Jaxa (Dosing advice, please)

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I haven't been totally unhappy with our numbers lately; it seems like we are generally trending in the right direction. My mother is going to try giving the shots and tests this weekend, though I will probably do some of the middle tests just to make sure we get some good +3/5 or +6/7 times too. It would help if I wasn't so exhausted all the time; I keep planning to do a second test after PMPS and then I fall asleep and it is so close to AMPS when I wake it doesn't seem worth chasing Jaxa around.

*AM: Not a bad number this morning. We bent the needle though- was going to give the shot and it felt funny so I lifted the needle and the first third of it had bent, not going into her skin because it was too thick there I guess. So I went and got a different needle set up and gave the shot in another location. I'm hoping I wasn't supposed to treat that as a furshot- I hadn't touched the plunger, there was no movement of insulin, the whole amount was still inside when I switched.
 
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Glassgoblin said:
I haven't been totally unhappy with our numbers lately; it seems like we are generally trending in the right direction. My mother is going to try giving the shots and tests this weekend, though I will probably do some of the middle tests just to make sure we get some good +3/5 or +6/7 times too. It would help if I wasn't so exhausted all the time; I keep planning to do a second test after PMPS and then I fall asleep and it is so close to AMPS when I wake it doesn't seem worth chasing Jaxa around.

*AM: Not a bad number this morning. We bent the needle though- was going to give the shot and it felt funny so I lifted the needle and the first third of it had bent, not going into her skin because it was too thick there I guess. So I went and got a different needle set up and gave the shot in another location. I'm hoping I wasn't supposed to treat that as a furshot- I hadn't touched the plunger, there was no movement of insulin, the whole amount was still inside when I switched.
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She'll be fine. It seems you have strong evidence that nothing went in. It'll be great to have your mom helping. She'll probably be nervous at first like we all were but keep telling her it gets easier. :)
 
We had such nice pretty blues last night, and she got a new scratch-pad to work out her aggression towards the dog (for stealing her grass outside).

One thing that I thought would change was how much she drinks, but I'm not really sure if she is drinking "excessively" since she is mostly drinking from one dish and doesn't seem to be peeing more than she did a year ago (when her bg tests were always normal at the vet). She was always obsessed with water- drinking, playing, putting toys in it.
 
Glassgoblin said:
We had such nice pretty blues last night, and she got a new scratch-pad to work out her aggression towards the dog (for stealing her grass outside).

One thing that I thought would change was how much she drinks, but I'm not really sure if she is drinking "excessively" since she is mostly drinking from one dish and doesn't seem to be peeing more than she did a year ago (when her bg tests were always normal at the vet). She was always obsessed with water- drinking, playing, putting toys in it.
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I wouldn't worry about drinking. Many people struggle to get enough water into their kitty. Try to get a couple of tests today between +4 and +8 if you can. You have a good collection of data for evenings but daytime numbers can be different in some kitties. :)
 
Weird +6 was exactly - exactly- the same as +3. She was having a traumatic test though with me trying to demonstrate to my mother, and the dog squealing and yapping- had to hold Jaxa down to get the test done because she gets freaked out when the dog barks. So not sure how helpful the test was.

+9 was lower; a little less stressed. I think my mother was more stressed than Jaxa. They get to do it again for the PMPS and then my mother gets to give her first shot. I'm having her prep the needle too- under my direction.
 
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Next time something like that happens you might want to pause on the test until things have settled down and the dog isn't barking. If Jaxa starts to associate testing with fear and being forced, it can make it much harder to do. Hopefully she'll forget what happened and be okay. Sounds like your mom is stressed enough without Jaxa being scared too! It's so great that she's learning to do this so you'll have someone to help out!
 
Djamila said:
Next time something like that happens you might want to pause on the test until things have settled down and the dog isn't barking. If Jaxa starts to associate testing with fear and being forced, it can make it much harder to do. Hopefully she'll forget what happened and be okay. Sounds like your mom is stressed enough without Jaxa being scared too! It's so great that she's learning to do this so you'll have someone to help out!
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We took her into her usual room for the +9 and PMPS and that was a little easier, though my mom thinks she needs to hold the cat down each time so she doesn't get away. She isn't as patient as I am; I usually go at Jaxa's pace and let her find a spot to lay down, and explained that and had her let the cat go a few times so Jaxa could find a spot and then we moved to where we could hold just her ear. I only did a +3 last night to let her ear rest a little more though.
 
Well, I'm home sick so I get an extra day of testing during a weekday. She has been getting some blues at the +3s, so I want to see her +6 today.

She has also been enjoying more outside time. Last night she got into the kiddie pool (for the dog) that had rain water in it and waded a bit with all four feet before getting out to wash her toes. She hasn't done anything like that in years.
 
So I did get a few extra tests in during the day, and while she got into the blues, it was a dramatic drop like we have had some evenings. I am not sure if that is a good sign that this dose is getting her there, or if we need to move to 4.75u. I am worried that we dropped really low into the dark greens a few times ten days ago. I worry about changing things when I am not home as much in the day, or when things are really busy at work (and I have to go out of town a few times for training).

Am I being too chicken? Should we move to 4.75 or stay the same and try to get more tests closer to nadir to see if she is hitting some higher greens?
 
It looks like you have enough data to justify the increase to 4.75u. You could set an alarm for tonight to just be certain that she isn't dropping during the PM cycle.

On the way to getting regulated, insulin needs can change quickly, so what happened ten days ago doesn't mean it will happen now (unfortunately).

I think we all understand being a little chicken about dose increases, especially when you have to go to work. It really does look like she's safe enough to handle it though. :bighug:
 
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