5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 199

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Merlin

Merlin

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5/23
AMPS 258; 1u

Oh what a nice surprise to wake up to. I am assuming that Merlin stayed in the mid 200's for most of last night.

Merlin is always hungry and ate quite a bit throughout the day yesterday. But for some reason he wasn't that interested in food last night and this morning was the same. I had to entice him with freeze dried chicken sprinkled on his food and then this morning had to resort to putting tuna water on top of his food. He starts off eating but then looses interest.
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258

Yay! A yellow pre-shot this morning!

Last night's cycle with the yellow +6, looks like a flat bounce cycle to me. Since he stayed mostly flat until this AM, you might see a bit more action this AM.

I'm wondering Cindi, if you might get an occasional +4, +7, or +8 to fill out the picture some more. I'm suspicious that Merlin's nadir might move around a little bit. When he was dropping really fast, he'd nadir early. If he's clearing a bounce, and the cycle moves a little slower, his nadir may be later.

When Eddie was on ProZinc, his nadir was all over the place. If he was clearing a bounce, he would often have a later nadir at like +9 or even +12. :shock: Of course, I didn't see this pattern until well after the fact. :lol:

How is Merlin feeling lately?
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258

Thanks for asking how he is feeling. Merlin has been feeling pretty good overall. Below is a summary.

- he still has pretty bad neuropathy i.e. walking on hocks but still jumps up on bed and walks around
- extreme loss of muscle in hip area and walks with hunch back (due to neuropathy and possible arthritis)
- leg and tail twitches especially when he is eating, drinking or when I am brushing him
- occasional constipation (once every 2-3 weeks)
- jaw crunches when he eats (CKD symptom???)
- occasional sneeze, runny nose and runny eye (both on right side). Vet thinks it could be sinus and however could be due to broken right fang.

+ coat is soft and not so dry anymore
+ good appetite (except for last night and this am) but has already asked for some more food this am...so back to normal :-D
+ eats constantly throughout the day
+ interested in hanging out with us (doesn't eat that much in the early morning hours via feeder)
+ interested in going outside a couple of times this past week
+ peeing less but still pees a lot when he does go (no accidents)
+ drinking less unless he is in the 400's at pre-shot time
+ alert, talkative and likes to cuddle
+ mostly stays in my daughters bedroom but occasionally comes out to the couch
+ still rules the house and is respected and liked by the other cats and dogs
+ likes to bat at the cat streamers (stick with a feather streamer on the end)

Jen - will do regarding adding the +4 and +7 or +8 periodically. Should I still get a +6 with those tests? I think I will do a curve today with that low number this morning. Do you think +4, +6 & +8 would work? Or do you suggest other times? I have to ask...did you give Eddie a bath on 5/19?
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258

Good to hear on the positives, and hopefully with treatment for the CKD, and with the dental, some of the negatives will begin to improve.

On the other tests, I think you can kind of let the numbers guide you. If you spot a lower than expected number at any point, you may want to grab one an hour later. Or, if you get an earlier test and it's higher than you're expecting (like a higher nadir), you may want to do a spot check a little later in the cycle to see if he's gone down some. That's pretty much what you were doing in March and April - it's really just data gathering to get a better idea on what Merlin's cycles are looking like. For example, if he's dropping lower at +4, he may already be on his way back up at +6. Or, if he's sliding down from a bounce, his nadir may be later and lower than the +6.
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258

Ooops, I missed a couple things...

I think for a curve today, a +4, +6, +8 might be good. Kind of depends on what his numbers are doing. If he is sitting pretty flat you can probably test less. If he looks like he's on a mission, you may want to test more frequently.

On the bath - :lol: Eddie was bathing himself. It sort of is unclear from my comments who was bathing whom. :lol:
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258

Hey there! What a lovely preshot! I'd love to see where his numbets go today.

Sounds like Merlin is feeling better. Here's hoping his numbers stay down!
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122

5/23
AMPS 258; 1u
+4 - 174
+6 - 122
+7 - 128
+9 - 136
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122

Looking good there! Hopefully, he'll continue to slide down nice and smooth, and not spike up at the end of the cycle.
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

5/23
AMPS 258; 1u
+4 - 174
+6 - 122
+7 - 128
+9 - 136
PMPS - 199; 1u

Oh my ... what to do? I need to go back to some earlier posts but I think we thought that if I should get a 200 that I would go ahead and shoot 1u and anything below, may want to stall or may want to shoot .8 but I don't want him to bounce. If my consultants are online ... thoughts?
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

5/23
AMPS 258; 1u
+4 - 174
+6 - 122
+7 - 128
+9 - 136
PMPS - 199; 1u

Oh my ... what to do? This is Merlin's first ever PS number in the blue! I need to go back to some earlier posts but I think we thought that if I should get a 200 that I would go ahead and shoot 1u and anything below, may want to stall or may want to shoot .8 but I don't want him to bounce. If my consultants are online ... thoughts?
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

Hi Cindi!

