7/23 Moonie AMPS 130, +1.5 105, +3 96, +4 104, PMPS 87, +2 162, +3 142

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

7/22 Moonie AMPS 278, +1.5 267, +6.5 260, +8 249, +9 270, +10 250, +11 256, PMPS 243, +1 196, +2 132, +3 110, +4 93, +5 85

We finally started feeding 7-8% carbs last night and I’m thrilled to report that it finally stopped the bouncing!

However, it seems like it’s flattened her out at a higher level. When we were feeding 0-3% carbs, she’d regularly show us nadirs in the 50-70s (albeit with constant bouncing), but so far we’re seeing pretty flat 80-130. So a much more ideal curve shape but at suboptimally high numbers.

My question - should we keep this feeding regime and just take her up to 3.25u, accepting that we’d rather have a flatter curve with a higher insulin dose (to give her more time in greens)? Or should we keep experimenting and try 5-6% carbs this time to see if that flattens her out at a lower level? Or just give it time since we’ve only done this new higher carb LC food for only 2 cycles?

Thank you so much in advance for any thoughts you could share!

This was Moonie staring at our kebabs last night - still hunting for new culinary experiences even with her new higher carb cuisine!

 

[Staci & Ivy]

She does love to watch you eat, doesn't she?
Such a beautiful girl and she is so funny! What a character

It makes sense what you are seeing by feeding higher carbs, a higher BG cycle.

I'll be curious what is recommended for you to try. There is probably some ECID, to see how each cat responds to this tweaking of feeding.
Some cats need a slightly higher carb diet.

Ivy eats 6% carbs as her normal diet. Some cats eat 1-2% and are very carb sensitive.

Hope you all have a beautiful day with a nice flat surf for Miss Moonie

 

[Wendy&Neko]

From yesterday's convo - posting here so as not to bump up an old conversation:

Did you ever find that feeding this higher carb LC increased Neko’s insulin needs? Moonie is carb sensitive and while I’m thrilled that feeding her 8% finally stopped her bouncing, I’m a bit worried that it’s flattened her out at a higher level. We used to see nadirs in the 50-70s pretty consistently, and so far, it looks more like 80-90. Maybe we just need to give it more time (or blend to get it down to 5-6 percent carbs?), but normally I think if I saw this, I’d assume that we’re due for a dose increase

Neko was "complicated" at the time I introduced Lamb Burgini. She had gone off her regular raw - acro soft tissue growth in her mouth had made eating more challenging. Lamb Burgini blended to a mousse texture was easy for her to eat. Plus she had about 8 months prior undergone stereotactic radiation treatment (SRT) to treat her acro tumour and it was working. Cats with acromegaly are diabetic for a different reason, treat the acro tumour and insulin needs go down, not up. Neko was quite carb sensitive, but she also had at least a partially working pancreas. So to answer the question, Lamb Burgini did not increase her insulin needs. I wanted the slightly higher LC to give me a buffer when she went off food ( had stage 3 CKD, heart conditions, small cell lymphoma being treated with chemo). It was also lower phosphorus for her CKD.

Regarding observations with feeding slightly higher LC, or food experiments in general, they take time to see what is happening. One or two cycles is not enough to determine the effect. I'm picking the "give it time" option. If you are consistently seeing nadirs in the 80's and above, then you do have room for an increase.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

From yesterday's convo - posting here so as not to bump up an old conversation:

Neko was "complicated" at the time I introduced Lamb Burgini. She had gone off her regular raw - acro soft tissue growth in her mouth had made eating more challenging. Lamb Burgini blended to a mousse texture was easy for her to eat. Plus she had about 8 months prior undergone stereotactic radiation treatment (SRT) to treat her acro tumour and it was working. Cats with acromegaly are diabetic for a different reason, treat the acro tumour and insulin needs go down, not up. Neko was quite carb sensitive, but she also had at least a partially working pancreas. So to answer the question, Lamb Burgini did not increase her insulin needs. I wanted the slightly higher LC to give me a buffer when she went off food ( had stage 3 CKD, heart conditions, small cell lymphoma being treated with chemo). It was also lower phosphorus for her CKD.

Regarding observations with feeding slightly higher LC, or food experiments in general, they take time to see what is happening. One or two cycles is not enough to determine the effect. I'm picking the "give it time" option. If you are consistently seeing nadirs in the 80's and above, then you do have room for an increase.

Thank you so much, Wendy! I was brainstorming with Sara, and I think I'm going to try next 7.5% carb at preshot and +1 and supplement with lower carb for +2 (3-5% carb) and +3 (0-2%) to smooth her without raising her nadir point / cutting duration. Now at least I know 7.5% can flatten her, so hopefully if I tweak it a little, maybe I can get her nadirs down a bit.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

She does love to watch you eat, doesn't she?
Such a beautiful girl and she is so funny! What a character

It makes sense what you are seeing by feeding higher carbs, a higher BG cycle.

I'll be curious what is recommended for you to try. There is probably some ECID, to see how each cat responds to this tweaking of feeding.
Some cats need a slightly higher carb diet.

Ivy eats 6% carbs as her normal diet. Some cats eat 1-2% and are very carb sensitive.

Hope you all have a beautiful day with a nice flat surf for Miss Moonie

Thanks Staci! That's really helpful to see what other cats are getting. Moonie is very carb sensitive as well - I had her on 0-2% carb food, which worked well for us in the beginning, but we started seeing these wild bounces more recently so we're continuing our food experiments.

I smiled seeing your update that Ivy scarfed down her food which included the Lamb Burgini! Wendy recommended that to us yesterday too, and Moonie went absolutely feral for it this morning. I don't think I ever saw her eat so much in one sitting. So we'll try to keep that in our rotation as we tweak her food

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thank you so much, Wendy! I was brainstorming with Sara, and I think I'm going to try next 7.5% carb at preshot and +1 and supplement with lower carb for +2 (3-5% carb) and +3 (0-2%) to smooth her without raising her nadir point / cutting duration. Now at least I know 7.5% can flatten her, so hopefully if I tweak it a little, maybe I can get her nadirs down a bit.

I don’t see a condo today but I’d try to not get overly complicated. I’d stick with the 7.5% (unless she’s low or dropping fast) for a few cycles to see the effect. If it flattens her, then you can raise the dose, if need be.

I don’t think 7.5% will alter her duration but it’s true we won’t know until you try. I think sometimes less is more meaning the less complicated and more consistent the feeding, the greater the gains.

Now, in Moonie style, she can prove me wrong