5/11 Max AMPS 414... bounce ...dose help pls

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Supermax (GA)

Supermax (GA)

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My internet connection is terrible at home, and it drops at the worst of times. Need to look for another service provider!! Well numbers went up after the gravy. He ate well again this morning...but we are back to a dreaded red number. I've had 3 hours sleep, I so wish he would stabalise.

Someone said protocol is to reduce the dose in a newly diagnosed kitty if they ever go below 50...okay so we had a 41 last night...what do i do? I shot the 1.50U this morning because he was so high, must I go down? I think he might have gone mildly hypo yesterday, he was sleepy (then again it was bedtime) and hissed when I tried to dobloods, not happy.
 
Supermax said:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14182

My internet connection is terrible at home, and it drops at the worst of times. Need to look for another service provider!! Well numbers went up after the gravy. He ate well again this morning...but we are back to a dreaded red number. I've had 3 hours sleep, I so wish he would stabalise.

Someone said protocol is to reduce the dose in a newly diagnosed kitty if they ever go below 50...okay so we had a 41 last night...what do i do? I shot the 1.50U this morning because he was so high, must I go down? I think he might have gone mildly hypo yesterday, he was sleepy (then again it was bedtime) and hissed when I tried to dobloods, not happy.
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I'm not an expert but Max did pretty much earn a dose reduction last night with that 41. Remember with Lantus you base the dose on the nadir not the preshot so even though his preshot is high doesn't mean he will stay there. If you've been shooting it looks like his new dose would be 1.25u...

People on this board have told me that hypo is much less than 40...but every cat is different...

If you are too tired to stay up you could give a BCS dose tonight but even if you did I would leave a lot of food out...does max eat when he drops?
 
Thanks for your reply..
Well, I'm hoping he has earned a dose reduction...but I sure need confirmation as previously everyone was telling me to hold the dose. I'm so new at this, I just don't know what to do...but last night was pretty scary...at least I was there to watch him.

Max does eat, thankfully....it was hard to tell if he would have eaten by himself last night (i.e. gone to look for food) because it was bedtime and I could see he was sleepy, but when I called him to come and eat the gravy he came straight away and ate well. I'm leaving out quite a bit of food during the day hoping that he will eat when he goes low.... of course if he goes too low, then there is no telling.

What is a BCS dose?
 
Here is the link to the LL slang dictionary:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... sg-1402630

BCS = big chicken s***t dose :mrgreen:

dropping down like that can be scary. but I hope it also taught you that you can control that drop by using the high carb canned food.
and you can see where gathering data ( spot checks and mini curves) you will get to know how your cat responds to insulin better.an important tool !

when a cat earns a dose reduction, you really don't want to keep your dose up to shoot through the rebound.
If you wait to reduce the dose until the rebound is clear, your shed will still be filled for the higher dose and your cat could go low again right away when you finally do reduce, kwim?
 
Cheryl and Winnie said:
when a cat earns a dose reduction, you really don't want to keep your dose up to shoot through the rebound.
If you wait to reduce the dose until the rebound is clear, your shed will still be filled for the higher dose and your cat could go low again right away when you finally do reduce, kwim?
Click to expand...

Okay...so in English :mrgreen: ...I should not have shot the 1.5U this morning I should have reduced to 1.25U because that extra amount that he doesn't need anymore will go straight to his storage and could spill over when I shoot again...am I understanding this correctly? So actually he is now 1.25U no matter what the PS number looks like...

Goodness, this dose adjusting is confusing
 
Max is doing great! And so are you =) I bet you are exhausted! I know Tugger put me through the wringer a few times with those dips and drops =) It's scary the first time or two, but trust me, before too long you'll be looking anxiously in HOPES of a nice low number! Once Max gets more used to these lower numbers he probably won't bounce so high after a low, then you'll feel a bit more comfortable.

Look at how well you controlled his drop last night with food! You didn't panic and give him a plate full of high carb like I did! I took it away from him when I realized I might have to feed more over time but in my panic I just dumped the stuff on the plate and shoved it under his happy little nose. You did exactly the right thing by adding gravy to his regular low carb food and testing frequently. I gather your internet connection went down so you couldn't post updates as things progressed? That sucks and can be scary I know. You did very well though!

You're getting the hang of this =) You've got some pretty smart folks helping you out too, so Max is going to be just fine and you'll be seeing him start to feel much more like his old self soon =)
 
Right..so 1.25U it is..Will report tonight's numbers on the morrow. Thank to everyone for their input. I really appreciate it!

PS: I have finally also added his profile
 
Hi Max just want to say this is the best group of people to help you thru anything this is my first time visiting your condo sounds like you are doing great :YMHUG: cat_pet_icon
 
You did fine this morning! Like D suggested, when Gabby bounces after an earned decrease, I shoot the previous dose to help with the rebound then shoot the new, lower dose the next cycle.

