4/29 Asia AMPS 128, +3 92, +4 60

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Stacy & Asia

Stacy & Asia

Member Since 2017
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/4-26-asia-pmps-162.194739/

We had an unexpected guest come from out of town and she bought us all tickets to see a broadway show for her birthday yesterday. I wasn’t sure what to do, I didn’t want to leave Asia right after giving her a shot, even though she is usually okay for a couple hours because of onset, but she’s been unpredictable as usual and I just didn’t feel good to shoot and leave knowing I would be back late and the trains often have delays at night. I also really, really didn’t want to skip. I have a hard time accepting that for me to go out, she has to suffer for that cycle and potentially subsequent ones too (and I consider higher numbers suffering, at least to her organs).

In the TR protocol (on the Tilly’s page) it mentions several options to try when first faced with a low preshot, it even discounts that they probably won’t work as well as regular dosing, one of them is giving most of the dose and waiting an hour or two and giving the rest. Well this wasn’t a low preshot situation, but I liked the idea of giving her a temporary reduction and then adding the rest when I could be home to monitor. So yes, I cheated a bit, but for some reason it worked in this situation! I gave half (0.3) at shot time and the other half (0.3) at +4. She was higher for the first half of the cycle (to be expected with the reduction plus extra food I left for her every hour), but then she came down slowly with the second half of her shot and gave me the best AMPS in a month. And now an active cycle...that may call for potato flakes even. :woot:

The furry potato is usually napping through the morning hours at this time, but she’s green, she’s awake and active. What a difference! It’s the little things! :)

ETA Public safety announcement: This was a special circumstance and if Asia’s numbers had been lower, I would have been terrified to try this as the two shot nadirs could potentially overlap. Please don’t try this unless you really know how your cat reacts to insulin and you are able to monitor closely.
 
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Glad you were able to figure out a way to enjoy the show with your guest!
It really is hard to try to plan around our babies, isn't it?
 
Judy and Boomer said:
Glad you were able to figure out a way to enjoy the show with your guest!
It really is hard to try to plan around our babies, isn't it?
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Yes, it’s the worst! I’ve cancelled many plans because I knew I couldn’t enjoy myself if I was worried about her, but there are times, like this one, where it’s not a situation of “I can’t go today, I’ll go tomorrow if she’s bouncing” and that’s when I have the most difficulty. We do have to take care of ourselves sometimes, and I have to force myself to do that because she’s not a set it and forget it kind of cat :rolleyes:. It was just a relief that in this one instance I got to have my cake and eat it too! ;)
 
Stacy & Asia said:
In the TR protocol (on the Tilly’s page) it mentions several options to try when first faced with a low preshot, it even discounts that they probably won’t work as well as regular dosing, one of them is giving most of the dose and waiting an hour or two and giving the rest
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Where is this on Tilly's page. I looked and can't find it. It seems to me that I remember someone talking about that when I first arrived here. The only thing I can see wrong with this method is that even though you give a reduce amount in the front part of the cycle, the higher depot before could still be in effect giving you a false sense of security. ( although you did dole out food strategically) And what it the first shot nadir's late when the second shot onsets? Just thinking out loud here. Hope someone will weigh in about this method and it's efficacy.

Glad she had a great cycle and that you got to get out. What play did you see?
 
It’s under phase 2, increasing the dose:

“It is likely, because of the way Lantus and Levemir work (they appear to work for >12 hours, therefore producing overlap between doses), you will face the problem of having a low pre-shot BG and wondering what dose you should give. Try reducing the dose the first few times to see what happens - in all likelihood the cat will have higher BGs as a result. A second alternative is to feed the cat, wait 1 to 2 hours, test again, and when the BGs start rising, give the normal dose. A third alternative is to split the dose: feed the cat, give most of the dose immediately and give the remainder 1 to 2 hours later when the BGs start rising. However, in most cats none of these alternatives have shown themselves to work as well as consistent dosing. You will have to learn how your cat reacts to Lantus/Levemir before you determine the best way to deal with this problem.”

