6/8/18 New Question/Answered- Dose (jaxa)

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Djamila said:
I was wondering since Jaxa seems to be moving down in dose right now - just to make sure if she needed something during the day your mom would be able to get her some food. Many cats will ask for food if they start to go low - they are pretty good at taking care of themselves. So I would imagine if Jaxa got hungry enough she would come inside -- or catch something outside (? Does she ever do that?)
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She eats bugs. She does beg for food, but it is usually an hour after the food has gone up and an hour before her regular shot time.
 
And like yesterday... tonight we are at 108 at PMPS time, so I am feeding, will test again in 30-60. She wants to go outside so I'm sure she would rather it be sooner than later.

So, question, should I go down to 2.75 tomorrow AM? I hate not knowing what her numbers are like all day long, but my mother has refused to test unless I am away and it is for the shot. I tried to tell her it would be good practice, but she wasn't having it. I can't wait for the weekend when I can try for more daytime numbers again.
 
Wow! Your numbers have been pretty low at night...I agree that I'd drop to 2.5. With numbers that low, Jaxa is probably going low during the day (not saying too low necessarily) and isn't rising enough for a shot at night...which is nice! But inconvenient. :)
 
Tested again at about 45min, and she had gone to 121mg/dl, but I still think that is too low to shoot. The first test was 108/114 so it hasn't really changed too much. Will go down to 2.5 tomorrow AM, and send my spreadsheet to the vet to see if he wants to talk when I get our insulin and needles tomorrow. I have this fear that if I brought her to the vet for a test now she would go super high and then have a giant bounce, so I want to avoid that.
 
I guess her low carb food is helping? The 121 seems to be her spike from eating because she went outside for about 90 minutes, ate and was tested again and is at 88 for what would have been the +3 if we had a shot tonight. And she is eating again, lol. She does love to eat in the evenings.
 
A little higher this AM (funny how a number in the 200s is suddenly high after all those 300s before); stuck with the 2.5u and I hope she will level out later so we can have a shot tonight. I have to stop for her supplies after work so I will be late, but her shot is usually an hour after I get home so that can still be on time. Our new bottle of b12 should be getting here too- I want her to stay on that as long as we can since it seems to be helping.
 
Nice to see that little dip last night after dinner! And it is funny how quickly we get used to the lower number ranges. At the beginning of the journey the first green numbers make us panic, and later in the journey the yellows suddenly become what worry us.

I'll be curious what your vet says if you get to talk to him. :)
 
Djamila said:
Nice to see that little dip last night after dinner! And it is funny how quickly we get used to the lower number ranges. At the beginning of the journey the first green numbers make us panic, and later in the journey the yellows suddenly become what worry us.

I'll be curious what your vet says if you get to talk to him. :)
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No talk with the vet this time; but no worries, if he wants to talk to me they call me at work all the time too.

Still at decent numbers; high enough for a shot tonight so I gave her a straight 2u on her 180 PMPS. I've given 3 on less, but I am hoping we can get her to even out a little and see what tonight will bring.
 
And now we are too low- +3 at 38! She just ate some of her usual food and I gave her some treats, will test again shortly. She doesn't seem off in any way.
 
Oops. :D

38 at +3 is a little on the low side. Nothing a few Temptations shouldn't take care of! But you might have a loooong night keeping her numbers up since it's still so early in the cycle.

Hopefully though, she just dropped early and will start to rise early too.

Tomorrow, if she's high enough to shoot, I would lower to one unit.
 
Djamila said:
Oops. :D

38 at +3 is a little on the low side. Nothing a few Temptations shouldn't take care of! But you might have a loooong night keeping her numbers up since it's still so early in the cycle.

Hopefully though, she just dropped early and will start to rise early too.

Tomorrow, if she's high enough to shoot, I would lower to one unit.
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She isn't rising very much so far; I've been testing but she was 38-41-48, with some temptations and half a spoon of bisque. And of course I was going to get more test strips tonight but thought I had enough through Saturday, so am lower than I would like to be on those at the moment. Always happens that way it seems.
 
Make sure you save one for morning!