Generally, the first couple of times you get a low number, it may help to check back in on the Board. We usually feed, like you did, then re-test in 15 - 20 min. You'll need to figure out how carb sensitive Max is and whether you need to use LC, MC or HC food to bring up numbers in the 40s. You want to see Max surf in numbers in the 50 - 70 range. I would definitely feed HC or MC if numbers are in the 30s. It may also involve when in the cycle a drop occurs and how fast he is dropping. All of those issues factor in to what you feed Mas to steer his numbers. You want to get at least 2 tests where his numbers are surfing or rising since once the HC food wears off, the numbers may bobble around a bit. Also, checking back let's the members who are keeping an eye on your condo get some sleep. People really do care and know how nerve wracking those first couple of times managing low numbers can be.
 
I second what everyone else said--he definitely earned a decrease to 1.25u last night. I'm glad you were there to watch him! It is also good news that he was alert and came to eat when called when he was at 41--that means he was tolerating the low number well and wasn't really in hypo country yet (tho he could have gone there quickly, so feeding is absolutely right to do).

As I mentioned yesterday, my Max took a crazy nose-dive down the dosing ladder. Sometimes they do this (because the pancreas suddenly starts working again), sometimes they don't and it's much more gradual. Definitely keep an eye on him in the next few days with the new dose, and if he drops below 50 again, I would reduce the next shot by .25u, but that's because my Max never bounced that hard from a low number. It'll be interesting to see if your Max's bounces aren't so hard with the lower dose--I'm very curious about this.

And by all means, if you fear he will drop too low when you're not home, you can always reduce that shot to the BCS dose (usually .25 to .5u lower than normal). It's safer to have higher sugar levels than to have them too low when no one is around to monitor and make sure he eats. I do disagree with Sienne, tho--I wouldn't want a new kitty surfing in the 50s until you have more data and can see how he handles lower numbers. Some cats do great with the lower numbers, some don't. At this point, I would think aiming for a 70s/80s surf would be good until his bounces decrease. For a kitty that bounces, I would think the 50s/60s would for sure send his system into panic mode.

As time goes on, and his curves level out, you'll figure out what works best for him in terms of when and how to do his decreases (or increases if needed), how to feed his lows, and when his ps numbers are too low to shoot. Trust your instincts--every cat is different, and we're not there with you to see him. Right around when we got to the micro-doses was when I finally was comfortable with knowing how Max's system was working...shooting a ps number below 70 wasn't going to happen if I wasn't home to watch, and I had a system of when to feed LC, MC, or HC depending on his numbers and where he was in his cycle (and whether or not I could stay up and watch or really needed to sleep!).

Really, you're doing GREAT, Sandra! :-D You and Max will get this figured out together, and we'll all do our best to help you. :mrgreen:
 
Just so everyone is aware, if I don't check back it's usually because my internet connection has dropped at home and I can't get online. Due to the time difference usually I'm asleep when you guys are awake, so all my nightime drama is usually your AM's, so no losing sleep over my convos (even though I think that's awesome that you guys do that for each other)
 
I wondered how the time difference was helping/hindering you from getting help when needed. The internet being unreliable probably doesn't help you feel confident in a situation like that either. You have a lot of info in this condo already, you can condense it (and whatever other info you find laying around that you think will be useful) into a document you can print off or save to your hard drive at home so you have access to it if your internet is down or write it down in your own words... whatever it takes to get the knowledge you need and have it available to you when you need it =) When you're stressed out and worried about Max isn't the time to try to remember something you read a few days ago, yanno? It's also handy to have it all on paper in case a situation comes up and your hubby needs to handle it.

You did really well last night though! You've obviously been reading and learning and you're getting great advice for future needs too =) I think you are on the same time zone as Germany (six-ish hours ahead of the US East coast)? I know we have members in Germany and the UK so if you ever need help but there's no one around in Lantus Land, go to the Board Index and scroll all the way down, there's a list of members online at that time, if there are names there but they aren't showing in LL you could try posting in the Health Forums for advice/support/hand-holding too =) I don't think I have ever been on the board when there weren't at least a few names online. It's just a matter of grabbing their attention if they aren't in LL =) Oh, and I think you can search the Member's List by location so you might be able to familiarize yourself with the names of folks closer to your time zone? I haven't checked that yet so not sure if I'm confusing this with another board I visit.
 
You are doing a great job--The 414 was a rebound & you shot regular dose to work through the rebound, which was good..
Next does 1.25U--Not to worry, we all look in on each other all day & most of night--!
 
I forgot to mention that I also had to deal with NO internet at home with my Max. I could only get help while I was at work--and inevitably his first giant dose slide happened over a weekend. It was crazy! I did print out as much as I could so I'd have it on my counter at home for reference. I also had a few board members send me their phone numbers so I could call if I got into trouble, but since that would be international for you, I'm guessing it would be expensive...
 
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