Cliff Notes: Week of 12/12

Status
Not open for further replies.
MiCo

MiCo

Active Member
New week, new thread!

  • Completed 3rd curve yesterday; still not much change. Gonna keep increasing and test again in 2 weeks.
  • Two weeks is the Holiday, & I'm traveling out of state. Dave/Hubs will hang back with cats (for several reasons he is not traveling with me)... so this means he needs to get comfortable doing everything on his own & I need to let go of control.
  • So happy to say Dave took charge with the PM test/feed/shoot tonight and he did great!!
 
Whoo Hoo! Always great to have a helper. Yes, I would keep making my way up the dosing ladder until you see some yellows and blues. Are you getting ketone tests in too?
 
MiCo said:
Hi @Sue and Oliver (GA) ! Thanks for the comment. Yes-we are testing ketones. Blood was 0.6 Tuesday and 0.7 Monday night.
Click to expand...
Good for you for ketone testing. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the scale on a blood meter. I see you raised the dose to 4 u. I think that black at +3 is because the ProZinc hasn't kicked in yet.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Good for you for ketone testing. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the scale on a blood meter. I see you raised the dose to 4 u. I think that black at +3 is because the ProZinc hasn't kicked in yet.
Click to expand...

Oh man, thanks for checking the SS this AM! That was going to be my next question... why that black # at +3? I was a little concerned by the black #s this AM. I am actually going to work from home this afternoon to keep an eye on him. :)
 
MiCo said:
Oh man, thanks for checking the SS this AM! That was going to be my next question... why that black # at +3? I was a little concerned by the black #s this AM. I am actually going to work from home this afternoon to keep an eye on him. :)
Click to expand...
Glad I relieved some anxiety, Michele. I know this pattern from Teasel. I rarely check his BG before +5 because I know he has a food spike after eating and he's definitely not a cat whose pancreas is helping out after a meal. That can give you a lovely gentle drop in the few hours after they've eaten a full meal if Mr. P. is sputtering.

I'd focus on +5 to +7 for BGs today. This is likely where he'll nadir if this dose is enough to get him down. If he stays high and flat, it's a sign the dose will have to go up in a few cycles. You've had blacks before - who knows why a number is what it is at a moment in time??
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Glad I relieved some anxiety, Michele. I know this pattern from Teasel. I rarely check his BG before +5 because I know he has a food spike after eating and he's definitely not a cat whose pancreas is helping out after a meal. That can give you a lovely gentle drop in the few hours after they've eaten a full meal if Mr. P. is sputtering.

I'd focus on +5 to +7 for BGs today. This is likely where he'll nadir if this dose is enough to get him down. If he stays high and flat, it's a sign the dose will have to go up in a few cycles. You've had blacks before - who knows why a number is what it is at a moment in time??
Click to expand...

Got home around +7 and his BG=424. I am happy that the BG # is down from the earlier high number, but I anticipate we will need to continue to increase after a few cycles here at 4 units.

I fed them both, and he ate good, used the litter box, and has now joined me on the top floor and is watching me work. I take all these activities/behaviors as good signs that he is continuing to be the sugar kitty that he is, and will require some more time/love/attention to get him to a place where his #s are lower. :)
 
MiCo said:
Got home around +7 and his BG=424. I am happy that the BG # is down from the earlier high number, but I anticipate we will need to continue to increase after a few cycles here at 4 units.

I fed them both, and he ate good, used the litter box, and has now joined me on the top floor and is watching me work. I take all these activities/behaviors as good signs that he is continuing to be the sugar kitty that he is, and will require some more time/love/attention to get him to a place where his #s are lower. :)
Click to expand...
Absolutely the correct mind set, Michele. He's been high for a while so it might take a generous dose to get him down. They can become less responsive to insulin when their cells have been bathed in glucose for a while. It's called glucose toxicity. What has to happen is a series of careful dose increases until you have a breakthrough. They can suddenly become significantly more insulin-sensitive then and you end up back pedalling on the dose. It can be an "interesting" time.
 
Amps=424

Last night, said to my husband-I feel like we have a newborn. I'm tired/not sleeping, am broke and worry all the time. But, I love him so much! Cliff really is my buddy. When he's feeling well, he follows me around and I talk to him and he chatters back.

Just ordered more AT2 strips online... Got me thinking abt the FreeStyle ones though.
 
MiCo said:
Amps=424

Last night, said to my husband-I feel like we have a newborn. I'm tired/not sleeping, am broke and worry all the time. But, I love him so much! Cliff really is my buddy. When he's feeling well, he follows me around and I talk to him and he chatters back.

Just ordered more AT2 strips online... Got me thinking abt the FreeStyle ones though.
Click to expand...
We've all been there, Michele. The worry, the fatigue, the confusion .... and the joy when we see glimpses of normal behaviour. You WILL make progress. It's still very early days for you and Cliff and as unattractive as it sounds, you'll get much more accustomed to the ups and downs and uncertainties. You'll start to see results from more effective dosing and your confidence will increase.

The AT strips are awfully expensive for testing the way we do here. I use Freestyle Lite strips in my AT meter so I can certainly assist if you decide to try them. I was uneasy at first but have become very comfortable using them. If you want examples of how they compare on the same blood droplet, there's a sheet of data on my SS you can look at. :)
 
+7.5 was 209!

@Kris & Teasel I will check out the FS Lite strips. I have browsed your comparison chart in your spreadsheet. Will let you know if I take the plunge, if I have questions about the process of comparison testing.
 
MiCo said:
+7.5 was 209!

@Kris & Teasel I will check out the FS Lite strips. I have browsed your comparison chart in your spreadsheet. Will let you know if I take the plunge, if I have questions about the process of comparison testing.
Click to expand...
Wow! This is great. It tells me you're at or very close to a dose that will give you traction. Ask away whenever you want to try FS strips. :)
 
Amps=378

And-When I came home from work last night, Hubs proudly told me he had tested Cliff's urine with a ketone stick. :) since I got the blood meter, I left the stick next to the litter box and showed him how to test. We have a box we emptied and have lined with paper towels. Cliff was negative for ketones using stick to test.
 
MiCo said:
Amps=378

And-When I came home from work last night, Hubs proudly told me he had tested Cliff's urine with a ketone stick. :) since I got the blood meter, I left the stick next to the litter box and showed him how to test. We have a box we emptied and have lined with paper towels. Cliff was negative for ketones using stick to test.
Click to expand...
Hurray! Good to know you can test using either method and good that ketones are negative.
 
A stressful day for Cliffy. Trying to train Dave on the process, & we all know how stressful learning all this in the beginning is! I gave cliff extra treats though for being such a good patient, & he was purring after his pm shot--so I think he'll be ok. I also had a convo with cliff and told him he was a good boy showing Dave the ropes! :)
 
MiCo said:
A stressful day for Cliffy. Trying to train Dave on the process, & we all know how stressful learning all this in the beginning is! I gave cliff extra treats though for being such a good patient, & he was purring after his pm shot--so I think he'll be ok. I also had a convo with cliff and told him he was a good boy showing Dave the ropes! :)
Click to expand...
Did you give Dave any treats for being such a good doctor? ;)
 
I like that yellow from yesterday. You had a few at lower doses a while ago but his time at higher numbers has probably made him less responsive to the insulin. This will improve as you get to doses that get him down more and then you might be going back down the dosing ladder.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top