AM dosing advice

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Frank's Mom

Frank's Mom

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Frank isn't bouncing this morning. I ran 2 tests to verify. Thoughts on AM dose? 3 still or back down a bit? Any help is appreciated!
 
I think I'd want to do 3 units and get a test at +3 if I was you. That way, you know if he is dropping too fast. 3 is working and the other night when you gave a 3 on 358, he dropped to some nice blues mid cycle, but still had 100 points to drop to being unsafe. If, however, you can't monitor, you can drop back a bit if you want to feel better...say 2.75ish?
 
I can't monitor. I can get home at like +4/5, but that's it. I think I'll leave plenty of canned food out and do 2.75.
 
Sounds good...as you get more data, we can do more. I think 3 would PROBABLY be okay, but it's always good to be slightly cautious. 2.75 is a small decrease, but just enough that you can feel confident. See you don't need those patience pants this morning...more like those nail biting pants!
 
Got home a little later than planned so I missed the nadir. But he's good. I'm sure we had some blues in there this afternoon.
 
Frank's Mom said:
Is that supposed to sound ominous or encouraging? Haha. I'm on the fence how to take it. :)
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It's not meant to be ominous. It's something people have observed frequently so they've learned to pay attention. It might not happen though. The action usually takes the form of sudden appearance of low numbers - not hypo necessarily but lower then you expect. :)
 
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Not really thrilled with today's numbers. I probably gave Frank more dry food than he's had in a while. I need to get us some YA 0 carb to keep on hand for treats and other needs, and I think I'll see noticeable difference.
 
Oh man...I was really thinking you would see something better tonight. Dry food can certainly do that. Did he eat it as regular food, or just as treats though? I wouldn't think treats would have that much of an impact.
 
Djamila said:
Oh man...I was really thinking you would see something better tonight. Dry food can certainly do that. Did he eat it as regular food, or just as treats though? I wouldn't think treats would have that much of an impact.
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Weell....I left 1/4 of a cup out this morning, then let him eat out of the treat bucket tonight while I was getting his shot ready. So I think he really went to town in those 2 minutes. He wouldn't eat his wet food...probably because I left quite a bit out today and he was over it...and I wanted him to eat before I shot.
 
Speaking of that, though. For a kitty with high sugar, how important is it that he eats pre-shot? I mean, my cat isn't going to starve himself so I know he wouldn't go hours without eating after a shot. So is that really an absolute necessity?
 
I've always thought it was absolutely necessary that they eat at least a tablespoon or so...but I was just reading in an old thread that some of the older folks (older in that they've been here a long time, not older in age) were having a discussion that for insulins like prozinc and lantus, it's false that they need to eat at shot time, as long as the cat isn't showing signs of nausea/aversion to eating. That some cats don't want to eat when their BG is high, so give them the shot and let them eat later when they feel better.

There is risk in that though if the cat really isn't feeling well and decides not to eat before the insulin kicks in. So I think if you went with that, you'd want to know your cat really really well, and only risk it if you were going to be around for a couple of hours to make sure he ate.

I'll see if I can find the discussion again and share the link.
 
I definitely know my cat, and I'm pretty positive his royal pigness isn't skipping meals (other than when he was DKASoHe just wasn't hungry tonight because he'd been chowing all day because I was overly cautious, and so the only way I could get him to eat was if it was "treats". (I swear, he'd eat rabbit turds if they came out of the treat cupboard. Maybe even dog food.) So I think next time I will for sure skip the dry food as incentive.
 
Yeah, that DKA has me nervous on the high days, but this morning I went the opposite and over-compensated. Going to stick to that 3 for a few more days now and see what we see. :-) And on Thursday at his vet appt I'll talk to them again about a feline BG monitor so I can keep her more on the same page as me in the future.
 
I think this whole process is nerve wracking. We worry when they're high. We worry when they're low. We worry when there isn't enough movement. We worry when there's too much....
 
With Prozinc's smile curve, it would be good if they ate something...even if they just had a tablespoon like Djamila said. And if it was Sam, for example, I would be super uncomfortable since he is already in nice yellows and tends to drop nicely during his cycles. No food onboard for him would be bad.

For Frank, it's more complicated. He is in higher numbers, giving him more room to drop. And with the DKA in his history, it's more important he gets some insulin. I think in the end, I would say you'd have to weigh the situation. If you were going to be home to be sure he got some food, that might help and I'd be more likely to give insulin.
 
Well, his AMPS was lower again today, like yesterday. I went full 3 though and no dry food. He was obviously starved this morning as he even yelled at the dog to feed him. Going to try to make it home mid-cycle to check on him.
 
I agree...no way I would do that with Sam - even though most of the time he's a bit of a piggy himself, it's just not worth the risk. And funny, but it came up this morning. He didn't want to eat breakfast so I had to break out the fortiflora to get him to eat enough for a shot. One thing to note in that discussion thread, is they did say to reduce the dose if the kitty wasn't eating at shot time - not to just shoot the full dose and walk away.
 
Yep, that's a good point. And of course, you still want to monitor carefully and try to get them to eat if you can.
 
I think as Frank's numbers come down this will affect me more. But for now, if he's not eating just because I know he's not hungry at the moment, I'll stick to going ahead with the shot. And once I get the YA 0 carb, I'll feel better about giving that to get him to eat when I need to. :smuggrin:
 
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