Josie 4/6 - 4/8

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Holly and Josie

Holly and Josie

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OK, this was in my other thread but yesterday's PMPS was 362!!! She was at 189 at +10 and then at +11 she jumped to +362. I fed and shot a skinny .5.

+3 - 303
+5 - 189 - fed a small snack
+7 - 117
+12 - 127 - fed a small snack
+14 - 149
+15.5 - 154 - fed a snack again
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

I could shoot a reduced dose now and maybe I should. But I don't know. Reduced doses are so hit and miss with her. I feel like waiting until she rises until 200 and giving her closer so a full dose is more of a sure thing. But maybe that's the wrong decision? I just don't know.
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Definitely safer to hold off til 200. Also depends on how much you'll be around today. I tend to err on the side of caution. In her case, I'd be inclined to wait. Follow your instincts - they've done you well so far!
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Grayson & Lu said:
Definitely safer to hold off til 200. Also depends on how much you'll be around today. I tend to err on the side of caution. In her case, I'd be inclined to wait. Follow your instincts - they've done you well so far!
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I think you're right. I think they say it's OK to shoot at 150 if they number is rising, but hers wasn't rising. Plus at 200 I can give closer to a full dose, which usually works better than a reduced dose.

+17 -145
+18.5 -133 - fed a small snack
+19.5 - 147
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

If you feed her and she rises give her full dose, because she doesn't respond to less. If she is higher, I would give her a little more and try to get her a little lower, .06u
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Josie hung out around 150 until about +23, when she tested at 170. I waited a half an hour, tested again and she was at 196. So I shot a skinny .5. Since her number wasn't high like last night, I decided not to increase the dose. I fed her a bit less with the shot, though.
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Good call, and a great run for Josie!

Carl
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Another great day, and sorry I wasn't more detailed earlier, still on phone cause PC crashed. Only thinking of an increase for something close to 300, which she may not get to again!

Are you seeing any improvements in activity level or water intake/output? I'm thinking she should start acting like she's feeling really good soon.
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Holly and Josie said:
Josie hung out around 150 until about +23, when she tested at 170. I waited a half an hour, tested again and she was at 196. So I shot a skinny .5. Since her number wasn't high like last night, I decided not to increase the dose. I fed her a bit less with the shot, though.
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Good catch! You've heard so many people say they tried to catch the ever-elusive 200... but it always seems to get away from them. You nailed it!

When Grayson was marathoning, we cut the dose...at least 25 or 50%. I wonder (just thinking on screen)... if you halved the dose, if you could cut the duration to 12 hrs... Then continue to ween down... Have you toyed with that?
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Catannc said:
Another great day, and sorry I wasn't more detailed earlier, still on phone cause PC crashed. Only thinking of an increase for something close to 300, which she may not get to again!

Are you seeing any improvements in activity level or water intake/output? I'm thinking she should start acting like she's feeling really good soon.
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Oh, no big deal! You've been awesome help to me and I really appreciate it. You can't be here all the time!

Oh, yeah, I figured that's what you meant. And I think I will increase a bit next time she's in the 300's. Which will most likely be tomorrow morning.

As far as improvements, most of those happened awhile ago. She started drinking less almost immediately when we started on insulin and wetting less, too. Activity level is kind of hit or miss. She is 11 and has always been quite sedentary, so not much has changed with that! I will say that in the past few weeks I have noticed some of her old Josie habits have come back. Things like jumping on our bed to greet us in the morning, etc. Those stopped for awhile and I missed them SO much. But she has started seeming more like herself lately, which has made me so happy.
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Grayson & Lu said:
Holly and Josie said:
Josie hung out around 150 until about +23, when she tested at 170. I waited a half an hour, tested again and she was at 196. So I shot a skinny .5. Since her number wasn't high like last night, I decided not to increase the dose. I fed her a bit less with the shot, though.
Click to expand...

Good catch! You've heard so many people say they tried to catch the ever-elusive 200... but it always seems to get away from them. You nailed it!

