9/27- Lucky

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all4mymarine

all4mymarine

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Well, I guess I might have gotten my answer. I raised to 1u this morning, not really sure why I decided to do that, I think I just wanted to see what would happen. Apparently Lucky didn't like that.

AMPS: 413
+4 398
+6 336
+8 356
+10 340


He got better #'s on .8u Looks like Lucky just wouldn't be a good sliding scale candidate.

Anyone have any ideas or comments about what's gone on this far with this dose reduction test?
 
Nope. Looks like he likes consistency. So strange how one thing will work for one cat and not for another.

Are you thinking you will go back to .8?
 
Yes, I thought about .8u and went for it tonight. I'm just soooo tired of worrying about this and Lucky. Really, when I decided to take this on, I figured I could get him in remission because I am VERY persistent and try to learn everything I can. I think about this cat more than my own kids sometimes. I look to see where he is and make sure he's okay (or if he's headed to the litter box) every 5 minutes. I plan my day around his tests that I feel need to be done every 2 hours so I know what's going on with a dose.

And I'm sure other people have vented about this same thing before, but I want to go on a road trip for a long weekend!! I actually started planning one for when my husband had a 4 day weekend but then realized we wouldn't be able to do it because of Lucky and just scrapped the whole thing. I'm just really down this past week. I don't know what to do to make things better. I just want things better, at least.
 
Let me ask you a question....
How is Lucky "doing"? I mean, day to day, general condition, attitude. Does he seem like, or close to, what he was like before diabetes?

Carl
 
Well, he's still hanging out with us upstairs. Before we found out about the diabetes, he hid downstairs under the futon all day long and was urinating in the floor outside the litter box bathroom.

He's sleeping more now I've noticed. But he seems to still want to be near us. I don't know if it's my paranoia but he just doesn't seem as happy. I want to fix all of that and make him feel better like he was when we were getting the good blues and greens! So it's frustrating when I'm trying everything I know to do at this point and it doesn't seem to help.
 
Oh, but it is helping. If you hadn't done all that you have done for the past months, he wouldn't still be there with you. Like you said, you're doing the best you can and doing everything you can think of trying.

Is there anyone outside of you and your husband that you can trust to test and shoot Lucky for a 4 day weekend? Because I really think that the best thing you can do for you (and your hubby) is to plan that weekend getaway and "get away" from it for a few days.
Look, in a weekend, Lucky isn't all of a sudden going to nosedive and go back to being an untreated uncontrolled diabetic. If you can find anyone you trust to just look out for him for 3 or 4 days, believe me, do it.

You need a break from it before you go crazy with worrying about this.

I know you want only the best for Lucky. You want him to be in remission like all of us do. But here's a worst case for you - Lucky never goes into remission. But, he lives a happy life for years with you and your family, and every day for the rest of his long life, you have to give him a "vitamin shot" two times a day. People live for years as diabetics, and they can be happy and healthy other than they have to watch their sugar intake and poke themselves when they're "high", or drink a coke when they go low. Cats and dogs can live that way too, they just need someone else to supply the pokes and cokes. He can be a managed diabetic and love you and be loved just as well.

You also need to take care of you, and your family. You just need a break to recharge your batteries.

Please tell your DH (even though he's now an "Army guy"), that this former Marine says "Semper Fi"

Carl
 
Thanks Carl for the encouraging words. You know how it is, you work so hard at something and want to see that pay off and when you don't, it gets disappointing.

Well, my husband doesn't even handle the feeding, testing or the insulin at all. It's all up to me. We don't have family here and I don't really have anyone that I would trust to come over 2x a day (or more to feed even). We would have to take him with us or board him and he would not like being boarded. We've done the pet sitter route before but that was just a simple, come over every other day, check dry food and water, clean litter boxes, make sure cats were okay and that was that. Wasn't too expensive that way. He's a skittish kitty and doesn't trust anyone really but me! I don't mind taking him with us, but there's just the added stress of making sure we have litter and food and meds, etc and making sure we find some place that is pet friendly. We are a young family, lots of stuff going on, but I'm managing, as you can see from his SS! I'll try to think of some solutions so we can take that mini vacation...I'm going to have to because I can't keep my kids stuck in the house either. We had talked about Disneyland next year!

I would feel SO much better if I could just feel like we were at least on the right track with just regulation. I'm just throwing a pity party tonight! I've tried to stay really positive and no one can stay positive 100% of the time. I made a commitment to Lucky and I'm sticking by it. He's my big purr box :-D

Ah, once a Marine, always a Marine, hence the Semper Fi (do or die!) :mrgreen: Man, I miss the Marine Corps....even for me as a wife it was different!
 