I don’t think it’s generally effective, she says that, it’s just different things to try when someone is afraid of a low preshot. I would worry to split the dose on a low preshot too (particularly giving the larger portion at first) because like you say, depot as well as overlapping low points. I hadn’t heard of anyone doing it for low preshots either. And I cheated, it wasn’t for a low preshot, it was for peace of mind. If her number when I got home was lower, I would have left it at 0.3 BCS, but it was higher than her preshot and it was gentle cycle, so I made the call to give her the rest, it also typically takes 2.5-3 hours for Lev to onset for her. As well, she has duration issues and some major high AMPS recently, so I knew for her it wouldn’t be too risky in this instance. And yeah, I left her 4 meals when she normally would only have had 2. I figured she would sleep through eating a couple of them...but no, she ate every bit of everything. I think she bored eats when nobody is home. :joyful:

I’m paying for it now though, I had to give her potato flakes and she’s on her way up at +8.5 already, so I expect PMPS to be high. Sigh.

We saw Anastasia, that’s what our guest wanted to see. It’s a pretty good show, nothing earth shattering but fun and great music and costumes. :)
 
Stacy & Asia said:
It’s under phase 2, increasing the dose:

“It is likely, because of the way Lantus and Levemir work (they appear to work for >12 hours, therefore producing overlap between doses), you will face the problem of having a low pre-shot BG and wondering what dose you should give. Try reducing the dose the first few times to see what happens - in all likelihood the cat will have higher BGs as a result. A second alternative is to feed the cat, wait 1 to 2 hours, test again, and when the BGs start rising, give the normal dose. A third alternative is to split the dose: feed the cat, give most of the dose immediately and give the remainder 1 to 2 hours later when the BGs start rising. However, in most cats none of these alternatives have shown themselves to work as well as consistent dosing. You will have to learn how your cat reacts to Lantus/Levemir before you determine the best way to deal with this problem.”

I don’t think it’s generally effective, she says that, it’s just different things to try when someone is afraid of a low preshot. I would worry to split the dose on a low preshot too (particularly giving the larger portion at first) because like you say, depot as well as overlapping low points. I hadn’t heard of anyone doing it for low preshots either. And I cheated, it wasn’t for a low preshot, it was for peace of mind. If her number when I got home was lower, I would have left it at 0.3 BCS, but it was higher than her preshot and it was gentle cycle, so I made the call to give her the rest, it also typically takes 2.5-3 hours for Lev to onset for her. As well, she has duration issues and some major high AMPS recently, so I knew for her it wouldn’t be too risky in this instance. And yeah, I left her 4 meals when she normally would only have had 2. I figured she would sleep through eating a couple of them...but no, she ate every bit of everything. I think she bored eats when nobody is home. :joyful:

I’m paying for it now though, I had to give her potato flakes and she’s on her way up at +8.5 already, so I expect PMPS to be high. Sigh.

We saw Anastasia, that’s what our guest wanted to see. It’s a pretty good show, nothing earth shattering but fun and great music and costumes. :)
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Geez, I didn't even read this because it was under Increasing the Dose. :rolleyes: Seems to be a weird place to put information about being presented with a low pre shot.

Glad you enjoyed the show!
 
Stacy & Asia said:
Yes, it’s the worst! I’ve cancelled many plans because I knew I couldn’t enjoy myself if I was worried about her, but there are times, like this one, where it’s not a situation of “I can’t go today, I’ll go tomorrow if she’s bouncing” and that’s when I have the most difficulty. We do have to take care of ourselves sometimes, and I have to force myself to do that because she’s not a set it and forget it kind of cat :rolleyes:. It was just a relief that in this one instance I got to have my cake and eat it too! ;)
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Know that feeling. I expect many of us do. I had to turn down an offer for Saturday evening because Ty has been a bit 'off' & I wanted to keep watch.
Do hope you enjoyed the show. I love theatre.
 
