Baby and I starting to settle in

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Sarah and Baby

Sarah and Baby

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OK it's time to start a new board, the last one grew beyond imagining! Thank you all so much for your support and help!

Baby is getting better (a little) about getting her ears poked. I still have innumerable claw marks on my legs from where she digs in for the ride, but who doesn't, right? On Lori's advice, I have dropped her from 3 units to 1.5 units. I am going about getting a script for the Lantus pens and hopefully getting some help on that front. Lori wanted me to tell everyone that my Baby has tested positive for ketones in her urine before. I am going to get some test strips for that when I go food shopping today. I have also, with Lori's assistance, started a spreadsheet for Baby, but it only has two days on it now. LOL i was all worried because her numbers were very high, and then I realized after talking to Lori for a short time, that it was all because I was feeding her dry food in addition to her wet food, in a misguided attempt at dental health. All done with the dry stuff now!!!

My most pertinent question right now is, what kind of treats are the best for me to give her? This is my best tool with the whole testing struggle! I did finally find the cat food list with Lori's help last night :-D so now I know what food i'm going to buy her.

I am still having some trouble getting her to eat her food, does anyone have any suggestions about that?

Also, I'm a little confused, I've heard conflicting things. Should I be leaving her food out all the time, or is there a time when she shouldn't be eating?
 
I'm glad you both are settling in a bit and that Baby is doing better.

If you have a petsmart around you, they have little tubs of freeze dried chicken, salmon, and shrimp. Kit loves the shrimp and they are very low carb :) I love to see him perk his ears up when I shake the tub lol.

If you are feeding Fancy Feast, you may want to try a different brand of wet food. Kit refused to eat the FF at all and I think others have had a problem with the FF as well. Another thing...as much as I hate to say this....if she isn't eating her wet food, it may be better to ween her off of it instead of taking it away cold turkey. I had this problem with Kit too. If you sprinkle about 5-10 pieces of the kibble on top of the wet food, it will put the smell of the dry food on the wet and it will still give her a few crunchies to eat. When you are switching from dry to wet, there is a difference in ingredients, taste, smell, and texture. If you gradually take it away, it may be easier on Baby. It's very important that she eat if you are giving her insulin injections.

As far as leaving food out. Some people leave it out, some take it away after 20 minutes. Kit has always been a grazer. I put food down for him 4 times a day and I leave it out for him until he eats it. I feed him before his AM shot, at his +6, before his PM shot, and right before I go to bed. It really depends on you and your schedule and it really depends on Baby. Some freeze a little bit of food and set it out in the morning before they leave for work that way it will thaw and the kitty will have something to eat mid day. I do know a lot of people don't feed after the nadir once the bg starts rising again. Whatever works best for you guys. Every cat is different. Just try to keep track of what she is eating so you know her calorie intake.
 
For treats Motor went NUTS for dried bonito flakes. I found them at an Asian market (much cheaper and more than the pet stores). All I have to do is pick up the bag and he's at my feet! :mrgreen:
 
Sarah, you can actually get a spread sheet up and visable all the time. Look below in my signature and you will see Tom's Spreadsheet as a link.
Now, I'm not good at getting those up, but if you need help put a shout in the subject on another post and someone will be along to help you.
It's just something everyone has for quick, easy review.

To sum up Baby from as much as we know.

Dx'd with Ketones about 1.5 months ago
Just recieved fluids that day..no stay over.
Next visit Ketones still present but better. Nothing much done since then.

Baby's early numbers were not routine but Sarah did get these:
pmps 146 3u

on another day she got a +9 286
and the next day i think she got a +3 196

spent 1.5 months on 2u then 3u. that 146 3u could have been the beginning of a rebound but with the ketones I did not want to be the one to say reduce to 1u and hold the dose. Also Baby is just today going off the crack.

starting 3 days ago
+9 378
pmps 339 1u (i think)
+2 326

amps 247 1u
+9 380
pmps 444 1.5u

that brings us to today...
and this is Humulin. I think a curve is coming on Tuesday.
 
OK for real now! I've started this post three times and gotten distracted and x'd out of the window!

I am not going to be able to do a curve today because my schedule changed. Hopefully the curve will come on Thursday. I also only have 2 more test strips as of right now. Dyana is sending me a reliOn meter and some test strips (THANK YOU THANK YOU) So hopefully I will get those very soon.

Here is the spreadsheet for the last three days, testing her when I can.


