Jack 10/4/11 still decreasing slowly

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Darlene & Jack

Darlene & Jack

Member Since 2011
So Jack has been doing great, staying mostly in the greens! I've been gradually shaving his dose down, but I'm not sure if I should just keep decreasing this slowly, and how much time I should wait between decreases. I was decreasing every 3 days, but then I reread some stickies and it said wait a week between decreasing doses. I hate to go down too quickly and mess things up! I would love to get him OTJ, but don't want to rush it if he's not ready.

Thanks...hope everyone has been well, especially Gandalf!
 
Darlene & Jack said:
So Jack has been doing great, staying mostly in the greens! I've been gradually shaving his dose down, but I'm not sure if I should just keep decreasing this slowly, and how much time I should wait between decreases. I was decreasing every 3 days, but then I reread some stickies and it said wait a week between decreasing doses. I hate to go down too quickly and mess things up! I would love to get him OTJ, but don't want to rush it if he's not ready.

Thanks...hope everyone has been well, especially Gandalf!
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Wow Darlene...I am impressed. Marching right down the dosing scale! :)

You look like you have everything under control. I see that you are still doing some split dosing now and then (thanks to Vicky's tutelage). :)

And I see where you might be concerned about stopping too soon. Since you have obviously read the Sticky about reducing the dose, I would still follow the protocol and if you get a number below 50 then reduce the dose once again. You are obviously getting close. :)

I think it helps to look at other people's OTJ spreadsheets too. Everyone has their own cut off point. Just for pointers, maybe look at PeterDevonMocha for a more recent spreadsheet for Mocha Jo Latte's OTJ trial after two plus years being diabetic:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key ... utput=html

Go Jack! :)
 
That is looking lovely! I would just wait for the next below 50 number, regardless of how many days its been. Sometimes you can lead the numbers down with decreases, but sometimes you have to wait until he is ready and gives you a lower number.

Right now he is getting great numbers - I wish I could get Jeddie's numbers to look like that regardless of the dose or if he ever goes OTJ. Getting them to stay in "normal" numbers all day is great and helps the pancreas heal and prevents other damage from too high numbers - plus, they probably feel much better at those numbers.

Good job!
 
Thanks ladies! I never thought I would see such a pretty spreadsheet from Jack, he tended to like the rainbow colors at first. I will hold this dose for now until we get a low again. Even though I'm not always posting I do come on and read some threads and check out some of the OTJ spreadsheets to see how others have handled it. But most I see have still had a variety of readings with lows mixed in. I tried checking the one you included in your post Pamela, but it wouldn't open.

Of course OTJ would be nice, but I'm happy to finally have him under control for now. He's been such a good boy!
 
Hi Darlene and Jack,

Wow, I'm green with envy as Jacks SS! Funny you should ask this question because Jessica and Boo Radley in LL asked the same thing.

Check out this thread: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=53610

Sienne and Gabby clarified that sticky language and provided an SS as an example. Instead of holding the dose reduction for seven days, what the sticky is really saying in that sentence is that if a cat stays in normal numbers on the same dose for seven days that is another way of earning a dose reduction.

Thanks for asking the question! I hope someday Harley makes sure I use this newfound knowledge.
 
Thanks for the info Laura...funny to have the same question posted at the same time! The link to Kathy & Kitty's ss is a great help. Most ss that I have looked at of kitties going OTJ have still had numbers in the pinks and yellows with lows in the greens. I haven't found any others all in the greens with pretty steady numbers like Jack's, so that is a great example for me to follow. It just takes that patience!
Thanks so much! And I hope Harley lets you try this soon too!
 
Darlene & Jack said:
Thanks for the info Laura...funny to have the same question posted at the same time! The link to Kathy & Kitty's ss is a great help. Most ss that I have looked at of kitties going OTJ have still had numbers in the pinks and yellows with lows in the greens. I haven't found any others all in the greens with pretty steady numbers like Jack's, so that is a great example for me to follow. It just takes that patience!
Thanks so much! And I hope Harley lets you try this soon too!
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Great link Laura to that answer to Kathy's question from Sienne. :)

Okay, I will try again to re-post that link that I tried earlier that has mostly all greens..:)

Mocha Jo Latte

But there have been many OTJ kitties over the years where the decision was just based on the owner's own intuition and their knowledge of their own cat. The 'formula', although a good one, isn't set in stone.

