5/20, Susie, 79 at +10

Summer and Susie (GA)

Summer and Susie (GA)

Member Since 2020
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/5-19-susie-new-post-my-mistake.247538/#post-2792099

Has anyone on this site ever considered putting together a book (virtually) on Managing Feline Diabetes? It wouldn't have to be a novel and could be written in layman terms so even folks like me could understand. You could have chapters on:
  • Diet and How To Feed The Curve
  • Insulin
  • Testing and Data Tracking (spreadsheets)
  • What To Do If I Work and How Not To Lose My Social Existence
  • The Clinical Signs: Preening, Purring, Pooping, Peeing and ? (+ exercise)
  • Safe and Not-So-Safe Medications for the diabetic cat
  • Accompanying Medical Conditions i.e. Acromegaly, Pancreatitis, CKD, etc.
  • The Protocols: TR and SLGS (history and use)
This book could reference many experiences members have had. Of course, Dr. Lisa would be referenced a lot throughout the book and be given full credit. There would be the disclaimer that none of you are actual vets.

You might be able to get some of the feline diabetes research organizations to sponsor the cost of the book with proceeds of the sales to go back to those organizations and to help maintain the FDMB website. I would love to see it as required (or suggested) reading by all students at veterinary medical schools that plan to join or open their own "small animal" clinics. It would be even better if we could get established veterinarians to read the book and stop spreading misinformation. You could call it something like "Managing Feline Diabetes" or, on the lighter side, "Oh Poo, Susie Has Diabetes. What Do I Do Now?"

With the knowledge and experience of the people on this board, I think a book from this group would be life-saving and life-changing and go a long way toward stopping the misinformation.
 
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PerfumedCatMom said:
Hope Susie floats down like a butterfly for you today, Summer. :)
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That would be lovely if she floated down like a butterfly and didn't drop like a rock although I am not expecting that today. I was happy to see an almost 100 point drop from AMPS to 2.5. Maybe she will start settling into some blues and stop the big lows and big highs. Have a great day, Katherine. I'm so happy to see Ruby looking back to normal and "no shot" this morning. Kudos!
 
Keep an eye on her because she likes to do those end of the cycle dips when she's ready to clear the bounce and she's due for that.

Check her at +9 and feed her, if she is on the lower side. You don't want another unexpected green PS that's too low to shoot! :D
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Keep an eye on her because she likes to do those end of the cycle dips when she's ready to clear the bounce and she's due for that.

Check her at +9 and feed her, if she is on the lower side. You don't want another unexpected green PS that's too low to shoot! :D
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Good advice. I was surprised she dropped almost 100 points from AMPS to 2.5. Was expecting a full day of highs but I am learning not to assume anything anymore.
 
Summer and Susie said:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/5-19-susie-new-post-my-mistake.247538/#post-2792099

Has anyone on this site ever considered putting together a book (virtually) on Managing Feline Diabetes? It wouldn't have to be a novel and could be written in layman terms so even folks like me could understand. You could have chapters on:
  • Diet and How To Feed The Curve
  • Insulin
  • Testing and Data Tracking (spreadsheets)
  • What To Do If I Work and How Not To Lose My Social Existence
  • The Clinical Signs: Preening, Purring, Pooping, Peeing and ? (+ exercise)
  • Safe and Not-So-Safe Medications for the diabetic cat
  • Accompanying Medical Conditions i.e. Acromegaly, Pancreatitis, CKD, etc.
  • The Protocols: TR and SLGS (history and use)
This book could reference many experiences members have had. Of course, Dr. Lisa would be referenced a lot throughout the book and be given full credit. There would be the disclaimer that none of you are actual vets.

You might be able to get some of the feline diabetes research organizations to sponsor the cost of the book with proceeds of the sales to go back to those organizations and to help maintain the FDMB website. I would love to see it as required (or suggested) reading by all students at veterinary medical schools that plan to join or open their own "small animal" clinics. It would be even better if we could get established veterinarians to read the book and stop spreading misinformation. You could call it something like "Managing Feline Diabetes" or, on the lighter side, "Oh Poo, Susie Has Diabetes. What Do I Do Now?"

With the knowledge and experience of the people on this board, I think a book from this group would be life-saving and life-changing and go a long way toward stopping the misinformation.
Click to expand...
Good morning Summer, Susie is really giving you a run for your money. I’ve been coming up with these sayings when I read or see something then wonder if I am making any sense :rolleyes: I’m so glad you have Bhooma on board to guide you, you sound so much more relaxed especially with these huge drops. You are doing such a great job and I hope Susie understands that she’s in a good place now, flattening numbers time :cat: no more drops :stop:. The book is a fabulous idea but what diabetic cat mom has the time? I hope you have a wonderful day Summer and Susie cooperates. Sending big hugs to you both :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Summer, I think you might need to intervene with a little higher carb food. Looks like she wants to head south till PMPS!

