4/23-Racci-AMPS-300,+6-186,PMPS-183 dose advice?

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MelanieAndRacci

MelanieAndRacci

Member Since 2010
Hi Everyone,

Racci ended the day yesterday with a pink and is beginning today that way. I don't know if it's the dose or because she ate so poorly yesterday. I did miss her nadir yesterday but none of her numbers were very low so doubt that she went too low. She's been acting like she did earlier in the diabetes since last night with drinking a lot and today eating a lot, which might just be to make up for yesterday. I could use some advice on whether to keep this dose or not. Maybe I should bring her up again and just shave her down instead? What do you think?

Thanks.

Edit: I had the 21st there instead of 22nd.

Yesterday: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=69390
4/22-Racci-AMPS-167,+3-168,+9-219,PMPS-308
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300 dose advice?

Well, I really am not experienced enough to give dose advice, but I did see you gave this dose at least 6 cycles, and I think thats the amount of cycles we are supposed to give before changing. I don't know about the other stuff, I know with Daphne, one day she will act like she is starving and the next day she only eats a few bits each time.

Hope someone comes on to give you real advice, and hope Racci feels better soon!
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300 dose advice?

Thanks. She's been really fussy lately and has been doing that same thing, eating one day and not the next. It seems to have gotten worse with the dose change but hard to tell. Racci always has a hard time with changes. I think I might just raise her back to 3.5 and let her get settled again and next time she earns a decrease I'll shave her down. I know her numbers seem to be getting higher and higher.
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300 dose advice?

Melanie

Well.....I'd be happy to give some advice but your SS is not up to date so if you could please do that....I'd be able to help out. :-D :-D Just based on what is there, it looks to me like she is bouncing again off the blues and could, in reality, still be bouncing from the 70 the other day....this morning's cycle would be the sixth. So I don't think I'd raise the dose yet. It could be very possible that she will need a dosecrease.

Here's my concern: I'm not really sure why you are feeding a 2% and a 13% food simultaneously. It doesn't make any sense to do so. I use the Core chicken, liver, turkey which is 8% and it can really make a difference in Gracie's BG....that's why I use it on low numbers. But it is not her typical food. I really think you would be better off to drop the 13% unless you need it for really low numbers. There are plenty of other foods you could try that would be in the 4-5% range such as Wellness beef, beef/chicken, turkey (all 4%) or Merrick Cowboy Cookout (5%) or Surf and Turf (3%). But it is counterproductive to give those foods mixed especially when she is high and does not appear to be diving.

I'll check back in later regarding advice on the dose if you are able to update her SS. Thank you!! :-D :-D
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300 dose advice?

Hi Marje,

I just got back and updated her spreadsheet. I had to make a run to town for catfood, scripts, etc. What I really need is a big bottle of something alcoholic! About to pull my hair out with Racci and her eating habits!

Racci hates the chicken and has decided that turkey is bad too now so all I'm left with fish which she loves and beef which she loves when home cooked, so I bought some Merrick BG beef today and wanted the Core Beef but they didn't have any. The only Wellness beef they had was with chicken. She was eating the Wellness Salmon & Trout (7%) but it's bad if it's Nov, 2014 and that's still what the store has. I have to feed her what she'll eat. At the moment that's only Core Salmon & BG Salmon mixed with enough Core to give it the texture from Wellness. Possibly she'll eat some beef and that will be another thing she'll eat.

If you or anyone know something else that has the same texture as Wellness please let me know before I don't have any hairs left. :mrgreen: :shock: @-) ohmygod_smile
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300,+6-186 dose advice?

Thanks for updating the SS :-D

So she won't eat the Wellness Chicken and Herring or Turkey and Salmon? I know they have chicken and turkey but also have fish. They are 6%.

Here's the thing....you can't think of this as a failed reduction and increase the dose when you are feeding 3% to 13% or a mixture/combo. You can base your dosing on one or the other but not both. If you need to feed 13%, you'll
need to feed it all the time....or else feed the LC all the time and only use the 13% for steering low numbers. I understand the problem with the food, but you are better off letting her run higher then mixing foods and having her bottom out
suddenly. What if the 3.5u drops her down really low at the time you are feeding 2-3% foods?

If you take her up to 3.5u, you should feed the 13% food exclusively to keep her safe. Otherwise, keep her at 3.25u and feed her the lower carb foods you can get her to eat.

I know it's tough but it's best to be consistent in dosing and feeding with the limitations she's giving you. IMHO.
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300,+6-186 dose advice?

She's usually getting very little of the higher carb mixed in. She wants the flavor of the lower carb but the texture of the higher carb if that makes sense. It took me a while to figure this out.

She will leave over everything solid if I give her the low carb alone and only eat what's liquid. The only way to get her to eat it all is to mix. If I give her hi carb alone, she won't eat. She waits for the other one to be added. She's a spoiled brat. I've created a monster in trying to find things she'd eat.
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300,+6-186 dose advice?

Then I don't think you should increase her dose. Especially as she is coming down today.
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300,+6-186 dose advice?

I agree with everything Marje said. The only alternative re. the food I can think of is if you are consistent with what you are mixing for Racci, that should be fine. If you want to make a combination of the LC and HC, you need to measure or weigh what you're feeding so you can do it consistently. Marje's point is to be consistent and if you need to feed Racci a combination, the carb level needs to be the same every time. Otherwise, you won't be able to gauge your dosing effectively or safely.
 
