9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 PMPS 87

Status
Not open for further replies.
Eva and Achilles

Eva and Achilles

Member Since 2010
Yesterday
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=24279

Good morning!

For those of you who had a long holdiay weekend I hope you enjoyed it.

We reduced Achilles' dose to .75 last night. Achilles continues to have great numbers, but he did hit 43 at 2.5 this morning. I am lucky that I happened to be home today as I am under the weather, otherwise we would not have caught this drop. I fed him a tbsp. of 18% gravy along with his LC snack when I tested him at 2.5. He is up to 63 at +4.

Here's the problem. While I can test today, DH and I cannot be home to test him during the week, and he consistently is flirting with low numbers. I would like to reduce his dose again to .5u so that I can have some peace of mind while I am at work during the day, but I don't want to reduce him too quickly and risk sabotaging his progress as he seems to be responding wonderfully at this pace.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation when both caregivers work long hours during the day away from the home? The fact that lately seems to be dropping within 2 to 3 hours after the shot is also disconcerting. I welcome any suggestions. Thanks!
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 and QUESTION

First, Achilles' 43 may be a result of a bit of excess insulin in his shed. You probably should have reduced the dose to a skinny 0.75 vs. a full 0.75.

Aside from this aspect of the dose, I've got a question. How tight is your AM schedule? Is it possible for you to move your shot time so you can get a +2? Gabby is one of those cats who will telegraph her drops early in the cycle. I've moved her shot time so I could catch at least a +2. It does mean I have to rush home for her PM shot. I'm also guessing that it's not possible for either you or DH to get back during the day for a spot check.

The other thing that most of us do is make use of a timed feeder so there is food available if numbers are dropping.
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 and QUESTION

We have a timed feeder that we set to open at +3 and +7. Perhaps we can move it up to +2 and +5 which is when his numbers seems to drop the most.

We are now on a 7am and 7pm shooting schedule. We can move him to 530 am or 6am as we both are up at that time, but it would be a great challenge for DH to be home by 530pm to test and shoot. There's no way I can be home at that time. DH may be able to get home by 6pm. DH was coming home during the day to check on Achilles when he was first diagnosed, but his schedule doesn't allow him to do so often, and when he does get away from the office it is usally at +5 or +6, which is way past the time Achilles plummets.

If we were to move him to a 6am schedule from 7am do you suggest that we do it a little at a time (i.e., move from 7am to 645 to 630 to 615 to 6pm) or can we just give him his first 6pm shot tonight? I may be able to play around with my morning schedule for the next few weeks so that I can be home at 8am (+2) to test him and feed some HC food if needed.

Do you generally agree though, that we should hold him at this .75u dosage for a bit longer to give his pancreas a chance to heal? We only just reduced last night from a s1u. Note also that figuring out the .75u is hard enough. I can't for the life of me determine what a skinny or fat .75 would look like. :YMSIGH:

Thanks for your help.
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 and QUESTION

I always thought that the s1.0u was virtually the same as a F.75u...just called something different.

I was wondering...i guess Achilles does eat by himself when he goes low. (Shadow needs to be syringed fed some times when he goes low so it is great if Achilles will eat all by himself)
You did get a lot of great action on the 18% you fed him this morning.

I am wondering if you can feed him the higher carbs if he gives you a low AMPS and you have to leave...
with your data showing you how well it works, would that give you a little added comfort for the days when you have to leave? Hope you are feeling a little better now....(that was a nice catch this morning by the way!) :mrgreen:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 & QUESTION

Hi Pat

Achilles does eat by himself, but I've never seen him at anything lower than 40 so I have no idea how he will react and if he will eat food if it is available to him should he drop below 40. You're right that the 18% gravy seems to have brought him up a bit. He seems to be surfing in the 60s now and his autofeeder is scheduled to open in about an hour for his lc snack.