What do you have in MC?
 
86 @6.25. I am SO happy today. As Bhooma said, Susie is starting to clear the bounces faster. We even went back to the lagoon with my "dream" number (in the 80s). I guess Mr. Liver is starting to adjust to the lower numbers and is not pumping out so many hormones. Fingers crossed this is the cast going forward.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Summer, I think you might need to intervene with a little higher carb food. Looks like she wants to head south till PMPS!

What do you have in MC?
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I just fed her 1/2 can of l/c which I usually do at nadir. I think she will start going up but I'll check her again at +7.50 just to make sure. I want the food to sink in before I test. Thanks for keeping an eye on her.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
What is Susie doing now? (BG-wise)
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She just dipped her paw into the lagoon with an 86 at +6.25. I also fed her 1/2 can of l/c around +6.50. I think she will start coming up when I test again at +8. Bhooma thinks she might continue to go down (God forbid). We will see in about 50 minutes.
 
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Our Dolly Girl said:
Good morning Summer, Susie is really giving you a run for your money. I’ve been coming up with these sayings when I read or see something then wonder if I am making any sense :rolleyes: I’m so glad you have Bhooma on board to guide you, you sound so much more relaxed especially with these huge drops. You are doing such a great job and I hope Susie understands that she’s in a good place now, flattening numbers time :cat: no more drops :stop:. The book is a fabulous idea but what diabetic cat mom has the time? I hope you have a wonderful day Summer and Susie cooperates. Sending big hugs to you both :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
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I am very, very fortunate to have the advice of a very wise woman. I'm not sure the huge drops have stopped. You are right about finding the time to read but I would certainly have bought the book if it was published. Without this website there is no place else to go and you can't trust the vets. Right now I am having a wonderful day. Susie broke the bounce really quickly today - a first! She even dipped her little paw into the lagoon with no sharks in site. Now, if I can just get her settled into more consistent numbers in the upper greens and lower blues. Thanks for dropping by to check on my girl, Adrienne.
 
Summer and Susie said:
I am very, very fortunate to have the advice of a very wise woman. I'm not sure the huge drops have stopped. You are right about finding the time to read but I would certainly have bought the book if it was published. Without this website there is no place else to go and you can't trust the vets. Right now I am having a wonderful day. Susie broke the bounce really quickly today - a first! She even dipped her little paw into the lagoon with no sharks in site. Now, if I can just get her settled into more consistent numbers in the upper greens and lower blues. Thanks for dropping by to check on my girl, Adrienne.
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Of course. Susie is part of my morning ritual :bookworm:
 
She is flattening out. Feed some more LC and test in an hour. If you want to prevent a reduction add a smidgen of HC. Not too much.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
For a minute there I was wondering if she would nadir and head up. She still could!

Make that a tsp of LC and 1/4tsp of HC!
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Okay. I gave her that at +8.25 so will wait until +9.25 to check. I'm wondering if maybe her dose of 2.50 is still too high if we need to intervene with food. I am not aiming for remission but upper greens and lower blues - or even just blues. I guess time will tell but if we keep intervening with food then she may not show the insulin takes her lower than her reduction point without it. I'm just a little confused. I see many cats on this site that are steady in blues and probably never need food intervention. I know every cat is different. I just wish Susie could be one of them.
 
Summer and Susie said:
I'm wondering if maybe her dose of 2.50 is still too high if we need to intervene with food.
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This is still the 2.75U depot at play. With TR, you would not reduce today - even if she dropped below 50 - because you considers the depot effect and therefore you wouldn't take back-to-back reductions. With SLGS, every dip below the reduction point is a reduction and at some point the back-to-back reductions fail. And with SLGS, you have to hold the reduced dose for a week even after the reduction fails. :(

Summer and Susie said:
I see many cats on this site that are steady in blues and probably never need food intervention. I know every cat is different. I just wish Susie could be one of them.
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Suzie is getting used to lower numbers and hopefully at some point she will flatten out and become more predictable.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
This is still the 2.75U depot at play. With TR, you would not reduce today - even if she dropped below 50 - because you considers the depot effect and therefore you wouldn't take back-to-back reductions. With SLGS, every dip below the reduction point is a reduction and at some point the back-to-back reductions fail. And with SLGS, you have to hold the reduced dose for a week even after the reduction fails. :(


Suzie is getting used to lower numbers and hopefully at some point she will flatten out and become more predictable.
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Okay, I had not thought about the 2.75 U still being in play. I am happy to hold the 2.50 for one week if it helps to settle her down a little and let me see what the new reduction will result in - even if she goes higher. I know there are many benefits to TR. It is the reduction point that I just cannot live with (50).
 
