Do we reduce again?

I asked in the Lantus board but no response.

We reduced a few days ago and today she dropped to 79...so we reduce again right?

 

Since you're following SLGS yes, Sissy's earned another reduction. You may have to increase again later but that's okay.

 

Thank you so much for replying!

I'm glad I did it right. I read it over again and thought that was the right thing to do so I did reduce to 1 unit. I now hold that for a week no matter if her numbers get high again, right?

I had asked about how SLGS works, I'm doing it and trusting the process, but would like to understand how it works. This was from my question over on the Lantus board the other night with Sissy's first reduction.

"I read over the SLGS again and I see that I reduce. But I have a question about it, not being argumentative, just don't understand. Won't that make her go backwards to higher numbers, where we were before the increase to 1.5? I know that with SLGS the goal is flat numbers greater than 90...but if you hope for remission and those number goals are between 50 and 80...then isn't trying to stay above 90 counterproductive?"

 

Yes.

If you need to go back up, the numbers will tell you. Cats can go into remission with SLGS. When you start getting low blues AMPS and PMPS numbers (and Sissy is not there yet), the number at which a reduction is taken can be lowered slightly, then slightly lower (if I understand it all correctly).

Do you have any data before the 27th of August?

 

Her spreadsheet should go back to Aug 4 when we started Insulin. Is it not showing?

 

Hi Mandy. I see the full ss. I didn’t see your post on Lantus. I see your shot 1 unit. Let’s see if the reduction holds. The old depot might have been in play but it’s worth a try. I would not wait a whole week to go back up though if this is from the depot.

 

I was wondering about holding for the week. We'll see what she does. Thank you!

 

Good. It’s very possible the depot from the previous dose was in play. Back to back reductions usually don’t work but since you reduced tonight so I would see what happens. SLGS reduces with any drop under 90.

 

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/9-7-sissy-amps-223-2-79-4-80-another-reduction.234892/

Linking the lantus post - which has very similar replies

 

That's a good question! From my understanding, SLGS was made by members here on FDMB. Tight Regulation (TR) protocol was made by Roomp and Rand.

I am going to guess that SLGS was designed with a reduction below 90 because 1) dry food is often involved 2) some members do not have ability to test enough to allow a cat to drop lower than 90, so ie safety reasons. When we allow a cat to drop to lower, potentially heading to hypo numbers, we need to be proactive, testing more (like TR requires) and using appropriate food to intervene (wet). While SLGS doesn't eliminate the risk of going into hypo territory, I do believe it reduces the commonness of it, because we don't become complacent and allow them to drop too far. SLGS seems to be a bit of a safety net for people who don't have the schedule/ability to deal with lower numbers on a regular basis. Not saying it doesn't happen ... I spent plenty of sleepness nights up with low numbers on SLGS. But I spent way more nights up when we switched to TR.

Is there a reason you'd like to stay with SLGS? I feel like we discussed this before but you'll have to forgive me, the past few weeks have been lots and lots of new members I end up mixing a few up (oops!). Another option is slightly modifying the protocol reduce number ... for example some people do better modifying TR to reduce at 60 or 70 instead of 50. I believe some people on SLGS don't wait the full week either because they recognize by day 4 or 5 etc when it's time to go back up. No personal experience with that however, just something I've observed other members doing. I believe those people know their cats well enough to tailor it to what helps their cat best.

 

I wasn't positive about reducing. I read over the SLGS info I had printed out and waited as long as I could without throwing us off schedule...I was iffy about doing it again so soon. Hopefully it won't mess with things too much and if she needs to go back up we can get back on track quickly.

 

I hated making another post, but I hadn't gotten replies the last couple nights on Lantus, and wasn't sure about dosing tonight, so thought I'd try here in hopes of getting a reply before shot time. It's confusing to have 2 posts going I know! Thanks for linking them.

@Panic, on this linked post I mentioned about why I'm doing SLGS. It's my anxiety disorder that holds me back. :/

 

Wendy said to reduce and I would have as well. A failed reduction is no big deal. But if his pancreas is starting to work he could quickly move down the ladder.

 

Gotcha, that sounds familiar. Well you are absolutely capable at doing TR in all other aspects. If you feel you can tackle TR again later on, by all means.

And agreed, failed reductions happen often enough and they're easy to fix if they don't work. Nothing wrong with playing it safe.

 

Yeah, I don't want that to happen. She's been doing great!

 

Okay, that makes sense.
There have been a few times doing this where I've thought I'd be okay shooting something. Like tonight, looking back to where her numbers were at 1.5, and comparing the last couple days, I feel like I could have shot the 1.25 and been fine, but thought I should follow the method...maybe I can figure out how to tweak it as I go on to make it a better fit for her? I feel like I could do TR if the reduce number was higher...at least I feel confident now. lol The last few days back at SLGS I've noticed my anxiety has been better...so probably should stick to that for now. We are leaving on a camping trip on Tuesday. It will be the first one since her diagnosis. The last got cancelled because of a funeral. I'm anxious to see how her numbers do while in the camper. She has always done fine, but will be curious to see how the ride in the truck then several days in the camper show, if at all, on her numbers.

 

It’s great you can take her with you. She will be fine. Her numbers are looking really good. Stick with what’s working. If it stops working for you then, you can always change.

 

I think that's a great idea to consider. I don't believe there's anything wrong with adjusting reduction numbers to be a little bit higher for TR, or a little lower for SLGS. You are testing enough for it. Take your time though, you're doing a great job.

Hope you and Sissy have a good trip!

 

She loves going in the camper. She has her own little bed on a bunk that she likes to snuggle down in and watch whatever is going on outside. She sits at the table with me when we play cards like she knows what it's all about. She and the dogs are the best camping buddies. lol

The only thing I worry about really is if we will have a good phone signal in case I need to get on here...but I'll take everything I printed and her supplies and hypo kit and we should be fine. Just like having this for reassurance.

Her +2 tonight didn't drop like it normally does. I'm curious how it will go. Like a big puzzle.

 

I really enjoyed reading this about Sissy. Getting to hear all the little stories about our kitties and learning about their personalities is part of what makes FDMB a truly magical place at times.

You are doing an absolutely wonderful job with your girl, Mandy, and it's good to hear that you're feeling so much more confident (quite rightly so!). Wishing you all a safe and highly enjoyable trip.




Mogs
.