This FD is a full time job...the problem is the pay stinks...purrs and head butts just don't pay the bills. :YMSIGH:

I think I'll stick to the .75u dose tonight and monitor him. If he crashes again and goes below 50 I may reduce to .5. Should I make it a f.5? Although I'm not sure what that looks like on the syringe. :YMSIGH:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 & QUESTION

Since Achilles is so newly diagnosed, keeping him under 100 overall is the goal. It is great if he spends most of his hours in the green Eva...he is doing so very well!!

If he goes low, maybe you can watch to see if he will eat on his own...he did eat when you put it down this morning though, right? Shadow just stares at is and turns away~making no effort to eat...that's what I am faced with... <sigh?

Let's see where he goes for the rest of the day and then the bewitching hours tonight. He may just earn that next dosecrease on his own anyway.
--- if possible, move shot time up so you will be home for a +1 and +2.
--- feed at ps, +1, +2, and +3 (timed feeder works). this may stop the fast drop.
When the time comes for the dosecrease...someone will tell you what you should shoot then...I am not sure if he earned another this morning actually. Would like an experienced doser to take a look at the whole day. There might have been shed influence today so that's why it's tricky...

As a side note Eva...he is not starting from very high preshots so when he goes into the greens, even a lowish green, it is not such a radical drop driven by a large amount of insulin as if he started in a high pink, got 3.0u insulin and then went to 50..know what I mean? It's not as drastic a drop and he does get a very nice rise with the 18%. Just keep updating if you can...hope you are feeling better...
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 & QUESTION

Have you tried the mini meals in the beginning of the cycle at all Eva? You feed a small amount at shot time then another mini meal of LC at +1, +2 and +3 to try to slow the drop. You might try that tonight but I know the mornings are impossible when you have to leave for work...
Maybe if you change your shot times you will be able to try that out...and there is always the HC to give him too in a pinch.
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

Pat+Raja+Shadow said:
Have you tried the mini meals in the beginning of the cycle at all Eva? You feed a small amount at shot time then another mini meal of LC at +1, +2 and +3 to try to slow the drop. You might try that tonight but I know the mornings are impossible when you have to leave for work...
Maybe if you change your shot times you will be able to try that out...and there is always the HC to give him too in a pinch.
Click to expand...

I can try that tonight to see what it does to his numbers. Tomorrow, if we move him to a 6am shot, I can test and feed at +1 and I can set up the feeder for a snack at +2 and +3. I may have to get myself another feeder for his afternoon snacks, but it will be worth the expense to put my mind at ease.
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

You need to move shot times gradually. Remember, an early shot is like a dose increase. Generally, you can move times by as much as 15 min. per cycle or 30 min. per day. If you're nervous about Achilles dropping too low, I'd move the time by 15 min. at the PMPS so you're there to monitor. Moving by 15 min. should have a negligible effect. Or move the 30 min. tonight. I wouldn't try moving an entire hour.
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

Eva there is a feeder by Catmate that has 5 sections & you can time them during the day...I just need a double one, but in your circumstance, maybe it would be good.
You are doing a great job, and looks to me like Achilles could be a candidate at some time, to go into remission(paws & fingers crossed)
This is what we pray for,for all newbies, and many of them do go OTJ(off the juice :-D )
BUT that could take a while & your Main Goal is to have a happy healthy cat!
Look At the Whole cat, not just the numbers!--WE here a long time and Moonie is a long term diabetic, but she is well, happy & healthy..That's enough for me!
Big Hugs for a great job! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

Ok. I will move shot time this evening to 6:30 from 7. But I will keep it at 6:30 tomorrow morning. That will allow me to get a +1 reading and small feeding before I leave the house.

Unless anyone diagrees, I will maintain this .75u dose tonight and revisit the issue tomorrow morning depending on his numbers tonight. Thanks again! You guys are the best! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

Roni and Moonie said:
Eva there is a feeder by Catmate that has 5 sections & you can time them during the day...I just need a double one, but in your circumstance, maybe it would be good.
You are doing a great job, and looks to me like Achilles could be a candidate at some time, to go into remission(paws & fingers crossed)
This is what we pray for,for all newbies, and many of them do go OTJ(off the juice :-D )
BUT that could take a while & your Main Goal is to have a happy healthy cat!
Look At the Whole cat, not just the numbers!--WE here a long time and Moonie is a long term diabetic, but she is well, happy & healthy..That's enough for me!
Big Hugs for a great job! :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Thanks Roni!