It looks like you're about at your bedtime, aren't you? Does she ever wake you up during the night if she's hungry?
 
Djamila said:
Make sure you save one for morning!

It looks like you're about at your bedtime, aren't you? Does she ever wake you up during the night if she's hungry?
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Her food is out all night- right next to me on the bed; I have two strips set aside for AMPS in case of an E-7, and we have a few more to test at +5, and beyond if we need them. I just want to see a number above 55-60 in the next test (+5 in about 4-7 minutes). I haven't let her leave the room yet so I could make sure she wasn't hiding under a chair when I wanted to test. She is drinking and sleeping - which is typical for this time of night- and ignoring me because of all the pokes.

*+5 is 56, so I will let her run around the house, but if I am awake I want a +6 too.
 
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Wow what a cycle! She might be high in the morning..that's normal after such low numbers.

Do you have a hypo kit? Something good to add to it would be a vial of strips. And just replace them every now and then so they don't expire. That way, you always have extras in case of a hypo. Also...I suggest coffee ground and chocolate!
 
Rachel said:
Wow what a cycle! She might be high in the morning..that's normal after such low numbers.

Do you have a hypo kit? Something good to add to it would be a vial of strips. And just replace them every now and then so they don't expire. That way, you always have extras in case of a hypo. Also...I suggest coffee ground and chocolate!
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I think she is bouncing a little- higher today than we have been for several days. Stuck with the 1u that was suggested above anyway. Not super interested in food either though she ate a little of her regular and a bit of the bisque/B12. The higher carb treat last night probably is another cause. What I want and what she does are often different it seems- she is very stubborn.

I need to stop getting the strips in 50's and get a 100 ct, and then put a 20 ct away in the drawer with her other stuff.

Right now I mostly want her to finish the bisque so she gets all the b12- I have been starting to suspect that she is getting bored with it (they only carry one flavor at our local store) because she eats less at one time each day. I haven't been able to find any liver locally to make the liver soup yet though- they often only have it out at thanksgiving for people to make stuffing, so I need to ask an actual butcher. And then order one of the other soupy foods to have on hand also.
 
Okay, so she tested at 184 tonight, and last night when she was at 180 and I gave her 2u she went down to 38 by +3. So Now I am a little gun-shy- not sure if I should give 1u as I did this AM, or skip the shot. I kinda hate skipping, but I also don't want to go down that low again tonight.

At the moment I am thinking about just feeding and doing the test after 30-60 to see if she can have 1 u then.
 
I think shooting a little late is a good idea if your schedule will allow it in the morning.

It's hard to be sure if one unit is okay since we don't have data from today, although my hunch is that it will be safe. Jaxa is certainly hard to predict at this stage, but I would avoid skipping if you can. Giving something is better than nothing. She is making great progress and you don't want to leave her pancreas with no support until it's ready to really go on its own.
 
Djamila said:
I think shooting a little late is a good idea if your schedule will allow it in the morning.

It's hard to be sure if one unit is okay since we don't have data from today, although my hunch is that it will be safe. Jaxa is certainly hard to predict at this stage, but I would avoid skipping if you can. Giving something is better than nothing. She is making great progress and you don't want to leave her pancreas with no support until it's ready to really go on its own.
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She is such a weirdo- 45 min after first test she is at 161. I think I will try 1u and just keep watch. She is eating again right now.
 
Djamila said:
Knock on wood she lets you get a good night's sleep tonight!
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At least we are stocked up for the moment. I'm never sure how to fill in my spreadsheet when I test, feed, test and then shoot- tonight I just put the first test as +11 so the PMPS would be the number we actually shot on.
 
Whatever works for you is fine. What I would usually do is put the number that I actually shot on in the PMPS box, and then the earlier numbers in a note - click on the PMPS square, then right click and scroll down to "insert note" then you can type the earlier numbers (and if you want, an explanation to help you remember what happened) in the box that pops up.

I've also seen people put the number they shot on in the PMPS, and any earlier numbers in the +11 square.

Or some people put them all in the PMPS square and then just manually set the color for the square to whatever it should be.

So again, whatever works best for you is fine. :) There is a lot of variety around here for those things.
 
