?FS dosage concerns?12/16 Mango amps 148 @+3 88, @+4 80,@+6 70,@+8 94,@10 134, pmps 148 FS @+2 188

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The large center pad on the back feet can also be used for testing. The skin there is pretty thick, so you'll most likely want to use a lancing device, and you'll have to play with the depth setting to find the one that works best for you.

Same rules apply. Warm the area first. Test. Put mild pressure on the area afterward. Follow up with love, scratches, and a low carb treat if you have one.
 
He definitely will not let me touch his back feet. I can do his front though. I will try that next time. Is there a list of low carb treats?
 
Wishing you success with the paw testing. We use a combination of ear and paws for Jenks. Fortunately, he's pretty oblivious to rear paw testing, which makes it easy.

The tips I can offer in addition to the ones above include:

Laying the cat on its side facing away from you. That generally gives you the easiest access to the feed and pads.

The skin on the pads is pretty thick, so in addition to increasing the depth setting on the lancing device, you may also need to apply pressure to the lancing device before activating it. Whether, and how firmly, you press it against the skin will depend mainly on trial and error.

If he initial drop you get isn't big enough, don't panic. You may need to release pressure on the pad for a moment, then resume milking it from the edges of the pad. I find that helps immensly.

As for low carb treats, there's not an authoritative list like Dr. Pierson's food chart, but this post does a good job:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/list-of-low-carb-healthy-treats.9172/
 
Lesliejm said:
His poor ears are so pricked.
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Do you have Neosporin with pain relief ointment, Leslie? It helps a lot.

Another product I use is the the Cloud 9 by Halo - some Petco stores carry it as but I got mine online HERE.

I know that some people use paw pads for testing but I personally always thought the site could get infected because of the litter box visits..I might be wrong here, of course, but I stuck with ears...

Mango looks SPLENDID in Green!:D:cool:
He had his nadir on 12/09 AM cycle @+7 - it could be the same today - you might have busy Saturday.
Wishing you both nice and safe surf!
 
I bought a new meter. My old one just read 154 and then I tried again with my old and it was 132 then with my new one it was 102!!! He did just ate 1/2 hour ago. I guess I will keep on using my old.
 
:) you are doing so very well! Really!
This AM cycle you have started with the +3 test - awesome! But what if you take his PMPS +2 test tonight? Here is why: the +2 is when most cats on Lantus have their onset and if the value at +2 is the same or lesser than the PMPS value was - then you'll have to stay up and continue to test to make sure he is safe. If the +2 is higher, especially if much higher than the PMPS was - most likely it's ok to put the lancet down, to feed the cat and to call it a night. However, even in that case a mid cycle (I know, read: middle of the night) test is extremely desirable.
:)
Lesliejm said:
What would his nadir be for today?
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BG 70 at +6 was his nadir of the day, IMHO.

Have you decided on the dosing method - TR ot SLGL yet?
Your answer will help with tonight strategy.
 
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Lesliejm said:
His poor ears are so pricked. Where else can I get blood?
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About two weeks ago Quintus's ears were just a collection of dried blood. Now I prick in the same area each time, quite near the tip. I get my drop without any problem (if it seems to small I quickly prick again just next to the first). Once the measure is done I wipe the blood off with a tissue -- definitely makes his ears look less miserable.

If he's tired of the ear pricks make sure you use distraction rather than coercion. Does he like chin rubs and face scratches? Try to slip the prick somewhere in the middle of a scratching session. I recommend going for speed rather than precision. The prick itself is less of a problem than everything that goes around it. I scratch and cuddle, sneakily get hold of an ear (while using the rest of my hand to rub), and prick.

Practice when not pricking. Rub face, scratch chin, massage ear base, briefly hold/touch ear tip, go back to scratching. Repeat, repeat. Desensitisation!

Hope this helps.
 
Lesliejm said:
want to cry for him.:arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:
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One of the most difficult things to master with FD, as I found it out, is to be patient. We all want our little once to be well yesterday, and it doesn't work this way, unfortunately.
You are on the such wonderful track, Leslie!
Do you even remember that only a week ago you were about to shoot 3units?! :eek::woot: Look at it now!

As all of us need to get some patience, the Board had decided to issue a complimentary, free of charge rent-able Patience Pants. Here are the some of our most popular models -tell us if neither id your style!;)
PatiencePantsSkinny.png
patiencePantsLeggins.jpg
 
Lesliejm said:
Of course the cat pants!!! lol
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:joyful:
BTW: if you are still inclined towards following SLGL method then I'd start new thread (or re-title the current one to the effect) and ask people proficient with SLGL about tonight dosage. I am not one of them - TR.

Reason: per SLGL Mango earned his 0.25U reduction this AM by going below 90 at +6.

