7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 +2 151 +4 238 (AlphaTrak)

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meatball_mommy

meatball_mommy

Member Since 2013
Meatball's Condo

Hi all. A little panicked on whether or not I did the right thing. Meatball had a PS number of 169 this AM. I fed him a can of food and went ahead and gave him his 2 units. I'll be home to monitor through +5 and then not home until around +9. I've got my hypo kit ready. Wondering if (a) I should have shot him and (b) if I should arrange my day so that I can be home all day. I'm thinking at this point that I'll test every 1-2 and see where he's at around +4 and make a call. Thoughts? Jo
 
Re: 7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 (2 units) - Advice Needed!

We use 150 as our "post and ask for help" number if you're still new to FD.

Let me offer a bit of coaching. One of the reasons we emphasize getting at least a "before bed" test at night is to be on alert for either a low number during the PM cycle or just what you encountered this morning -- an unexpectedly low number at your pre-shot time. Right now, you don't know if the 169 was a dropping number or if numbers are on the way up. In addition, if your plan is to follow the TR protocol, one of the built in safeties is that you get at least one test per cycle in addition to your pre-shot tests.

Given that you've not shot low yet, an option would have been to stall for 20 min. without feeding and re-test. That will let you know whether numbers were continuing to head down. Until you have more data, shooting a dropping number isn't a great idea. As it stands, what you may be seeing is either a food spike or that Meatball dropped low last night and numbers are bouncing upward.

For the future, you may want to bookmark or print out the following two posts:
It's helpful to have this information handy in the off chance that no one is around. In the meantime, whenever you shoot low, it's advisable to get a +1 and +2 test and then decide when you need to next test.
 
Re: 7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 (2 units) - Advice Needed!

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I've read and re read all the Lantus stickies, and did again this AM. Between that and the actual protocol I walked away with a "shoot but monitor" reaction...but, man, I definitely hear you on the bedtime number. We discussed it last night but my boyfriend is a little down about the bruises on Meatball's ear and we decided to give him the night off. At this point I'll continue to test...we're off to the vet at 5:30pm for boarding so they'll take it from there for a few days. Thanks for the reply. Lessons learned for the future!
 
Re: 7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 (2 units) - Advice Needed!

Jo --

Just a reminder -- we tend to "talk" about numbers in terms of a human meter vs. the AlphaTrack. So when I refer to a 150 as the ask for input number on a pre-shot, for the AlphaTrack, it's 180. Likewise, if Meatball's numbers drop to 80, that's dose reduction range. If you look on the last table of the Queensland document, you'll see a table that's calibrated for the AlphaTrack.

I also want to give you a head's up in that this is what Libby was alerting you to a few days ago. Meatball's depot is filling and you may start to see more of a response. Either you may need to alert the vet to this possibility or you may want to think about reducing Meatball's dose while boarding. Many kitties don't eat as well when out of their home so that is something to factor in, as well. If this were my kitty, I'd be giving serious thought to reducing the dose while boarding. (Heck, I reduce the dose when I'm traveling and I have a petsitter coming by.)

Did you raise Meatball's dose last night and then drop it back to 2.0u today?
 
Re: 7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 (2 units) - Advice Needed!

Yeah, I wondered about the reduction in dose for the vet. I am worried he won't eat as well there. Re: last night...there was a bit of a dispute as to where the plunger was. The intent was to stay at 2, but I think we we're closer to 2.25. We're at 2 units this am. Re: Queensland doc, we've got the AlphaTrak table posted on our fridge for guidance. +2 was 151. Going to try to take a deep breath, relax, and test again at +4. We're going to be a wreck on vacation!

By the way, I see that you test pretty frequently. Do you always hit the same general ear spots? How are your cat's ears handling it? Poor meatball has some bruises going on and I'm a bit worried we're hurting him - but there's definitely a few sweet spots where it works best and I'm hitting again and again.
 
Re: 7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 +2 151 (AlphaTrak)

Both Marje and I are testaholics! I do test in relatively the same spot on the same ear. There are times when Gabby bruises and times when she doesn't. I think it is largely a matter of how warm her ear is. One trick is to use a very small dab of Neosporin (Pain formula) ointment. I sometimes put some on Gabby's ear overnight. Others will use a tiny bit when they test. The ointment will cause the blood to bead up if you don't apply too much. It seems to speed up the healing.

Is there any way the vets' office will send you an e-mail (or whatever) with the BG test info? It's a way to make sure they're testing.
 
Re: 7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 +2 151 (AlphaTrak)

Sienne and Gabby said:
Is there any way the vets' office will send you an e-mail (or whatever) with the BG test info? It's a way to make sure they're testing.
Click to expand...
The vet has edit access to our Google Docs spreadsheet and has been known to check it, and we email frequently. We're actually going to ask her to update the spreadsheet directly so we can look at it while we're gone. I think we're going to end up checking in a lot. Hoping we can also decompress a bit - I must admit I'm a bit surprised by how stressful this is. I have a pretty high-stress job and I've just started a 5-week sabbatical to recover a bit from it and finding that this is just replacing work! nailbite_smile
 
Re: 7/16 Meatball AMPS 169 +1 189 +2 151 (AlphaTrak)

It really is stressful in the beginning. It does get easier, though! I've been at this for a while. It was way more stressful when Gabby was first diagnosed and I'm always a bit of a basket case when I travel. However, on a day to day basis, it has gotten easier especially since I have a lot of data and have a good sense of where she'll go with her numbers (most of the time). The challenging part is when you are devoted to your kitty and trying to balance FD with the rest of your life.
 
Hi guys .. I don't think I've been to your condo before so welcome from us! Yes, FD can be stressful, but it would be much more stressful if you had not of found this forum .. it is a life saver! Know that we've all been there and we've all gotten through those first few weeks .. Mocha was on insulin for 22 months before she called it quits and went off the juice (OTJ) and believe me, there were stressful times and this is the group that got us through it! Have a great day!
 
Thanks, all! +8.5 was 303 so all in all a good day - much better than he'd been having. He's boarded at the vet now :sad: but they're very good and we're confident will keep making progress with him under our doc's care through the rest of the week. They'll be updating our spreadsheet so we're anxious to see how things progress. Thanks again!
 
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