8/7 Curry: First full week on lantus~AMPS 197

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Tena and Curry(GA)

Tena and Curry(GA)

Member Since 2010
Yesterday - viewtopic.php?f=28&t=21725

Wow. What a week. Dx last Friday, jumped on this message board, got a ton of support, was completely overwhelmed and then sucked it up,started lantus 1unit bid .

I went to Vet yesterday to have him evaluated her...a bit of a tummy issue(constipation due to too quick a transition from high carb dry to canned)...get pointers on the ear poke and ask a ton of questions. Got some Lax aire for the tummy issue. Silly girl, she thinks its a treat. :)

One of my questions to him was....at what BG number do I not give the insulin....he replied...200....unless if I was home to watch her. But to be on the safe side, not to give it. So I asked about giving her .5units (learned that from y'all) and he said yes. Even bought the 3/10 cc syringes which makes it easier to read .5 units than on the 5/10 cc ones. Just I might be using those way in the future....not this morning.

Well I tested her this morning...boy she moves around alot....got a 197. I even thought I may have done a fur shot last night...coat was wet and I smelled insulin. And she had been eating the EVO dry which a tad higher in the carbs since she had turned up her nose at canned w/the tummy issue starting Thursday night.

I did give her the .5 units and will definitely be home today. I will also do a glucose curve...first one today.
 
Re: First full week on lantus~AMPS 197

Morning Teena...nice AMPS for Curry!
I was looking back to find your original post... found it! link: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21245&p=210939&hilit=curry#p210939
We link our previous day's post to the first one each morning so that it is easy to look back on what transpired the day before. It's so much easier this way. Do you know how to do links?

I think this was your last posting... viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21611

that is great that you will be doing a curve today. The more data you have the better it is! Looking good! Nice to see you!
Oh, and Teena...would you mind editing your header to read the date, Curry's name and the AMPS. That makes it easy to find you again if the name is in the heading!
 
Re: First full week on lantus~AMPS 197

Congrats to being so willing to jump in! I'm new to Lantus Land too so I can't give any dose advice. Good luck with the curve!
 
Question: What type of syringes all you using?

I initially bought the 5/10 cc ones..Which are OK for 1 unit or more shots.
Bought the 3/10 cc ones yesterday just thinking I would be using them down the road....easier to read if giving .5 units.

I noticed that some of the spread sheets folks are putting numbers like: .3 or . 4 How are you able to determine/see those on the syringes....Are there some different ones than the 3/10 that will allow me to get that type of reading. Or are folks just approximating?

Still learning here.
 
Curry is such a sweetie...what an adorable picture of her!!!!
Here is the link to the stickie about...Ready to shoot lower numbers: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=147

Review the information there. If she gets a low preshot number, just post and someone will be here to walk you through it. It is good to include in your post information as to your plans for the day, if you will be home or not. Do you have plenty of HC foods with gravy in the house? You should also review the information on hypos...the low numbers are very scary at first but we do get used to them.
One thing I would say...food is your friend! :mrgreen: You can manipulate the numbers with food and the important thing here is to have data to see how Curry responds to both insulin and food.

Read this stickie too: "New to the Group" viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18139
It will give you information about the curve and also, if you scroll down the page, click on the Hypoglycemia tab and read that.
Come back with any questions you might have, okay? :razz:
it also shows the syringe with smaller doses...
 
Syringes....ummm. My syringes don't have the 1/2 unit mark....Just have to guess for right now. Might need to purchase the 1/2 unit marked syringes...

BG at 2+ was 168.
 
Just stopping by to visit your condo for the first time, and to thank you for your post in my condo. Another Oakville girl, eh? Small world. It looks like you are off to a great start with your first week on Lantus. I think you will be needing those syringes with the half unit markings.
 
Hi Tena, Definitely you want syringes with 1/2 unit markings. That's the smallest unit-markings syringes come in. For the .25 unit increments and below, we just try to eyeball it, or count drops, or measure to the top or bottom of a line, or leave a little space before a line, etc. etc Everyone has their own system. The important thing is to try to be consistent with yourself! (easier said than done). You're doing great. Carry on and ask all the questions you need. Welcome to LL!

Ella & Stu
 
Another newbie question: when doing the glucose curve for the day....do you typically hold off on giving any treats/food until dinner time unless you see some numbers really dropping fast?
 
Hi Tena and Curry! Looking good today! Good luck on the curve!

As far as the syringes, yep you will need those ones with the 1/2 unit markings, believe me! I'm one of the ones who have dosed at .5, .4, .3, and now we are at 1 drop, lol. You just gotta eyeball it and find your mark consistently.
 
I would feed her like you normally feed to get the most accurate results.
Savannah always has a plate of food available throughout the day so when I do the curve I don't try and not feed her, I let her eat at her normal routine.
Hope that helps,
dd
 
Just now ordered the new syringes.

