5/01Sya PMPS problems PM +1 339? PM+2 259 +3.3 216

Status
Not open for further replies.
K. Sya and Sophie (GA)

K. Sya and Sophie (GA)

Member
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13366

Been a crazy evening and morning. Backed off on testing for part of the day yesterday...fear got the better of me and tested last night only to find Sya's numbers dropping to lower numbers than she's ever had. Ended the evening successfully. Lower number than ever before AMPS....chickend out on shooting below 200. Was encouraged to shoot at 14.5, but fur shot, so now stuck waiting and watching. For her part, Sya is a happy camper....other than not liking the extra testing so much. Moved to her less good ear (right side bleeds so much betterfor me than the left) to try to give the one side a little break. Still she likes the treats afterwards enough that she isn't running from me.
Called the vet. He's incredulous that the numbers could have dropped like this...suggested my meter has gone bad. (tested myself with it, its fine) Said if I was really concerned I should start giving her dry food again...grr.. cat(2)_steam . Guess he's not going to be any help. Still I guess I wanted to keep him in the loop as I finally convinced him to let me do the data collecting at home.
So here we are. about 48 hours fully off of dry food. Eating 4.5 ounces of Wellness Grainfree wet AM along with about 1tblsp of plain squash babyfood (as of yesterday) PM Meal is the same except only 3 ounces...though does get occasional 1.5 ounce snack at night if frantic hungry.
Squash was suggested by vet for loose stool plus to up the fiber content a bit to help stabilize the hungries more. Stools still aren't great, but they are better formed.
So going to test again in a couple hours and of course PMPS. Looks like will be doing full 1.5 then and watching again. I shoot 5:30 AM and PM
Sorry so long. Just trying to process this all
 
Re: 5/01Sya-AMPS 181 +14=417 +14.5=340 +18 379

I've not heard about using squash baby food but it's a great idea! As long as there's no onion or garlic in it, it should be fine. A lot of people here will use plain canned pumpkin, not pie filling, for puddingpoo. Another possibility is a probiotic. You can order FortiFlora through Amazon or PetFood Direct. Cat's seem to love the stuff so it can be used to entice them to eat as well as help to get their GI track back in order. I found another probiotic, ReNew Ultimate that someone here recommended at Whole Foods in the refrigerated supplement section. It's not atypical that you get some poo issues when you change over from dry to canned food.

You might want to consider adding in some snacks if Sya is hungry. Until she's better regulated, she may be hungry a fair amount of the time. This happens with all diabetic kitties. It's the nature of diabetes that instead of the glucose (i.e., food) going into the cells, it's floating around in the bloodstream. As a result, our kitties aren't getting all of the benefit of the food we are giving them. Once numbers are in a lower range more of the time, their appetite will decrease. It's fine to feed Sya snacks or to spread out her meals over the cycle. Smaller meals put less pressure on the pancreas and give it more time to heal.
 
Re: 5/01Sya-AMPS 181 +14=417 +14.5=340 +18 379

Yeah, I was thinking of making some of those frozen things for when I'm at work during the day....though the morning 4.5 seems to last them most of the morning cycle when I'm here on the weekends. The squash was suggested by someone on the health board as getting canned pumpkin at this point is really difficult (catastrophic rains in the midwest apparently decimated the crop..who knew?) Its just squash and water according the the ingredient list. Seems to be going down well so far.
Suggestions for tests to do tonight after I shoot? Was planning on +2 and +4 unless things are looking wierd. Should I do hourly?
 
Re: 5/01Sya-AMPS 181 +14=417 +14.5=340 +18 379

Many people who are away for work use an auto feeder with the foods sectioned off and the feeder turns at the times you set. As was said, it's better to spread the foods out over the day rather than just a few meals a day.

When Shadoe was first dx and started on insulin, she was eating more than 4 cans of food, 3oz and some 5.5oz. Now, if she eats 2, it's alot for her. Until their bodies are able to absorb the nutrients, their bodies keep thinking they are hungry and just eat lots. You don't want to know how much food my Oliver is eating right now; it is crazy, but I understand it.

There are many, many cats that have been diet controlled, so by just changing diet you may well soon not have any need for the insulin. You are already finding a big improvement with numbers because of the change.

