9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 PMPS 406 dose upped to 2 units

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

april925

Member Since 2011
yesterday: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=51795&p=558452#p558452


Not too bad of a number for no shot and all the stress for her yesterday. She is eating this morning, thank the lord, but I did not try her on the tuna. I gave her Fancy Feast Classic for her test/shot distraction and I even managed to get the nausea meds in her, phew.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218

Feel better soon Miss Kitty....and take your medicine like a big kitty.


thumbnail.aspx
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218

I'm glad she's feeling better, and eating this morning. Will your DH be home to watch her today, too?
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218

SO glad to hear Miss Kitty is eating!

eta - I just saw this in yesterdays condo - what the vet said -
She said cats usually only go into remission if it is caught the moment they become diabetic and it's from an infection.
Click to expand...

I just want to say that is pure B.S.

BK was a street stray - about 4 years old when we took him in. Already diabetic. Who knows for how long.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218

I know, I took that with a grain of salt. I will keep trying and keep hoping. Overall though, I liked this vet. The male vet I met there first would not stop talking for me to ask any questions. This one, was friendly and nonjudgemental of this protocol I have been following, and let me get questions in. So, I will probably ask for her next time.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218

Hi guys .. no, this is not a bad start at all to the day for miss kitty .. especially with no shot last night and stress .. she's so close to blue, I bet it happens soon .. have a great weekend guys!
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218

Well, the vet just called and her fructosamine was in the 600s. She said normal range would be no higher than 400s. So she says this means she has not been well regulated and they want to try a new insulin and keep her for four days to regulate her, ugh. That will be another $500ish. Bill was $500 yesterday. Have to speak to husband about it.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

I just want to point out that this is your choice and not the vet's decision to make about your cat. It is the vet's job to inform you about the pros and cons of any treatment so you can give your informed consent. To deliver this information as a done deal ignores the fact that you are the caregiver and live with your cat 24/7 vs. the vet who sees a cat once or twice a year.

What do you think?

FWIW, here's my observation. I think you're seeing more lower numbers. I think if you followed the protocol more closely and increase the dose based on evaluating how it's working every 3 days, there's a good chance you'd be seeing Miss Kitty in the lower ranges. I know that I've mentioned this before but I think you hold your dose for too long. I lets Miss Kitty get used to being in those pinks and reds and makes it harder for insulin to bring the level down. That's my 2 cents.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

if i were you, my response would be "thanks for the advice. i'm going to give it a little more time" and follow sienne's advice about being more aggressive to pull her numbers down. you can see the same thing the fructosamine test sees by looking back a couple of weeks at a spreadsheet. you can see the numbers and what they are. if you pull them down, the fructosamine would be lower as well.

surely you could find another use for that money! :lol:
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

I'm not sure what to do yet. I know she has been showing some lower numbers lately. Since I can't check her in the middle of the day, can I still adjust her dose every 3 days? I can check her a couple of times at night, but since I work, I have to get a good night's sleep, darn work. I was planning on raising her back up until this happened. Yesterday, she hit 59 and she has been lower too. This vet said that below 70 is seizure range and I know that on here, below 50 seems to be the danger zone. I just don't know what to do yet.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

april925 said:
they want to try a new insulin and keep her for four days to regulate her,
Click to expand...
Oh, they have an iinsulin that can regulate a cat in 4 days do they?

Bunk

I agree witih Sienne and Julie.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

Thanks for all the comments. So the consensus here is to try a little more with the Lantus and that she still could become regulated. I will think it over wtih my husband this weekend. I think I need a new vial soon though.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

I also cannot get spot-checks during the day while I'm at work. And my body also demands that I sleep at night ;-)

Take a look at Jesse's spreadsheet. Tight regulation is doable. In order to feel comfortable leaving him for the day, I get up at 4:30am to get a +11, I changed his shot time to 5:30am so that I could also get a +1 before I have to leave for work.

FWIW, I agree with everyone else - Miss Kitty is YOUR cat and it should be YOUR decision.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

i would guess about 1/2 of the beans (or maybe even more) on here work - it's doable to work around a work schedule. it's not much different than having a baby that you have to get up and feed - actually, having done both, the cat is a lot easier. poke, test, feed and go back to bed. none of this rocking & crying stuff! :lol:

regarding the BG numbers - i tested a cat a couple of days ago who doesn't have diabetes and he was 46. punkin hit a 34 early on. what is important is what happens next. if you're testing you learn how to handle the numbers. when you've gathered data you know when in the cycle you act, on which numbers, and when in the cycle you watch.

a 59 is awesome. that's a nice healthy number - if miss kitty sat at 59 all the time you'd be doing a major happy dance. non-diabetic cats range from 40's to 120ish. depending on the kitty, i suppose. the goal of the tight regulation protocol is to get cats under 100 and keep them there as you reduce the dose til you're down to a drop of insulin, then you go off.

your vet is just plain mistaken about 70 and below bringing on seizures. perhaps his experience is with different insulins which work more harshly, but that's not Lantus. check out a few spreadsheets and you'll see lots of numbers under 70. Christine & Ahmin are having the picture perfect Lantus experience - take a look at his spreadsheet. We don't usually see symptomatic hypos til a cat's numbers are in the 20's, even then, the symptoms that i've seen described here are not seizures but mental confusion - staring, really hungry, yowling or odd behavior.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

Most of the people here work, go to school, or both. I've adjusted my shot times so I can get a few tests in before I leave in the AM, but I do have some flexibility and my commute is relatively short. There are also some beans here who will set an alarm at night and get a test if numbers are running low. I'm one of those types that will just stay up if I need to. (I've been known to comment that sleep is vastly over-rated but I do get that thrown back at me every so often!)

