8/29 Mark AMPS 179, PMPS 107, +3 56

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Jess and Marky Mark

Member Since 2017
Hello,

Mark had a pretty low appetite this weekend, starting with his Saturday morning feeding. I had to follow him around and force feed him throughout the day. He was a little interested in food but would only take a few licks before moving away and spent most of the day just laying around. On Sunday afternoon, I found a wound on his lower lip (outside) that was swollen to the size of a pea and had a small scab. I'm thinking that's why he wasn't too interested in eating. I massaged the wound a bit and it didn't appear to cause him any pain and wasn't hot to the touch. We did a curve Sunday.

Come Monday morning, I was having trouble sleeping and got up to check on him at 0400. He perked up then followed me upstairs to bed. He definitely had his old spunk back as he bounded up the stairs. Lately, he hasn't slept with us like he normally would but he did that morning and was very snugly. When we got up for the day on Monday, his appetite was back to normal. The wound on his lip is getting smaller and does not seem to be bothering him.

Monday evening, he had a great appetite but not ravenous. About four hours after getting his shot, he seemed to get very hungry. He tried breaking into the dry food container (Mark hasn't had dry food since his diagnosis in July but our other kitty gets it where Mark can't get to it). He was acting like he was famished! He even did something he's never done - got up onto the bathroom counter to get Sylvia's dry food. In the five years he's been with us, he has NEVER gotten on the counter. His bg at that time was 79. I fed him his regular LC wet food and went to bed.

This morning, his AMPS was 179. We haven't seen a number that high in weeks so I'm a little concerned about what may have caused it. He probably ate a tablespoon or so of the dry food about 6.5 hrs before the 179 was taken.

Oh, I just thought of something else. We got new syringes (leftovers from a friend) and the needles are shorter than our first batch but they have the half marks on them (not sure of the gauge). Hubby and I are having trouble telling if the needle is going all the way in. They seem to be more difficult to push into the skin, if that makes sense.

Just when I think I'm starting to figure out the pattern, something like a 179 pops up. :(
 
My hunch is that dry food is the culprit. It is notorious for causing numbers to rise. It can also take longer than you expect for it to exert an effect on BG and it also takes longer than what you'd expect for it to be metabolized and get out of a cat's system. I would also be suspicious of a cat that's foraging for food. It makes me wonder if Mark's numbers were dropping. Many cats get food "motivated" if their BG is falling.

 
We have a similar situation this evening as last evening.

His PMPS was 107. He ate his normal half of a 5.5 oz of LC food and got his shot (.25u) about 20 minutes after eating. About +2-3 after his PM shot, he was super hungry, eating even the dried crumbs of his leftover wet food that were stuck around his bowl. At +3.5, his bg was 56. I tested again right away with a larger sample and got 63. Hubby fed him half a 3oz can of a higher carb (14% on Dr. Lisa's chart). I will be testing him again in a few minutes to see if he's going back up.

His only symptom is the hunger. He was playful this evening, chasing a laser pointer and feather toy a bit.
 
He is still in the mood to play and is no longer acting hungry. His bg now (20 minutes after eating) is 74. We are at +4 after his shot.

We tried skipping shots about a week ago because he was in the greens and low blues but his bg started going up a bit so we have been giving him .25u 2x a day for the last four days.
 
That 56 on the AT means a reduction. Maybe it's time to start practicing a 0.1U dose.
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Good catch!
Keep an eye on the rest of the cycle as he could start heading down again when the HC wears off.

As Wendy pointed out, he has earned a reduction to 0.1u. Congratulations!
 
Can you take the 911 off of the subject heading now?

How long since he last had HC? It can wear off 2 hours later so it's a good idea to get a test after it's worn off to make sure he doesn't wander back down into dangerous territory.
 
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