7/24
+9- 378
pm ps- 339
+2- 326


7/25
am ps- 247 ~1u
+9- 380
pm ps- 444 ~1.5u

7/26
am ps- 287 ~1.5u
+2- 306
pm ps - 358 ~1.5u

7/27
am ps - 421 ~1.5


OK i have to go now but that will give you a rough idea :D
 
Sarah,
ready to put your thinking cap on?
first, what dose was that first pmps you had?
next....humulin is a fast acting insulin so the fact that the numbers went UP at +2 is important data. would like to see you get more +2 and +3.
it is generally an indication of TOO MUCH insulin.
you can learn about that later....but we really should see more +2 and +3 right now.
also...you CANNOT shoot blind anymore girl, can you buy a small pack...like a 10 strip pack until thursday?
your kitty is a ketone survivor and believe me, you really don't want to mess around with that.
spend a few dollars today and i can make it up to you with strips in the mail
PLEASE do not shoot blind. and PLEASE get some early tests in.
if it were'nt for the ketones i would not be so pushy....but even without ketones....it is unsafe, unwise, etc etc to shoot your kitty blindly.
((((((Sarah))))))
 
I am trying to find test strips but I can't find anywhere in the area that sells small amounts, the least is 50 and that costs upwards of $50, which i could just buy my own relion and test strips for that amount. :( i have a call out to the local diabetic resource center but don't know if that will get me anywhere. Must go to work now. :(
 
I sent the meter and strips yesterday, so maybe, hopefully, they'll get to you by tomorrow.
 
OK for real now! I've started this post three times and gotten distracted and x'd out of the window!
Click to expand...

Sarah, I have had the same problem!! Here is a little trick I learned: I type my message on microsoft word first, then when it is complete I copy and paste it on the FDMB window. So if you have microsoft window, you may want to give it a try. This has save my from having any more stress or frustrations than I already have...being a DC newbie and all.

Roberta
and Casey
 
Sarah, I just realized you have just begun a major diet change. You completely put away the dry right?
You cannot possibly know how much this may effect his bg's....they could go down SIGNIFICANTLY.
If you are not testing before you am shot...or pm for that matter, tomorow I think you should reduce dose.
Just until you get the strips and meter.
Someone here just went off the juice in less than a week with the diet change.
Another girl, bless her heart, got her very first test done and it was a whopping 27! How could she have known the danger her baby was in.
That cat went off the juice since that day.
It happens.
Diet Change can and should really affect the numbers.
Back to 1u.
IMHO
Lori
 
I just checked her, here's her numbers for today.


7/27
amps - 421
+2 - 290
pmps- 377

I am picking up three strips from the diabetic education center in town tomorrow before amps. that's all they had lol so i'll be able to test until thursday morning.
 
Baby had a nice curve today...
Start putting your dose next to the number after amps and pmps ok.
Your doing Great Sarah.
 
Baby & Sara! omg, how nice it would be to OTJ! And yes, it is a nice thing! My Sugar Bean is OTJ!!!!!!
I am the girl that Lori is referring to! and yes, my Beans # was 27..... I had received my testing materials, tried a couple of times and just could not get it down and was still shooting...... The first time I got the test done right...she was 27! Lori spent 4+ hours helping me bring her back up into the 40's and this site was sooo supportive! Everyone here is WONDERFUL.... I promised my baby girl that nite that I would NEVER EVER shoot her again w/out a test first.... And now that she is OTJ, I am afraid not to test! Now, isnt that something!!! :lol:
Hang in there, and welcome and ty ty for listening to my own horror story that wound up being ok, by the luck of God and the ppl He put in my life at the right time!
 
Today BS:


7/28
amps - 333 ~1.5
pmps - 337 ~1.5


Those of you who feed special kitty, are you feeding a whole can or half can at a time?
 
Well right now while Baby is still unregulated give her as much as she wants to eat, because her body can't process the food she is eating correctly, so she can literally starve on what she would eat normally. Once her bloodsugar gets under control she will naturally drop off on the amount she is eating.

With Musette, who I'm still working on getting tightly regulated I give her a full can that I have added about 1/2 a can of water to, so she can eat whenever she wants. When the bowl gets empty I rinse and repeat.

With Maxwell when he first got here he was trying to eat me out of house and home, he was eating 3-4 (5.5oz) cans a day, once he went into remission he now eats between 1 to 1 1/2 cans a day depending on the day.

