realize there's no way to know for sure whether he would have ended up on insulin anyway. But I just wonder.

Well, time to test again! Poor little pincushion Star. grumpy_cat
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49

Currently at 49 (20 minute check after food). See you in another 20. :smile:
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60

About 10 minutes shy of a +5, but up to 60. Go Star! :RAHCAT
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60

Wow Star, really working the juice! I'd take the reduction tonight unless Star really did a big bounce or something. Values under 50 earn a reduction even if you haven't been on the dose for 7 days. They often earn reductions this way (boings below 50) as opposed to 7-days on a dose. Since Star is showing a lot of progress in a short period of time, it's better to be conservative and take all the earned reductions. Congrats!
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60

Regarding insulin vs food ... I'm no expert, but I've seen several spreadsheets that are like Star's...newly diagnosed and then quickly going to blues....greens...then OTJ. Hopefully Star will be one of the lucky ones where you've jumpstarted the pancreas and gotten the numbers down so healing can begin right away. Since you are already feeding an appropriate diet (I think you have, right?), you'd just taper off the insulin and you'll already be at the diet optimal for controlling BGs.

Let Star keep earning those awesome reductions! dancing_cat dancing_cat dancing_cat
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.

Gah, back to 47 at +5.5.

Thanks, Lisa. I'm thinking Star will be OTJ pretty soon (fingers, toes, and paws crossed)!
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60

Looking good!!
Star is working his way down... that's for sure....

It's good he's on the insulin... you are giving his pancreas support while he's healing....
And he's been safe so far. That's what's going to give him the best chance of remission... like Shadow.

hypo numbers can vary depending on the cat... but generally 40's are still safe. It's not a hypo unless he starts having symptoms.
He has to get to 49 to earn those reductions. ( the ones who've been here longer than a year... have to get to 39 ( below 40)
so Star's numbers are in the okay but be very vigilant zone.
You are steering his numbers and keeping him in the safe zone.

You are doing great!
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.

Oh, and yes, both he and my unsweetened cat, Maggie, are on a canned-only diet now. I'm preaching that to every cat owner I know!
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.

Thanks, Rhiannon! One of the benefits of adult ADHD, which I just learned last year that I have (and have had all my life) is hyper-focus, and I am working that angle! I am determined to manage Star's diabetes right out of his life, lol! Thanks for all your encouragement and guidance! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.

Yeah, back to 47. That's a solid reducie! Now you can see how a little HC gets burned off pretty quickly and the BGs fall again. That gives you a good idea that the dose is too high now because you are working to get Star over 50 and keep him there. Jack up a tad more HC with the LC again below 50 but you are far enough along in the cycle not to be really worried as long as Star is still interested in food. I have to head back to work so keep up the good work - you've got this!
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.

Sorry to offer a correction....

There's a very good chance that what you're seeing is the result of a depot that's still a bit too full. It can take a few cycles for the depot to adjust to the reduced dose -- or any dose change, for that matter. So, even though Star is visiting the 40s again, you may want to think about holding the 0.75u dose unless you feel like you are really having to work hard to get the numbers up.

FWIW, I probably would have given 1 - 2 teaspoons of HC gravy at +4.
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.

Sorry, I've been in a meeting since noon. After his last test I gave him a little more LC food spiked with some extra HC (about half and half), which he ate. Luckily, perhaps, Star rarely turns down food. :lol: I'm hoping to bring him up gradually and maybe not run the risk of a rapid drop after the HC is processed. But I'm saving the gravy as my pre-emergency option if he is still low or is dropping at the next test (any minute now), which is 90 minutes after the last one. Star is napping and dreaming, if his little sounds are any indication. ;-)