How do you reduce by a quarter? Do you have half unit marked syringes? If you do then eye ball the best you possibly can between the lines (I use digital calipers for it) and try to be as consistent wit that dosage for another week - as best as you can. Using magnifying glass helps a lot, too. I'll post a link a minute.
 
ok, I haven't found the link pertaining to the quarter unit dosage reduction or increases - but HERE is the link to the archive - you'll find it there. Eyeballing the best one can with doses is basically what you have to do. Some posts in there can provide helpful tips and techniques.

Bookmark this link for the future - tons of helpful info!

Let me know on whether you are doing SLGL or TR. You might want to write in into your Signature so ppl won't have to ask the same question again again.
 
the dose wise for tomorrow:
if it was not for that possible FS - you would reduce by quarter of a unit - to 0.75Unit tonight and keep it for another week and then to re-evaluate.

Post about your dosage concerns with regards to possible FS . Use the ? as your post's pre-fix.

If it indeed was a furshot - do not be discouraged or tempted to increase when you see the high--ish numbers at pre-shot.
Lantus is at its best if used consistently. Even if you the colors you don't like...

Edit your current title to something like this " 12/16 AMPS 148, PMPS 148 FS? Dosing advise for tomorrow?" - and put the question mark as your prefix - go to 1st post, upper corner right - Edit Title- left of the title line is a box - click on it and then click on ? and then re-type your title.

I did tons of fur shots, so did others...No reason to :banghead:, Mango will recover in no time, you'll see. DOn't start thinking - "I spoiled it all" - because have not!
 
Mango is looking absolutely gorgeous with those numbers! If I were you, and my cat had just been diagnosed, I would be over the moon! If you want to feel better, take a look at Girlie's SS from the top. That will put things in perspective for you! :-)
 
A bunch of questions. First, please read the Sticky Notes on Tight Regulation and START low Go Slow, and decide which dosing method you would like to follow. Then our either TR or SLGS in your signature so we can easily help you help Mango.

Second, you mention a new meter. Is it the same brand? Changes like that are worth mentioning in the Remarks section of the spreadsheet.

Agree with the others, Mango's numbers are looking great.
 
Regarding TR et an SLGS, here's some "newbie explanation", because it was hard for me to wrap my head around it last week, and I think I've finally understood. Here's my story.

Quintus and I started out on Lantus with the idea that we would rather easily find "the right dose" to keep him in the yellows and purples. Look at the preshot value, get a nadir here and there, adjust. Unfortunately (or fortunately) that's not how Lantus works. Lantus creates a kind of "stock" (the depot) of insulin under the skin. That means that when you give your cat a shot, most of the insulin is simply "stocked for later" and diffuses slowly (mainly over 12 hours but still significantly over the next 2-3 days or so). That means that when you do a dose change you can't really see how it's going to affect the BG until a few days after.

Also, what seems to happen is that after a dose change, particularly an increase, BG tends to go a bit all over the place ("New Dose Wonkiness" and "bouncing"). I'm not 100% satisfied I've understood the mechanisms for those, but after looking at lots of spreadsheets, it does indeed seem that this is commonly observed.

So, when you change a dose with Lantus, you should keep it going at least three days to see "what it's worth". And if it is a big dose change, it might throw things off more, because the depot is then way out of line with the dose you're injecting. Lowering or raising the dose by small increments gives you less wonkiness and yoyo effect.

So, TR and SLGS in all this?

If your goal is to get your cat "tightly regulated" (mainly greens and low blues) or in remission, we have two "recipes" to get there. One is TR, and it is a protocol that has been scientifically validated, and the other is SLGS, and it is a method that people here have been using with success, but might not have the degree of scientific cred that TR has. You'll probably have to read the stickies more than once to get a good picture of what they imply and how they differ, but what they have in common is that they offer "rules" for when to change a dose, how much to change it, and how to monitor. Some differences I've noted: TR requires the cat to be on low-carb wet food, whereas SLGS does not. TR allows you to adjust the dose every three days, whereas SLGS only allows for that once a week.

Another thing I hadn't understood initially is that this "tight regulation" both TR and SLGS aim for is beyond what most medical professionals would try to get to. Mainly, I think, because TR and SLGS require high commitment from pet owners and from a certain point of view it's better to have a not-so-well-regulated animal than having the owner put it down because they're daunted by the requirements of caring for it. And also because new science/knowledge in some specialised areas takes time to seep into the mainstream. People here routinely shoot on numbers that vets would not be comfortable recommending, because it's risky to do if you don't have a pile of prior knowledge to help you guess how your cat is going to react, aren't monitoring, and don't know how to deal with low numbers.

I initially got a bit frustrated with people telling me to choose one of SLGS or TR, because I wasn't doing either of them (and still am not), I was trying to do what seemed best to me between my discussions with my vet and what I was learning on the forum. Also, I'm not really aiming for tight regulation with Quintus right now. That will probably change, but now, I just want to get through the next few weeks with enough hours of the day under the 350s, and without the huge spikes in the blacks and the reds. And in all honestly, though I am a committed and devoted cat owner, the TR protocol scares me, because I am away so much. (If this had happened six months ago when I was still self-employed and working from my office two floors below home, I'd probably have dived in.) I didn't see how I could do SLGS as I definitely wasn't "starting low" and didn't want to "go slow". Last night I had I fruitful exchange with @Kris & Teasel which helped me figure out how to create a "bridge" from where I was to getting on board with SLGS (click on the link and read from there).