Mel,Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
I could give you all the medical explainations for it but the very basics is that insulin is the hormone our and their bodies use to break down the food eaten into the components that we and they need. So since she isn't producing enough of her own insulin and you have quite hit the magic dose for her either, she can't make her food work for her completely. So she is going to be hungrier now than she will be when she is regulated, or even better OTJ. So let her eat, right now it is more important that she is eating not how much she is eating.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang.
 
Hi Sarah. I agree, feed her as much as she wants right now. Did the meter and strips come today? I hope so.
 
Dyana: YES THEY DID just in time, too! Cuz i was totally out of strips! YAY!!! Thank you! And I do love that the tester is Pink :D

Here are Baby's numbers for today. I don't know when I'll be able to do a curve, because I work everyday for the next week except Saturday and i have a wedding that day... possibly next wednesday lol.


7/29
amps - 312 ~1.5
pmps - 274 ~1.5
 
shooting Humulin...I'm thinking is a number related dose.
sooooooooooooo, as far as I know it would be appropriate to lower dose with lower numbers.
perhaps below 200 you could go 1u.
Pecfect timeing with that meter and strips!
 
Sarah, those 100 point drops are a good indication that there is still more dropping to come. I don't think the insulin is peaking out just yet. So now is the time to get a +4 and maybe a +6 to see how low Baby is actually going.
good luck,
any work on the lantus yet?
Lori
 
I'm working so much right now it's very hard to get any readings further out :( As soon as I can, I will do that.

The Lantus should be here today, I just hope someone is here to pick it up when it comes. Gotta go talk to my room mate about that right now.

Question: Next week I work 7a-3p two days. Baby's shoot times are 11a and 11p. What kind of schedule should I follow?
 
hmmmm, with humulin you can split up your dose for those off schedules...the lantus not so much.
let's see. 7-3 with a normal 11/11
ok,
i think unless this is ongoing....i would skip the shot. it's just too far away from normal shot time and you can't do that with lantus. you'll mess everything up.
if this is too become a regular shift in schedule i wonder if you can alter you shot times so that the change in times will only be an hour or so...make any sense?

also...please start your lantus at 1unit only...it is NOT humulin.
 
also sarah, you might consider posting your lantus use on the levemir board. these 2 insulins work pretty much the same...but the levemir board is an easier ride i find...IMHO.
no flames please...my opinion is all that is.
 
Hi Sarah.

I don't know much about Humulin, but I also saw the 100 point drop in 2 hours and thought you should do a test at +4.
I'm sorry, I didn't say anything this morning. Thanks Lori.
I use my cell phone as an alarm, and do middle of the night tests (I don't always wake up to the alarm, but I try). I also work and am gone for pretty much 11 hours a day, so night time tests are the only time I can see how the insulin is doing. I can pretty much wake up, test, and got right back to sleep.

Let us know if you need anymore help.
 
Today's numbers...



7/30
amps - 306 ~1.5
pmps - 320 ~1.5
+2 -255


Got the Lantus today but didn't give it because i'm not positive it made it through the mail ok. with it having to be refrigerated and everything, DCIN sent it out on Wednesday and i got it at 8:30 today after it sat in hot mailbox for i don't know how long. Any opinions, or how can i figure out?
 
Venita knows what she is doing...if she sent it out without cold packs than I'm thinking it is ok.
You could google it.
The pens are made specifically for travel for humans so they don't refrigerate it all the time.
 
did the pen acutallly feel hot to the touch....do you see any floaties in the clear side of the pen?
 
Like Lori said if there aren't any floaties and it looks perfectly clear, then it's probably okay. We get it shipped from Canada and it takes days to get here, and I have had no problems.
Humans use them up in less than a month, so they don't have to keep them refrigerated. You'll want to keep it refrigerated, to make it last as long as possible.

With Lantus, we decide the dosage by the Nadir (the lowest point of the curve, usually somewhere around +6), so you'll want to set your alarm at nighttime to get up and test, so you'll know if you have the right dose for your kitty.

When you first start the Lantus, I would test like every two hours, unless the numbers are low and if that's the case then test more often.
Also, you'll want to hold the dose (keep the same dose) for 7 days to let the shed build up, again unless you see low numbers and need to decrease the dose. Read all the stickys in the Lantus forum, and ask questions.

By the way, I found the instruction booklet finally, for the meter. Do you want me to send that to you, or did MommaOfMuse send you hers?
 
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