Can't say I "miss it" so much. Not that I didn't like it, but I live within 20 miles of Parris Island one way, and MCAS Beaufort the other way, plus many of our park guests are Marines and their families, so it's "right there" every day. It's still fun to go to PI once in a while just for the memories. Plus I'm the dad to a Marine wife (he's stationed in Missouri, go figure!).

I understand the feeling "down". My dance didn't last long, but there were plenty of days I just wanted to scream and throw things. I did the whole treatment thing and testing thing "solo" too. Just hope you have a better day tomorrow!

Carl
 
I have no easy answers, I'm sorry but I do have a couple of observations ..... RELAX AND BREATHE!!!

If the beginning of you SS is when Lucky was Dx then you really haven't been dancing all that long, sorry.

I realize all this testing is giving you good data but it isn't helping you or even Lucky at this point. This is pzi not one of the L's once you figure out his nadir, which keeps moving ..... you are just adding stress to you and to Lucky. Testing is stressful and at the speed that you are doing it, it has stressed you out and maybe Lucky?

I just wonder if you relaxed and let it flow .... do the PS tests and a +4 or +6, changing out when you do it. You need to slow down and take it one day at a time with the belief that it will work out because you are doing what you are suppose to be doing, except taking care of yourself.

My family and I found ourselves in the same boat, only I'm so paranoid that my Payne will? she has DKA 4x and goes south very quick .... so I'm reluctant to leave her with anyone, so we planned a mini vacation close by and took her with us .... it worked out really well. Just those few days helped my mind and everyone enjoyed having the cat around.

Whatever you do, I really think you need to slow down and smell the roses, maybe let Lucky smell too :)
One of my mentors here kept reminding me in the beginning that this is not a sprint but a marathon and to not get discouraged ..... it was good advice and I pass it on .... thanks Hope! (mentor)

Good luck and I know Lucky's name but what is yours? It will all work out, really.

Nancy and Payne
 
Good advice, Nancy! And advice that I will try to apply to myself and Alex. I'm an overachiever and not getting Alex OTJ by now feels like my failure sometimes. But we all need to take it one day at a time and do the best for our sugar babies.
 
Do you think you could ask someone from the vets office to stop by and test/shoot? I have met a wonderful lady at our new vet and she would in a heart beat. Now, the question would be, would Bean let her???? She would probably have to start the process before I left for the trip. Might be worth checking out.
 
This is a good place to vent. A post I saw once said something I repeated to Callie's Mom this am. Lucky doesn't know he has diabetes and his numbers are wonky. He just sleeps, eats and someone loves him. For him, life is good.

So hope you can find a way to enrich yours. I like Nancy's idea of cutting back on the testing. Take some time for yourself and your kids during the day. Breathe, honey, breathe.
 
I know it hasn't been that long since we started this. It feels like forever though. I guess I was thinking a diet change and a couple months of insulin would be all it took. I'm learning though. You never know what it's like till you get right in the middle of it.

I wasn't testing nearly this much before. When I noticed the end of cycle BG spikes by accident because I wasn't checking between +8 and +10, I decided to do a dose reduction, and I started testing more. I'm not going to continue with a lower dose putting him at risk for DKA if it's not working. The only way to know is to test a lot. It's so unpredictable from day to day and from hour to hour. I need to see a bigger picture to understand what to do next. His nadirs are all over the place. Some days he has no nadir at all. Once I feel confident that he's doing okay and that he's on the right dose and I don't have to worry what's going on with BG all day, then it'll slow down again. I promise!!!! lol Test strips are getting expensive anyway! :shock:

Yes, I will try to relax. I will take deep breaths. I will try not to get so frustrated. I've been waiting for a day like today where he was playful and alert. I was starting to doubt things and getting scared for him. I needed a break through. Taking it one day at a time is excellent advice!

We all have our days! Yesterday was my day :mrgreen: Hahaha, Lucky is back to his old self for sure! He just walked up to my civvie and stood over her all macho and then batted her in the face and then just mosied on off. Stuff like this is what I was wanting to see from Lucky again! He came up to me a little while ago and wanted me to play with him, so we played. He was like a kitten dancing_cat

Thanks guys for listening to my pity party and offering words of wisdom. It's so easy to get wrapped up in all this when you are just so super worried about your kitty.
 
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