Linus spreadsheet up to date - increase?

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Dragonfly229

Dragonfly229

Member Since 2012
I have finally found time to update the spreadsheet - have all the numbers in my book, but run out of time to get them in the computer. I have noticed a bit of a trend for Linus to have a couple of lower days (200's or better), followed by a few days back in the 300's. Overall, although his numbers aren't fantastic, I'm happy with the consistency and the fact that he hasn't been above 400 since he started Levemir, and has seen way more 200's than ever before.

I've been moving up .25u at a time, I know I should be doing this with more nadir data, but his pre-shots really aren't moving down dramatically, so I'm assuming the nadir isn't suddenly much lower either. I've only caught one BG under 100, ever. I'm thinking we need to increase from 2.75 to 3u. Agree?

We're trying with the schedule - and my husband won't test because he isn't fast at it, and Linus won't cooperate, and the meter shuts off before he can get the blood on the strip and . . . It is what it is, and we are doing our best. When the times get out of whack, we skip a shot and start again at a better time. I would rather do that than try to figure out how to reduce the dose and give too much too close together.

Thanks for the eyes and any input.
 
What about putting the blood drop on a fingernail? That is what I do with Sneakers each time.
Only when I have the drop do I take out the strip and insert it in the meter and I have the blood right at 'hand' to put into the meter.

Dosing... my dosing advice is normally for cats getting 10u or higher by nature of what Sneakers is so I won't be much help there, sorry. :roll:
 
Unfortunately, it's really hard to figure out his SS - like how many hours past the shot each spot check is - because of the format. Could you maybe put the "plus" hour (ie, +6) in the box as well as the BG# and actual time? That would help.

I do think you should try and get more spot checks to really make sure of the nadir since lev should be doses based more on the nadir then PSs. This will become more important as you get closer to the best dose.

Raising by .25u right now looks to be OK.

When I test, I get everything get up and put the strip partway into the meter, but not enough to activate it. Then I apply the rice sock to warm her ear for about 15-20 seconds. When I set that down, I push the strip all the way in and reach for the lancet (which I use freehand, not in a spring device, for more control). I poke, wait a beat and then "pulse" my finger on her ear below the poke site and a drop appears (hopefully!) and I then apply the strip. With Beau I needed to do two quick pokes just next to each other rather than one - he has thicker ears from being a feral. Also, I only use one brand of lancet and have found all others greatly lacking (and I have tried about 6 brands all the same gauge). I use BD Ultra-Fine II. Amazon sells them for a decent price.
 
Hi Sue -

Looks like Linus has traded in his booth at IHOP for a spot at the blue lagoon! Woo Hoo!!! It's nice when they finally get out of the reds, isn't it? Sorry you're still having to test around your schedule - sure would be nice if Alec or DH could successfully help with his testing, but I know how that's not an option. I think I told you about the day Grayson threw me a curve & I had to shoot late - knowing that I wouldn't be home to test/shoot the next day - and Kim came over and chased Grayson around the dining room for 1/2 hour to shoot him! Fortunately, while Grayson and I were with my family at Christmas, she was able to pill Moochie while no one else was able to get his meds down! Lotsa practise giving Kitty all her pills certainly helped.

The dose changes you've been doing look pretty good. With monster doses like Grayson, I usually increased between 10-20%. Freaked a few people out when we were giving really large increases, but yours look good.

I would be inclined to up it a little more... but only if you'll be around to keep an eye on him. It's tough to stay conservative, but I've had to do it too when I was putting in the really long days. And I don't think you have the luxury of taking him to work with you!

Hope everything else is going well in your world. We've gone from snow, sleet & ice a few days ago (Friday) to 70s yesterday & today. Go figure!!!

Take care - hugs to Linus!
Lu-Ann
 
Thanks everyone and hi Lu-Ann and Grayson! I know I need more mid-cycle data, the problem lately is that we just aren't around except at shot time, it seems. Sheila, I designed the spreadsheet so that if you zoom out, you can see how the shot times (colored font) and mid cycle tests (colored backgrounds) line out, especially between AM and PM. I'll try to add the + hours as well. This just seemed to make sense to me, because the other way, I would put the shot time in under AMPS, but I couldn't see my variations in shot times very easily.

Linus is happy and healthy, he's put on a lot of weight since his dx a year ago, his coat is shiny, and I think he's doing ok. I actually haven't had him back to the vet since last January.