Even right now you might find that Jack can go without insulin and be just fine. I have seen it happen with cats who had numbers that were a lot higher than Jack's are now. They just seem to stabilize and then their pancreas/liver just takes over and they are fine. :)

Anyway, keep us posted. Go Jack! :)

Edited to add: Looking at your SS again, I think I would even go down in dose once again and see how he does. You can always raise the dose up slightly if he doesn't respond well. It is not like you are starting all over.

Those 50's can be meter variation so they could be lower and the blue numbers could mean a slight rebound. His liver is working overtime, so to speak, against the outside (exogenous) insulin, especially since you are shooting on such low non-diabetic numbers.
 
Thanks, Pamela. I read your post after I gave his shot this morning, but I will try another decrease with the PM shot. Maybe to .75? I never really stopped to think that maybe some the 100's were rebound too. The link for Mocha worked this time, I will study it a little more closely tonight when I have more time.
 
So I had planned to give .75 tonight for jack's PM shot, but when I checked him he was 53. Just 3 1/2 hours earlier he had been 111. So I had my dtr check him a half hour later as I had to run out, then I checked him 20 minutes later and he was 73. So considering the low of 53 at +12 and the discussion of decreasing earlier, I decided to try a fat .5 unit and see how he does. Maybe those 100's have been rebounds and he does need a lower dose now. Will be anxious to see how he does.
 
Darlene & Jack said:
So I had planned to give .75 tonight for jack's PM shot, but when I checked him he was 53. Just 3 1/2 hours earlier he had been 111. So I had my dtr check him a half hour later as I had to run out, then I checked him 20 minutes later and he was 73. So considering the low of 53 at +12 and the discussion of decreasing earlier, I decided to try a fat .5 unit and see how he does. Maybe those 100's have been rebounds and he does need a lower dose now. Will be anxious to see how he does.
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Me too, and I think it was a good decision! :) You know he just might be ready. Oh I hope so.....go Jack! :)
 
Great move Darlene, you are doing a great job! I'm watching and learning a lot. Go Jack! Do the limbo, think low, low, low...but not too low. :mrgreen:
 
Haha...the limbo under 100 would be nice! 109 at PMPS today, a little higher than he has been. (A few months ago I would never have imagined I'd be complaining about a 109 being too high!) But I will give him a little time to settle in with the new dose and see how he does. And keep my fingers crossed!

I'm just not sure what number would be a trigger to be "too high" that would make me need to increase again, if I had to. I'm figuring I don't want him going much higher than this?

Also...Laura, great job getting Molly OTJ, by the way!! She looks like such a sweetie!
 
OMG Sheila, it was like a zoo here!! My cats are so tame they don't even know what to do with a mouse. They bring them upstairs, unharmed, to play with them. This poor guy we finally found behind the TV cabinet, after an hour of them all being crazy (and us beans being crazy too). If he wasn't dead, he was nearly dead. He probably had a little heart attack from all the excitement!

And yes...so far so good on .4 un. I'm just trying my best to be patient and take it slow.
 
Come on Jack, keep giving momma the greens and keep going down down down on the dose....Musette would love to have a traveling companion to the Falls.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
We're working on it!!! Any advice from those experienced folks out there? I hated to see the 163 yesterday, but maybe that was kind of a fluke. He's still getting into 50's and 60's, so I still don't know if the 100's are rebound and he's working against the insulin.

Should I hold here for a few more days? Or go down another drop? Thanks!
 
I think the best course to take is to continue to decrease the dose slowly. You still have .3u, .2u .1u and maybe .05u.

The 163 could be an indication that he is ready for another decrease. You might wait and see if he hits near that number again before decreasing.
 
Thanks Sheila. I decided to go with the decrease to .3 this morning since he was at 71 AMPS. Paws crossed that Jack keeps up the good work!
 
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