8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242 +5/209

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Mary and Stella

Mary and Stella

Member Since 2011
Stella's Condo

Hello everybody, after a very emotional roller-coaster I am back. This is a lot to take in, and it seems every time I am left to my own devices to shoot...I apparently make a mistake. I thought I did the right thing by giving Stella .8U I followed the following per sticky on shooting low numbers:

give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose)
Click to expand...

Yesterday, Sienne...you mentioned I reduced by 75%. Isn't that what the above says to do? I am asking, because if we are only supposed to reduce by 25%, then shouldn't this be changed? It was how I read it as reducing by 75%. Otherwise, shouldn't it say, give a token dose usual dose-minus 10-25%? I would really like to know what we are really supposed to be dosing please. Here is where I got this excerpt:
Code: 
Sticky

Here is what I wrote to Pumkincat this evening as I came back to the board:
This just happened to me two days ago (look at Stella's SS). Keep in mind I know NOTHING... I had a mini heart attack because I didn't know what to do and nobody responded. I have been MIA since trying to figure out what I would do differently. I spoke to my vet today asking what she would have done. I told her I shot .8U which is 25% of her regular dose. My vet said she would have told me not to shoot. If I wasn't testing like most don't because they don't home-test I feel it still would have ended ok. I have been upset because I feel like I am in this on my own. If I would just grow up...I guess I would realize we are, and we all do the best we can each shot.

On to Stella. She is doing great. Eating a lot (Stella and Boo just discovered they will devour the Wellness Chicken and Herring...who knew? Boo has a new fave wet food. Thank goodness!!! :lol: ) Lower urination, loving me despite my blood pressure popping out of my head ;-) , and playing like mad.

Thank you for putting up with me while I spin in circles acting like a child. You are priceless, and so is your knowledge. :smile:
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

just glad you're here, mary! :YMHUG:

keep posting as you test, ask a thousand questions and we'll try to help.
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

hey there Mary!! I don't do dosing and such here in lantus isg, mostly because i don't think i could bear it if i told someone to do something that harmed their cat and i can't be here every day or enough to feel i know each cat enough to comfortably advise on specifics so basically why i'm here is to let you know, we all have to take a break from time to time. it can get to you. and the more wrapped up in it one gets, the more it gets to you i think. and yes, it can be oh so damn frustrating in the beginning.

just know that if you slip up here or there, everyone does, and a slip up here or there is not going to hurt Stella. well, as long as you don't use a big feeding syringe to give insulin with that is :lol: heck, i wouldn't even call them slip ups, or mistakes, i'd just call them learning.

(((((Mary))))) and SCRITCHES to Ms. Stella
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

Thank you ladies, for being there for me. ;-)

PS. Stella is officially back to being the 'nurturer' to Boo. She is grabbing her face and grooming her to death. Yippee! Not only is she grooming herself, she has the energy to get Boo now too!!! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

Hey Mary

I'm facing my first low number right now, and it is a hard choice. If you shoot too much, you can't take it back, but if you shoot too little, the numbers shoot right back up. From my very early perspective, I think you're doing great! I wish I had as much data as you've been able to get.
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

it's true - lots of people call them "opportunities to gather data!" when you realize in hindsight that maybe doing something different would've been better.

if you get a 50 or lower, hit the 911 post icon and then there's some urgency, although really it's not a 911 yet. other than that we usually have time to figure things out.

i love stella's avatar looking straight at the camera. i can feel her eyes! she's saying "feed me. pet me. scritches please." the psychic command is overwhelming me . . . :-D
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

i think i might have something here, but i'd have to read the threads from top to bottom so forgive me if i'm wrong and fiance is yelling "let's go let's go".

if we are following the protocol and the numbers drop low, to a certain point, we "reduce" the dose right? but, if we get a low preshot for the first time, we have 3 options. right? one being to give a "token" dose. andddddddd, in reading the "dealing with low numbers part" in the data ready to shoot low numbers? post i read it as the same thing as Mary. give 10-25% of the regular dose, which is called a "token" dose there, not a "reduction".

i think we're talking about 2 different areas of the "protocol". and perhaps the reduction is getting mixed up with the token??

make sense to anyone but me? :-)
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

You read that section of the info correctly. You were reading the FDMB FAQ materials (specifically 4.4). The FAQs were put together as an overview and are, for lack of a better word, generic. They are not necessarily specific to any one type of insulin or a particular dosing protocol.

Here's the disconnect. We follow a specific dosing protocol for Lantus. Generally, we don't reduce the dose quite as much when there's a low pre-shot number. The reason for this is that many of the other types of insulin are shorter acting than Lantus (or Levemir) and do not have a shed. The specific type of insulin is what we take into consideration. Lantus dosing is cumulative in its action so by taking that big of a reduction, there can be an effect on BG numbers not only in the current cycle but in several cycles after the reduction. (This is also why doses are allowed to "settle" for 3 days.)

I really do understand how overwhelming this all is. It can seem like you read one thing and the next thing you look at contradicts what you read. You're having to learn about feline diabetes, dosing, how the insulin you're using works, etc. and unless you're background is in medicine or a related field, you're learning not only a whole new language but all of the slang we use here. (Do you have a migraine yet?) Please don't get frustrated and please don't feel like you've done any thing terribly wrong. It's way better to give less insulin than to give too much.
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

(((Mary)))....I think you are doing great. This is HARD. No one ever said it would be easy. We've all made errors....thinking we were doing the right thing. It's just part of this dance. I've made more "mistakes" then I can remember but my darling Gracie has forgiven every one and she's still chugging away and improving despite me. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm sorry no one was around to help you. That's rare that that happens but you did the best you could with the info you had. And Stella recovered. The one thing I will always err on the side of is safety for Gracie. It is better to shoot too low of a dose than too high and end up with an extended hypo event.

Each day you will learn more. We've been at this 10 months and are still learning something every day from Jill, Libby, Sienne, and all our wonderful LL friends. You will, too.

I'm so glad you came back. Hugs!
 
Re: 8/5 Stella AMPS/270 +7/213 PMPS/293 +2/242

Again, thank you everyone for weighing in! And thank you Sienne for the clarification.

I guess in the end, it is all about a lot of testing to see how your kitty reacts to everything. I guess that is why you say 'every kitty is different (ECID)...' because we only know our kitty when we test, test, test. And, now I know what happens when I reduce her by 75% :lol: Her BG rises by 100, and her shed bottoms out.

I know Stella will kick this...I just know it...I just don't want to be the reason it takes longer than it should. I also don't want to give myself a heart attack in the process. Stella is strong, and I test a lot, so I am sure we will be fine. ;-) Again, thank you.
 
you are doing an awesome job! truly. it is hard and there is a TON to learn. i've found i can only absorb so much at once - but gradually it sinks in.

someone told me at the beginning that this is a marathon, not a sprint. that was wise advice! so take it easy on yourself - she's the same stella you've always loved. you'll learn and she'll thrive.

good night from me!
 
That was me, Julie, that told you that. ;-) ;-) ;-) I've been reduced to "someone". :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good night Mary.
 
one more quick note before i go to bed as i was still thinking about this while we were eating dinner tonight. by the time us west coast people get to our evening stuff, alot of the other US people are already off for the night and i'm not sure how many international people are still here in LL? so i want to say in the past that some west coasters have had to kinda do a "what if" type of scenario a few hours early, ask questions, etc.....
 
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