5/2 Guinness AMPS 424|+2.5 406|+9 345|PMPS 396

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linda and guinness

Member Since 2009
Good Morning all...

Feeling a little discouraged this am, waking up to such a big number again. Also, having no clear reason as to why Guinness decided to get back on the juice (I've medically exhausted the reasons at this point), I'm not sure where we are going.

We've been on the same bottle of insulin now for a month, is it time to buy a new bottle? Is it possible this one is defective? How often do you buy new Lantus? My vet said I could keep it for up to 6 months if stored properly. I guess I'm still just looking for reasons why he isn't going down.

Here is our link to yesterday's condo:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=42424&p=452613#p452613
Not much activity. I didn't test him too much yesterday. I'm having trouble getting good size blood drops and I can only imagine his paws are a little sore at this point, so I wanted to give him a little break.
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424

I woke up to a red number too. Happy day. I've been asking myself the same question about the insulin because I've been using mine since the last week of March, so it's just over a month old. I don't think anything is wrong with the insulin because I am seeing his numbers fall after a shoot him. I'm just not seeing any improvement. He's pretty much just staying the say. Very discouraging. I'm going to follow Sienne's and others advice to just keep following the protocol, raise his dose every three days, and we should stumble upon his "good" dose one of the days. I only increase by 0.25u every three days because Champ's nadirs are less than 300 but more than 200. You probably should be increasing by 0.5u because Guinness is mostly in the 300s. You should check with Sienne about that. Put a question mark icon in your subject line and put Sienne's name in capital letters after your AMPS number and she should get back to you.

Other than that, I hope your Monday is a good one. Try not to worry about Guinness too much because you are helping him. As long as he's eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing, he's doing fine.
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424 - Lantus Question?

This is the info on insulin that's in one of the sticky's.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR INSULIN IS NO LONGER GOOD?


When you lose regulation for no reason.
If you see any hint of "floaties"/"tiny particles"... discard the insulin.
If insulin is cloudy or discolored, or if rubber stopper is cracked... replace insulin immediately.
The manufacturer of Lantus recommends discarding the insulin after 28 days of use (in-use, unrefrigerated, for humans).
However, many Lantus users have been able to use a vial/cartridge/pen for as long as six months.
The manufacturer of Levemir recommends discarding the insulin after 42 days of use (in-use, unrefrigerated, for humans).
Many Levemir users have been able to use a vial/pen for four to six months... some to the last drop.

Some people will still tell you that it's no good after 28 days, but it's been found that it's not as fragile as first thought and the 28 days is if you don't refrigerate it.
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424 - Lantus Question?

has guinness had a dental since going OTJ? if it's not another type of infection, maybe it's that.
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424 - Lantus Question?

That was the first thing I did when I discovered he had come off of remission. He's had a dental, blood work, urine cultures, and now all the scans and ultra-sounds. My vet has no more suggestions except to get weight off of him, but he is skinnier now then when he went OTJ.
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424 - Lantus Question?

Linda:

I think you just need to forget the max dose that Guinness needed the first time. FWIW, this time he needs more. Until you get to the dose he needs, the numbers probably won't look so good. I know it's frustrating. Maybe one of the others has a different perspective than I do.
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424 - Lantus Question?

LInda - I agree with Sienne - this time is not the same as the last time and comparing to the last time makes this time seem harder. I am having to learn this with Zoe. As frustrating as it is, this time is completely different. I too, am having a hard time remembering this but I am trying. :sad: We are here with you, Linda and you are not alone.....
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424 - Lantus Question?

Thank you Sherry and Sienne,

I understand what you are saying about not comparing to the last time, but unfortunately it's impossible for me not to. In many ways, this time is easier, because I have more experience and am not freaking out as much as the first time around, but in many ways it's also harder...it's just a fact of life. I thought we were done. We were doing everything right, food, weight, exercise, etc. we breezed along for 2 years and boom. I figured something must be going on inside him physically to push him out of remission, so I've spent quite a bit of money to find out that's probably not the case. Although, things like pancreatitis have been mentioned nothing can be confirmed and no solutions were offered (from my vet).

I know I shouldn't compare, I know I should be patient, I know I should think positively, but each time I test and each time he is still in the 300 and 400's, I get frustrated. I have good days and bad days like all here. Today is a "things just aren't working" day. Tomorrow might be a "yeah, I see progress day, all is well." It's great to have this board and such understanding people to bounce things off of, but some days I do feel alone out here. My vet's exhausted her efforts, I just keep raising his dose, but have no idea where we are headed. I have no clear plan about what to change that might help him. Hence, the frustration.

Lastly, I'm an admitted control freak, so the fact that I can't control this, I haven't found a solution and he's not responding to my efforts are driving me up a frickin' control freak wall! I know it's a good lesson in letting go and being patient, but sometimes, lessons are learned through struggle, pain and finally exhaustion. I'll get there or I won't, who knows.Thanks again for listening everyone.
 
Re: 5/2 Guinness AMPS 424|+2.5 406|+9 345|

Linda,

I too am in the same boat as you are. Jesse went otj in 2009 and as of 4/16 he's back on. Like you I thought I was done with this and wonder what went wrong. Jesse's numbers are all over the place and like you, I want to have control :!:

But as always we will do what we need to do for our babies. Having this board for support will get us through.

PM me any time you want to moan ;-)
 
Thank you Carolyn! I looked at Jesse's spreadsheet and I see what you mean. Gosh, I will PM you when I need to moan because I can see you are struggling with the same issues! Thank you for reaching out!
 
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