4/5 Willie AMPS 114, +2~88 thoughts on our Lantus goals

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Christie & Willie (GA)

Christie & Willie (GA)

Member Since 2010
Yesterday's Condo

Another day, another round of btb cuddles for Willie. Herbie has been a little sweetie as well, so life is good. Will probably put a drop on Willie's dose tonight as we're seeing higher preshots and higher (but still green) nadirs. I'm starting to reflect some on what my goals should be with Willie's treatment at this point. Miss Mocha Jo Latte's remission at 18 months is always on my mind, but I also counterbalance that against my busy schedule and the fact that I'm doing this on my own and need to keep him safe. With extremely little effort (a fact for which I'm deeply appreciative!), I can keep Willie in the high end of the healing zone... I put out Special Kitty a couple times each cycle and poke his ear every now and then... that's really about it. I know that being more aggressive would yield me more greens, but I'm not sure if that should be the goal at this point. Willie's a happy, healthy cat who hangs out well below the renal threshhold. Mr. Liver seems to be well within check (Exhibit A: This weekend's skipped shot, after which he only got up to the 150s or so!).

This weekend, Willie will reach his 16th month since diagnosis. We've not seen pink since the week before Christmas (which I strongly correlated to the the 1 year anniversary of Miss Belle's passing, something I don't find coincidental). We've had only three flirtations with yellow since then, and two of those instances were actually readings of 200. All three were just blips from which Willie instantly recovered back down into blues and greens, and the last instance was over 6 weeks ago.

I'm deeply thankful for Willie's success on Lantus. Just feeling like I'm in a moment where I should start contemplating where we go from here... get a bit more aggressive in the hopes of remission? Hang out where we're at? Or just accept that blue is where it's at for him and scale it back a tiny notch more? Would love anyone's thoughts. His spreadsheet is actually up to date (and actually has been for awhile! shocking!! :lol: :lol: :lol: )

Continued healing prayers for BigMac and excitement for Tiki for going OTJ!!!
 
Re: 4/5 Willie AMPS 114 thoughts on our Lantus goals

My feeling would be to try being a bit more aggressive. You're able to test even with a busy schedule. What would you have to lose?
 
Thanks, Sienne. I think I've gone soft! I used to shoot a 60 in the morning and then head off to work and now I get all antsy about it! I think my hang-up has been that in the evenings, I get home, test/feed/shoot, then often head right back out the door to the gym or church, and I worry that he'll go low. Which makes no sense to worry, since I've been doing the same thing in the am cycle every work day for the past year!

One thought I do have is at what point does this become a moot point? I do still think remission isn't out of the question for Willie (thanks, Devon and Mocha Jo!), so it's not something I'm worried about at the moment. But at some point, I do wonder if there is a particular advantage to keeping him in green as much as possible as opposed to keeping him, say, under 150. I know it's a luxury to even have this as an issue... Many of our LL kitties have a BG range that is far wider than Willie's, whereas his curve at this point is relatively flat and stable....he really is the poster child for how I think many vets perceive Lantus to work in all cats. It isn't a question for today, but it's just something I'm keeping in the back of my mind as I consider Willie's care long-term.
 
laurie/mr tinkles went OTJ at 21 months . . . i guess if i were you, i'd want to keep trying. you have him nicely regulated, but just think of the luxury of no more shots and no more worrying. we're at 16 months too and i certainly haven't given up hope.

of course, whatever you do we will support you.
 
Hi Christie, interesting discussion and I think Willie has a chance of otj. Maggie is 27 months but did have a short five month remission. It looks like some pretty greens are in store today for sweet Willie.
 
I'd still hope for OTJ. Even though the prospect is further for Tess at 27 months there is still a glimmer. You are so good with him and he is so stable. Don't give up! :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
 
Moonie is a low dose long term diabetic..She is happy, she is well, she has a momma bean who lives for her, she has a happy life--It's 4 years now, I gave up OTJ long ago,
BUT, Moonie is almost 16, I am out of the house for sometimes 10 hours at a time...I feel not great when I think she might go low & I have to leave her--- but she knows how to eat & bring herself up..
I had always hoped for OTJ....
I dont have a single other person to take care of her if I have to go away,
SO I dont go...If you think your Willie may have a chance, and you have a way to keep him safe, go for it.
I always wish you well..hope it works out for you-I would be happy--Hugs & Love fro us!
 
Christie, I'm glad you posted this. I have been starting to think that OTJ is just not an option for Simon since it has been almost 15 months since he has been on insulin and still bouncing back and forth. Mocha and Mr. Tinkles still give me hope that it will happen but I am thinking that now if I can just get Simon to be a steady blue number (like Willie) and still on insulin, I will be ok with that. I can really relate to what you are going through because it is so hard to work and have multiple obligations at night. It always seems that our kitties know when we are leaving for a few hours and that is the time they decide to go low. Willie is very close to green numbers so I can see why you may want to be more aggressive and try for OTJ. But, that said, I also can see why you might want to stay where you are to keep your sanity and keep Willie safe. Sorry I am not much help, but whatever you decide, it will be the right decision for you and Willie.
 
Hi Christie,
My goal for Rusty is to keep him in healing numbers as much as possible (i.e., numbers of a "normal" cat: ca. 50-120). Of course insulin is needed to do this, and I try to adjust his dose whenever I sense that he is losing momentum or that his regulation needs a boost. Sometimes I am more successful than other times. I'm still trying to figure it all out. Rusty is a long-term diabetic. He was found on the streets in Nov. 2008 and diagnosed at an animal shelter. Who knows how long he had been diabetic. We are very lucky that he was well regulated by Claudia (cjleo) and Phoebe (Phoebe_Tiggy_Norton(GA)), and I am trying to maintain him as a well regulated kitty. He has been with us for about 16 months and we have had our ups and downs, most of them caused by my errors of judgment, or by stressful situations (car trips!) from which it can take a while for him to re-adjust. So I guess what I am trying to say is that if I try to keep him in those healing numbers, there is always a possibility that he might go OTJ, but if he doesn't go OTJ, he will still be in healing numbers and that will be best for his overall health.

ECID and I guess we all have to decide on our own plans of action and hope they work out for the kitties and for us beans, too!

Ella & Rusty
 
Christie: an interesting and thought provoking condo today. IMHO....I agree with Sienne and Julie....I'd be more aggressive if you can do it and know he is safe.

We've been at this 18 months...I haven't given up and we are being more aggressive now than ever and it pays off a little at a time.

One thing I will say is that not all cats have the same renal threshold. Some may be at 250...some at 150. The only way for you to know is to check his urine glucose and see when he spills. I would definitely want to keep him
under that.

You're a great mom and you've done super with him....I still think he has great possibilities.
 
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