In time, you will learn that you will need to shoot numbers lower than 200 with Lantus or you will keep getting the rise. That 181 was likely telling you there's no more juice in the tank so it's time to shoot.

I hope the pumpkin/squash additions go over well and help.
 
Re: 5/01Sya-AMPS 181 +14=417 +14.5=340 +18 379

Sya's other issue is of course that she's pretty overweight. Though she lost several pounds prior to initial diagnosis, she's not losing weight anymore since I started the insulin...in fact she gained .1 last time we went to the vet. I don't want her to face an empty bowl when she's frantic hungry, but I'm nervous about overfeeding as well....particularly as she also gets her chicken treats when we test. We weigh at home now too, so I should be able to keep an eye on it.
 
Re: 5/01Sya-AMPS 181 +14=417 +14.5=340 +18 379 PMPS problems

Ugh. Preshot problems. Tried twice. Got error messages both times...maybe vet is right, maybe it is my meter...then re-tested on myself and was fine. I am feeling like I have to trust the early afternoon data and shoot. No time right now to get a meter before PM shot No indications of problems...but I need data after. What to do? Get another meter? Try again and hope it works? Turning out to be a stressful Caturday :?
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems

What kind of meter are you using? I use a Contour. It will give me an error message if I don't have enough blood to fill the strip. Just take a break from the testing and come back to it in 5 or 10 min.
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems

I use the Freestyle lite. It wasn't an inufficient blood error. On the second test I did I got a huge drop (too close to vein) No way it could be not enough blood...still no go. I know I needed that number...but she also needs insulin. I went ahead and shot..Now I need to decide in the next hour if I'm going out to buy another meter or not. I have two vials of test strips...I tried out of both of them...error messages on both. This just isn't our weekend
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems

It could be something as simple as the battery in the meter is dying. I'd suggest getting another meter asap. The Relion meters at Walmart are inexpensive, as are the strips.

I also think if you call the manufacturer of your meter and tell them you are getting weird error messages (don't tell them you're testing your cat), chances are they will replace it at no charge. But, you need a meter in the meantime.
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems 339?

OK so I went back for another round. Muddled because she's eaten and about 10 minutes after insulin, but if its to be believed its at least sort of a starting point. Thinking mabye the strips?? No error messages at all this time
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems PM +1 339?

Good going!

It could be an issue with the strips. Did you check their expiration date? Also, do you have control solution? It's a way to see if you're getting a within range meter reading. (Some meters come with control solution.) Also, was there a code that you can look up that explains what the error message is?

I keep a back up meter in the house. Unless you have plans for tonight, it might not be a bad time to get a back up since I think you are right to question the reliability of the meter. This has got to be frustrating the heck out of you! (Sorry!!)
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems PM +1 339?

I just got these strips...Expiration date is fine. Gonna zoom over to CVS and see if I can find some control solution and a backup meter. The battery is supposedly good for 500 tests...not there yet...and have never seen an error message for that. The error I got was Error 3...which seems to be the sort of random could be the meter, could be the strip, could be the blood error. My only guess besides a bad strip is maybe I put the strip to the blood drop before the meter had time to catch up and show the little hour-glass thingy to show it was ready. That apparently can cause the error according to the handbook. Was trying to move faster as she is getting more cranky with the tests today (I think the high BG's make her more grouchy plus her ears get sore from the poking)
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems PM +1 339? PM+2 259

OK shot with new meter just to compare. Response seems very normal. Wondering if the wierdness I shot last night was strip problems or real downward trend. Based on tonight, I guess hard to tell as I'm kind of starting over since I skipped, right?
 
Re: 5/01Sya-+18 379 PMPS problems PM +1 339? PM+2 259

I wouldn't necessarily say you're starting over. The shed won't be completely emptied by one missed shot. Keep an eye on Sya's numbers. You said the test at +1 was really at +0.25. (If it was about 10 min. after you shot, just note it on your SS.) Regardless, if that number was close to what the PMPS value was (and is accurate), and your +2 is about 100 points less, please get a +3. That's a substantial drop for early in the cycle. Your +2 should be close to your PMPS. This could be an active cycle.
 
When do you usually go to sleep. It looks like your usual nadir isn't for a while. Can you get one more test? Sya will definitely be in the blues tonight. If not, please leave out plenty of food.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top