Luna update, sunday

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fredrika

fredrika

Member Since 2011
Hi All

i understand i'm sticking with a dose through several cycles for more data to see if the dosage is right but what i'm wondering is, doesn't the food have to be given in consistent amounts/times in order to see what the insulin is doing? should i be feeding measured amounts at specific times and stick with that through the few cycles?

my other question: ear pricks are going quite well quicker than i though at least for the first prick. if a second is needed, not too bad. which is good. question is though, she has long hair on the entire top half of both ears, so i feel confined to always prick in the same places. i try to vary within that as much as i can.

attempts to go into the hairy zone results in not a blood bubble but more like a puddle as it sticks to the hairs and gets pulled down.

if it's ok to prick on the inside of the ear, what is the least awkward way to do that for both of us, physically? it seems like she will be more freaked out as it is a more vulnerable area.

thanks!!!!
 
Hi Jen,
It does help to keep her feeding consistent. But that is sometimes up to kitty too. She might not be hungry when you want her to be. She's a cat! They do what they want. :smile: Most people try to feed the "bigger meals" at shot time. Some people leave wet out so they can eat when they choose. Her appetite isn't going to be "scheduled" so it can be difficult to plan her meal times. In general, more small meals a day would spread the "food boost" from eating more evenly. At first, she's probably going to want to eat more often and more volume, than you would think or prefer. You can't starve her, but you don't want to overfeed either. If she's at or near her "ideal" weight, that is where you want to try to keep her. Don't get to carried away with trying to measure out exact quantities. Ballpark numbers like 1/4 can, 1/2 can etc. are close enough.

Great question on the inside of the ear pokes. I can't answer though....Bob has short hair and bled pretty well, and I didn't have to use alternate methods to test. A lot of people with kitties that have black hair end up finding it easier to use the inside surface. I'm hoping one of them sees this question.

If you don't get feedback on it, post another thread like "Blood test using inside of ear" and that will catch the right eyes.

Carl
 
haha, she eats anytime!!!!

so as long as what is fed is fairly consistent and is documented then it shouldn't interfere with reading the numbers?

thanks!
 
Here's another one for ya....

pmps at 5pm was 350

at 7pm BG reading on the new contour usb was nill 3 times. it said not enough blood the first time, which was WAY not the case, then i put in a new strip and it said to please remove the used strip and insert a new one, by then i was running out of blood supply and went with the regular contour. her reading on that was 264

i understand machines have a variance and you're supposed to stick with the same machine. this would have been great to remember as my blood drop was diminishing.

should i leave the number off the chart? i plan to test again in a bit as the number is low for post feeding.

ps: tested all three meters i have again on my husband!

the regular contour was 112
new usb was 101
old usb was 110

but the blood test on the cat in a testing yesterday with the new usb and the old usb weren't nearly as close in readings. am i just looking for ways to confuse myself????

basically all this to say leave it on the spreadsheet or no? and how accurate can it be. i feel like the .25 shot was a good one and she ate 1/2 can of food.

thanks!
 
Hi Jen,

Just peaking at your SS, the 264 that states different meter, was it at +2 tonight or earlier? Just curious.

Luna is doing well, the curve is nice and gentle and that's great. Can you get a spot check in tomorrow? I know you'll be at work so you'll have AM and PM numbers but wondering if you could get a check either before or after her PM dose. I'm wondering if after tomorrow her numbers are staying like this it might be time to nudge the dose up a bit.

Not more than a 1/2 Unit per dose, but let's see how she's doing. She's settling in now, so the less stress is good, but is she being introduced to the resident kitties? I think it would be great if you can do that because it would help us to know how she is with other cats, but that stress is going to be a factor going forward. But, I think you're so good with Luna you will know if she's too stressed at any time anyway so this might not really be much of a worry.

So a couple more spot checks so we know how she's doing and then may be dose increase if her numbers stay like this. Sound good?

As for the furry ear, Tucker used to have lots of fur, sometimes the bead of blood stays right on top, other times I simply let it fall onto my fingernail and I tested that. Guess that depends on your grossness factor :) I usually test the area lower on the ear, right above the triangle flap. I did test Misty occasionally inner ear in the beginning because I could not get her ear to bleed but the veins are very tiny inner ear and it's hard to do. With Luna's black ears could be even harder. I don't vary my test spot much, just a hair up and down during the day, a little in and little bit out, but usually around the same spot. Once it got trained to bleed it was pretty easy.