When Grayson was marathoning, we cut the dose...at least 25 or 50%. I wonder (just thinking on screen)... if you halved the dose, if you could cut the duration to 12 hrs... Then continue to ween down... Have you toyed with that?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I tend to test quite a bit (Which I was told by my MOTHER tonight -- she's mother, not mom at the moment-- is abusive. Gee, thanks mom.) so I was able to catch that jump. It can be elusive though!

Unfortunately, cutting the dose doesn't seem to work for Josie. She generally doesn't respond to anything less than a skinny .5. We've tried, hoping to get back to a regular twice daily schedule. It shortens the cycles, but she stays higher and flat. But when we increase the dose, she goes long. Brainstorming on this board as lead to the assumption that most of Josie's good numbers are the result of her own pancreas rather than the insulin itself, but that it takes a certain amount of insulin to get her pancreas to work. So we dose her at a skinny .5 and if we're lucky, she runs with that for up to 24 hours. Not conventional but at this point, I don't have a better solution. (Although I wish I did!)
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Tonight's not going well.

PMPS - 196, gave a skinny .5
+3 - 324
+5 - 323

For once I am out of ideas as to why these numbers are happening. Caught the jump quickly, gave what should have been enough insulin, didn't overfeed, etc. I can't explain it, but I think I am giving her a break from testing tonight. Partly because of the comment from my mom. OK, mostly because of the comment from my mom. But since I don't have any too low worries, I think it'll be a good night to give her a break.
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

I think you & have the same problem...trying to figure out why all a sudden higher numbers.

Sometimes we just need a break. It doesn't matter if someone makes a comment directed towards testing or not. I know sometimes I feel like oh Baxters ears...I just can't do it today. @-)

I hope the her numbers come back down. ;-)

I know I always tell you this...her face is the cutest ever! Do you have a album in the gallery? I want to see more pictures of her.
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Jenn & Baxter said:
I think you & have the same problem...trying to figure out why all a sudden higher numbers.

Sometimes we just need a break. It doesn't matter if someone makes a comment directed towards testing or not. I know sometimes I feel like oh Baxters ears...I just can't do it today. @-)

I hope the her numbers come back down. ;-)

I know I always tell you this...her face is the cutest ever! Do you have a album in the gallery? I want to see more pictures of her.
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I know! What was going on with Baxter and Josie yesterday?

Yeah, I always feel bad about Josie's ears. I know I test a LOT, but she can be unpredictable so I sort of feel like I have to in order to keep her safe. I'm glad I gave her a break yesterday, though. She wasn't in danger of going to low and even if she was too high, there wasn't much I could do about it anyway.

Aw, thanks. I think so too! No... no album. I didn't even know that there was a gallery! I'll have to check that out. I would love to share more pictures! Do you have an album? Baxter is so pretty. I love his eyes!
 
Re: Josie 4/6 & 4/7

Well, if this isn't a weird cycle...

I didn't test again until +10. I got my times mixed up and thought it was +11 and was planning to be and shoot 30 minutes early if she was still in the 300's. I tested and she was at 197! Yay! But weird. The insulin should be wearing off and now Mr. P is kicking in? She was hungry, so I gave her a snack.

I mean to test her an hour later, but I overslept and it was 3 hours later! She went down again. +13 was 147. She was extremely hungry so I fed her again. This was more than a snack. Actually, it was about what I fed her with her shot last night.

Tested 2 hours later, 137 at +15.

OK, so I'm beginning to wonder about the point of the insulin? I was thinking that it stimulates her pancreas, but does it? Would she have these cycles on her own without insulin? I mean, the insulin should have been wearing off by the time Mr. P kicked in. The insulin did NOTHING this cycle, in terms of lowering her numbers. Yesterday it did, but she is basically in the exact same place as she was yesterday at +15. I'm just beginning to wonder if I'm stressing myself out, stressing her out, giving shots, etc. and it's not really doing anything anyway. I realized these numbers are hardly OTJ material, but at the same time, if the insulin isn't doing anything.... why give it?

A recap...

AMPS - 196, gave skinny .5, fed
+3 - 324
+5 - 323
+6 - fed a snack somewhere around here, but didn't test
+10 - 196, fed snack
+13 - 147, fed small meal
+15 - 137
 
It appears that Mr. P is in the house, but I surely wouldn't recognize him! You kinda had an inverted curve, but then I've also seen Grayson drop after eating a full can at +9 or +10; then drop by +12. Seems sometimes the food really helps wake up Mr. P? Great numbers, no matter which order they come in!
 
