Newly diagnosed 15 year old

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Put a dab of neosporin on them. Make sure you apply pressure to the wound for a good few seconds after the poke too. New lancets will help as well.

She is coming down from her bounce. You might want to get some sleep now.. ;)

Hows your lancet and blood strip stash? what about the ketone strips?
Did Jim go shopping yet?

Wendy
 
Jim just left - waited until after this test. Also having him get a stash of GRAVY lovers FF as well, I was just lucky to have had that tin last night - it was a buying error that I hid in the back of the cupboard. Meant to be! And, something must be getting through to me as I did put some Neosporin w/pain on that little lovely ear!
 
Honey, she is not a treaty kind of girl - she is getting LOTS of "good girl" "pretty girl" and I just laid out another feast for them. Boris is kinda likin' this new feeding schedule and is relieved that , for a change, he isn't the one getting med's. But he's keeping a keen eye on what's going on!
 
That 157 at +6 is a good number. Somewhere between +5 and +7 is a usual nadir or low spot for most kitties.

By the way. Fantastic job on supporting Tash last night with the tests and foods.

Marje is one of the best advisors here, and lives in AZ and seems to be a night owl so stays up with folks to walk them through those low numbers.
 
I have a cat like that but I managed to find a treat she would like - freeze dried chicken, or even better plain grilled chicken bits.

yes take the SS tomorrow! You will probably have to explain it to them but it should be very useful for them to see. Also bring your meter and some strips so they can compare it to theirs.

Wendy
 
Thanks, Deb ;-) :-D

Bernadette....that's a pretty significant dive she has going on today. She bounced up and now she's "clearing the bounce" and I wouldn't be surprised if she throws you another dropping number below 200 at PMPS. When cats clear bounces, they often do it with a dramatic flair....that is, they come back down fast. Coming down fast can also trigger another bounce.

In addition, a higher dose can affect up to six subsequent cycles. It's not like that for every cat but we don't know, yet, for Tashie....some of this could still be her depot.

To try and stop that drop, can you please give her just a couple tsps of that gravy lovers food and see if we can slow her down a bit?

I'd really like for you to be able to safely get some Insulin her tonight but I want you to stick with the 200 "no shoot" number here for tonight. If we can slow her a bit, it might also flatten her out above 200 and allow you to shoot.
 
Jim is out now buying GRAVY Lovers. How soon before her next BG test should she get it? ...... if she is BELOW 200 at +12 I will post & wait to see what you advise. If she is over 200, will give dose 0.05U. what if she is like 210? Is there a range or just stick with the 200?
 
Stick with 200.

Ok...so you don't have any of the food left over from last night from the one tin? How about just feeding her a few tsp of what she normally eats (canned) for now ? It usually takes 30 mins after you feed before we see it show the effect show on the meter. So once you feed her, give her at least 30 mins and see if it slowed her down.

On her ears....I always hold a cool, wet baby washcloth to Gracies ear after I test so it stops the bleeding and keeps it from bruising. Also, I put a tiny dab of Neosporin Ointment (not cream) with pain relief on her ear after every test. Then I rub it off before the next one but I alternate ears. Some people only test one ear because usually one bleeds better than the other one. Some test one ear for a week, then switch....you will have to figure out what works best for Tashie.

Here are some Testing and Shooting Tips that might help you. One thing that really helps is making sure the bevel on the lancet and the syringe are facing up so the sharpest point enters first.

I'd really like it if you can feed her, wait 30 mins, and grab a test no later than +8 (3:30EST). Possible?
 
It's 2:40 and he's not back yet. No food left over as I tried to get her to pig out last night. There are 2 bowls of Fancy Feasts Classics down right now - put them down after testing. Not sure if she has eaten, I will check.
 
SOME food is gone - she has moved from where she was but not sure WHO ate it. MEN! Just called him on his phone to find it ringing in the kitchen - he didn't take it! I'm off to lay down for a bit - will let you know when he returns! Any point to doing the test at 5:30? IF he's back?
 
Marje, he is still not home. I have no food / no testing supplies. When he left he was under the assumption that we would just test again at 7:30.

SOME NEW QUESTIONS:
what if we do find her at 80? Maybe the 0.05 dose is all she needs, along with the low carb food? Isn't 80 good? Yes, that means we can't shoot her but maybe she doesn't "need" it?

what is the purpose of giving her the gravy food and "spiking" her up? Just to give her a shot to bring it down - and, if she was off the charts this morning and 0.05 U dose brings her this far down - isn't that a good thing? What could it do to her is she is only say, at 210 and the 0.05 U brings her WAY WAY down?

IF he gets back, I can put GRAVY FF down for her, say at 5:30 and wait to test at normal 7:30 time? Wouldn't that work? What am I missing here? Sorry if I'm being a bit thick. Starting to get a bit wound up again........
 
Sorry, Bernadette....was outside watering plants.

If she is at 80, skip the shot. See where she is in the morning. It's possible that she won't need insulin but typically we take it a shot at a time. As the depot entirely drains, you might see that she will need a small dose of insulin. We just did this with another cat....had her shoot 0.1u when he was above 250. However,nonce the depot drained, his numbers went way up so we had her increase the dose to .25u bid (twice/day).

Lantus works so that every shot you give builds upon the previous one so you get a cumulative effect.