I doubt that any insulin will yield different results if you don't change the dose. It will be the same problem of sticking at a dose so you cat's body gets used to higher numbers. (This is termed, "glucose toxicity.") If the vet tells you otherwise, it's not accurate. It may be more a reflection of the vet being more comfortable with another type of insulin. At this point in time, Lantus is one of two recommended types of insulin for the treatment of feline diabetes by the American Animal Hospital Assn.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

Just adding another voice to the crowd, she is your cat and the decision is up to you.

I know I'm one who does not function well in the mornings, but early shot times do have an advantage. Not only can you get a couple of tests in before you have to leave. Your schedule is earlier in the evening so you can get more testing done then too. On days when you don't have to go to work the BTB is wonderful.

Don't be afraid of increasing the dose. We all hate to have to go back up, but it is part of the dance. Just do it on days when you can monitor closely. BTW when you vet said below 70 is in seizure range, is she thinking in terms of the Alpha Track meter rather than a human meter? The ATracks are calibrated 30 points higher than the human meters. I've seen a lot of different "normal range" figures for cats, none w/ 70 as the lowest for normal, let alone in the danger range. Many non FD cats test in the 50s.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

I just wanted to lend my support!! Just about all of us have had to tell our vets (or not tell them and do it anyway) that we will just have to agree to disagree with them on treating our cats. Champ has been in the 40s a lot and doesn't act any different. He's just his happy, furry purry self. When he gets into the low 30's, I can tell. His pupils get big and he wants to be fed. Not all cats are so obvious, but you'll learn if your cat has any signs when she's low, And remember, you're cat's BG can be a 38 and she's not hypo if she's not exhibiting any signs of hypo. Yes, you definitely need to get her BG up quickly, but it's not a hypo if she's acting normally.

As to increasing the dose...you really need to increase her dose every three days. Is there any way you and your husband could take turns using your lunch hour to get a midmorning check? Yes, you might have to pack a lunch to eat in your car as you drive, but you'll be able to get that check. Also, Carolyn has a great system. Instead of getting a +11, though, I would get up so you have time to do the AMPS and then get a +2 before you leave, mainly because the +2 isn't food influenced as much so if the number is substantially decreased, you'll know to leave out some MC or HC food while you're at work. You'll be able to get to bed earlier because Miss Kitty's nadir will fall earlier in the evening because her shot will be earlier.

One thing I've realized in this little FD adventure we're all on....our lives aren't really our own until we can achieve remission for our kitties. Yes, we can still have a life, but it has to revolve around the furry ones. We can still go out to dinner, but we might have to go out earlier or later than we used to. We can still get a good night's sleep, but we may have to go to bed earlier so we can get up earlier. Sleeping in on the weekend is a long ago, distant memory that I miss SOOO BAD, but I've learned to love napping!!

I really hope you decide to follow Sienne's advice. Most vets are very good, EXCEPT when it comes to feline diabetes. That's why we all should seriously be thanking God for FDMB!!!

Good luck in whatever you decide. I hope you have a good weekend!!
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

Wow, thanks for all the good advise and comments. I'm leaning toward continuing with the Lantus really. I don't want to leave her somewhere for four days and I don't see what the difference is wtih the Prozinc that they use is. Vet said it would still be given twice daily just like the Lantus. I think it is just what their office uses. I guess I should start on that increase now. Thanks.
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

we started on prozinc with punkin - after a month the vet switched him to lantus.

i was wondering what the second insulin is that's approved for cats, sienne? prozinc? levemir?
 
Re: 9/9 Miss Kitty AMPS 218 Fructosamine test

Just wanted to throw in another voice of support! I am single, live alone, and work full-time with a 20-30 minute commute each way. While there have been some long nights on our path, I've been able to make tight regulation work extremely well for Willie. We get no midday cycles during the week (well, except for Wednesdays, but only because I work at home that day), but I do try to get spot checks at night. I can be at work as late as 9:30, so I shoot at 6:30 then usually go back to sleep for an hour. Allows me up to a +2.5 in the morning, and if I'm dealing with a low cycle, +6 is 12:30am, which still affords me 6 hours until the next shot, plus another hour of sleep after. At night, I do basically walk in the door and shoot, which works just fine. While our spreadsheet needs to be updated, you can take a peek at what our journey has been like.

The keys to this approach are early spot checks and getting a handle on understanding how Miss Kitty processes insulin. I know that generally, Willie gets a sizable food bump at +1 to +2. If his starting number is low and there isn't an upward trend in those numbers, I will leave a higher carb food out that day to keep Willie safe. I honestly don't believe there is anything in this situation the vet can do in 4 days that you cannot do yourself at home. There are so many better ways you could spend that money... why, you'd be set on test strips for a good, long while!!

I know it is hard to have strangers on the internet telling you to ignore a vet that you like. What I can tell you is that the folks giving advice her have lived this disease day in and day out for months and years, and their advice is based on collective wisdom based on a pool of hundreds and hundreds of cats. Very few vets, even the really good ones, have that level of knowledge or expertise. They are generalists who don't have the time or energy to become experts in every pet disease that they encounter on a daily basis. I can tell you that, since finding FDMB in December, I've put Willie's life in the hands of the folks here on more than one occasion, and they've never steered me wrong. Because of the kindness and generosity of everyone here, I am able to be a strong advocate for Willie's care.

Please let us know how we can be of assistance!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top