Dosing tonight?
- Thread starter Djamila
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Sue and Oliver (GA)
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I would stay with the one unit. It's likely that the 107 (or a lower number a hour or two later) caused a bounce to the higher pmps. A bounce is when the body panics when it experiences a number lower than it has experienced before and releases extra glucose, and the number bounces up. Your mid cycle numbers are looking good - I'd stick with the dose.
Robin&BB
Very Active Member
Well, first you want to be sure this isn't just a blip. So have a few questions for you:
Any food given in the 2-hr. window before PMPS?
Has there been a change in the amount he's been fed today? (More than usual, for example)?
Was he playing and/or jumping around in the 1/2 hr. to hr. before that PMPS test?
Did anything aggravate him/ excite him before that PMPS (like a squirrell outside the window, etc.)?
As sometimes you just get a wonky #; it happens!
ETA: And I agree with Sue above, too!
Any food given in the 2-hr. window before PMPS?
Has there been a change in the amount he's been fed today? (More than usual, for example)?
Was he playing and/or jumping around in the 1/2 hr. to hr. before that PMPS test?
Did anything aggravate him/ excite him before that PMPS (like a squirrell outside the window, etc.)?
As sometimes you just get a wonky #; it happens!
ETA: And I agree with Sue above, too!
Djamila
Very Active Member
Thanks @Sue and Oliver (GA) ! What would I do without you?!?!
@Robin&BB: No food in the 2 hour window, if anything he's had slightly less food today. Definitely no jumping around or unusual events. I had to wake up him to come test/eat/shoot.
We've been having an unusual storm today. Dark and windy and rainy all day. Both kitties have been curled up asleep almost the entire day. I think a bounce makes sense because his numbers last night were low and they were good the first half of the day. But I also think the lack of activity could possibly contribute as well. In humans, lack of activity increases BG levels, so maybe it works that way in kitties, too? They are usually a pretty active pair who spend a lot of time playing/wrestling/getting into trouble together. Today they just curled up and slept all day.
I gave him 1u and will keep an eye on his numbers later tonight to see what happens. Assuming he's bouncing, should I expect the numbers to continue high?
Huge thanks to both of you!
@Robin&BB: No food in the 2 hour window, if anything he's had slightly less food today. Definitely no jumping around or unusual events. I had to wake up him to come test/eat/shoot.
We've been having an unusual storm today. Dark and windy and rainy all day. Both kitties have been curled up asleep almost the entire day. I think a bounce makes sense because his numbers last night were low and they were good the first half of the day. But I also think the lack of activity could possibly contribute as well. In humans, lack of activity increases BG levels, so maybe it works that way in kitties, too? They are usually a pretty active pair who spend a lot of time playing/wrestling/getting into trouble together. Today they just curled up and slept all day.
I gave him 1u and will keep an eye on his numbers later tonight to see what happens. Assuming he's bouncing, should I expect the numbers to continue high?
Huge thanks to both of you!
Robin&BB
Very Active Member
Assuming he's bouncing ... is hard to guess what he'll do next.
May see a high # next pre-shot, may not. May drop at nadir like he did today, or may drop like he did last night. (Gee, I'm a big help, right?
) Anyway, is a good plan to keep an eye on his numbers tonight, too.
As for the ol' bouncy-bounce, it's like our sage Sue always says: "Kitties bounce ... until they stop."
May see a high # next pre-shot, may not. May drop at nadir like he did today, or may drop like he did last night. (Gee, I'm a big help, right?) Anyway, is a good plan to keep an eye on his numbers tonight, too.As for the ol' bouncy-bounce, it's like our sage Sue always says: "Kitties bounce ... until they stop."
Djamila
Very Active Member
@Robin&BB That cracked me up! @Sue and Oliver (GA) is very wise, isn't she? So basically whatever I get next is what I get. I'm slowly beginning to understand how this works.
Djamila
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Okay. +3.5 I just got home and he's at 59. I know hypo isn't until 50, but we're playing it a little close for my comfort right now. I do have a hypo kit just in case with lots of high carb goodies for him. Right now he's awake and I've convinced him to eat a bit more regular food. I'll keep an eye on him and recheck. Should I give him some kibble, or just monitor?
Djamila
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Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
That early of a nadir is fairly unusual with ProZinc. His night time numbers are very nice though. If this happens again, skip the kibble. Instead feed him a teaspoon of gravy of the high carb gravy food (you need some for your hypo kit. ) The other thing I would try is to feed half his normal dinner at shot time and then half 1.5/2 hours later. That might keep his early numbers a little higher and flatter and get him past that dive.
His numbers are very nice. I wonder if his pattern is the same during the day time. Would you be able to get +3/+5/+7 numbers today? My thinking is that he is in the low greens in the daytime cycle at some point also, we probably need to reduce the dose a smidge.
His numbers are very nice. I wonder if his pattern is the same during the day time. Would you be able to get +3/+5/+7 numbers today? My thinking is that he is in the low greens in the daytime cycle at some point also, we probably need to reduce the dose a smidge.