Hi Grayson! I haven't talked to you or any of my friends in a while. After my friend Merlin went to the rainbow bridge, Mom went and rescued another aussie named Snickers. He follows me around and stares at me all the time. He tries to sneak up on me, but I'm onto him. I spend a lot of time up on the counter. I think he's trying to herd me. Everyone knows you can't herd cats! Other than that, things are pretty good. I stay in the house when it's cold out, and now Mom and I take the big nap all day. Keep in touch, Mom says you're doing real good!

yur frend,
Linus
 
OK - how do you zoom out? I looked for a way to do that last night and couldn't find it.

I was just thinking that with the shot times moving around having the + number would help to not have to go looking for the last shot.
 
Dragonfly229 said:
..., I would put the shot time in under AMPS, but I couldn't see my variations in shot times very easily.[/i]
Click to expand...

Sue -

The SSs are our primary tool, so it's most important that they work well for us. But from the standpoint of getting input from others checking it out, it's good to be uniform. I print mine out for Grayson's notebook, so the bright colors just do not work for me. Then I was doing the meter testing in January, so that makes it a little different too. But you may want to look at his SS anyways and see if something similar would work for you. I skip a line for my notes, instead of having to scroll to the far end - especially when there's more than one noteworthy thing in a day or cycle. I started that when I was trying to see the difference in food spikes on ProZinc. It allows me room to add the times of each shot, as I rarely test on the hour. Each decimal number is 6 minutes from his test time (yes, I'm a geek!). When I change doses, I generally use a slightly darker turquoise. The t-1 or c-.5 etc is food: FF turkey or chicken, and either full or half can. Now that I have a feeder, I usually put 1/2 can in each of the first two slots, and a "FF popsicle" in the next two. It's set to feed at +2, +4, +6 and +8. I'm home after work, and awake in the morning, so I get to see his numbers when they're potentially the lowest - his nadirs are generally after +8. I'm shooting at 10:00 am/pm for the most part - slipping home to do the morning shot since I live 5 blocks away. Timing seems to work well now, although I've had to tweak a little this past week, but I get to sleep [mostly] through the night! If I shoot a lower number, I'll get up overnight, but for the most part, if I'm shooting a 250 or more, I get a solid block of sleep! WOW!!!

My spreadsheet also has the conditional formatting (which I LOVE!!!), so as long as I only type in the number (or in the case of the dual meters, done with a decimal point), it color-codes for me! For those with decimals that ended in 0s, however, I had to manually color and put an ' in front so it would read as text. Since you've got your times in there, you probably have to manually colorize them. As I've gotten older, my eyes have totally gone south. So even reading the colored font on Linus' ss is difficult for me to see.

I also had tried TID dosing, which was absolutely crazy, when we were on ProZinc - it was probably late April/early May. I didn't start a new worksheet, and didn't tweek it, but colorized to show those preshots, which made it a little easier to follow. Seems like we tweak & tweak & tweak until we get it like we want it!

Glad to hear you got Linus a buddy to keep an eye on him - even if he resists being herded. :lol: My guys don't herd, although I've got enough kitties that they potentially could. They're just a little too much couch potato to "work" for a living! :lol: Today I put two little beds on the bench in front of the window (over the heat register). Although Grayson will share a blanket with Dom, he doesn't usually with Jack. So Jack takes one bed, and Grayson actually hops up in the other! They were laying butt to butt, and Grayson was "wicked-whip"-style wagging his tail, and smacking Jack with each wag! :o He's so subtle!

Linus is a thoughtful guy - letting you take your nap with him! Grayson has never been much of a bed sleeper. He likes the wood floors and the wooden chairs. Go figure! And you wouldn't recognize him today... he's almost 20 pounds again (he was 12 in CO)... with a little "swagger" in his walk. It's the Acro physique that apparently doesn't go away, even if he should go OTJ. Anyways, we're not there yet, so at this point, I'm just glad we're down from our highest dose!

Take care - scratches to Linus!
 
You can't tell a herding dog that you can't herd cats!

When I was in high school my family got a Border Collie. At that time my cat was about 8 or 9 and she was a total odd ball. When my parents went for a walk with the dog, she went with often trialing behind a bit (on those short legs) and the BC would run circles around them trying to keep everyone in a tight grouping. BTW, my father always had to carry my cat back on his shoulder because she got too tired. The BC was always trying to herd the cats, even inside the house.
 
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