So I'm thinking there are at least two ways to go here on the subject of another dose reduction: stay the course and see if he balances out over the next several cycles, or reduce the dose and follow the numbers, knowing that a small increase might be in our future once the depot levels out. I'm torn about which way I want to go. Still have a week until we leave town, but I definitely want some stability before then because there will be nobody here to do those frequent tests and feedings. If Star's pancreas has returned from its little vacation and is starting to function, I hate to give him more insulin than is absolutely necessary. I know we make the best decisions we can with the information we have, and the numbers tell part of the story, but there are chapters we can't read because they don't present themselves clearly to us (sorry, I'm a writer so I'm sort of obligated to use book imagery whenever possible, lol!). And the only discomfort Star seems to be experiencing through all these rising and falling numbers, at least outwardly, is from the testing (he's never been a very vocal cat, but he's actually started to complain audibly about the ear pricks). So just in observing him and trying to go with one of the right answers, I'm on the fence until I get the rest of the day charted.

Thanks to you both, Lisa and Sienne, for your viewpoints. Let's see how things look through the afternoon and make a decision at dinner time. I mentioned that the Lantus pen I was using had tiny bubbles in it, so I'm opening a new pen tonight. Any chance the insulin itself is responsible for the dips, as in, could it possibly be stronger than it should be? I don't know what those bubbles mean, exactly, or how they affect the insulin. The warnings I've read just say that bubbles or anything else in the vial can cause inconsistent results. Any experience with that?
 
Re: 3/27 Star...+1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.5=47 +7

Yay, up to 93! party_cat Not much that a snack and a nap won't help, lol. It's been 90 minutes since the last test and the LC/HC mix, so I'm hopeful that Star is leveling out. We'll see what happens at the next test; anything is possible.
 
Re: 3/27 Star AMPS=114 +1=127 +2=72 +4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.

Thanks for saying Sienne. Leo earned back to back reductions like this and I used to take them all until I saw the pattern that he didn't hold the reductions well. So I decided to wait them out like you mentioned here and that really worked for us. Since Star is new to the show, I didn't want to suggest that right away.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...+4=45 +4.3=49 +~5=60 +5.5=47 +7=93 +10=160

Back up to 160 at +10. I'm inclined to go ahead and reduce his dose again, just to see how he does. Might shave it a bit instead of going down the full .25 units. In my heart of hearts I believe his pancreas is making a comeback. Now, I could be totally wrong, but if I am, I'll know soon enough, right? :mrgreen:

And I really hope Star is more stable tomorrow. I have to get out and run some errands sometime, but I don't want to leave him too long when he's cat-paddling in the lagoon.
 
Re: 3/27 Star... +~5=60 +5.5=47 +7=93 +10=160 +11=150

Dropped a tiny bit to 150 at +11. Trying to figure out Star's nadir but I don't see a clear pattern. Every day looks different to me! :lol:
 
Re: 3/27 Star... +~5=60 +5.5=47 +7=93 +10=160 +11=150

Any chance the insulin itself is responsible for the dips, as in, could it possibly be stronger than it should be? I don't know what those bubbles mean, exactly, or how they affect the insulin. The warnings I've read just say that bubbles or anything else in the vial can cause inconsistent results. Any experience with that?

I don't believe anything can happen to the insulin to make it stronger than it should be....
There are only things that lessen it's potency.

The bubbles , as I understand it, are the nature of the pens...
 
Re: 3/27 Star... +~5=60 +5.5=47 +7=93 +10=160 +11=150

quilterkitty said:
Dropped a tiny bit to 150 at +11. Trying to figure out Star's nadir but I don't see a clear pattern. Every day looks different to me! :lol:
Good luck with that! They're cats, so they keep us on our toes!
 
Re: 3/27 Star...+7=93 +10=160 +11=150 PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143

Thanks, Rhiannon. I saved the bubbly pen and will see what I can find out about it, but I went ahead and started a new one, just in case.

Kat, you are so right. It's all part of their mystique! @-)
 
Re: 3/27 Star...+7=93 +10=160 +11=150 PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143

I did a little research on bubbles in the SoloStar pen, and it looks like as long as they are tiny they aren't an issue. If I were using pen needles instead of a syringe, it's possible that a bubble could throw off the dose, but I'm not so it's fine. Good to know! (Some people on a forum speculated that storing the pens on their sides might let air in and cause the bubbles. I don't know if that's the case, but it really doesn't matter!) Moving on . . .
 