Djamila
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Oh, sorry if that was unclear. He didn't get any kibble. I thought about it, but 58 isn't hypo and he looked good, was awake and exploring per his usual evening behavior, and ate some regular food so I felt okay (although nervous) just monitoring him.
Both kitties are grazers, so when I feed them, they naturally eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the serving, and then come back and finish it over the remaining hours. Sam usually goes back to eat at around +4-5 which might explain why he rises when he should be nadir-ing. He does usually eat when I wake him up and plunk him in front of his food, so I could try doing that around +2 on the days when I'm home, but starting Tuesday, I won't be home during the day anymore. Oh! Or did you mean feed him half of what he would normally eat, as opposed to half of what I normally put in his dish?
I'll try to get some of those later numbers today and post them.
Is the possible reduction in dose because of the bounce?
Both kitties are grazers, so when I feed them, they naturally eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the serving, and then come back and finish it over the remaining hours. Sam usually goes back to eat at around +4-5 which might explain why he rises when he should be nadir-ing. He does usually eat when I wake him up and plunk him in front of his food, so I could try doing that around +2 on the days when I'm home, but starting Tuesday, I won't be home during the day anymore. Oh! Or did you mean feed him half of what he would normally eat, as opposed to half of what I normally put in his dish?
I'll try to get some of those later numbers today and post them.
Is the possible reduction in dose because of the bounce?
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
I wouldn't feed him extra. We'd like him slim and trim. (Unless he needs to gain weight). You could just divide the usual meal into 2 parts. Feed half when you shoot and then half 2/2.5 hours later, to see if the food keeps him from diving.
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Often it takes a cat several months before the food and insulin start to work together. When that happens (different for every cat) the numbers usually start to gradually decline.
Robin&BB
Very Active Member
While this is generally true with the majority of cats on ProZinc, would appear Sam may be related to my kitty!
If you take a peek at Bat-Bat's SS, you'll see she tends to nadir around +3.5, too, whenever she's had a dose - started noticing this early on in treatment (3/12/15) - and with a few exceptions after that, 3.5 is where she hits nadir. So really is true that every cat's different. (Ha, except for yours & mine, of course!)
Robin&BB
Very Active Member
Wanted to echo Sue's comments above: that we like them slim & trim, and it can take some time before the food & insulin start working together.
It's hard for us, as a culture, not to perceive a slender cat as "too skinny," but there's a real difference between the "slim" of a healthy kitty vs. the "emaciated" of a kitty who has lost weight due to diabetes eating away at the body. (My formerly 18-lb. cat had dwindled down to about 9.5 lbs. when first diagnosed in 2013; I mistakenly thought
it was because I'd cut back on her kibble. But, no - it was the ravages of diabetes!)
This is what Bat-Bat looks like these days (at her raised "feeding station" - happy, healthy AND slender!):
It's hard for us, as a culture, not to perceive a slender cat as "too skinny," but there's a real difference between the "slim" of a healthy kitty vs. the "emaciated" of a kitty who has lost weight due to diabetes eating away at the body. (My formerly 18-lb. cat had dwindled down to about 9.5 lbs. when first diagnosed in 2013; I mistakenly thought
it was because I'd cut back on her kibble. But, no - it was the ravages of diabetes!)This is what Bat-Bat looks like these days (at her raised "feeding station" - happy, healthy AND slender!):
Djamila
Very Active Member
@Sue and Oliver (GA) You're a genius. Seriously. Encouraged him to eat at +2 and he's dropping more slowly and later. Not sure how to manage that when I go back to work though. I could get up earlier to test/eat/shoot, but if I do that, there is no way I could be home in time for +12. It would end up being more like +13-14. Anyway, at least for today, his BG is dropping at +5 instead of +3, and not as dramatically as yesterday. Also, he's letting me test in his paws! His poor little ears really needed a break, so I'm glad he's being more cooperative. It also might be the brand new catnip toy he got yesterday. He's been on a catnip high most of the day ;-)
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Good. Glad it worked. Do you have other cats? If not, or if just one, you could look at an automatic feeder. I love my PetSafe5. It has 6 slots and you can set it for any intervals. So you could set it for +2 and give him the rest of his breakfast and shut it closed 2 hours before you are home for the evening test. Most cats will eat if they feel themselves dropping low so he might do that anyway when you are not there.
Djamila
Very Active Member
@Robin&BB: I just saw your picture! When I clicked on the email it took me straight to the bottom of the thread and I somehow missed it earlier! I love black cats. They are so beautiful! I was planning on getting a black cat when I went to the shelter ten years ago, but then Sam picked me instead. He's a bit skinnier than I would like right now, although the vet says his weight is good. When we switched from kibble to wet food, and then to mostly raw, he lost so much weight! His weight has been stable for about six weeks now and he hasn't been losing anymore, but I kinda liked him when he was roly poly ;-)
Right now I'm waiting for him to finish cleaning himself and lie down so I can get his paw again for his +7 ...I'm a sneaky vampire
Right now I'm waiting for him to finish cleaning himself and lie down so I can get his paw again for his +7 ...I'm a sneaky vampire
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