? Gibson Curve results

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Stefanie M

Stefanie M

Member Since 2020
Home testing has been a wee bit frustrating for Gibson and I but thank goodness for his Dad who comes in and takes charge where mom can't.

Does anyone know how fast the hind paw pads heal?
We both are not good with the ears but have been successful with his large pads in the back. Feel bad for my little guy. Regardless, this weeks glucose test was better than last week, I think but I'm no expert here. We still are not done but trending in the right direction, eh?Wish our Vet would reply to his results from last week. He continues to take a while to eat his food but never the less I'm very grateful to been added to this group and to have learned about the necessity of at home testing. **Alphatrak2 Glucose numbers included for any feedback**
 

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Stefanie M said:
Does anyone know how fast the hind paw pads heal?
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If you use a little Neosporin after poking, it'll help it heal faster. Of course you should rotate which paw you test each time too.

As I said on the FB group, one curve just won't give you the whole picture. Each time you give insulin, it can react differently. You need to test before every shot (to make sure it's safe to give insulin at all) and then test in between shots to see how low that dose is taking him.

We'll need some more information to be able to give you the best advice. Here's a post on How you can help us help you that explains more.

If you get to the spreadsheet part and it's too much, feel free to send me a private message. I'd be happy to set it up for you! Just click on my name and choose "start a conversation" to send me a message so I can get some information from you.
 
@Chris & China (GA) I just read Baxters story... wow. I feel like I could very well be heading down that path but certainly in a position to catch it and smarten up. History; Gibson was on 4 units of insulin for most of Q3 & Q4 of 2019, and his food at that time was RC Pea and Rabbit(a result of his IBD). In December of 2019 he went in for his check up and I was informed that his triglycerides were high and I should consider a homemade diet. After consulting with PetDiets.comthey gave me the new food he should be eating. Kangaroo protein, pumpkin, 1 drop sunflower oil and Balance IT supplements. He is not a fan of this food and the transition to it away from the kibble as been difficult. Since he started this diet in mid February to date he went from 16 lbs to 14lbs. He only eats 50% of what PetDiets recommended. With that I was scared that he would develop fatty liver disease, yet the vet did not tell me to adjust his insulin when I checked in 2 wks into his new diet. I continued to try to get him to eat all the food that was recommended but again he only eats about 50% thus the significant weight loss. On 3/18 he started to have a hypoglycemia episode at night which is why I joined this group the day that I did. I caught it as it was developing and quickly gave him honey and his favorite kibble as a topper to his new homemade wet diet. He ate it all and started to bounce back about 20 minutes later. The next day I called to schedule my vet appointment and the vet tech told me to drop 2 units based on his food consumption. On 3/21 I had all tests run on him, blood, liver check, the works to see if he showed signs of Fatty liver disease and according to her every thing was good, also no ketones in the urine. His weight that day was 13lbs. To try and help him eat more she said I could mix his kibble into his new diet (so its 80% wet and 20% kibble bits) and that has helped entice him to eat more.
Flash forward to today... I've started to work on the spreadsheet at will post soon but his recent glucose number is 191. Should I wait to shoot and give him 2 units?
 
Stefanie M said:
Should I wait to shoot and give him 2 units?
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Have you fed him yet? If not, don't...test again in 30 minutes to see if the number goes up without food. (if it's already been 30 minutes since his usual shot time, test now)

Do you have plenty of supplies? Strips, high carb food, Karo/honey/syrup and can you test as much as necessary tonight?
 
OK...next time, if you get a number you're not sure about shooting, it's best to stall, don't feed and retest in 20-30 minutes. As you gain more experience, you'll learn to shoot lower and lower numbers.

191 is a shootable number, but I'd get a +2. Since we don't have any data or experience with him, the +2 can sometimes act a little like a crystal ball and predict what's going to happen later in the cycle.

If the +2 is lower than the PS (Pre-Shot), that's your early warning that he might be going much lower later in the cycle and you should plan on getting another test in
 
Stefanie M said:
His weight that day was 13lbs.
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What is an ideal weight for him? 13lbs is a pretty good sized cat.

Stefanie M said:
To try and help him eat more she said I could mix his kibble into his new diet (so its 80% wet and 20% kibble bits) and that has helped entice him to eat more.
Click to expand...

Have you ever tried FortiFlora? It comes in little packets that contain the powder they spray on kibble to make it so irresistible to cats. When China was being picky, a little sprinkle was all it took to get her eating!

