Need advice

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Thanks. I was panicking, so I mixed in high carb with low carb food, put the dish under the bed, and went about the house, pretending to do other things. I had pulled the covers from the bed so I could see underneath, and there he was on the dish, licking his chops as he does after eating, and he just walked out from underneath. Still, I won't feel better until noon when I hope to see that he's not dropping any more, or better yet, starting to go back up. Which means his glucose tonight might be like 600, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Thanks for the encouragement!
 
That's fine, the higher carb food will bring him up faster.

You are right, if he shoots high later that's ok we'll cross that bridge then, at least you know you can bring him down with insulin and that the higher number is from the carbs and will wear off by themselves in a cycle or two. Better too high for a day than too low for a minute.

Take a few slow deep breaths, you are doing great.
 
Whew! It's up to 88 at +6. Since he's been eating through the morning, I think he'll be OK. Will check again at noon to make sure he keeps climbing or at least not dropping more.
 
Good, maybe he'll surf the greens for a while. I would keep testing though to make sure he's not dipping down again.

I'm at work so I'm going to ask Sue to come and keep you company until you get past nadir, in case I actually have to go do some work.
 
Thanks for keeping an eye on us! It's truly appreciated. I'm self-employed so my schedule is very irregular and flexible. I was planning to catch up with some paperwork this morning and see a couple clients this afternoon, luckily I didn't have anybody scheduled in the morning so I could choose to stay home and postpone the paperwork (although I've been procrastinating too long on it, that's another story!). Also luckily I live very close to work so I can drop in any time I have nothing going on at work, but I don't know how other people do it. Unfortunately, sometimes my work does get very busy and it would be harder for me to keep such a close eye, so I worry about the future.
I'm starting to think that things may get to the point that I may need to adopt him out if he needs more time and attention than I can give him, but I'm afraid that it would be very hard to find a new home for a 14 y/o sick cat, not to mention how guilty I would feel as he may feel "abandoned" with strangers and I'll feel very selfish. I'm hoping for a remission like he did 2 years ago, or if that's not possible, to achieve a reasonable degree of regulation. Which begs the question, how do I proceed with dosing? I'm thinking he needs a sliding scale, such as preshot values >400 he gets 1.5 units, between 350-400 he gets 1.25 units, , 300-350 he gets 1 unit,less than 300 he gets maybe .75 units, how would that sound?
 
A sliding scale works well for many cats. Robin is really good at developing one for each individual cat. Why don't you send her a pm and ask her to look at the scale you have and see if she thinks it needs tweaking?
 
He's at 91 (+7), so at least he's not dropping. Kitty looks exhausted as normally he sleeps all morning without all this fuss.
I can't find a user named Robin, who would that be?
Thanks!
 
No, I'm using U40s and eyeballing, giving somewhat less than my estimate (ie, a bit less than 1.5, etc) just to be sure.

I'm going to work but will be back in hopefully a couple of hours. Just did another check, it is 90, so at least he's holding steady and not dropping any more, it is now +8 so he'll be OK, but just because I"m stepping out, I made sure he eats (a mix of low and high carb food). I'll keep you posted when I get back. Thanks for everything!
 
It might be time to switch to the U100 syringes with the 1/2 unit markings.

Your scale is good, I've just broken it down into smaller increments which include small doses at lower PS's so you don't have to skip shots and be sky high next PS.

How do you feel about switching?
 
I'm not sure about switching right now because I just bought U40s, also because part of the problem has been an irregular diet. He's been very finicky and had been refusing the Mixed Grill which is what got him into remission the first time around. Last year he got mysteriously ill, lost a lot of weight, but his glucose were normal (verified by the vet, so it wasn't the meter), he's been fed Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys Shredded Chicken Fare with Garden Greens (or a name like that), did well for most of the year, but his diabetes relapsed around December. I've been trying to figure out something that he'll eat, the Fancy Feast Medley seems to shoot his glucose up, so I've tried some of the Classic varieties (beef and chicken, or just chicken), along some other brands like 9-lives, I would buy a few cans of this and that, and it seems he does better on the Fancy Feast Classic, so it was this week that I bought a case of Beef and Chicken Classic, another of Chicken Classic, with the plan to stick with just the beef and chicken for a while and see how he does. Well, it does seem to work because his glucose readings seem to be better, so perhaps I should try to stick with just one unit bid for a while (unless I get really high numbers like 400s and above) and see how he does. Still, I'm interested in the sliding scale, so let me know how that would work.
Just got back home briefly, +9 reading is up to 155, I think we have liftoff, maybe the next stop will be the stratosphere! :lol:
Thanks!
 
