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atajev

atajev

Member Since 2014
Hi, everyone! I've been posting on the main board for a few days and since I've been home testing for a while and have a SS set up, someone suggested I headed this direction.

I have two very small children and work full-time (half of my time is in an office, half at home), so testing mid-day is really challenging for me, and basically impossible on the days I'm in the office.

But, I'm determined to test the dickens out of that poor cat on the days I'm home to make up for it!

I just switched to all canned food a few days ago and in less than two weeks I've been able to drop her dose from 3u to 1u! I'm very excited about that. I'm getting consistently borderline numbers at her shot times though, which has been nerve-wracking because I can't stall long in the mornings and need to make the decision to skip or give a dose every single shot. I'm not liking that at all.
 
Welcome! Please tell us a bit more about yourself and your cat. Your name ,and kitty's? Where are you located (or at least time zone so we know when to watch for your PS #'s) . What time do you usually test/shoot?

What insulin are you using?

What is kitty eating? How much? Any other health concerns? How old is kitty?

What is your grandmother's blood type? (just kidding!)

Again, welcome!

Linda
 
Hmm, I think my grandma's blood type is A+... ;-)

I'm Katie, though Atajev works, too. My diabetic cat is Mona, and she's presumed to be about 12 years old. We got her from a shelter about 5 years ago now. She was diagnosed about 2 months ago, put on insulin about 1.5 months ago after changing to dry W/D didn't do anything for her BG numbers (not a shock based on what I know now!). She doesn't have any other health issues.

We switched to Trader Joe's Turkey & Giblets (8% carbs) less than a week ago (from dry W/D), with almost miraculous results as far as I'm concerned. We put food down for her 3 times a day (each of the two cats get a half can each meal) though in practice she free-feeds that wet food slowly all day.

She is on Lantus x2 day, and we use an Alphatrak monitor, though an Arkray (ReliOn) will be arriving in the mail by the end of the week. I live in California, and currently shoot at 9am and 9pm.

It looks like people post their numbers daily in the subject line of a new post?
 
Yes, start a new conversation (often called a "condo" by some) for each day. The format is Date, Cat name, AMPS and the number, etc. When you want to give us an update through the day, select your first message of the thread, and click Edit. Then you can add further readings to the FIRST post of the day, which will add the new info to the title that shows up in the index.

That helps us see when someone is needing some help. You can also add a short message like : "AMPS 80 - Stalling need help!"

Also, you can add the 911 icon to the first post to get our attention. Once the crisis has past, remove the 911, again from that first post of the thread.

You can also add more info to your signature via the User Control Panel. info such as diagnosis date, age, sex, weight, food, what insulin and doseage can be kept up to date, which really helps someone quickly get a handle on your situation. Also add a link to your spreadsheet there, and we can easily keep an eye on you!

See my signature for an example.

Linda
 
Is my signature not visible? I put that information on it (humans, pets, dx and treatment info, link to spreadsheet) in there before I posted here at the suggestion of people in the main board, but it may need some additional publishing step maybe? I can see it, so I'm not sure what's needed.
 
Hi Katie - Welcome!

Don't feel guilty about not being able to test during the day. Many of us work away from the home as well - even with long commutes. We manage to do the best we can with testing. I get mid-cycle tests in on weekends and holidays when I can. Of course, the two kids part is more chaotic than my experience.

You are off to a great start! Wow! you have taken great advice and jumped on board. That is one lucky cat!

I have had a couple of scary mornings where I left for work wondering what I would find when I returned. I still shot but left a lot of 8% carb canned food out for my sugar to eat during the day.
 
Welcome Katie

Boy do I understand daily chaos lol Yep all those names in my signature are mine. 16 (3 sugars, 1 OTJ,2 insulin dependent) as well as a large drooler. Even though I'm home all the time I seldom get more than 3-4 tests per day.

What I usually suggest is getting random spot checks. If you're cuddling on the couch in the evening...grab a test, if you've got a sec when you walk in the door grab a test, last thing before turning out the lights at night grab a test etc. Then on a day off test like a mad woman.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
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