Summer and Susie said:
I'm going to give a tablespoon of Mc. I know I'm not supposed to feed two hours before insulin so I'm going for all the marbles now.
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It's close to 1am here and I am off to bed. If she is still low at +10 despite the MC, you can feed a little more MC or HC to get her up. Shoot 15-30 mins later tonight so you have a clear 2 hour window between the last meal and PMPS.
 
Summer and Susie said:
Okay, and thank you. We will be okay. Thanks for staying up late with me and good night.
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Good luck. Try not to skip the shot if she is above 70. She will probably be high enough by PMPS to shoot.

If she is lower at +1 you may need to use MC (She may bounce by then though). You've done this just a couple of mornings back. Rinse and repeat. You've got this! :-)
 
Bhooma @Bandit's Mom called it!

I know it seems counterintuitive to keep feeding but it’s really about getting Susie to surf, to ride the wave of green numbers so that she can get more comfy in them and stop bouncing. If she needs a reduction, she will point you to that. If you were feeding the curve with HC and still having a hard time getting her up from numbers in the 50s or 60s (hopefully that won’t happen!) then at that point you can say she needs a reduction for safety.

Practice safe surfing, Susie!
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Good luck. Try not to skip the shot if she is above 70. She will probably be high enough by PMPS to shoot.

If she is lower at +1 you may need to use MC (She may bounce by then though). You've done this just a couple of mornings back. Rinse and repeat. You've got this! :)
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Go to bed sweet lady. I got 79 at +10 and fed 1 full Tbls of h/c. She will probably shoot up. I don't want to skip the shot. I don't want to lose all momentum but I will have to wait and see. Please get some sleep and thank you for all your help tonight. If I need additional help I will tag some people.
 
I read somewhere that TR has safeguards built in, SLGS doesn't. There was something interesting there, now I just can't remember it :oops:
I hate the 50's too, Mauer doesn't. I think we've got it in our heads that it's too low, when it isn't. It's put there as a safety measure. Mauer is back in her young days when she's surfing down there, awesome to see but still nerve-wracking :D
 
Summer and Susie said:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/5-19-susie-new-post-my-mistake.247538/#post-2792099

Has anyone on this site ever considered putting together a book (virtually) on Managing Feline Diabetes? It wouldn't have to be a novel and could be written in layman terms so even folks like me could understand. You could have chapters on:
  • Diet and How To Feed The Curve
  • Insulin
  • Testing and Data Tracking (spreadsheets)
  • What To Do If I Work and How Not To Lose My Social Existence
  • The Clinical Signs: Preening, Purring, Pooping, Peeing and ? (+ exercise)
  • Safe and Not-So-Safe Medications for the diabetic cat
  • Accompanying Medical Conditions i.e. Acromegaly, Pancreatitis, CKD, etc.
  • The Protocols: TR and SLGS (history and use)
This book could reference many experiences members have had. Of course, Dr. Lisa would be referenced a lot throughout the book and be given full credit. There would be the disclaimer that none of you are actual vets.

You might be able to get some of the feline diabetes research organizations to sponsor the cost of the book with proceeds of the sales to go back to those organizations and to help maintain the FDMB website. I would love to see it as required (or suggested) reading by all students at veterinary medical schools that plan to join or open their own "small animal" clinics. It would be even better if we could get established veterinarians to read the book and stop spreading misinformation. You could call it something like "Managing Feline Diabetes" or, on the lighter side, "Oh Poo, Susie Has Diabetes. What Do I Do Now?"

With the knowledge and experience of the people on this board, I think a book from this group would be life-saving and life-changing and go a long way toward stopping the misinformation.
Click to expand...

Great idea about the book - so much of what you've mentioned is covered in the stickies - do you think that putting it together in a different way would be helpful?

I found the stickies to be absolutely filled with information about all the topics you've mentioned - to the point where I couldn't even begin to read it all fast enough...

For instance - this stickie covers a lot - and one of the first topics - what to feed your cat: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/

The rest is there...just takes a bit of time to look thru them all and then click on every link :)

Susie is really having herself a great day! Hang in there and ride that surfboard safely!
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
Bhooma @Bandit's Mom called it!

I know it seems counterintuitive to keep feeding but it’s really about getting Susie to surf, to ride the wave of green numbers so that she can get more comfy in them and stop bouncing. If she needs a reduction, she will point you to that. If you were feeding the curve with HC and still having a hard time getting her up from numbers in the 50s or 60s (hopefully that won’t happen!) then at that point you can say she needs a reduction for safety.