The food plan sounds great.

If you are sticking with the U40 syringes for now (I would urge you to make the switch next time you need to buy them, it will make measuring more accurate doses easier).

Here is how I broke down your scale.

Eukanubo's Scale ONLY

175 to 199 - skinny .5u (until we see how he does on this dose)
200 to 249 - .75u
250 to 299 - 1 unit
300 to 349 - skinny 1.25u
350 to 399 - skinny 1.5u

For now a skinny 1.5 unit should be your top dose no matter how high his number is. If he is really high it is probably a bounce or carbs and we wouldn't adjust the dosse for that.

Good luck, you are a good papabean and Eukanubo is a lucky guy to have you taking care of him. We will try to help you get him regulated.

Robin
 
Thanks, it makes a lot of sense. What do you mean by "skinny" and why 0.75 is not "skinny"? I assume that "skinny" refers to my eyeballing to less than the estimated dose, but still will not explain why 0.75 is not skinny unless it's just an omission. Just want to make sure!
 
Yes skinny means 1 drop less than that dose. The .75u is a .75u no skinny.

When I first divided up your scale I thought you were using U100 syringes and did the dose according to those doses. When I switched the scale to U40 syringe dosing I thought those fractions were a little higher than I liked so I said skinny it up.

U100 syringe markings go by .2u, .4u, .6u, .8u and 1 unit marks where the U40 are whole units and it is easier to eyeball .25u, .5u, .75u etc. Some here have taken a syringe and marked where .25, .5 & .75 are on the syringe so they have something to compare their dose to when drawing it up for more accuracy.
 
OK, it will be shot time in about 1/2 hour, he just read 351. Do I dare give 1.5? It seems he should be able to do OK given that he did well on that yesterday evening, also according to your guidelines, but I'm understandably nervous. He looks very good right now but hasn't eaten,probably because I've been making him eat all day!
So, do I shoot 1.5 or play it safe at 1.0? I'm inclined to just shoot 1.0 and try the 1.5 tomorrow depending on how he reads, but let me know what you think.
 
Your instincts are good. I would go with the 1 unit tonight because that 351 is carb induced from the higher carb food and probably a bounce from the lower numbers today.

But not too bad, I was expecting a much higher number.
 
I don't know if Robin is still around. The general rules is the scale is followed EXCEPT after a hypo. He didn't have a complete hypo, but anytime you intervene with high carb, his numbers can be a bounce from the low number and be influenced by the high carb. (in other words, don't shoot the bounce) so I would shot the one unit and let the carbs clear.
 
one unit it is, thanks! He just ate so I feel better about giving the shot, so, kitty, here it comes! :smile:
 
OK, it's now +2 after his PM shot, he went UP to 463, so I don't think I have to worry about a hypo tonight. I'll follow through the evening but I tend to go to bed early, and I don't plan to test as often as poor kitty must have very sore ears today!
 
That +2 doesn't surprise me, I was expecting a higher PMPS, he's still rising from the higher carb food and lower numbers.

Prozinc usually has a 2 hour onset.

I'll tune in tomorrow morning to see where you 2 are at.
 
+4 reading is 406. All is well, doubt risk of hypo, so I'm calling it a night. Thanks to all that were so helpful today!
 
Good morning!
Doing well so far, although kitty has the annoying habit of waking me up at 3:30 demanding food. Usually I get up, feed him, then I typically stay up until his insulin time at 5:00 AM, but after checking his glucose (279, yeay!), went back to bed, then he got me up around 5:15 wanting to eat again, AMPS was up only to 304 (double yeay!), so, playing it safe, gave only 1 unit, now at +2 he is down to 230 in what looks like a nice, smooth drop (triple yeay). He is looking great this morning, has a healthy look that I haven't seen in a while, he's grooming, purring and looks mighty contented (sp?), if his nadir is around 100 and his PMPS is in the upper 200s, I'll be very, very happy, but of course, I won't hold my breath.

Because of the length of this thread, I may start a new one under the name Eukanubo if he runs into problems today. Thanks again for all your help!

Maybe I can now sneak back to bed for a few extra z's, it's Saturday, after all!
 
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