Re: 5/12 Abby PMPS 112, +2/55, +3/67, +4/66, +5/86, +6/126
hi kristin. nice job handling abby's number's tonight!
I agree with sienne. put those temptations in a baggie or a jar and stick them in the freezer. enjoy the ice cream yourself! you're much better off using canned lc, mc, hc food and/or hc gravy to control the curve. wet hc goes to work faster when you need it and clears the system in less time when it's no longer needed. the advice to give karo has taken on a life of it's own in LL these days. generally speaking, it is not needed unless a kitty is in the 30s or below or if a kitty drops dramatically into low numbers early in the cycle. hc the 40s unless they're at the end of the cycle (exception: a late nadir kitty). *usually* a little lc is sufficient to bump 40s up at the end of a cycle. of course, there are always exceptions. how your cat responds to lc, mc, and hc will vary depending on what point you're at in the cycle. use your ss to make notes. "data" consists of much more than numbers.
getting a kitty back to the Falls is much harder than it was the first time around. most don't make it back there. your best bet is to become as aggressive as safely possible. caregivers whose kitties have returned from the falls generally find themselves working a lot harder than caregivers of newly diagnosed kitties.
when alex returned from the Falls in 2009 after being OTJ for almost 3 years i purposely tested her a lot to illustrate shooting full doses on low preshot numbers in order to achieve the shallow curves lantus and levemir are known for to help caregivers like yourself. click on her ss link in my signature and then click on the link to her 2009 spreadsheet to see how to pull abby's numbers down and keep them down... offering her the best chance at a second honeymoon.
next step...
STICKY: LANTUS & LEVEMIR - DATA READY TO SHOOT LOW NUMBERS?
skip down to "
WHAT IF YOU ARE NOT A NEWBIE?". read it. study it. read the links provided.
those early spot checks (+1s and +2s) are pivotal in understanding how much of a food spike (if any) abby usually experiences after getting her shot. the early spot checks will also give you an idea of when onset occurs. knowing your cat's onset, nadir, and duration on any given dose arms you with the knowledge needed to make educated decisions. many even move their shot times so they'll be home a few hours after giving a shot before they have to go to work. understanding overlap and carryover is the key to tight regulation... and tight regulation has been proven to be the key to remission. when you stall, you lose overlap and carryover. not good especially when trying to get a kitty back to the Falls.
those late spot checks (+10s and +11s) will give you an idea of the rate of the rise or descent. if kitty has already experienced a nadir even a dip at the end of the cycle is ok to shoot. if kitty has a late nadir (at +12), you'll know it's ok to shoot because the bg number is going nowhere but up. if kitty is rising and you know it because you have a +10 or +11, you'll feel more comfortable shooting at your regular shot time even if the number is under 100.
being available to monitor is always recommended the first few times you shoot on a low preshot number. this enables you to collect the data needed to support your decisions.
libby already linked her post
Dealing with Low Preshots.
there's a lot of good info there. ideally, you'll want to stay as close as possible to a 12/12 schedule. unless a kitty is free-falling into shot time, an experienced caregiver will shoot a full dose on a low number even if it's dropping. for instance, tonight alex was 96 @ +8, 77 @ +10, and 60 at pmps. i fed and shot her regular dose. glad i did because at +1.25 she was 126 already. if i had stalled, she would have been much higher because of her food spike and i would have lost overlap and carryover. you want to get yourself to this point by becoming data ready.
sienne put together a great post
Don't Panic! or How to Handle Low Numbers.
again, i encourage you to read and study it. bookmark it for easy reference.
do you have a plan in place for feeding the curve at specified times during the cycle when you cannot be there? some use timed feeders. others freeze food and leave it out so it will thaw and be available while they're gone. the idea is to have food available should kitty feel themselves dropping. most kitties will self-feed.
hope some of this will help you pull abby's numbers down and keep them down...
"shoot low to stay low". :mrgreen:
You handled it like a Pro.
