Is this the right thing to do?

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Grady'smom

Member Since 2014
Good Morning:

My Grady has certainly been keeping me on my toes lately with his BG's. Currently he is on one unit of Lantus twice daily (if his pre shot BG is above 200). I am absolutely not liking the bouncing I see on his sheet.....it has to stop. So, with that in mind, I want to make sure I'm about to do the right thing. Instead of the 1 unit that, depending on his BG, he gets once or twice, I want to try 0.5 units twice daily. I'm hoping it will even out the bouncing. Last nights PMPS = 343. Gave him a skinny 1 unit. This morning AMPS = 93 so I didn't give him anything.

Advice, suggestions, opinions are always welcomed!

Thanks,
Linda and Grady
 
Looking at his spreadsheet and all the times you have skipped because of him giving you a number that is too low to shoot I would recommend dropping him back to .5 twice a day and see if he doesn't give you better numbers. Although he hasn't gone low enough to technically earn a reduction in dose yet, you just don't have enough data collected at this point to support you shooting low to stay low.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Thank you Mel....I was hoping you would see this!

I will see what he is tonight and start the 0.5 units twice daily.
 
Last night and today's numbers are high....does it look like he's bouncing from the 93 I got yesterday morning?

I gave him 0.5 last night and again this morning. I'm trying to remember all the things I've read....I need to give this dose for 3 - 5 days to assess its effectiveness, right? I'm planning to try to curve him again on Saturday as I will be home all day. We see his vet on Monday.
 
Well to fully answer the first question...Yes he is bouncing but that is only part of it. He is also high because of the skipped shot when you got that 93. With a depot insulin every time you skip a shot complete part of that depot is used up and then when you give insulin again, most of it goes to the depot and very little to the cat. So effectively it's like starting over at ground zero again. This is especially true with Lantus because of the way it forms it's depot, by forming tiny crystals under the skin, that require a certain amount of time to dissolve. What you might want to do when you get a lower than normal reading at preshot is instead of skipping completely is to either stall for 30 minutes without feeding and retest to see if he is 1)rising (never give Lantus on a still falling number) and 2) if he is now closer to a shootable number. If that fails and he is rising but still not high enough to shoot a full dose, then give what we call a Big Chicken **** shot, where you give a reduced dose which is 50%-75% of the current dose.

Now a bounce is going to take him about 3 days to completely clear as well as that will be the period of time that it is going to take for his depot to refill and adjust to the lower dosage. So yes, hold it until this weekend, run a curve and we will see what that tells us. :-D

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Thanks Mel for the great advice Mel.... I was a wreck but I feel so much better now!

Your "chicken **** shot" as you called it.... makes so much sense. As you mentioned to me in this thread, I dont' have enough data yet for the shoot low to stay low aprroach but I plan to work on that. With my work schedule, I manage to get in pre shots and, when his gramma checks in on him during the day, she's been great about getting some mid range BG's when she can. Weekends I can get in some more tests so that's what we will do. My boy isn't' going to like me but....I"ll just have to suck it up. LOL

Have a great day Mel, I appreciate your help!!
 
Just keep the treats rolling out with every test and pretty soon you'll have a boy begging to be tested..How do I know? Because I have 3 such terrorist here...lol Maxwell has been OTJ now for almost 4 years and to this day he hears the meter bag unzip and me shake the treats' can for Autumn and he comes running right along with Cassanova, and 2-3 civies.

You are giving him treats for testing right? If not I highly suggest it especially for curves. What I use here because it's a fan favorite is just plain boiled chicken breasts. Or if there is a sale on turkeys I will pick up a couple to have in the freezer then chop one up, boil up the pieces parts and debone and chunk the meat into bite sizes pieces and refreeze. This is also handy when cooking for the humans and needing precooked chicken or turkey, just take out of freezer and thaw. Plus the water you boiled the chicken in can be reduced down with spices added and frozen for an endless supply of chicken broth. :-D Sugarcats are expensive so cut corners wherever possible..lol

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Yes Mel, Grady gets treats with every test. Right now the favorite is just what you use....with a slight difference. Grady doesn't have many teeth left so I take boiled chicken , grind it up, and give him a scant teaspoon (and lots of cuddles) after his testing. He's getting better with it I think because I am getting better....we had a few really difficult times in the beginning.
 
Grady'smom said:
He's getting better with it I think because I am getting better....
Click to expand...

Same here. Even after a few months of testing, on days when I'm struggling Saoirse picks up on it and gets a bit squirmy and cantankerous during tests. On days when I'm more positive about the testing, she relaxes and gets all purry (anticipating the imminent arrival of her Snackie! :-D )
 
so true. as long as i sing and dance Tibbs does great for testing ( and of course give him his freeze dried chicken snack)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top