Need help quick. +11, 102

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Kiwi F

Kiwi F

Member Since 2012
Our last condo: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=65715

We need advice. Due to illness and a serious family emergency, we've not had the opportunity to ask for help, even though we've needed it for a few days.

I am SO completely confused. Please look at our ss... maybe it will explain itself. Otherwise... for many days, we'd been shooting .5u and had a lot of high numbers, mixed in with some lows. I suspected he was 'bouncing', and our last condo was mostly about that.

Then we had an emergency and I missed his PM shot because I was at the hospital. When I got home, his numbers were much lower than expected. Most AMPS have been high, so his AM shots have gone fine. But the next day, after the hospital, hi PMPS was 116, which is our personal lowest pre-shot number (combined with circumstances keeping us from getting advice OR being able to monitor him after), we decided not to shoot. Yesterday, his PMPS was still going to be his lowest (again, under the circumstances that we couldn't monitor him after), so we gave him a half shot... 0.25u. And today, at +11, he was 102... and we're not sure what is happening.

His AMPS have been high, and we don't like doing that to him, but his numbers the rest of the day have been lower than ever. Does anyone know whats going on? Was his old dose too high, and he was constantly bouncing? Or am I not understanding?

ABOUT TONIGHT: We're putting off mealtime to have a chance to maybe get some advice. I'm about to test him again, which would be hid PMPS. I did give him regular treats (maybe high carb, but not sure) after last poke... not sure if that was a bad move. Now I won't know how much he would have gone up on his own. I don't feel comfortable shooting .5u at this point. But what do people think? I'll post back in a minute with his PMPS. We'll stall dinner for a little while. I know this is last minute, but I'm desperate.

Thanks,
Kim and Kiwi
 
PMPS is 149. It isn't low for most of you all, but its the lowest we're considering shooting. We're thinking of doing a half dose... 0.25u. Its so strange, but it really seems like the less we give him, the lower the overall numbers are. Please advise if you can.

If you can't respond in time for shot, please let me know what you think might be the cause of all those low numbers.

Thanks for your help,
Kim and Kiwi
 
Only dry food that one time (last Thurs), when he wouldn't eat and we had to leave town. Otherwise he's on canned Wellness Chicken and Turkey only.
 
The only thing I would throw out for your consideration is look at Kiwi's AMPS when you shot 0.25 last night. Also, numbers are rising. Lantus won't kick in for about 2 hours and you'll be feeding. All of that is a consideration when shooting.

Are you home during the day to get spot checks?

You can certainly lower the dose to 0.25 and shoot that consistently. It's better to shoot the same amount twice a day than to keep switching back and forth. Bottom line, it's best to pick a dose and stay with it.
 
Kiwi F said:
PMPS is 149. It isn't low for most of you all, but its the lowest we're considering shooting. We're thinking of doing a half dose... 0.25u. Its so strange, but it really seems like the less we give him, the lower the overall numbers are. Please advise if you can.

If you can't respond in time for shot, please let me know what you think might be the cause of all those low numbers.
Click to expand...
The cause is that the insulin is working. :smile: When the cat is settling in on a good dose, Lantus holds the numbers nice and flat. That means that you will get lower preshot numbers than you are used to, but it is a GOOD thing because it means that the insulin is doing its job.

Will you be home tonight to monitor? This is a good rise from +11. Notice that when you skipped or reduced before, Kiwi ended up very high in the morning. If you can get a +1 and +2, those will show you how the rest of the cycle will go and you can respond with food if needed.

The other option is to wait 30 minutes and test again to see how quickly he is rising without food. Test every 15-30 minutes until you get a number you are comfortable shooting. This usually gives much better results than skipping or reducing.
 
We're having a hard time getting him to eat recently. He's been eating his between-shot meals just fine (although they are smaller). But breakfast and dinner have been a struggle for at least a few days. He usually ends up eating, eventually. Before this, he didn't hesitate to eat. Might this be related? Or do they become less hungry for meals when their bg goes down?

As for tonight... we offered his food (a little late, to buy us time), but he only ate about 1/3. Can anyone tell us what we should do now?
 
Most unregulated diabetics have a voracious appetite. As their numbers come down, their appetite decreases. In very round numbers, a cat needs about 18 - 20 calories per pound of body weight. If you can figure out the number of calories Kiwi's getting, you'll know if he's in the ballpark with respect to how much he's eating.

If it were me, I'd shoot. You've got to do what you're comfortable with.
 
Kiwi F said:
We're having a hard time getting him to eat recently. He's been eating his between-shot meals just fine (although they are smaller). But breakfast and dinner have been a struggle for at least a few days. He usually ends up eating, eventually. Before this, he didn't hesitate to eat. Might this be related? Or do they become less hungry for meals when their bg goes down?
Click to expand...

Vyktor is free fed and he often doesn't eat at shot time, this is not a problem with lantus as long as you know that he will eat later on and he's not actually off his food (ill, dental issues etc). Vyktor's numbers have come right down recently and I also started getting concerned about his food intake but when I added up what he's been eating for the day it turns out he is just back to eating what a civvie (non-diabetic) cat would eat :-D
 
Kim, I'm glad you got some insulin in him! It's good to see some blues and even greens sprinkled in. Even with some of the hiccups, he is looking better and better. Have you decided to shoot that .25 consistently for a few cycles? The "wise ones" have told me that the AMPS is the last thing to come down. Patience is hard but necessary!
 
Thanks for all your help. Its good to know its normal for his appetite to go down... that does make sense (and it would be nice if he could keep off some of the weight he's lost). I hadn't heard about the AMPS taking longer to lower. I'm glad that was mentioned... it does make the whole picture make a little more sense.

We are going to keep him at .25u for now, so we can keep his dose steady long enough to do a full curve, and make some decisions from there.

You are a great group of people, and we appreciate all your advice, support, and patience. :-D

Thank you,
Kim and Kiwi
 
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