PussCatPrince said:
Know that feeling. I expect many of us do. I had to turn down an offer for Saturday evening because Ty has been a bit 'off' & I wanted to keep watch.
Do hope you enjoyed the show. I love theatre.
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I wish I had a dollar for every social event that I missed because of needing to stay with Bubba. Things do get easier in the journey once they get regulated well there are less surprises.
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
I wish I had a dollar for every social event that I missed because of needing to stay with Bubba. Things do get easier in the journey once they get regulated well there are less surprises.
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You could have bought Bubba some more insulin by now with all that money! :joyful:

I don’t get the feeling Asia will ever be a well regulated kind of cat, it would be awesome if she proves me wrong about that. She’s old and has a lot of other issues, so the journey will likely be a shorter one for her, but I want to make it go as well as it can go so it’s one less thing on the plate of issues her body has to deal with. Well worth missing a few nights out, for sure! She has given me and my family so much, it’s the least we can do! :cat:
 
PussCatPrince said:
Know that feeling. I expect many of us do. I had to turn down an offer for Saturday evening because Ty has been a bit 'off' & I wanted to keep watch.
Do hope you enjoyed the show. I love theatre.
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Lucky that there is so many things here, we can usually get out for a bit and have the luxury to stop in and check on her if I need to be out longer.

We love the theater too, finally got the Harry Potter plays over here and desperately waiting to see those...but it requires 2 nights out in a row, or a double feature day because it’s 2 parts! o_O My girls would have a fit if I saw it without them. ;)
 
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Stacy & Asia said:
You could have bought Bubba some more insulin by now with all that money! :joyful:

I don’t get the feeling Asia will ever be a well regulated kind of cat, it would be awesome if she proves me wrong about that. She’s old and has a lot of other issues, so the journey will likely be a shorter one for her, but I want to make it go as well as it can go so it’s one less thing on the plate of issues her body has to deal with. Well worth missing a few nights out, for sure! She has given me and my family so much, it’s the least we can do! :cat:
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She is looking pretty darn good for an old gal. For the most part, she is in great numbers until an infection. You are doing an amazing job with her Stacy!
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
I wish I had a dollar for every social event that I missed because of needing to stay with Bubba. Things do get easier in the journey once they get regulated well there are less surprises.
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Not to highjack Stacy's thread but it is unlikely to change that much for us here. That's fine. I'll take the days with Tyler as soon there will be years without Tyler.

@Stacy & Asia
This'll make you :eek: but for us to see a good show we would have to take an internal flight and stay overnight somewhere . The cost would be a good NZD $1000 before we started on ticket prices and food.
We once saw 42nd Street on 42nd street. That was just so wonderful . A really good memory.
 
PussCatPrince said:
Not to highjack Stacy's thread but it is unlikely to change that much for us here. That's fine. I'll take the days with Tyler as soon there will be years without Tyler.

@Stacy & Asia
This'll make you :eek: but for us to see a good show we would have to take an internal flight and stay overnight somewhere . The cost would be a good NZD $1000 before we started on ticket prices and food.
We once saw 42nd Street on 42nd street. That was just so wonderful . A really good memory.
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And you know what's funny, as much as logic dictates it wouldn't make sense, either one of them could surprise us and go OTJ! ;) But if being on insulin meant I'd have 10 more years with her, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

Really? Shows don't travel to NZ at all? Do you have some decent regional theater at least? I have to live someplace where the arts are easily accessible, it's a necessity. :p

I saw a couple shows in London once, some Andrew Lloyd Webber one on roller skates, it was silly but impressive! And Miss Saigon. The theaters there are gorgeous, and the NYC ones are no slouches either.
 
Stacy & Asia said:
Really? Shows don't travel to NZ at all?
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They can. Auckland / Wellington . Both on the North Island. Sometimes Christchurch which is still being rebuilt after the quake. All require travel time and at least an overnight.

Do you have some decent regional theater at least? I have to live someplace where the arts are easily accessible, it's a necessity. :p
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That would be a big fat no as far as I am concerned. I didn't realise all of this when we emigrated. One of the reason I would like to move back to the NH.
We are too old to go to Oz or we may have tried Melbourne.
 
You're doing an absolutely, absolutely phenomenal job with Asia, Stacy: she couldn't have asked for a better mom! She's very, very lucky to have you.
 
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