Stefania S
Active Member
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...pped-skin-ulcer-bleeding.278259/#post-3077623
We're back. Just tested her for the first time in days.
After the sensor quit, we had the ulcer burst at 3am, rush to the clinic, back home by 5am, the whole thing through me for a loop. I needed some down time. Maybe I took too much time. I knew here numbers were high. At the clinic they tested and got 279 at +7. But I already knew they were high from before the sensor died and from observing her. She was clearly behaving as she does when she is hyperglycemic. They tested for ketones: zero, June 5.
She was still shell shocked from that night and that thing on her shoulder looks pretty bad. They tell me it isn't painful but, I find that very hard to believe. I know it affects her movement, her entire leg which shakes when she is using it to rub her face. Maybe superficially it doesn't have much sensation, but internally I'm sure it is causing problems and discomfort for her.
I'm extremely hesitant to to go down the path of surgeries, treatments, many visits and much stress for Jessi and for me....and I just don't think her little body and mind can handle all of that in addition to the rest. But it may be necessary.
Today I took her to an new vet hoping this would be a better experience for us. BIG MISTAKE! what a disaster. She ferociously cleaned the growth. She kept saying I should have it removed and that it was a quick simple thing. She kept squeezing and touching it for like a half hour before finally getting to the sensor which was what we had come for. And that is when I discovered the hard way that she had almost no experience doing this. It was a botched job, if it stays on 3 days we'll be lucky. She didn't use any glue. I should have stopped her and just taken Jessi to another place, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
I have a big problem now. Every vet I go see tells me to see the Endocrinologist. This last vet was saying she would write to him herself. She kept asking me about what he was telling me to do. She said he treated her dog and swore by him as so many others here do. If I have to keep going to his team to have the sensor put on because they are the only competent ones in all of Bologna, I won't be able to keep doing my own thing with the insulin. They will find out and they could refuse to work with me. As it is I am on thin ice with them.
I'm in a tight spot and it adds that extra layer of stress. I also have to find someone to test and/or remove this growth who I can trust. Every vet wants to know and needs to know about the diabetes and the insulin therapy. I will have to tell the truth or it could put her in danger. But if they know I am not doing what Fracassi's office says, they may not work with me.
This is a VERY small city, more like a big town, and the Veterinary community is miniscule. I don't know what I'm going to do.
But for now, the first step is to get Jessi on a better dose. Half a unit is not cutting it. Now that I know back to back reductions can cause big dips in BG, I will be much more cautious about that. I also know that I am not going to reduce unless the dip is more significant.
I wonder why there is no middle ground between TR and SLGS. They seem too polar. Hasn't someone come up with an intermediate method? Or is that where you make your own customized version that works best for your cat, your health, lifestyle, etc.?
One thing that was very apparent in these last 5 days of no monitoring on a low dose, is that my wellbeing and Jessi's are competing. I already knew this since even before I started the insulin, but it increased exponentially when we started the shots.
With her on a low dose for the first time in 2 months, and not monitoring for the first time in weeks, I had time to breathe. I had time to do some more things for myself, to sleep a little more, to put my attention on other things. To take a little better care of myself.
How messed up is that? Basically I have to let Jessi be mildly to moderately hyperglycemic for me to be able to take proper care of myself. This is a big problem, and I'm not sure how to resolve it. But I can't let her stay like this, she is clearly slipping back.
So, op we go again. Hoping the sensor lasts long enough to be able to safely do an increase. And I hope it doesn't take too long to fill that depot again and get her numbers down into better levels. I have to admit that after this experience I don't have a lot of trust in SLGS as a method. My feeling was that .75 was as low as we should go at that time, and the 81, which was really more like 91 on the sensor, was not cause enough to reduce again, but as a newbie I just did what the protocol tells and hoped for the best.
My sense now is that I will probably have to find a middle ground between following the protocol and following what feels right, but since I'm still learning all this, I should and will continue to follow what senior members are suggesting until I feel more confident about making my own choices. Exceptions may be when something clearly doesn't or does feel like the right choice even though it doesn't adhere to the protocol. Then, I hope members will work with me to take the best next steps.
It does take courage to go your own way. It means you are now fully responsible. It's another reason it can be scary to disobey the doctors.
Right now, the most important question is how many days of monitoring do I need before I can increase? I'm ready to do it asap as soon as tomorrow, allowing for one or two cycles at most of reads. I don't want to make her wait much longer to get her feeling a little better.
