9/10 Shadow amps 119, pmps 121, best-laid plans ;(

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Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

Why might that be? I am going to start paying more attention to the LC% that she is getting. And I'm going to get on my bathroom scales with her, she feels like she is continuing to plump up.

Thanks for the kind words, Tena and Pat. It really does seem like this sugardance we do gets easier with time.

We are an odd lot, aren't we, LLers? Driving home from errands today, I felt a little thrill that I had 2 boxes of strips in my pocket. :shock:

+8 129
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

Only 2 boxes of strips. I'm giving some thought to ordering by the case!

The PM cycle is often lower for a lot of kitties. Many cats are effected by "dawn phenomenon." Our bodies and our cats' bodies will release cortisol in the early morning hours. Cortisol is a naturally occurring steroid that helps to prepare the body for the stress of the day. As a result, BG numbers are often higher at AMPS and it will take a little while for the cortisol to be metabolized. As a result, blue days and green nights!
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

I've been reading Sarah's condo about feeding Buzz. And I have noticed that some of you are really crafty in the way you manage numbers with food. So does this sound like too much food if I feed Shadow mini meals at +1, +2, +3 and then again at +8?

Lately Shadow has been going green at PM onset so the mini meals have been a good way to help her surf.

And I am trying that +8 snack in the automat to see if that brings Shadow down some from her daytime blues. She usually gets a +8 snack in the evenings, maybe that is what is helping keep her lower at night.

Shadow is just opposite of Buzz, she is higher in the daytime, but if we are talking about this in 12 hour cycles, that doesn't really matter, does it? I need to figure out what I'm doing different in the daytime.

I'm just trying to get the big picture. THe more of this I understand, the easier it is getting to be.
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

Sienne, we posted at the same time. :-D

This is all so interesting.
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

I just saw your condo and thought...wow...I was just thinking that about my Shadow~~when did I write that? nailbite_smile duh Anyway, you wrote that ~~ i did not. whew. Thought I was a little further "gone" than I had thought. My memory ain't what it used to be. LOL my Shadow is also blue today and I am wondering if he has saved his greens for tonight too.
And I am so jealous of you with your 2 box backup! I am down to only one... :roll: Oh...but I do remember when I had the full two untouched. I was in test strip heaven. You are so lucky Kim! :lol:

I never knew this joy before my kitties were dx. Back then I never even knew what test strips were...but now, I do know...and the joy of having unopened boxes is sweet indeed. :lol:
Oh yeah...an odd lot for sure!
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

So I've been reading up on "Dawn Phenomenon, maybe that +8 snack is the opposite of what I need to do for elevated AM BG. One of the articles was about people, not cats, but suggested vinegar capsules and a bit of cheese at bedtime. Or alternately, some alcohol with supper. :dizcat Maybe not the best suggestion for our little monsters, but interesting reading, just the same. :lol:
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

it's all of us, i think. used to be exciting to shop for many different things, now i come bolting in the house and yell "binks! check it out, pal! i got 3 boxes of strips, big box of lancets, an extra pkg of ketostix, and a backup meter!!"

'Well, we're a loopy group in LaLa land...
and i don't mean hollywood..."

celi
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

I am going to get consistent with the +1,+2,+3 mini meals and see what that does for her over the long run. Human Diabetics are plagued with it as well, so there are a variety of suggestions out there.
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

By all means, experiment with the mini-meals. Not all cats do best with the meals front loaded. Gabby and Mannie both tend to plummet early in the cycle. Spreading out her food over the first couple of hours keeps her BG more even (from a food standpoint) and helps to offset the dropping numbers. If numbers don't drop fast, there's also less potential for a bounce.

I don't see this kind of fast drop on Shadow's SS. It looks more like he surfs. You may want to try front loading for a week or spreading out the food at pre-shot, +2, +4, and +6. If you want to give a snack at +8, that's fine, too.
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

The +8 actually helps some kitties get lower AMPS. The food cause the pancreatic action which drops the numbers...for some kitties. Lots of times on an OTJ trial, a higher AMBG will be followed by a much lower number at either +3/4. I started getting up to feed at +8 for Raja during her OTJ trial....
If there is not pancreatic action yet, it might not work as well. It would benefit you to experiment though.
Another wonderful aspect of this sugar dance...the experimenting with all sorts of things to see if it will make a difference. (uh...the reason I wear green lipstick when I test Shadow...and sometimes, I wear a green prom dress too. My experiment in hopes of seeing more greens....total whack job!) :lol:
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, blues day, greens night ???

and just a little bit more on feeding mini-meals...
don't overfeed. just take the normal daily amount of food and divide it up into "x" number of portions for the day.
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, pmps 121

I have spent my friday evening parked right here in front of my computer, looking at SS, reading past posts. I lead a wild life, don't I? :-D I see what Sienne meant about cats that are big droppers. Shadow isn't like that, she has a flat blue curve. Just wish I could get her into a little more green.