I feed my own cats 4X per day because of work and my schedule. I don't vary it much, last meal before shot time is about 1.5 - 2 hours earlier but then my kitties eat. At night I feed extra and leave it down so they can eat and let me sleep until the alarm goes off. I got tired of being woken up an hour before the alarm, so that just works for us.

----------------

Okay, just saw you posted before me so I can add to this. The meters by federal guidelines can run with a 20% variance up or down, the 350 you could be 70 point lower. The 264 could be 50 or so point higher so these numbers could be very similar. I know that's not a good answer. Years ago I once tested Tucker's blood with the same meter, the same drop of blood, two different strips, I had a large droplet. I remember the number was very different and I was concerned, but my vet reminded me there's going to be a difference even with the exact same drop of blood. Try to relax and not worry about the numbers as much. Worry if you see a low number of course, but in these higher numbers we're looking for the trend. We want to see her into lower numbers at preshot and nice numbers at midday and such. 264 or 350, still not where we want to be, so let's see how she does tomorrow and then we can look at whether a dose increase may be needed.
 
Hi Jen.
Trust that 264. Like Jen said, the meters can vary by up to 20%. That doesn't give you a warm fuzzy feeling, I know. But that's what we all have to work with. It's okay, it isn't just the number itself, but the patterns that will appear the more data you get and the more days that go by.

Great news though....
ps: tested all three meters i have again on my husband!
the regular contour was 112
new usb was 101
old usb was 110
Click to expand...
He doesn't need any insulin!
Those three numbers are vitually the same. So all the meters seem to be working correctly. Not sure what was up with the "nil" and the "insert new strip" errors. I'm guessing the strips, rather than the meters, were the problem.


Carl
 
yes, the number was from +2 after her pmps + dinner.

k will look for overall trends and not get too caught up in one number as long as it's not getting too low.

thanks!
 
oops, and yes, i have started some integration. very small steps, very mellow, only once face to face for a few minutes with her in the cage. going slow cause the last thing i want is a blowout and to start over. about 50% of my worry would be gone if she could hang out with us and not sit next to the door looking sad. :(

she's getting more comfortable walking around the house on her own when i put the boys on the back porch.

we'll get there!

:)

thanks!
 
Luna is a very lucky lady. I'll be posting her video on DCIN, just need to catch up on some stuff first, mainly my rest, these allergies are killing me :) I love the photos too, I posted one on FB but will post more.

You're doing great and you have a fantastic husband.
 
fredrika said:
... what i'm wondering is, doesn't the food have to be given in consistent amounts/times in order to see what the insulin is doing? should i be feeding measured amounts at specific times and stick with that through the few cycles?
Click to expand...

The short version is that yes, consistency helps ... but this is a cat - just because you put it down consistently doesn't mean it will always be eaten consistently in the same pattern by the cat!

The longer version: Food effects on glucose will, alas, depend on the cat ... and "Each cat is different" may come into play. For example, Spitzer will raise 200 points in 1 hour or less, as I discovered when I didn't get around to shooting until an hour after I'd tested him. It was low carb food, but for him it might've been rocket fuel.

There are some who will use a timed feeder to dole out food in modest amounts throughout the first part of the day or dole it out themselves if they are at home. That can work really well for a kitty who would otherwise binge and possibly purge shortly afterwards, as well as for those who tend to get high food spikes easily. (I've got 11 free roaming cats indoors, so any feeder would be destroyed fairly quickly if I did that. *sigh*)

Something you may not know - cats can and do break down both protein and fats into carbohydrates if they need them. Of the 2, fats are more calorie dense at an estimated 8.5 calories per gram compared to protein at an estimated 3.5 calories per gram. You might experiment with a higher protein, lower fat food to see if that helps with the food spikes; Evo is pretty rich with many of the low carb foods being high fat (60% calories from fat or more). Some kitties may vomit on very high fat levels like that; its why I'm not feeding it (civvie Moppet hurls every time!)
 
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