I have the feeder with the five compartments but there is nowhere to put an ice pack to keep the food cool, so I switched to the Catmate that has the two compartments with ice pack.

You are right about the main goal being a happy and healthy cat, and so far Achilles is doing so so well. He's more playful than I've seen him in a month. He's purring constantly and I am stunned by the change in his coat. It has gone from being coarse with dandruff to almost dandruff free and soft and shinny. I attribute the change to the switch to an all wet diet. He is no longer trying to drink out of every glass we leave out and his litter box is not as wet. All in all I am thrilled with his results. :-D :-D

I am so glad Moonie is doing so well. Sounds like he has a great mama bean. :mrgreen:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

THat's the spirit Eva!! Sometimes we all get caught in the numbers game & forget how they were when we came here!! Like me yesterday! :lol:

You are doing great, and BTW, Moonie will eat when she feels she is going low, We have watched her--But of course being who we are, I should say I am
worried like Saturday when I was out all day--AND there She was, after we left her for 11 hours looking at us like "Hi guys, where were you? I'm fine!!"
It can make you nuts, but so many of us work all day..You will adjust--He will be just fine! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

Just wanted to mention... I used to use the ice pack with the auto-feeder, and then I realized Kitty didn't like the food so cold. (He is a kitty of strong opinions. :-D ) I have found that food can be left out without the cold pack, with no problems.

If Achilles eats everything in sight, then you do need the closed compartments, and maybe ice matters there. But if you can just leave it out so the he free feeds, maybe the ice pack isn't necessary.

As for the difference between 1.0 S and .75 F -- oh, yes, Pat, there's a difference. You just have to put your crazy hat on to see it. :dizcat :lol:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

I was just admiring Kitty's ss. What a great job you and she have done. I love reading success stories. Congratulations on getting Kitty OTJ!

:RAHCAT :RAHCAT
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

Eva, we are living testimony for how wonderful Lantus Land is!
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

I feel blessed to have found FDMB and LL. The folks here have helped me thorugh some challenging times coping with this new diagnosis. I am eternally grateful to everyone here.
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

ME TOO!! If it weren't for the wonderful folks here, and I just followed the vet's advice, Muffin would probably still be on 2u bid, I'd be testing once a week, and who knows how many hypos she would have had by now. I LOVE YOU GUYS!! :-D :-D :-D :lol:
 
Re: 9/7 Achilles AMPS 100 +2.5 43 +4 63 +6 67 +8 92 & QUESTION

Clearly, it's time for a group hug! :lol:

GroupHug1.jpg
 
Love the group hug!!

Well, we got a PMPS of 87 (actually it is at 11.75 because we are moving his shot time back a half hour). I figured I'd move it 15 minutes earlier tonight and another 15 minutes earlier tomorrow morning so that one of us is home to do a +1 test and feed before we leave for work.

I must be getting old because I can barely tell if I'm giving him .75u. Don't even get me started on trying to figure out a s.75 or f.75 -- that's just beyond my capabilities. I wish they made the color of the plunger a different color than the lines on the syringe so that it can be seen better.
 
I bought a pair of really strong reading glasses and that leaves my hands free...(to wipe my brow and pull out my hair simultaneously LOL)Are you going to try the mini meals tonight Eva? This is good data to get for this nice low preshot...
We just LUVS data! You are doing a great job...see you for a +1? :mrgreen:
 
Don't even get me started on trying to figure out a s.75 or f.75 -- that's just beyond my capabilities.
Click to expand...

Figure out what your .75 is. Squeeze a teeny drop out. Voila - .75 S ! :-D

In our next episode, we'll discuss the difference between a small drop, a tiny drop, and a teeny drop! :lol:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top