We're back. Just tested her for the first time in days.
After the sensor quit, we had the ulcer burst at 3am, rush to the clinic, back home by 5am, the whole thing through me for a loop. I needed some down time. Maybe I took too much time. I knew here numbers were high. At the clinic they tested and got 279 at +7. But I already knew they were high from before the sensor died and from observing her. She was clearly behaving as she does when she is hyperglycemic. They tested for ketones: zero, June 5.
She was still shell shocked from that night and that thing on her shoulder looks pretty bad. They tell me it isn't painful but, I find that very hard to believe. I know it affects her movement, her entire leg which shakes when she is using it to rub her face. Maybe superficially it doesn't have much sensation, but internally I'm sure it is causing problems and discomfort for her.
I'm extremely hesitant to to go down the path of surgeries, treatments, many visits and much stress for Jessi and for me....and I just don't think her little body and mind can handle all of that in addition to the rest. But it may be necessary.
Today I took her to an new vet hoping this would be a better experience for us. BIG MISTAKE! what a disaster. She ferociously cleaned the growth. She kept saying I should have it removed and that it was a quick simple thing. She kept squeezing and touching it for like a half hour before finally getting to the sensor which was what we had come for. And that is when I discovered the hard way that she had almost no experience doing this. It was a botched job, if it stays on 3 days we'll be lucky. She didn't use any glue. I should have stopped her and just taken Jessi to another place, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
I have a big problem now. Every vet I go see tells me to see the Endocrinologist. This last vet was saying she would write to him herself. She kept asking me about what he was telling me to do. She said he treated her dog and swore by him as so many others here do. If I have to keep going to his team to have the sensor put on because they are the only competent ones in all of Bologna, I won't be able to keep doing my own thing with the insulin. They will find out and they could refuse to work with me. As it is I am on thin ice with them.
I'm in a tight spot and it adds that extra layer of stress. I also have to find someone to test and/or remove this growth who I can trust. Every vet wants to know and needs to know about the diabetes and the insulin therapy. I will have to tell the truth or it could put her in danger. But if they know I am not doing what Fracassi's office says, they may not work with me.
This is a VERY small city, more like a big town, and the Veterinary community is miniscule. I don't know what I'm going to do.
But for now, the first step is to get Jessi on a better dose. Half a unit is not cutting it. Now that I know back to back reductions can cause big dips in BG, I will be much more cautious about that. I also know that I am not going to reduce unless the dip is more significant.
I wonder why there is no middle ground between TR and SLGS. They seem too polar. Hasn't someone come up with an intermediate method? Or is that where you make your own customized version that works best for your cat, your health, lifestyle, etc.?
One thing that was very apparent in these last 5 days of no monitoring on a low dose, is that my wellbeing and Jessi's are competing. I already knew this since even before I started the insulin, but it increased exponentially when we started the shots.
With her on a low dose for the first time in 2 months, and not monitoring for the first time in weeks, I had time to breathe. I had time to do some more things for myself, to sleep a little more, to put my attention on other things. To take a little better care of myself.
How messed up is that? Basically I have to let Jessi be mildly to moderately hyperglycemic for me to be able to take proper care of myself. This is a big problem, and I'm not sure how to resolve it. But I can't let her stay like this, she is clearly slipping back.
So, op we go again. Hoping the sensor lasts long enough to be able to safely do an increase. And I hope it doesn't take too long to fill that depot again and get her numbers down into better levels. I have to admit that after this experience I don't have a lot of trust in SLGS as a method. My feeling was that .75 was as low as we should go at that time, and the 81, which was really more like 91 on the sensor, was not cause enough to reduce again, but as a newbie I just did what the protocol tells and hoped for the best.
My sense now is that I will probably have to find a middle ground between following the protocol and following what feels right, but since I'm still learning all this, I should and will continue to follow what senior members are suggesting until I feel more confident about making my own choices. Exceptions may be when something clearly doesn't or does feel like the right choice even though it doesn't adhere to the protocol. Then, I hope members will work with me to take the best next steps.
It does take courage to go your own way. It means you are now fully responsible. It's another reason it can be scary to disobey the doctors.
Right now, the most important question is how many days of monitoring do I need before I can increase? I'm ready to do it asap as soon as tomorrow, allowing for one or two cycles at most of reads. I don't want to make her wait much longer to get her feeling a little better.
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