Melville 1/13 AMPS 420

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ericbakes

ericbakes

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After last night's misadventures (in which the kitties successfully joined forces in a conspiracy to raid the pantry, and in which they made off with unknown quantities of kibble), this morning's high AMPS was expected:

-2.5: 390
-1: 420 (fed 20g)
+0: 1.75 units
+1: fed 20g
+5: 265

Now *that's* more like it: into pink with a few hours of insulin left over. Looking forward to seeing what happens this afternoon. I hope I can get two good cycles out of him at 1.75 before going to the vet tomorrow.
 
Definitely better numbers. Hope he gives you a good nadir, and good luck at the vet tomorrow!
 
I have to laugh at the conspiracy....it's AMAZING what they'll do for carbs! Such outlaws!
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fingers and paws crossed for good numbers and good luck with the vet ;-) cat_pet_icon dancing_cat

Jessica I just love thoughs picutures you post :lol:
 
Woo hoo! My wife just reported 204 at +9.5! Not sure if he's rising or falling... knowing Melville, though, he'll keep going down for another hour or two. Per Carl's advice on my previous thread, I'm going to hold off feeding him until I see his numbers going up. That is, unless he breaks into the pantry again....
 
Hi Eric, *waves*
It's been a few days...looking to see you have an update or any insight into Melville's #'s?
 
Thanks for checking in! I'm not sure how to process the information I'm getting. From the vet's visit:

1) The vet recommended that I buy a glucose monitor designed for pets. I agree with this, as everything I have read online suggests that human monitors consistently under-report large numbers. Melville registered a 550 in the vet's office, but only 400 or so at home. On the other hand, anything above 300 is a problem, so to me, 400 and 500 are basically the same. I probably will not get the monitor she recommended, though. Since I'm tracking trends, I think a human monitor, even with all its flaws, should be sufficient. I just need to mentally adjust the big numbers up so that I don't get a false sense of confidence.

2) The vet took a look at Melville's data, and seemed supportive of what I have been doing. However, we both agreed that, without accurate numbers, it's difficult to adjust dosage on-the-fly. That being said, she wanted to see me treat Melville a bit more aggressively.

3) She recommended bringing Melville back up to 2 units, especially in light of the 550. I have done that, but still haven't gotten anywhere near green since doing so. I'm going to keep 2 for a few more cycles, perhaps slightly increasing each dose to see if I hit a good spot. If his numbers don't drop significantly soon, I may ask the vet about dropping him back down to 1.25, which previously yielded Melville's most consistent numbers.

I need to process this a bit more and I'll report back in a few days!
 
Hi Eric :smile: does Melville get stressed by the vet ?? if so this will affect his numbers hence the 550 vet reading and your 400 at home !
 
Thanks for the update. It does appear that Melville responded better around 1.25U.
Have you gotten the U100's? I think if you have not then you should really look into obtaining some as you will be able to dose with more accuracy. It is so hard to eyeball the dose on a U40.

I look forward to the next update.
 
I'm wondering if 2u is too much insulin. Sometimes too much can cause high numbers too. He did s#em to have better cycles at 1.25u. Unfortunately it's hard to tell without playing with the dose-it's a bit of a guessing game.
 
He did very well today with something around 2.2. I gave him approximately the same dose tonight, so I'm looking forward to seeing +7.
 
Looking at your SS, Melville has such a strange cycle. Looks like his nadir during the AM cycles runs really late. +8 usually..? Yesterday his nadir was at +10. But then in the evenings there is not really a discernable curve. Wondering if the vet gave you any insight into that...
 
Please keep in mind that the kitties need time to settle into a dose
It is always good to hold for a few days before raising
You might skip over the perfect dose if you go to fast...
 
Lisa, I've found myself baffled by his curve as well. The only thing I can think of is that we tend to feed him small meals throughout the evening since we are up and about. Since your last post, I updated his spreadsheet with feedings in the comments field. On Monday, he ate 76 grams of food prior to his evening shot. In the next 12 hour cycle, he ate 108 grams. Despite the nice blues in the daytime, his average for each twelve-hour cycle yesterday was very close -- in the 260s. This leads me to wonder if I should increase slightly his evening shot to compensate for the additional food. Since his numbers are still quite high (173 on a human meter is in actuality more like 200-250), I think I have a little latitude to increase his dose.

Looking back on his spreadsheet, it is clear that there is a relationship between his AMPS and the amount of food he ate the previous day. I need to keep this in mind when considering his dose.


Eric
 
I know every cat is different, but...does Melville's ss remind anyone of Sev's Kitty's ss before he lowered the dose?
 
I want to give him one more cycle with 2.2ish before considering dropping his dose. His PS numbers aren't great, but he's spending a lot more time in the yellow than he was last week, so if 2.2 is helping him stay there, then I want to give him time to recover from last week. Not sure if that makes sense, or how long it takes to "recover", but if I can get another day of yellow out of 2.2, I'm inclined to do that.

I have to admit to not understanding the logic behind lowering his dose. However, I do acknowledge that his best numbers were during the period when I was giving him 1.25 units. The general consensus here seems to be that I should have remained at 1.25, or perhaps even lowered the dose. So, I would like to try 1.25 again fairly soon. How quickly should I bring him down, though? Should I just immediately drop it to 1.25? Should I drop to .75 or 1 and work up? Or should I take him down in half or quarter doses? My fear with all of this is that I'll move too slowly when giving it time to "settle in" and ultimately cause more damage in the long run.

Thanks everyone for continuing to give me advise, even when I stubbornly don't follow it! :)
 
Here's an easy to understand (at least for me) explanation of the 'rebound' thing that some cats experience. Of course, I don't know if this is what is happening with Melville, or might be what happened with Kitty, but both could fit the pattern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_Somogyi_rebound

Another factor could be the removal of dry food - from the newbie threads I've read, it seems the effects of that alone can lower BG levels overnight OR take several days, thus reducing insulin needs immediately, or over a few days/weeks. That whole 'every cat is different' is so annoying - I wish they'd all just follow the rule book!
 
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