Wow, I wasn't intending to write so much. I hope this testimonial allows you to see a little clearer regarding the "TR or SLGS?" question.
 
Very helpful, Stephanie. One thing I would also add is another reason I see people choose SLGS is because they aren't able to test very often. SLGS asks that you test all preshots, minimum, and play catch up on the weekends with a weekly curve (I believe that's why you can't change the dose as quickly as TR, the assumption is you won't have enough info to do that until your weekend curve).
 
And it's quite possible the weekend curve might not yield great information of kitty is bouncing on the weekend.
Stephanie & Quintus said:
Regarding TR et an SLGS, here's some "newbie explanation", because it was hard for me to wrap my head around it last week, and I think I've finally understood. Here's my story.

Quintus and I started out on Lantus with the idea that we would rather easily find "the right dose" to keep him in the yellows and purples. Look at the preshot value, get a nadir here and there, adjust. Unfortunately (or fortunately) that's not how Lantus works. Lantus creates a kind of "stock" (the depot) of insulin under the skin. That means that when you give your cat a shot, most of the insulin is simply "stocked for later" and diffuses slowly (mainly over 12 hours but still significantly over the next 2-3 days or so). That means that when you do a dose change you can't really see how it's going to affect the BG until a few days after.

Also, what seems to happen is that after a dose change, particularly an increase, BG tends to go a bit all over the place ("New Dose Wonkiness" and "bouncing"). I'm not 100% satisfied I've understood the mechanisms for those, but after looking at lots of spreadsheets, it does indeed seem that this is commonly observed.

So, when you change a dose with Lantus, you should keep it going at least three days to see "what it's worth". And if it is a big dose change, it might throw things off more, because the depot is then way out of line with the dose you're injecting. Lowering or raising the dose by small increments gives you less wonkiness and yoyo effect.

So, TR and SLGS in all this?

If your goal is to get your cat "tightly regulated" (mainly greens and low blues) or in remission, we have two "recipes" to get there. One is TR, and it is a protocol that has been scientifically validated, and the other is SLGS, and it is a method that people here have been using with success, but might not have the degree of scientific cred that TR has. You'll probably have to read the stickies more than once to get a good picture of what they imply and how they differ, but what they have in common is that they offer "rules" for when to change a dose, how much to change it, and how to monitor. Some differences I've noted: TR requires the cat to be on low-carb wet food, whereas SLGS does not. TR allows you to adjust the dose every three days, whereas SLGS only allows for that once a week.

Another thing I hadn't understood initially is that this "tight regulation" both TR and SLGS aim for is beyond what most medical professionals would try to get to. Mainly, I think, because TR and SLGS require high commitment from pet owners and from a certain point of view it's better to have a not-so-well-regulated animal than having the owner put it down because they're daunted by the requirements of caring for it. And also because new science/knowledge in some specialised areas takes time to seep into the mainstream. People here routinely shoot on numbers that vets would not be comfortable recommending, because it's risky to do if you don't have a pile of prior knowledge to help you guess how your cat is going to react, aren't monitoring, and don't know how to deal with low numbers.

I initially got a bit frustrated with people telling me to choose one of SLGS or TR, because I wasn't doing either of them (and still am not), I was trying to do what seemed best to me between my discussions with my vet and what I was learning on the forum. Also, I'm not really aiming for tight regulation with Quintus right now. That will probably change, but now, I just want to get through the next few weeks with enough hours of the day under the 350s, and without the huge spikes in the blacks and the reds. And in all honestly, though I am a committed and devoted cat owner, the TR protocol scares me, because I am away so much. (If this had happened six months ago when I was still self-employed and working from my office two floors below home, I'd probably have dived in.) I didn't see how I could do SLGS as I definitely wasn't "starting low" and didn't want to "go slow". Last night I had I fruitful exchange with @Kris & Teasel which helped me figure out how to create a "bridge" from where I was to getting on board with SLGS (click on the link and read from there).

Wow, I wasn't intending to write so much. I hope this testimonial allows you to see a little clearer regarding the "TR or SLGS?" question.
Click to expand...
Excellent, Stephanie! :)
 
I can check amps and pmps and +10 on weekdays. I will be off after friday for 2 weeks but 5 of those are at the vets when I board him to go to Dallas to see my new grandbaby. I hope they follow my protocol with testing and shots. I want to do TR. I switched him to all wet when he was diagnosed.
when at the vets the first day of shots before food change, he was in the 300's and 400's. I think switching the food has done wonders.
 
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