Another option is freeze dried treats like PureBites that you can crumble onto the food instead of using the high carb kibble.

One thing about using Lantus....it's not necessary that he eat a specific amount of food to have his insulin....the shot doesn't usually start to kick in for 2-3 hours, so as long as he's willing to eat, he can eat slowly if he prefers that.
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
OK...next time, if you get a number you're not sure about shooting, it's best to stall, don't feed and retest in 20-30 minutes. As you gain more experience, you'll learn to shoot lower and lower numbers.

191 is a shootable number, but I'd get a +2. Since we don't have any data or experience with him, the +2 can sometimes act a little like a crystal ball and predict what's going to happen later in the cycle.

If the +2 is lower than the PS (Pre-Shot), that's your early warning that he might be going much lower later in the cycle and you should plan on getting another test in
Click to expand...
it 10pm where I'm at and I'm now about 1 hour and half behind his normal shot schedule. I can shoot him but should I do 1 unit? Instead of 2? I have to be up super early so can't really check him at midnight. Or should I skip?
 
Since you would have to adjust his shot time tomorrow morning too, if you can't shoot at 10am tomorrow, it's best to just skip tonight

When you feel like doing some reading, the Sticky's at the top of the Lantus forum have a lot of information
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
What is an ideal weight for him? 13lbs is a pretty good sized cat.



Have you ever tried FortiFlora? It comes in little packets that contain the powder they spray on kibble to make it so irresistible to cats. When China was being picky, a little sprinkle was all it took to get her eating!

Another option is freeze dried treats like PureBites that you can crumble onto the food instead of using the high carb kibble.

One thing about using Lantus....it's not necessary that he eat a specific amount of food to have his insulin....the shot doesn't usually start to kick in for 2-3 hours, so as long as he's willing to eat, he can eat slowly if he prefers that.
Click to expand...

Oh he loves fortiflora but he still grazes at this food, regardless. He does always eat after his shot... mostly finishes it. Gib is a small bodied cat, small frame, small head, small paws so to me his normal weight would be like his bonded brother who is 9 to 10lbs. He was obese at 16lbs and he prednisolone is what tipped into a diabetic. Also he was on budesonide but it had not effect on him and he continued to vomit.
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
Since you would have to adjust his shot time tomorrow morning too, if you can't shoot at 10am tomorrow, it's best to just skip tonight

When you feel like doing some reading, the Sticky's at the top of the Lantus forum have a lot of information
Click to expand...
I can't image what time it is for you but from the bottom of my heart and his, thank you for taking the time to help me understand this better.

For tomorrow...I draw before his breakfast? Before the AM shot and then keep going from there?
 
Stefanie M said:
For tomorrow...I draw before his breakfast? Before the AM shot and then keep going from there?
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You always test first....if he's high enough for insulin, feed and shoot. Most of us Test/Feed/Shoot all in about 5-10 minutes.

You Test (to make sure he's high enough for insulin at all), Feed (to make sure he's at least willing to eat) and shoot.

I used to shoot while China's head was in the bowl.

Stefanie M said:
I can't image what time it is for you but from the bottom of my heart and his, thank you for taking the time to help me understand this better.
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It's only 12:30 here....I'm usually a night owl ….but there are people from all over the world here, so there's almost always somebody online to help you.
 
@Chris & China (GA) Just wanted to say thank you again for the information. I've added Gib's chart to my signature and will do my best to keep it as up to date as I can. It doesn't seem right that the same numbers showed up at 2 different times. Have you experienced this before?
 
Stefanie M said:
It doesn't seem right that the same numbers showed up at 2 different times. Have you experienced this before?
Click to expand...

What do you mean?

You need to put other information into your Signature too....don't remember if it was there before but it's not there now. Info like:
Your name/Cat's name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems or meds?

Having this stuff in your Signature means we don't have to keep asking the same questions.
 
Yeah, that can happen....I had days when China started out with something like 83 and every time I tested her, I got another 83....makes you wonder if the meter got stuck or something....LOL
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
Yeah, that can happen....I had days when China started out with something like 83 and every time I tested her, I got another 83....makes you wonder if the meter got stuck or something....LOL
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That is such a relief, I thought maybe his poor hind paw pads had given up on me. Thats why I finally resulted to trying the ear again and was so excited when it worked LOL
 
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