NEWBIE Sammy Dec 09 PMPS 187 - Dec 10 AMPS 110

Status
Not open for further replies.
LindaMS

LindaMS

Member Since 2013
Good morning, Samanatha (Sammy) is getting some great numbers, and therefore shooting and dosing are feeling a bit more touchy.

As you can see from the subject line, she was pretty low last night before she got her .50 Lantus (187). This morning she is even lower at 110 for AMPS. Her appetite is a bit off, so I am not feeling too good about giving her the full .50. Any recommendations would be welcomed.
 
Good morning, Sammy really seems to be making short work of her insulin doses! When is your regular shot time? Have you read the stickey on dealing w/ low preshots?

You've had to skip so many times it's hard to advise, I hope this will bump you up and get more attention. Generally when you have a low number you aren't used to you can do one of the following:
  • -- skip the shot
    -- stall, this will drain the shed a little, but you next shot must be 12 hours after the time you actually shot
    -- give a BCS (Big Chicken S***t) shot, but this must be given at the regular shot time , DO NOT stall and BCS
 
Ann & Tess said:
Good morning, Sammy really seems to be making short work of her insulin doses! When is your regular shot time? Have you read the stickey on dealing w/ low preshots?

You've had to skip so many times it's hard to advise, I hope this will bump you up and get more attention. Generally when you have a low number you aren't used to you can do one of the following:
  • -- skip the shot
    -- stall, this will drain the shed a little, but you next shot must be 12 hours after the time you actually shot
    -- give a BCS (Big Chicken S***t) shot, but this must be given at the regular shot time , DO NOT stall and BCS
Click to expand...


Big Chicken S#** shot??
 
A BCS is a one time reduced dose (whatever you feel comfortable shooting at the time) that is given on time (normally) instead of his regular dose. Because of the depot built up from the doses before the BCS, you still have to watch out as the built up depot can still be affecting the cycle you give the BCS.

Before Clyde went OTJ, if I was really unsure of shooting his regular dose, I can give a BCS dose, and if I have to leave to go to work, I will feed him some higher carb food. It all depends on the numbers and what your situation is.
 
hi linda! welcome to you and Sammy!

I tried to go to her spreadsheet, but i think you might need to change the permission to view settings so that "anyone with link" can view it.

It's probably long past your shot time and you've made a decision by now about this morning. But I now we'd be happy to help you in the future. If you've got a small dose (.5u) and a newly diagnosed kitty, and are seeing numbers that are too low to comfortably shoot, you may have a situation where Sammy's pancreas is sputtering back to life. That does require extra caution and you are smart to seek guidance to protect your little one.

If you could get the settings changed we could take a look and see how to help you. There are many people on here with a lot of experience who can give you a hand.

Welcome to Lantus Land. :YMHUG:
 
i've got a couple of thoughts.

You've got the right idea going - you've done a good job of getting tests in to see what's going on. You do want a dose you can give twice a day, same amount.

One of the things that happens when a cat is working off of insulin, which it looks like Sammy's trying to, is that when you have a good dose the cycle will flatten out. Instead of being much of a curve, it's almost a flat line. At the beginning of treating a cat, we encourage people not to shoot less than 150, so that they can learn how their cat is responding to the insulin. But as soon as they've got the hang of testing and know their cat's responses better, we gradually lower the shooting number.

As the preshot number gets lower, typically the middle of the cycle flattens out to nearly a straight line.

So shooting a 110 this morning with the 0.5u would've been ok, as long as you were going to be home to monitor, had enough strips (say 20 strips available) and something high carb in case you needed to pull up her BGs. If you weren't going to be home, then skipping or shooting 0.25u or even just a drop would be good options.

anytime you shoot a number lower than you've had before, you want to get a +1 and +2 test, just to make sure there's no diving of numbers going on. when the +2 is lower than the preshot, that's a red flag to be extra vigilant, and perhaps even give food then to slow down the cat's drop.

This is a lot of information, so to not overwhelm you i'll stop there. it's obvious you've been doing lots of reading and figuring things out - good job. If you can post every day, ask lots of questions, we'll help you keep her safe. I actually think you could continue the 0.5u dose tonight rather than reducing right away. She hasn't had anything below 50 on this dose - 50 is our dividing line for reducing the dose for a newly diagnosed kitty. By skipping the dose this morning she will be higher tonight, and probably need the full amount.

What do you think about all of this? any questions?

eta - cats often go lower at night than during the day, so it's a really smart idea to get a before bed test every evening. Also, the person who posted above me, Will, just had his cat go off of insulin. Take a peek at Clyde's spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AnLPtmGIw3yedEdnckhTeElGVFcxckFTNmxoV0ZKUHc&output=html to see an example of the flat cycle you get when you shoot a lower number. You still have to monitor, but it's kinda amazing to see.
 
I am not going to be home all day to monitor, so i am glad i skipped. Thanks for your response, Julie, I appreciate it.