I've been following along but havn't had much to say because you guys are doing so great.

Could you update your ss? You said that anything under .5u didn't do anything but looking at the .25u you shot about a week ago you did see some action on that.
 
I really don't think it is the insulin, and I don't think she is in any danger if you want to test less. I do think if you get a day where she is 200 and you can feed and shoot that if you can shoot heavy and get her green things will start moving. I think that .25 day was her own doing.
 
Hey guys, thanks for your replies. I've been away from my computer most of the day, but some interesting things have been happening with Josie.

+17 - 102
+19 - 96 - fed a snack

I am astonished that she saw GREEN (if only a little bit) on her own! Very pleased. I tested her at +22.5 and she was at 140, so it looks like she is rising again. Not sure if this will be a 24 hour cycle or possibly longer. I will be testing again soon (at +23.5).

I really need to update my spreadsheet. Hopefully tonight!
 
Grayson & Lu said:
It appears that Mr. P is in the house, but I surely wouldn't recognize him! You kinda had an inverted curve, but then I've also seen Grayson drop after eating a full can at +9 or +10; then drop by +12. Seems sometimes the food really helps wake up Mr. P? Great numbers, no matter which order they come in!
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Yep, it was super weird. My guess is that the insulin did nothing and left her flat, and that Mr. P helped her with the good numbers. Hey, maybe Grayson saw Mr. P when he dropped later. I know his numbers tend to be higher and that might make you think that Mr. P doesn't show up, but maybe he does sometimes? Might just be a bit harder to tell with him?
 
Rob & Harley (GA) said:
I've been following along but havn't had much to say because you guys are doing so great.

Could you update your ss? You said that anything under .5u didn't do anything but looking at the .25u you shot about a week ago you did see some action on that.
Click to expand...

I am going to try to update it tonight. I have no idea how I constantly fall so far behind on it. Yup, you're right, one week ago we did shoot .25 and she did have a good cycle. That is the one and only time. Not sure why it worked that time, but most of the time it doesn't.
 
Catannc said:
I really don't think it is the insulin, and I don't think she is in any danger if you want to test less. I do think if you get a day where she is 200 and you can feed and shoot that if you can shoot heavy and get her green things will start moving. I think that .25 day was her own doing.
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Yeah, right now I feel like I'm testing constantly, but that's mostly because I am trying to figure out when I can shoot!

Do you pretty much think that unless I start seeing greens the way I'm seeing blues, that's the only way she'll go into remission? It seems like that's how it works for other people. I like green, it just scares me when it see it before +5. After that, I'm good. I think that leads me to go easier on the insulin. But if my goal is to get her OTJ, then I need to find a way to get over that fear.
 
I just tested at +23.5 and she's at 139, so holding steady. I just gave her a snack, though, because she was obviously hungry, so that number may change. I won't be testing for at least another hour, though, so it looks like it will be at least a 25 hour cycle. That's the longest so far.
 
Good job today, Josie! Glad she got some greens, hope it will continue. Looks like 24 hour+ cycles are becoming the new normal at your place, least it kinda lets you keep a schedule. Don't feel too bad about the tests, you're right that you have to do it right now to know when you can shoot. Have you switched to ultra-fine lancets yet ? I think they're 31gauge, they are MUCH smaller and at this point they should produce enough blood for you. When I switched Kitten no longer even flinched when I tested, she actually started purring through the tests cause she loves getting her ears rubbed!

As for the getting of the greens: no, I do not think the ONLY way she will see greens and go OTJ is to give more insulin. Chewy is still working his way down into the greens, and I think that is common. I do think that giving a push makes things go a hell a lot more quickly, but that has to be something you are comfortable with. I was as cautious as I could be with insulin, didn't have much to work with on her doses since they were so tiny. But I got so tired of being tired and worried all the time that one morning i gave her a fat 0.2u, she was getting 0.01 or 0.05 depending on ps. That shot pushed her over the edge, I do believe we would have gone OTJ either way, I just think it made it all happen much quicker.
 
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