Re: 4/23-Racci-AMPS-300,+6-186 dose advice?

Sorry I was gone so long. I introduced Racci to another BG, the beef, and hallelujah, she liked it. The same problem existed though. When watering it down, it loses the creaminess and she leaves over the parts that fall apart, so I had to mix with the wellness core to get her to finish. I'm thrilled that she liked the other flavor though! This opens an opportunity to feed her something other than fish for one thing and may open an opportunity for the regular Wellness beef.

Marje and Sienna, yes I see the point that you have to be able to regulate according to carbs or it will be really hard to control her bg but she does get pretty much the same amount most of the time. What I don't understand is, she was eating this before too so what does it have to do with this dose change? I figure she's probably getting about 5-6% or less now in carbs with the mixture. Am I still missing something?

I use a teaspoon to measure with and depending on the time of day she gets 2 or 3 heaping teaspoons of the low carb and about 1/4 of that Core with enough water to make a thick soup & heated in the microwave.
At the moment though, I don't have much control over what she eats with wet food because she still likes her dry. If I ever need to raise her bg fast, I have to use the dry if she refuses the wet with more of the Core mixed in.

My goal of course, is to get her to eat the regular Wellness or something else with a like texture and a reasonable carb, I may actually be able to do that if they have a beef that doesn't have chicken. She was eating their salmon/trout exclusively at 7% carbs. I don't know if she'll ever go back to it now though after the bad cans.
 
A "heaping" spoonful is inexact at best. It could alter the carbs by 1%. For some cat's, that small amount of carb can make a difference. As a comparison, in baking, you don't add "heaping" of anything because if you add enough "heaping" measurements, whatever it is you're baking is likely to not come out the way you want. Most people who are serious bakers, weigh their ingredients. (Baking is chemistry.)

Just a consideration, if Racci likes the texture without adding water, why are you adding water? It's not a requirement. Canned food has sufficient moisture for a cat's needs. Unless Racci has renal problems, it's not an issue and if Racci should have renal issues, there are other options than adding water to her food.

I'll be honest. I will have difficulty providing relevant help with dosing if you are not feeding within the same range of carbs at every meal. I would not want to be in a position where I am putting Racci's safety at risk. If I were to make a dose recommendation and you fed less carbs and her numbers tanked, I would feel awful. It's just not in my comfort zone.
 
hmmmm - just putting on my thinking cap - melanie, oh, btw, i read your response the other day but wasn't on long enough yesterday to response. the food pickiness issue is quite crazy-making, isn't it?

if it's a texture issue, have you tried pureeing the chunky one? or mashing it with a potato masher? if you try a blender, the one thing i would say is blend the minimum to get it to the right texture. if you whip it up the texture gets completely different. i did that on some food for my kids, maybe applesauce, and found the minimum time works best.

anyway, just a thought.

At the moment though, I don't have much control over what she eats with wet food because she still likes her dry. If I ever need to raise her bg fast, I have to use the dry if she refuses the wet with more of the Core mixed in.
Click to expand...

when you say she likes dry, are you saying that she's still eating dry crunchies now?
 
I understand what you're saying Sienne, but it really does not differ much from one meal to the next. I'm quite good at eyeballing it by now to get the correct texture for the mix. If I was off much the texture would not be right. I take a lot of time to do it and am pretty much of a perfectionist. That's probably why she's so spoiled. :mrgreen: I don't do it haphazardly and would be willing to bet that it would be just about the same from one meal to the next if measured. I keep meaning to get a new measuring set but never seem to find it when I'm out and naturally the most important spoons are the ones missing. If it's the inexactness that's bothering you, I will keep trying to pick up the spoons. I just never get over to that kind of store. Maybe I can order it from Amazon.

When I first started feeding the wet food, I tried not adding water to it and she wouldn't eat it. Watering it came about when it was suggested as a way to get her to eat it and it worked so I've been doing it since. I've tried offering her some food since without watering at all and she wouldn't touch it. I might be able to get away with making it a little thicker but the thing is as she gets to the bottom of the dish it gets thicker and thicker and she leaves over half of it. She just won't eat what's too thick.

Hi Julie,
It really is a very frustrating situation. No, she doesn't eat dry anymore. Every meal is wet and she seems to look forward to them but only on her terms. I only use dry for emergencies when I'm afraid she will get in trouble because of the insulin & not eating but if I do give it in lieu of food, it's never in her dish but rather like a treat or used for treats given by hand.

I've tried crushing the other foods with a mortar & pestle, with a blender which did nothing but get all under the blades and make a mess in the blender and she still didn't like it, with a fork, etc. It just doesn't work. The funny thing is, she'll eat pieces of homemade meat in one of my dishes, just not wet and not in her dish. It has to be either one way or the other for her. She doesn't like pieces in her wet food. She'll eat the gravy or wet if she likes it and push the pieces aside. Never the opposite.

It's just very hard to get her to eat differently after 15+ years of eating another way. It also bothers her that it's messy and she stops and cleans herself several times giving it more time to get thick! :roll: I'm at my wit's end with her. She was 253 this morning. I'm about to start her new condo. I just don't know what to do with her. I'm just hoping I'll be able ot find a reasonable carb beef now that she'll eat now that beef has been added to the things she likes.
 
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