Djamila said:
Whatever works for you is fine. What I would usually do is put the number that I actually shot on in the PMPS box, and then the earlier numbers in a note - click on the PMPS square, then right click and scroll down to "insert note" then you can type the earlier numbers (and if you want, an explanation to help you remember what happened) in the box that pops up.

I've also seen people put the number they shot on in the PMPS, and any earlier numbers in the +11 square.

Or some people put them all in the PMPS square and then just manually set the color for the square to whatever it should be.

So again, whatever works best for you is fine. :) There is a lot of variety around here for those things.
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In the world of things that confuse me... she actually is higher now at +3. I don't think we got a fur shot- I felt after the shot and nothing wet/no insulin smell. She has eaten her normal food a couple times, but not an unusual amount. We are having a thunderstorm but she doesn't seem freaked out by it, at least not that I can tell from looking at her, though she jumped onto a chair and almost fell off I don't think that would affect her # much. Better higher than too low like last night I suppose. She just loves to be contrary. I might go to bed soon and not worry too much until I see her AMPS. So 2 was too much, and 1 was not enough- maybe she needs different doses for AM and PM?

I have two thoughts for tomorrow. One, I give 1u and do a curve, or do 1.5 and do a curve. (or modified one anyway since I will be out at her +3 in the AM). If I can get some numbers between +5 through+9 it would be nice.
 
See what her AMPS looks like. I think if you can safely give 1.5 I would lean that way, but if she isn’t high enough to feel good about that, go with what seems safe.
 
Djamila said:
See what her AMPS looks like. I think if you can safely give 1.5 I would lean that way, but if she isn’t high enough to feel good about that, go with what seems safe.
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She was at 169mg/dl this morning, so I decided to stick with 1u, and see what her tests look like later in the day. She had been grazing last night before her +3, but I hate to guess what her numbers were like without the tests. She did end pretty close to where she started last night.

Right now she is bring a brat- using me as a bridge, grabbing me with her claws for attention, getting her tail into her bisque. And she stole the dog's toys again last night.
 
Glassgoblin said:
Right now she is bring a brat- using me as a bridge, grabbing me with her claws for attention, getting her tail into her bisque. And she stole the dog's toys again last night.
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Sounds like she's feeling pretty good today! It's fun when they start getting into mischief again :cat:
 
Not such a bad day so far- compare the numbers she had on 6-2 and it is a little funny how far she has come in dosing. She seems to be enjoying herself too- raining this morning so now it is damp, but she had a few hours outside when I got home, after her +4, and just came in for the +6, food and now she is napping under her favorite quilt/overhang.

I love how every cat has such a different personality. Every single cat I've ever had is different from all of the others, and yet we always come to appreciate their little quirks and love them all no matter what.

I want to get at least a +8/9 before PMPS, but if we can shoot 1u tonight, I am really tempted to see if I gave her 1.25u tomorrow if it would be just the right balance to get just a touch lower without going too far. Other than mowing the lawn, I should be around to test and watch her all day.
 
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I think 1.25u is a great idea. I might encourage you to do it tonight, but of course go with whatever is comfortable to you. Sleep is important too. ;)

I've only had two cats (my current two), but I agree they both have very very different temperaments and quirks, and that's part of what makes them so much fun. It's also interesting to read everyone's posts about their cats. Each one on here is unique (and well loved!)
 
Djamila said:
I think 1.25u is a great idea. I might encourage you to do it tonight, but of course go with whatever is comfortable to you. Sleep is important too. ;)

I've only had two cats (my current two), but I agree they both have very very different temperaments and quirks, and that's part of what makes them so much fun. It's also interesting to read everyone's posts about their cats. Each one on here is unique (and well loved!)
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I stuck with 1u tonight; at 155 it was so close to yesterday's PMPS I thought we would see if she reacted the same tonight as she did last night. If she goes lower on the 1.25 I will have more time to watch for the full 12 hours tomorrow, but will wait to see how her AMPS is also. This morning was the first time we had a blue AMPS, so that was a little exciting.
 