Re: 3/27 Star...+10=160 +11=150 PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67

Test at PMPS+4=67. Seriously? Might not be accurate--I had a lot of trouble getting a blood sample. Will try again shortly.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...+10=160 +11=150 PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67

If that was accurate, a teaspoon or two of LC may be in order and then re-test in 30 min. to see if Star got on his surfboard.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61

Gave some LC food and tested again at 4.5=61. So I guess I did get a good enough sample! Here we go again.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61

So at the next test in 30 minutes, if Star is still in the 60's is he okay for the night? He'll have food for whenever he's hungry. I'm not sure how many late nights in a row I can do . . . Definitely getting too old for this. :lol:
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61

Great job. I really like to see a non food influenced rise and food can longer for at least an hour.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69

Now at 69. So I should remove food and test again in 30 minutes? And then once more in 30 minutes? And pray both of those numbers are rising? ;-)
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69

Now at 69. So I should remove food and test again in 30 minutes? And then once more in 30 minutes? And pray both of those numbers are rising?

That sounds like a good plan. :smile:
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69

Actually, he ate some LC food at 10:30 (+4). He dropped a little at +4.5, then rose a little at +5. If he rises again at +5.5, he should be okay for the night, right? That will be 90 minutes after he last ate.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69

Well.... the 67, 61 and 69 are virtually the "same number" so "flat" since +4 is what I'd call it. But let's see if he rises up to the 75-80 range in 30 minute?
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69

Carl, I love your signature line! Mmmmmm bacon . . . And I hope Star is diet controlled really soon, like Bob. He's progressed pretty fast. Fingers and paws crossed. :lol: (Oh, and I'm from South Carolina, too. Haven't lived there in a long time, but I still call it home.)
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS=148 +1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69

Whereabouts in SC?

Looks like Star has kept you busy all day and night!
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS+1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69 +5.5=5

Gah! At +5.5=54. Wrong way, Star. Wait it out or give some food? LC mixed with HC? What to do, what to do . . .

I'm from Hartsville, home of Sonoco Products and Coker College. My parents still live there. I have a sister in Lexington (she was in Charleston for a few years before that). I don't get back too often but was there last summer for a couple of weeks.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS+1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69 +5.5=5

Apparently Star hasn't read the manual...

Hmm, tough choice. Probably not past nadir so he might not come up on his own for a while. But feed, and then what? You need some sleep at some point, right?
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS+1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69 +5.5=5

OK, here's me thinking out loud....

Star seems to be trying to convince you that the dose reduction you considered earlier today was a fine idea. I know you "skinnied" it tonight. And what you're seeing might still be residual "depot" action from his prior higher doses...

When I look for a "nadir", I'm seeing around +6 on the days he hasn't taken a dive before that (the days or nights he's earned reductions).

So he right around nadir time now. And he's already "made his point" today by dropping into the 40s and now again into the 50s.

If you need to go to sleep, you could "abort" this cycle. You could give him some medium carb or high carb mixed with low carb food. That should raise his BGs and get him past nadir, and then he should slowly rise up until AMPS.

In the morning, you could elect to drop the dose down to .5u, or you could stay at the skinny .75u (just in case this is just leftover depot causing the drop tonight).

Not sure if anyone else has any input at this hour.
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS+1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69 +5.5=5

I think you make a fine case. Star normally free feeds, so I really don't expect him to drop down too drastically because he'll be snacking off and on. I do plan to go ahead and reduce the dose to .5 in the morning. Worst case, I have to raise it again in a few days, but his lows are getting more consistent (of course, now that I've said that . . .). So I'm going to test him once more and then feed him (LC with a little HC mixed in) and go to bed. Thanks for staying up with me, Carl. It's late where you are! Good night! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 3/27 Star...PMPS+1=173 +2=143 +4=67 +4.5=61 +5=69 +5.5=5

Not late for me. I didn't get off work until 10. Past 3am, I might start to get loopy. ;-) But you're very welcome!
 
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