I think you're totally fine if you want to go ahead and shoot 1u. He's on the way back up, so if I had to guess, I'd say he'll continue to go up at a pretty good clip until the next dose onsets. To be safe, what you may want to do is get a +1 and a +2 after the test. If Merlin's still headed up, you can take a deep breath. If he's flat or going down at +1 or +2, you may want to feed him a few times early in the cycle to "front-load" him.

Whoo-hoo!!! Great PMPS!!
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

Oh thanks Sue - glad you are here. Would a .8 be better and reduce the possibility of a bounce?
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

Jen and Sue - so glad you both are here. Ok, I think I am brave enough to give him 1u tonight and take early tests. I know he likes his dose consistent.
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

I think it's pretty unpredictable at this point. Jenn is right - if you can monitor early and feed, one unit might be good. If you want to play it safer, .8?
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

5/23
AMPS 258; 1u
+4 - 174
+6 - 122
+7 - 128
+9 - 136
PMPS - 199; 1u
+1 - 310

This is a huge jump in just one hour. I guess he depleted the insulin and was ready for his next dose. Anyway, it didn't look right so I tested him again. The first number was 329 and the second one was 310 so I went with the lower one. So I guess it is safe to say that I shouldn't have to test him again till bedtime (+4). Maybe my 199 number wasn't right or could it have possibly jump up that much? I am glad that I gave him 1u now. Good call...thanks.
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

Hi Cindi,

The 199 is probably correct. At the end of the cycle, some kitties really blast up when either the insulin peters out or there is a bounce, or there is a combination of both or maybe even some food spike mixed in there too. Deb's Lucian can blast up over 200 points in a half an hour. I've seen Eddie jump up a couple hundred points in an hour after pre-shot as well. This is great data to have though. If Merlin gets those high blue numbers for a pre-shot again you have some initial data to show that it's safe to shoot. The other good thing is that Merlin will (hopefully) spend a shorter time in the yucky numbers before the insulin onsets, since the he doesn't have to sit in the 300's for two hours before he gets his shot - and then have two more hours until onset.

It is possible with some kitties, so shoot insulin before that rise hits so that the next dose is starting to onset just as the last one is waning. I occasionally lucked out with Eddie and caught a surf, but other times, I shot too much overlap with the ProZinc. IMHO you have to have a pretty predictable kitty to do that successfully, but some folks are able to shoot more "as needed" as soon as you see that rise really starting to go, rather than waiting till +12. Just another way to tweak the ProZinc "protocol." :-D

I think you can probably wait until your before bed test - but a +2 or +3 might be some good data just to see when the insulin onsets. Totally up to you. :smile: Nice shooting tonight!
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

That all makes sense. I think I will get a +2 and maybe a +3 too just to see when he starts coming down again. It would be great to know that he only stays in those high numbers for only a couple of hours and then flattens out for the rest of the ten hours. I think you all mentioned that another option is to "chase" those numbers or get on a 11 hour schedule or 11/13 schedule. I can see where predictability would be a key for those options.

The huge increase is very interesting and I typically do not test at +2 or even +3 or even later in the cycle, so I guess I have been missing some invaluable data here. Learning something every day... :-D Stay tuned...
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

5/23
AMPS 258; 1u
+4 - 174
+6 - 122
+7 - 128
+9 - 136
PMPS - 199; 1u
+1 - 310
+1 - 334

I think I am not going to test again till I go to bed. He has been such a good little boy today. The last couple of tests he didn't even move from his sleeping position on the bed. A little Neosporin has definitely been applied tonight. Also I forgot to mention this earlier but after the AMPS test and after he ate his breakfast, I caught him going for the dog food. So I ran after him and he managed to get one kibble in his mouth so I stuck my finger in his mouth to retrieve it. Poor guy...no kibble for you.

You all have a great holiday weekend.
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

Hey Cindi! Sorry I wasn't around earlier...apparently my body decided that my plan to take a 4 day weekend/mini vacation meant it was the perfect time to get sick! Argh!

I think you did a great job tonight! Merlin had some beautiful numbers today! You're doing great...will be looking for his numbers tomorrow.
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

It's possible Merlin may bounce off that great cycle today so don't be disappointed if tonight's cycle is a little flat. Or, hopefully, he will gradually slide down again and give you a nice yellow AMPS in the morning again. I'm hitting the road sometime in the AM, and my internet access will be a little sporadic at the lake, but I'll definitely be on the lookout to see what Merlin has got planned for tomorrow. Have a good night Cindi!
 
Re: 5/23 Merlin AMPS 258,+4/174,+6/122,+7/128,+9/136 PMPS 19

5/23
AMPS 258; 1u
+4 - 174
+6 - 122
+7 - 128
+9 - 136
PMPS - 199; 1u
+1 - 310
+1 - 334
+5 - 282

I wished tonight's number matched the day's number but there is no disappointment here. Today was awesome and knowing how this game works, wouldn't expect anything else. So now we know Merlin can actually do this and hopefully he will have another great day like this in the future.

Rachel - hope you are feeling better.
Jen & Eddie - be safe with your travel.
 
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