It is a little weird, but on 1u in PM she seems to still be spiking from her food at +3. Which in itself is probably not weird because she eats a lot between the PM shot and +3 (usually at least three times if not four times at the dish between those tests). So I tested her at +4 and she is going down again. I had wondered last night since she was under 200 this AM. So now I know that she will be going further down, and it doesn't seem to be too fast.
 
Second AMPS in blue. Decided to give 1.25u anyway, just to see if it would be enough to go slightly lower into the good greens than we did yesterday. She seemed to have a decent "smile" of numbers otherwise, though I might stick with 1u this PM since I will be gone (as usual) for the first four hours after shot. I will have to decide that at shot time; I never get the needle ready until after the test now, just in case.
 
Can you believe just a week ago Jaxa was at 4u? She's doing so great! Looking forward to seeing how she does on the 1.25u today.
 
Djamila said:
Can you believe just a week ago Jaxa was at 4u? She's doing so great! Looking forward to seeing how she does on the 1.25u today.
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So far it is like it was last night- she seems to have a little spike for her +3, but ate at least three times between shot and +3 test. I let her outside for a bit now since it is sunny, but she will probably come in for her nap soon enough.
 
Our Sunday shots always end up being a little early; no matter how I try to adjust the dose so it is just an earlier time something happens in the week to push it back further... so she is a little lower than I would like (132) and am going to give 0.5u to try that out- so I don't skip the shot completely. I just don't want to give a 1.0 shot at under 150 if I can avoid it right now.
 
I didn't see much difference between the 1u and 1.25u, and even from last night's 0.5u, so stuck with 1u this AM since she is again blue. The drinking less is actually noticeable now too. I always have a few things of water outside for her, and other animals, though so she is never denied access.
 
Rachel said:
Physical symptoms are important...the drinking less is a good sign!
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She is doing better all over the place. Sometimes I look at her and can't help but think of all the people who thought that putting her down was the better option last December when she was first diagnosed with pancreatitis. She got through that with medical and home care, and we will get through this no matter how long or what ups and downs may happen. As long as there is a chance for her to have a good life I will do whatever I need to do to make it possible.
 
Well, another night where she is just low. I tested and she was at 123, so I fed her, waited 45 min, tested again and she was at 100. If she had gone up even a little I would have given at least 0.5, but going down? Eh, we are skipping the shot tonight. Will get a test in later to see what happens, and she is eating again right now, but we are passing through our shot time and I have to leave early in the morning so I don't want to push things back when her AM shot will be about 30-45 minutes earlier than usual.

Got a note form the Vet through messenger today- he said "Excellent!" about her numbers and to keep doing as we have been with testing and shots.
 
She has been enjoying the grass today but thankfully that doesn't seem to affect her bg; we got a test @137 tonight, so gave about .66u (between .5 and .75- was hard to get exactly where I wanted it). I need to get a baby scale so I can weigh her at home; I know she is getting more lean, and she can stand to go down to 12-13lbs for her health. She is active and playful, and the b12 is helping, so I know losing some of the excess weight has already helped a lot. She barely moved last November when she was just over 22lbs, tonight I watched her hop up the deck stairs.
 
Always nice to see that they're improving! Glad to hear she's losing some of that weight. You can also weigh her using a regular scale...just weigh yourself and then you holding her and subtract.
 
Argh, at 115 tonight; feeding and will test again in about 45, but it does not look promising. I'm trying to figure out how low we can shoot on, but even teeny shots at near 100 freak me out, and I know there isn't much difference between her shot last night and tonight, but I still hesitate. If she goes up a little I'll consider .5u., especially if I can get her to eat a little more than what she just had.
 
It's really up to you. Given that she ended up yellow this morning, and your +4 looked pretty safe, I would think you could likely give 0.5u tonight. However, there are no guarantees on that. If her pancreas decides to kick in, you might have a long night. You could try 0.25, or 0.1 (just past the first line, but not as much as 0.25), or you can skip. It's always a tough call on those numbers. You know you can keep her safe through feeding, it's a matter of how much you can stay up and disrupt your sleep. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can't, and that's okay. You have to take care of yourself in all of this too.
 
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