Had emailed my Vet this morning w/the information about the dose reduction and doing the curve today. He's so great...told me he was pleased w/how everything is going and wants me to email today w/the results of the curve. And he's not even working today. He's a gem!

Deb & Spot said:
Hi Tena and Curry! Looking good today! Good luck on the curve!

As far as the syringes, yep you will need those ones with the 1/2 unit markings, believe me! I'm one of the ones who have dosed at .5, .4, .3, and now we are at 1 drop, lol. You just gotta eyeball it and find your mark consistently.
Click to expand...
 
Tena...it is good that you are getting more data on Curry today. :mrgreen:
Did you shoot the .5u because she was under 200 this morning?
Maybe put "dose ??" in your header for tonight's shot so someone can look over your SS?

I am wondering only cause it might be that the more experienced people will see if that should be her starting dose. I am not a dosing authority so I am not sure....but I do know that Lantus likes consistency, know what I mean? Shoot the same dose AM/PM. Curry's numbers might warrant a lower starting dose and I would feel better if someone took a look.

Once you have more data on how Curry reacts to the insulin you will be better able to shoot even the lower numbers. We use food to raise the numbers as I said before so you should not worry if she gets a <200 okay? Just post the number and someone will be along....
 
So today I experimented with the glucose curve. Numbers were off for a couple of reasons.

1. I thought I had done a fur shot last night...smelled the insulin and felt something wet. I know how to shot it. I need to just shot down at an angle rather than toward her head.
2. We started off the week on canned...she was so hungry and would eat anything. Then on Thursday evening she developed a tummy ache...constipation per the Vet....and really wasn't enthusiastic about the canned food. So we went w/what she would eat which was the dry EVO...a tad higher in the carbs. So she is eating mainly dry EVO instead of canned.
3. Wasn't sure if had fur shot previous night....had discussed w/Vet about not shooting if got BG value below 200 or giving a reduced dose at .5units. Erred on the side of caution.....kinda...gave the shot but at a reduced dose since wasn't sure about last night.
Numbers today
AMPS 197
+2 167
+4 185
+ 6 244

Stopped testing after that since the numbers were trending up. Also told my Vet that I'm going to try to get Curry back on the canned. Do 1/2 canned and 1/2 dry.....Part of my concern right now since I don't know how Curry would do completely on canned is that if her numbers drop while I'm at work it could be a problem. So I'm going to shoot for consistency in Curry's eating first, second, no more fur shots....Do a curve next week and make any changes in dose or switching completed to canned while I off from work for a couple of days to watch her. Emailed my Vet about tonight's dose and gave him today's numbers.

He replied:
"I think trying the 1/2 and 1/2 feeding is a great idea. We need to find something she will eat consistently, and the more of that is canned the better. But it is better for her to have the dry all the time than to have her eating the canned sometimes and turning her nose up at it other times if that is the way she is going to be. Once she settles on what she is willing to eat the glucose curves will start to get more consistent.

I would go ahead and do a full unit tonight. She's already at 244 and rising.

It would be ideal to be able to watch her closely for a couple of days after any diet or dosing changes, so I would be a bit reticent of her being home alone on a day when she had canned only for breakfast if we hadn't seen her do that before, just to be on the safe side. Patience, caution and slow changes are key."

;)
 
GREAT job with all the testing today!

I love that your vet is actually linking food with numbers. So many don't seem to recognize the connection.

We find that cats do best if they get the same dose AM and PM. Usually newbies here will shoot if the number is above 180. Lower than that, post here for advice and we'll walk you through the decision making process. Soon you'll be able to shoot numbers lower than that, but only after you have learned how the insulin is affecting Curry and have worked up (down?) to shooting lower.

Shooting a reduced dose is an option when you get a lower than usual preshot, especially if you don't have time to post. As you can see, doing that usually does result in higher numbers for a few cycles after that. You have to do what you have to do, though, and you can always work through the higher numbers as they come. Another option is to stall and retest in 1/2 hour, and probably the number will be high enough to shoot.

My suggestion is to pick a dose, either the 0.5 or the 1.0 and shoot it consistently. If you get a number you're not sure about, post and we'll help.
 
Thanks Libby. Yeah, I got a bit chicken looking at the 197 after I spoke w/Dr. Moss yesterday. Looking back on this morning I probably should have shot the full dose of 1 unit. So I learned something today. I think Dr. Moss is being cautious w/me...at least for now. Probably wise. I tend to jump in w/both feet sometimes when only one foot is better.

My biggest concern is during the week when I'm at work. I work w/patients at a cancer hospital here in Houston so I can't predict if I can even come home at noon to check on Curry. So if her BG values start to decrease..which is a good thing and what I want....I can't guarantee being home if the BG's fall too far. One part of me is very hopeful she can get off the insulin and another part of me is scared to death about the process she needs to go through to get the lower and acceptable BG numbers in order to get off.

Lucy is just plain beautiful. And my o my....those blue eyes. I can see why you feel in love w/her.
 
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