4/3: Sammy - AMPS 80; +2 81; +3 84; +6 116; +9 130; +10.5 100; PMBG 89; OTJ Trial; +2 75

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Tina & Sammy

Tina & Sammy

Member Since 2010
Yesterday's Condo

Sammy had a much more normal curve last night with a little double dip at the end of the cycle. His PS was also within 30 minutes of eating a small amount that was left over from the last snack.

My plan is to hold this dose until I see a LOW, inverted curves, or have been on this dose for 7 days in normal numbers. Sammy has been in normal numbers for well over a month, and that is a lot of healing time for his pancreas, but I still don't want to remove the insulin support unless it is warranted.

Hope everyone has a great Friday, I am looking forward to the weekend, but I will be very busy with getting ready for Knit Camp. I have to organize all the goodie bags and prizes this weekend.
 
Beautiful start for Sammy today! Good luck getting everything ready. I don't think people realize how much work goes into those type of activities but I am sure everyone will appreciate it!
 
So far this morning Sammy looks like he is on a climb, but he still could be working on a the depot from the .25 dose. I will be heading home for a +6 test to see where he is. I am hoping to keep him on this TINY dose at least through tomorrow, but I will let it play out and see what happens.
 
Good luck with this dose. Looking nice and flat so far. I love it when they hang in the same "decade" for an entire cycle. He has been getting an amazing amount of healing time lately. :D
 
Okay, so I just went home to test Sammy and I know he hasn't eaten anything since I left the house at +3 this morning, so I expected him to be the same or slightly lower, but he was up almost 40 points. I don't know what will happen this afternoon, I will get another test at +9 and hopefully +10.5 or +11, and then PMPS. My current thought is if he is back down into the 80's by PMPS then we will discontinue insulin TONIGHT! Because right now my thought is that his body is still working against the insulin, but that could all change if he just continues to rise for the rest of the afternoon. I will have to wait to see what happens.
 
Still not sure what we will do tonight. Sammy is still rising at +9, either that is a sign that he might still need insulin or a sign that he needs to come off insulin. I will see what happens at PS tonight. If he is back down for PS I will be discontinuing insulin tonight. If he surfs or if he is higher he will stay on this dose for awhile longer.

We also have fluids tonight.
 
So Sammy is already down 30 points since +9. So at this point I am pretty sure that I am going to discontinue insulin tonight. I do want to see what his PS is before I make a final decision, but that is what I am thinking right now.
 
The other thing is he doesn't seem to be eating much today. As I already mentioned he didn't eat from the time I left the house until I came home at +6, and then he only ate a little at that time. Then I don't think he at much if anything from +6 to +9. When I was home for +9 I did try to get him to eat more and he ate a bit but not really much. I am wondering if this not eating has his BG or if he really does need fluids every other day rather than every day. I am planning on taking him in for general blood work next week just to get updated kidney value tests.
 
After seeing Sammy drop back down into the 80's for PMPS I decided to give an OTJ Trial a chance. I really hope I am making the right decision. I will probably do a few extra tests this weekend and maybe the first part of next week just to make sure that his numbers are not rising.
 
Has anyone given you the trial directions yet, Tina? I'm thinking if you're not going to shoot, you need the guidelines to help you move ahead:

Here are the OTJ Trial Instructions:

Start the trial on the next green pre shot.
If he/she is green at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time; just feed small meals and go about your day. If he/she is blue at your normal "PS", feed a small meal and test again after about 3 or 4 hours. If his/her number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!

Post every day so we can monitor your progress and see if any tweaks are needed. He/she may have a sporadic blue number. Don't panic but post before you decide whether to shoot so we can have a discussion.

After 14 days of no insulin, we have a party!!

Sometimes the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support in the form of resuming insulin. It's not the end of the world if that happens; we just give him/her the support needed. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to take our time to get that than to rush into remission just to have it fail later on.

Good luck with the trial!!!

Once he/she is through the trial successfully, you enter a new phase. Your cat is still diabetic but has now become diet-controlled. Continue feeding low carb food in the manner successful for your kitty. If you decide to change his/her feeding schedule, let your meter be your guide to the best times to feed. Avoid medications with sugar in them and steroid medications unless they are medically essential. Continue testing blood glucose weekly for the first month and then monthly forever. It's a good idea to weigh him/her monthly. Weight should remain stable. If he/she seems "off" or sick, or is showing signs of diabetes (excessive drinking, eating, urinating, weight loss), test his/her blood glucose right away. Keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy; dental issues can bring a cat out of remission. If you see rising blood glucose numbers, it's time for a visit to the vet!
 
Good luck on the trial!!! I know back when I suggested you raise from 1.5u to 2u, it made you nervous but doing that and staying on the increases really made a huge difference.

You've done super with him, Tina, and I'm thrilled to see this.
 
Thanks everyone! I am so nervous that I am jumping too soon, but at +2 Sammy is down to 75 from PS, so hopefully it was the right decision. Like I already mentioned I will probably still do multiple tests this first day or so of the OTJ Trial just to make sure the numbers are going in the right direction. I know the last couple reductions were a little different than most reductions because they were given because of the inverted curves, which doesn't always happen, and I have been nervous about whether I was reading that correctly.
 
You don't need to do multiple tests per day - just one at each of your normal "preshot" times, and if it's blue test again 3-4 hrs later. If it's green, wait til the next preshot time.

We've got our fingers & toes crossed for Sammy!
 
Hi @julie & punkin (ga) I know it is only necessary to do an AM and a PM test, but because the last few reductions were so unconventional I am doing some extra testing just for my piece of mind. I will probably only do the extra testing for the first couple of days to see how the numbers go. Thanks.
 
Good luck :D I hear you on the extra tests, it's a hard habit to break - I still test Vyktor once a week and more often if he seems a bit high.
 
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