Sammy is being a bit of a weirdo today all around. She is not eating much of her food, yet has twice jumped up on my kitchen counters to see what she can find there! She has never done this in her lifetime, so I am really wondering if she is seeking sugar or?? At any rate, I have made sure there is absolutely nothing she can get into, and that her FF pate is all that is available.

And, I should add, the fact that she can jump up there is highly significant. Her back end weakness has cleared up completely. No more waddle... or as my friend said, no more sashaying like a cheap hooker! LOL.

Anyway, will keep testing to see what is going on as often as I can, and will check back here later on today.

Thanks
 
what a great report! having the hind leg weakness resolve is so important!

what time do you shoot? I'm in Oregon and can look for you. Wendy/Neko is practically your neighbor, too.
 
Hi Linda, glad to see you and Sammy made it over here. For others reading here, these are Linda's previous posts on Health:

First post
Post after food switch and son posting while Linda on vacation
Question about calories
Starting to see low preshots

When we post here, we include a link to our previous post so members can read what has happened so far with Sammy. Just select the address on the previous post, then click the URL button and past the address in between. You can do the fancy renaming thing too like you did for your SS.

It does look like Sammy is doing really well. It's great news that she is jumping now. :-D
 
julie & punkin (ga) said:
what a great report! having the hind leg weakness resolve is so important!

what time do you shoot? I'm in Oregon and can look for you. Wendy/Neko is practically your neighbor, too.
Click to expand...


I shoot at 8am and 8pm. Thanks.
 
Linda, it looks like she's been hovering around 100 all day so far - i can see tests until ambg +5 (or +17).

Can you get another test around +11 or +11.5 so we can see what she's doing before it's actually shot time?
 
just did one now, and will do another in about 90 mins or so. She is creeping up there now, and just snarfed her dinner like a champ, ( 1/2 can FF pate) so whatever that fussiness was she got over it. I feed smallish meals several times a day, with 3 hours pre shot clear of food.

Linda
 
okey dokey. well, i think unless she surprises you at 8 tonight, as long as you'll be around to monitor, you have strips and high carbs, you'll be safe to shoot the 0.5u. when i saw that several hours staying at 100, i wasn't sure.

another possibility - If you want to move sammy's shot time earlier, you could shoot earlier - really any time now since you skipped this morning's shot. then you'll want to shoot 12 hrs later in the morning, though. then you slide her back to the regular time 1/2 hr per day or so. i'm just thinking if she's rising now, it might be good to get insulin into her. it takes a couple of hours to onset in most cats.

you don't have to do that, but having skipped a shot and being already over 170 it's an option for you if you want.

eta - because you got this test you don't need to get another one in 90 minutes.
 
Hi Linda

Welcome to Lantus land! Looks like Sammy has made quite a bit of progress since she was dx.

A couple things I noticed in addition to Julie comments are that you are doing a great job of daytime tests. I'm just wondering if you are able to get a before bed test every night? Were you able to get a PS the PM cycle of 12/8? I'm just curious where she spent her day BG wise.

The thing about fur shots is that even if we smell insulin, there's no telling if we actually got some in so it's a good idea to grab some tests until you know kitty is safe and headed up and didnt get more than you think :-D

Our motto here is to shoot low to stay low and so we help members gradually learn to shoot numbers like you had this morning. We draw the line at 50 and do not recommend that anyone shoot below that. There would also be some circumstances where we might not want someone to shoot a low 50s number. Therefore, we do ask you post and ask for help on shooting lower numbers...just like you did today :-D

Let's hope Sammy decides she likews all blue and green numbers :mrgreen:
 
Hi.
I haven't popped over yet.
Your ss says you were going to shoot 0.25u tonite? Have you?

The rise you are seeing is likely from the shed draining from skipping.

I have to go back and read your condo to see what's up.
 
Okay. I see it was also suggested to shoot 0.50 and hold the course.

Would you get a +2 test before bed? It's good to start collecting that data and that particular test can indicate an active cycle.
 
rhiannon and shadow said:
Okay. I see it was also suggested to shoot 0.50 and hold the course.

Would you get a +2 test before bed? It's good to start collecting that data and that particular test can indicate an active cycle.
Click to expand...

I can try. I am on some meds for my back issue (oddly to be taken every 12 hours!) and they knock me out pretty good. I will hold my meds and deal with Miss Sammy tonight.
 
I agree with Rhiannon. 14.2/256 means you are good to shoot and I would do the .5U dose. If you could get a +2 test and a test just before you go to bed, that would really help us know how this dose is working for Sammy.
 
Well, we are just shy of +2 and I am fighting to stay awake. I just tested her and she is at 19.2 . If/when I wake up in the night to go to the washroom, I will grab a quick test, otherwise talk to you in the morning.
 
I think you can just go to sleep now. If your +2 is the less than the PS you need to get more tests for sure as it's likely an active cycle. If it's the same, then it'll be a normal Lantus cycle, but if numbers are on the rise, you can generally get your sleep.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top