Patience is a virtue.
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, pmps 121

Kim 'n Shadow said:
I have spent my friday evening parked right here in front of my computer, looking at SS, reading past posts. I lead a wild life, don't I? :-D I see what Sienne meant about cats that are big droppers. Shadow isn't like that, she has a flat blue curve. Just wish I could get her into a little more green.

Patience is a virtue.
Click to expand...
there's not a whole lot of wiggle room as far as raising the dose. however, if you can monitor closely, you could add 0.1u to the dose at a time... holding each adjustment for at least 6 six cycles.
 
Re: 9/10 Shadow amps 119, pmps 121

+1 112. Somewhere this evening, I read that if they are already starting to drop at +1, it is time to start some MC and that's what I'm gonna do. Prolly be back around +3 or +4 for onset recheck.

Jill - when I look at far she has come, I think I'm just impatient or overly ambitious or something. She's been at f3.5 for 6 cycles now and it's a good dose. I can go work without too much worry that she's gonna crash while she's here and unsupervised.

Somewhere else I read that sometimes they do these flat curves right before a break, so I'm gonna keep on plugging.

Besides, I'm not sure my shooting skills are good enough to add 0.1u to a f3.5 :-D

Later, alligator.
 
slept thru all my usual night-checks. nobody touched the automat after all my careful planning. even the boiled chicken breast went untouched. and now nobody liked the can I opened this morning so they are skipping breakfast. and I realized last night that Shadow's eyesight is going - she didn't even see some treats I tossed her. I had to pick them and put them right in front of her so she could eat them. and I'm busting my butt here and it's all gonna be for nothing and I'm starting my saturday with a good cry.

be back later.
 
((Kim))

It's by no means for "nothing." Scroll through Shadow's SS. It's changed markedly since July. So the kitties didn't eat their snack. It happens. If Shadow's vision is impaired -- ask Linda/Bear about that -- Bear has been blind since birth. He does great.

You're doing a wonderful job with Shadow. The sugar dance sometimes involves feeling like your toes have been stepped on. Just take a deep breath -- it gets better.
 
(((Kim))) It's okay (pat on back).
You're doing great with Shadow.
I often sleep through alarms. We do the best we can. I don't even want to talk about what I did this morning ohmygod_smile .
I thought J.D.'s eyesight was getting worse way long ago when he was first diagnosed. I then started to teach him to find his treats using smell, by tossing a bunch of treats and he had to go find them. He does wonderfully now, and finds every one. It's a game to him. And, I don't think his eyesight has gotten any worse in all those years, either.
Shadow will adjust, and you are doing a remarkable job. I'm impressed with how well your are doing, as a newbie. '
I know it's hard sometimes.
 
hang in there, kim. it's so hard to watch some of the effects of this ugly disease on our babies...but you are working hard to help heal shadow, and she knows it. the smallest gains can be a blessing, even tho they get us hoping for the big breakthroughs.

celi

(and don't let anyone tell you that crying isnt a healing thing...it truly can be)
 
(((((kim)))))
don't be so hard on yourself, k? i've watched you come into LL and take the bull by the horns... asking questions, reading and researching on your own. you're doing much, much better than you're giving yourself credit for!
hang in there...
 
I have alarm problems too...it happens to all of us... Just realized that I started the day calling myself Debbie Downer...LOL...maybe it will get better for both our Shadows, right?

Will you open a new condo for Shadow today?
 
Hey Kim....Sorry you are feeling a bit down today.

Shadow has gone from 8 units down to 3.5 in 3 months...that's good. And Shadow is hovering in some pretty blues and greens....that is also good her overall health and her pancreas. Haven't seen any those pink colors for awhile for Shadow. As Sienne said, Shadow is improving over all, right?

I too get really caught up in the daily blood glucose game and trying different tricks to bring it back down ....Curry's blood glucose goes up...my mood goes down....Curry's numbers go up and my mood becomes euphoric....I upped her dose a tad from .5 to .75 as her numbers were being to creep up slowly....but her "activities of daily living" have improved in the last month and her coat is beautiful now....she can even clean her bum.......unfortunately I haven't taught her how to cook and prepare her own meals.

My vet reminded me to look at the changes over a period of a month.....And the changes for Shadow are positive....She'll have some blips in her eating, blood glucose, etc....

What you would tell one of your patients if they couldn't move their legs when they first came in to your unit....and after 3 months they were walking w/a walker...And they said they were frustrated that they couldn't walk w/o the walker....Not exactly the same situation as yours, but you get the idea. Step back and recall your kitty 3 months ago.

You are doing an incredible job with Shadow. And you "busting your butt" is paying off over time.

Feel better my dear. Shadow is very lucky to have such a wonderful Momma Bean.
 
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