Practice safe surfing, Susie!
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Thanks, Katherine, Susie already earned yet another reduction with her 68 at +9. I am SLGS with reductions at 70. I hate all the extra food that I am having to feed her to keep her in safe greens. She needs to lose weight - not gain it. We are reducing to 2 units tonight. I need to see her settle down and stop dropping - even if her numbers are higher for a week. All this food is not helping her. If she ends up in mid or higher blues I will not be upset. I want to stop the constant food I have been feeding her to keep her from going lower. I can't help but wonder if her pancreas is actually kicking in to produce its own insulin and that is the reason for 4 reductions in about 10 days.
 
SashaV said:
I read somewhere that TR has safeguards built in, SLGS doesn't. There was something interesting there, now I just can't remember it :oops:
I hate the 50's too, Mauer doesn't. I think we've got it in our heads that it's too low, when it isn't. It's put there as a safety measure. Mauer is back in her young days when she's surfing down there, awesome to see but still nerve-wracking :D
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But don't you have to feed when they get that low? I'm trying to get my girl to lose weight - not gain it - and I have been constantly feeding her to keep her from dropping and she is gaining weight.
 
Sue and Luci said:
Great idea about the book - so much of what you've mentioned is covered in the stickies - do you think that putting it together in a different way would be helpful?

I found the stickies to be absolutely filled with information about all the topics you've mentioned - to the point where I couldn't even begin to read it all fast enough...

For instance - this stickie covers a lot - and one of the first topics - what to feed your cat: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/

The rest is there...just takes a bit of time to look thru them all and then click on every link :)

Susie is really having herself a great day! Hang in there and ride that surfboard safely!
Click to expand...
I suggested the book to be a great idea to have on bookshelves and in book shops. Not everyone wants to sit and read stickys on the website. They want a printed copy to refer to. Something to pull off the shelf when they have a question or concern. A copy to have on a vets bookshelf that he can quickly reference if a client has a question. Something solid to hold in your hands when you need help. Some people just love to read books and not spend all their time on a computer looking for information. It was just an idea, Sue, and one that I think could change the way people manage feline diabetes if they had access to it. By the way, I don't think a lot of people even know about the FDMB site but if they are looking for a book to help them out this would be the one.
 
Summer and Susie said:
But don't you have to feed when they get that low? I'm trying to get my girl to lose weight - not gain it - and I have been constantly feeding her to keep her from dropping and she is gaining weight.
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I have Weruva MC and HC foods in pouches that I give to Ruby when she is low, and they are low calorie in comparison to pates and I give her the gravy with some small pieces of meat in it (the leftovers I feed to Olive who happily obliges :cat:). Each time I fed her but a small spoonful, like the kind of spoon you'd use to stir tea. I use Weruva BFF OMG Devour Me for her MC food (12%) and Cats in the Kitchen Mack Jack and Sam for her HC (19%). They don't fill her up, keep her hungry, and she loves the taste. If I want to keep her surfing with LC, I used to give her pates but now I just give her a bit of her raw food. You can do this without getting Susie chubby!
 
Summer and Susie said:
But don't you have to feed when they get that low? I'm trying to get my girl to lose weight - not gain it - and I have been constantly feeding her to keep her from dropping and she is gaining weight.
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Of course. I've tried vacuum cleaning to stress her BG up... let me just say, it didn't work. Or well, the floor got clean, but Mauer only went up 2 points :D
I might also have a tendency to overdo the HC. I used a whole can last night, and Temptations.... and a little ice cream. None of them worked and shot her back up, she just kept surfing. :rolleyes::oops:

The book.. the idea is fine, but you'll probably never see it in a vets office. Unless written by a veterinarian..
Some even tell newly diagnosed owners to NOT listen to the crazy big internet.
And the problem is with books, they can't get updated. So if a company changes their recipe, people might still use the food in good faith. So for anything important I'd never recommend books.. I see it all the time with rabbits "but the book says..." yeah, but that book is from 1985, welcome to the future!
 
Summer and Susie said:
I suggested the book to be a great idea to have on bookshelves and in book shops. Not everyone wants to sit and read stickys on the website. They want a printed copy to refer to. Something to pull off the shelf when they have a question or concern. A copy to have on a vets bookshelf that he can quickly reference if a client has a question. Something solid to hold in your hands when you need help. Some people just love to read books and not spend all their time on a computer looking for information. It was just an idea, Sue, and one that I think could change the way people manage feline diabetes if they had access to it. By the way, I don't think a lot of people even know about the FDMB site but if they are looking for a book to help them out this would be the one.
Click to expand...

I agree...a printed book would be wonderful...unfortunately these days with publishing costs, etc. it's unlikely to happen...seems everything is going the way of digital vs paper...
most doctor's offices are going the way of electronics too...at least the one's I've been in seem to be moving away from paper for just about everything...

I would like to see the information on here in a searchable format - so that when someone has a question they could just put in the search term - like food or a question and get an article to read - agree it's pretty hard to find everything in the stickies the way they're put together now..but that was way before my time here :)
 
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