5/3 Mr. Big Eyes last BG reading 265 need dose advice for a newbie

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Kathy and Mr. B.E.

Kathy and Mr. B.E.

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I’ve just started testing glucose this week and have very limited data (also still nervous about the tests and haven’t started a spreadsheet yet on this board), but am concerned about numbers today and wanted advice.

First I'll say they fed K/D to Mr. Big Eyes for two days while he was at the vet clinic and told me to give ½ can twice a day with 2 units of insulin at each feeding. That went fine for about 5 days until he didn’t want to eat that much. I’ve given him a little under 2 units since then for almost a week, but am concerned I should have given him less since he’s only been eating about 1/3 can instead of ½ can each feeding.

Now for the numbers: April 30 PM PS 212. May 1 PM PS 217. May 2 PM PS 211. And today when I was home sick and took more tests: +6 284, +8 253, PM PS 265. A big difference tonight from the previous 3 nights. Wondering if this is what is called bouncing or if there is something else I don’t know about. I only gave him one unit tonight because I thought that was safer since I don’t understand.

Another thing I’m thinking about. I do want to get him on low carb food. (He actually was on some for about a week before the diagnosis, but I got scared that I needed to take him to the vet to get on insulin while he still had some life left, so I went along with them feeding him K/D and adjusting the insulin dosage to that high carb food.) Would it make any sense to put him on the low carb food without any insulin at all and just monitor his glucose before feeding in the morning and evening for a few days to get a pattern, then go back to insulin at 1 unit twice a day for a few days? I’m pretty scared now and want to do whatever is safest.

Thanks!

Kathy & Mr. Big Eyes
 
Good morning Kathy and Mr. Big Eyes! Sorry we weren't around last night...it can get kind of quiet around here at night sometimes. :) I'm sorry to hear you've been sick! That just makes this even harder to deal with...hope you're feeling better today!

Okay, going to try to get all your questions, but let me know if I miss something:
  • The numbers you've given aren't that bad. That PS of 265 isn't so different from the other PS's you got...it seems like it but there's a 20% meter variance so it's darn close to the same as you've been getting. I don't think it's bouncing, but it COULD be the flat cycle after a bounce. I'll try to find Kris's explanation of bouncing and post that in a minute.
  • Low carb food would be great. What food were you feeding before you switched? K/D isn't needed. HOWEVER, it's imperative that you are testing regularly before switching as the food change can drop him over 100 points overnight. You need to test before EVERY shot (AMPS and PMPS) and get nadir (mid cycle...about 5-7 hours after shot) when you can. Then a +2 or +3 before bed would help, especially if you can't get a nadir that day...any data is good data! (We're all kind of data junkies around here)
  • If you do switch the food, I think I would probably drop the insulin back to 1 unit and try to do it when you can test. 2 units is a high starting dose...we usually suggest starting at 1 unit. I wouldn't just stop the insulin altogether...it's possible he'll be able to go OTJ (off the juice) but he might need a bit of insulin first.

We're here to help you! I don't want to overwhelm you (and we're losing power intermittently) so I'm going to post this. Please let us know what other questions you have!!!
 
Kris's excellent explanation of bouncing:

Here's how bouncing works:
  1. BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
  2. Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
  3. Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
  4. These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
  5. Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
  6. Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing.
  7. Many vets have little/no understanding of the bouncing phenomenon.
 
Rachel said:
Good morning Kathy and Mr. Big Eyes! Sorry we weren't around last night...it can get kind of quiet around here at night sometimes. :) I'm sorry to hear you've been sick! That just makes this even harder to deal with...hope you're feeling better today!
Click to expand...
Much better, thanks! Back at work.

Rachel said:
I'll try to find Kris's explanation of bouncing and post that in a minute.
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Thanks, very helpful.
Rachel said:
If you do switch the food, I think I would probably drop the insulin back to 1 unit and try to do it when you can test. 2 units is a high starting dose...we usually suggest starting at 1 unit. I wouldn't just stop the insulin altogether...it's possible he'll be able to go OTJ (off the juice) but he might need a bit of insulin first.
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I got my first PM PS test this morning. It was 341. I decided to switch back to Hi Tor Neo which I had on hand. It's 4% carb. I also gave 1 unit. I'm planning to stick with that and track for a few days. Also taking this afternoon off to do things at home, so I'll be able to test for +6 at today and again this weekend.

Thanks to all for support and welcome! I'll try to get my Spread sheet set up soon.
 
Thanks to everyone for helping me get started! I was a little concerned when I made the switch to low carb and only 1 unit because I saw readings over 300, but I'm seeing them coming down (+6 today 167) and the +6 numbers are making sense compared to the AMPS and PMPS.

It's just been a week today since I managed to get the first test done. For the first several I actually felt sick to my stomach, but thankfully I'm no longer that upset and am getting used to the testing, as is Mr. Big Eyes. (I don't think it ever bothered him.)

Kathy & Mr. Big Eyes
 
Kathy and Mr. B.E. said:
Thanks to everyone for helping me get started! I was a little concerned when I made the switch to low carb and only 1 unit because I saw readings over 300, but I'm seeing them coming down (+6 today 167) and the +6 numbers are making sense compared to the AMPS and PMPS.

It's just been a week today since I managed to get the first test done. For the first several I actually felt sick to my stomach, but thankfully I'm no longer that upset and am getting used to the testing, as is Mr. Big Eyes. (I don't think it ever bothered him.)

Kathy & Mr. Big Eyes
Click to expand...
Lovely blue today!
 
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