ANYONE UP?? SPRATS 33! +4

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Thank you Julie, and everyone else. Please don't feel like you have to stay up on our account. I will test every 20 min.
You all are so nice. The day after the tornado, someone called from the Board to check on us :)
 
Great...you're doing fine! Progress ...but he can still turn around. It's good if you can get him to continue to eat the dry food. It's going to eventually shoot him way up and he'll be high tomorrow most likely.

Can you retest on the half hour and let us know please? How much dry food total do you think he's eaten?
 
70 is good. You're not done, yet though, sorry. He could still come down low from the karo. I think if you get two more rising tests tonight, and hopefully up into the 100s, you'll be okay. Another hour or so, okay? I'll be here for you.
 
Yes, I will test in 20 more minutes. it will be +6.5
I would say he's eaten 1/4 C of dry. 1/2 can of tuna with karo. The Karo from the syringe and I've only got to put it on his gums 2x. He fights that. Now he is mad because I keep bugging him! He is old, and knows how to be stubborn! ;-)
 
I'm not sure we want to leave you until he is up quite a bit more. Is it a problem to continue to let us know how he's doing? You just tell us what you need/want.

It's just important to not get complacent until he is WAY up. I've had my girl up in the mid 100s at her nadir and she has turned right back around and come down. This could be an all nighter unless the dry food kicks in soon......
 
Any update, Jenn? I have to test Gracie in a few minutes; I'll wait to see if you have a number and then I'll test her and be back.
 
Jenn...I'm past time to test Grace. I'll go do that and be right back. If you get a chance, can you please update me? Thanks so much! Should be back in no more than 10 minutes.
 
Jenn, Marjorie PM'd me and said that she would be up with you for another hour or so, so I'm going to go to bed.
Please keep feeding little bits for awhile, maybe all night, or at least until you get tests in the mid 100s, k?
 
Good...thanks. That's better. Can you keep testing him a little longer....if you could do one more test in 30 mins and if he's higher, then you could go to every hour.

Do you have a cell phone alarm you can set?

We have a policy that we stay up with you as long as you need us to and until the cat is safe. I'm happy to do that for you. I think if you retest in 30 mins and he's up more, then you won't need to keep posting as long as you keep testing every hour for a couple more hours and he stays up. What do you think?
 
sounds like a plan. He is pretty set in his ways and is not eating any more - I took dry back to him and he just turned his head. I am going to set my alarm on my phone
 
Ok...so you'll be back at the half hour with a number? That would be awesome. Thanks!!

If he's eaten 1/4 cup of dry food, it should be kicking in soon. For my kitty, it usually takes a couple hours for the karo to get completely out of her system...thus the required vigilance even when they are up.
 
ok...great. So how do you feel....are you ok on your own now and can you check him every hour until you get a couple more rising numbers or would you like me to stay up with you longer? Whatever you need....

eta: could you also please take the 911 button off your condo? The east coasters will be getting up in a few hours and they'll jump right in only to find all is ok. Thanks...that would be awesome.

So...I'll just wait up here a few until I hear from you.
 
I am good on my own. I feel like he is acting normal still. Way different than the other 3 times. Thank you all soooooo much!
 
Great!!! Thanks for getting back to me so soon. Please stay on top of it....he could still turn around. 140s number is not that high.

Hope you also get some rest and my sincere prayers for the people of Joplin. Ni ni.
 
good work last night, everybody!

Jenn, I'm glad you and Sprats got through the night ok. Here is your To Do list for today:

1. Stock up on cat food. Low carb and high carb food with gravy. With a diabetic in the house, it's important to always have something around the cat will eat. It's best to have several choices because (as you saw) when you are in a situation where you have to keep getting him to eat, they can start refusing one flavor and you might have to switch.

2. Find out where the nearest open vet clinic and ER vet are, even if they are not nearby.

3. Reduce Sprats' insulin dose. I can't say how much because your spreadsheet is out of date, but I CAN say that whatever you shot last night was too much.

4. Promise to start testing before every shot, and start getting mid-cycle tests too. That will be the only way to determine if the new dose is too much, too little, or just right. Even if it seems just right, dosing needs can change quickly so it's important to keep testing.

I'm curious, how long has Sprats been diabetic?
 
He is almost 3 years diabetic. The first of this year was rough, because the vet switched insulin and not needles, so we were overdosing. He has been doing really well since February on Lantus.
Are vets just like hospitals? Will they take you in an emergency, even if you are not a patient? My vet was destroyed in the tornado, and I haven't found another one.
 
Many/most vet offices are not open 24/7. I would make a few phone calls to find out where the nearest emergency (24/7) facility is. You don't need to have a clinical relationship with an emergency facility.

Likewise, if your vet's office has been lost due to the tornado, you may want to try to line up a new vet. Just as a precaution, you may want to start to routinely get a copy of Sprat's vet records. While I don't have my guys complete records, I do have copies of their lab work. (I copy Gabby's labs onto her SS. If anything should happen to my computer, home, etc., there's a copy on a Google server.)

It would be very helpful if you could complete a Profile on Sprats. It gives us info on his medical history, insulin, etc.

Also, can you please try to update Sprat's SS and keep it current? Depending on your meter, it may store information. Even if your internet connection is spotty, when you are able to log in, you can then update.
 
0.50 unit is the first tiny line, right below the bigger "zero" line. Is that what you have been giving?

Normally we reduce by 0.25 at a time, so your new dose would be 0.25 units. That would be between the 0.5 unit line and the zero line. That might be too much too - since you don't have any recent data we can't really tell how far over dose Sprats might be. So yes, you should reduce, and then promise to test more often in case 0.25 is still too much.
 
Yes, the first line below the zero line is what he has been on. I will try to get back on the spreadsheet. I am a little strapped - I work 45 hours a week, and have two boys that play ball every night and weekends!
 
Here is a photo of .25u of Lantus in a u100 syringe.

25th-unit-syringe.jpg


and .50u photo....

half-unit-Lantus.jpg
 
glad sprats & you got through the night ok. sounds like you've gotten great advice to keep him safe moving forward.

one of the things i've learned in the short time that punkin's been diabetic is that the same dose that was just right at one point can become the wrong dose as his body does its thing. so you go along giving the same dose and suddenly you're getting different numbers, even though you didn't change anything else.

i think of it like my girls when they were 13yr olds and although you have boys, you surely know some girls - insulin is a hormone - think tears, slamming doors one day and sunny the next. it's what's going on in sprats body - as his body changes, his insulin needs are changing.
 
I'm so glad he's doing ok this morning. He didn't go up too terribly much from the dry food.

I'm also glad Sienne and Libby have given you a "to do" list. I should have told you last night to reduce his dose this morning but I wouldn't have been able to tell you
exactly what to reduce it to based on the SS.

I hope everything works out alright and we see you around LL regularly. It looks like Sprats is on a mission!!!
 
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