4/16, Susie, 243 AMPS, 260 @ +2

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/4-15-susie-106-1-pm-new-concern-see-post-20.246172/

NEW DOSE (2.5), NEW PEN, NEW ADVENTURE!

 

aI was just looking at your yesterday condo and saw that you tagged me and others. I never received an alert about the tag, so sorry for not responding. This happens sometimes, but it seems to happen more when people are tagged in a list. I've had better luck when I use "or" in between each tag. You had a comma in between, so IDK if the "or" would have helped or not...sometimes I think the alerts for tags simply just don't come through.
So you decided to still take the increase. Best of luck with the new dose! And you did great feeding her yesterd ay. She wasn't doing a major dive, and 106 is a nice, safe number. So feeding her normally was perfect.

FWIW, if I need to start a new pen, I personally would've held off on the increase for a couple of cycles. I'm a big believer in making one change at a time whenever possible (whether it is a change to insulin dose, starting a new cartridge, adding/removing/changing another med, etc), because then if something changes with Butters's numbers or behaviour, I have a clear idea of what likely caused it. Just something to consider for next time.

Have a great day, Summer!

 

You are very smart, Lyla. I should have thought about not making more than one change at a time. Also, thanks for the advice about the tagging. So it should look like: @Butters & Lyla or @Summer and Susie? This is not the first time my tags have not been received. I always appreciate your "musing" on my threads! I am learning a lot from you. I finally figured out how to measure my caliper for increases. Mariette made it clear. So simply. I don't know why it didn't sink in before. Now, if I could only understand how people know how much insulin is in the depot. A total mystery to me. Thanks, again.

 

Good Luck with the increase

 

Good Luck with the increase

 

I didn’t see the tag either but I think you made the right decision. Good luck with the new dose.

 

Thanks, Pamela.

 

Thank you, Adrienne.

 

Thank you, Elise. I just hope it helps to bring her down a bit.

 

I concur. You did great with handling Susie last night. You didn't panic and just fed normally. I was surprised at how much she went up, but you know it wasn't from you feeding her anything other than normal food. Good luck with the increase. I hope she's still eating well and acting happy

 

You're doing the tags perfect. I think there just might be something wrong with the system currently as I didn't get this tag either. So it's not you.
I'm not that smart, but thank you. I've learned these things from others and am just sharing. And one day you'll be able to take everything you're learning, and you'll start to share it with newbies too.
Excellent job figuring out those caliper measurements! I found that actually measuring doses with calipers had a very steep learning curve for me. It sounds like you are doing great. It gets easier and easier.

 

Thank you for the vote of confidence. I feel so much better every time I actually understand what others are talking about and, one of these days in the distant future, when I am totally comfortable with everything involved, I will stay on this site and try to help others.

 

Susie is causing havoc with my life again. Here I thought she was following the same pattern as last night and going low at +10 but she has gone up. Seems I had two nadirs today. One at +4 and one at +9. Can anyone explain what might be happening here?

 

IMO, there weren't two nadirs; she has been relatively flat. A small dip down around +4 and then surfing through +9. The +10 might be the start of a natural rise due to this morning's dose starting to wear off, or it's possible she could bounce higher. We will know better once we see future tests.
I'd just call +9 the nadir since it is the lowest point currently, going by the numbers. But there is no real difference between a 206, 217 and a 197 when you consider meter variance.
I recall you asking somewhere about the insulin depot. Have you had a chance to read the sticky on What is the Insulin Depot? Ask as many questions as you need until you understand it. I am still re-reading the stickies and still gleaning new bits of information from them. FD has a steep learning curve.

 

I have read the sticky about the depot and it made no sense. But, then again, it took me a while to understand how to compute calipers so I am just a slow learner. I will re read the sticky on the depot. I'm getting ready to test, shoot and feed Susie in about 30 minutes. I have a feeling she will be pretty high at PMPS but I don't know. Her numbers at +10 were higher than I thought she would be. I guess the new dose won't be reflected tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

 

@Butters & Lyla , we will try the tag again. Susie got 250 at PMPS. I guess I don't have to worry about staying up tonight to test. Of course, I will get my +2. Just curious to know if the tag will work.

 

The tag worked. Get the +2 and then declare that you don't have to worry about staying up to test. You never know for sure. Sometimes these kitties read what we write and do the opposite of what we're thinking. lol.
Also, it can take a few cycles for some kitties to respond to an increase, so don't fret about Susie's numbers today. Let's see what happens over the next few cycles.

 

Good luck with the new dose.

 

191 at +2 (pm). I think I can go to to bed - don't you? I did just feed her 1/2 can of FF turkey at +2 so we should be okay - shouldn't we?

 

I saw someone recently liken the depot to a sponge on a potted plant (might have even been Lyla lol) and it really helped it click with me.

The in and out insulins like Vetsulin and ProZinc are like regular water on a plant - you give a set amount and the plant uses up whatever you give it. If it needed more water, too bad.

The depot insulins are like adding a wet sponge on top of the dirt, in addition to watering it. So you water it, and if by chance the plant needs more water that day, it pulls water from the sponge (depot). If it doesn't need it, the sponge just sits there anyway.

There's no way to know how much is in the depot, you'll drive yourself crazy trying to factor that in. From what I gather, it's important when you need to start doing reductions. Continuing the analogy, you give the plant less water, but the sponge is still leaking a bit.

I'm not sure if that helped or made things more confusing lol if it added confusion just wipe it from your brain and forget it never happened

 

That's a decent drop but I personally don't think she'll go into dangerous numbers, that's a long way down

 

If it were me, I would set an alarm for a mid cycle test to make sure she isn't coming down too quickly, or if you're up for another couple of hours get a +4 and see where she is at. That will give you more data to decide whether to call it a night.

 

Good luck with the dose increase, hope it will Susie better consistent numbers

 

Good explanation and I understand that Lantus stays in the system longer than the Vet or ProZinc so what is left in the system is carried over. My confusion comes in when I hear people say there is 1 unit or 2 units in kitties depot. How would they know? I mean how do they figure that out?

 

That was my feeling too but I'd better not get too comfortable with that or it will bite me in the behind.

 

Do you mean when they say something like "The 2U depot is still in play"?

I've only seen that where that's the dose they were previously on. It doesn't mean there's 2U in the depot itself, they just mean the depot that existed at the 2U dose. So if I reduce from 2U to 1.75U, someone might say "Remember to keep monitoring because the 2U depot is still in play for a few cycles". Again, doesn't mean there's 2U in there, it's just a phrase to mean I still have to remember there's extra insulin in his body for a bit

In the case of a reduction, it takes some time for the depot to drain. Depending on how fast they're coming down and some other things, sometimes a 0.25U reduction is ok, sometimes a half dose is advised, and sometimes a skip.

 

True! I had checked your SS and she doesn't have a history of crazy dives like that, but you never know. Always better safe than sorry.