I didn't want to spike her up; I wanted to slow her down. I don't know that .5u is bringing her down this far. It could either by the depot (remember she was on 1u and that can affect up to six subsequent cycles especially since her depot was pretty full as evidenced by how she dropped in earlier cycles). Also, when they clear bounces like this, they often get a pretty good drop going fast. But it might not be indicative of how they would look when they flatten out on a dose more.

You don't want to feed her two hours before her shot and, at this point, the only thing I'd give her before +10 is LC.

You aren't being thick...you asked very good, very reasonable questions. I'm glad you asked and are thinking this through.

Think of lantus dosing as steering a cruise ship. You can turn the wheel but it takes time to see the course change.
 
Okay then. in 28 (+10) minutes I will give her some LC (Low carb) food. Oh, but wait - she has some down now - if not eaten in 28 minutes, take it AWAY? Or give her another 1/2 hour? She's chillin and I don't want her to get worked up. Seems to me that I've noticed that the calmer she is, the better the results and she perks up. On a "normal" day I often had to do "Tashie checks" as she likes her dark places and I always like to do head checks! Right now she is going crazy with us looking in - I think that up's her stress. I went out two days last week for 4 hours a time (I was brave) and she was SO much better when I got home. I think she may not be sleeping as much since she is on guard?
If you will just confirm the above.

RECAP: TEST at +12 - if BELOW 200 do nothing = but update SS and post here. Anything else?
 
Are you able to test her now? If you can, it would give us some idea of where she is headed before PMPS.

If she has had food down, just leave it for now but be sure you pull it up before +10.

I think she probably slept less with everything last night.
 
he;s not home! If he doesn't get here soon I am sending a search party - can't yell though as it's an ikky day here and he THOUGHT we weren't testing until 7:30 and it's only 5:15. He went to get testing supplies along w/ food
 
And you can't test her alone yet, right? Can you try?

The reason we like late cycle tests like this is so we know if she's headed up, down, or just flat. It helps us plan the next step.

Sorry...yes....if you test at +12 and she is below 200, do not shoot. Post here.

Just to throw out for your thoughts...if she is below 200 but not much, would you be interested in stalling for a bit, retesting, and when she's above 200, shooting? Keep in mind that if you do stall and shoot, you will have to shoot 12 hours from that time. So if you stall one hour and shoot at 8:30, you will shoot at 8:30 tomorrow morning and then we slowly get you back on track.

What do you think?
 
Marje, not sure. Jim leaves for work at 7:45 and I have not yet done shots / testing - I am not ready to start NOW :YMSIGH: .....She does have a vet appt at 11:15 though. just took food away. Be back in an hour and 45! Fingers crossed!
 
If she is above 200 and you are going to shoot, then feed her when you shoot. If she is below 200 and you aren't going to shoot, feed her :-D
 
Whoo Hoo!!! (I think) 322! Gave 0.05 U. Fed .......... tell me this is a good thing! Not that I WANT her to be 322 but that she got insulin! Yeah?!!!!!!
 
Marje, I really don't want to jab her again - please! She is going to the vet tomorrow and I just can't poke her again - okay?
 
Bernadette....I'm just trying to help you keep her safe. I have seen cats go from 300 at PS to 40 mid cycle to 300 at the next PS. The way she came down today tells me she can work this dose right now.

At the very least, I would recommend you check her once.....before you go to bed. But it's your call...I do understand and I hope you understand that my experience tells me that she could go either way....way up or way down.
 
I appreciate that, really, I do. So, if we do the 2+ test - can we be done with the prods for the night? Really, it's getting to be nerve wracking for all. Deal? I will test at 2+ which will be in exactly an hour, I will post, wait for a reply and then, unless we are in dire straights, TRY to go to bed? I feel I am becoming ill over this - seriously, I can't eat and when I force myself to, it's just going through me.
 
Deal. I appreciate it. Just to tell you what I'm looking for with that +2.

If it is much higher than the PS, it's likely to be an inactive cycle. Sleep is in your near future.
If its similar to the PS, it's likely to be a normal, active lantus.
If its much less, then you should be prepared that she might have a very active cycle.

I'll keep my paws crossed for higher :-D

I'm sorry you have this anxiety. I think we all experienced it so I am empathetic. I know you love your baby very much.

See you shortly.
 
553 - it was a nightmare getting her ears to bleed - had to do like 8 times and use 3 strips. bed time?
 
PS. there HAD to be a bit of stress involved here for her - so maybe it's not quite THAT high!
 
PPS. Also she had just jumped off the bed to eat - she seems to "know" to eat when she goes higher.... can I give her more LC food now?
 
Yikes. Are you warming her ears?

My rule of thumb is, when you know they are not below 50, is give it three tries. Then walk away and leave her for about 15 minutes. Breathe, talk softly, love on her. Then try again. I promise her ears will learn to bleed. I barely touch the tip of the lancet to Gracies and they bleed.

Are you using a meter that only requires a tiny bit of blood?

Get some sleep.....if Jim is up at +10/+11, a test would be good so you don't get any shockers at AMPS.

hug that baby for me :-D

PS...absolutely.....when she's high and you are not within the +10to +12 time, let her eat. You might want to read this sometime soon...a good discussion on Feed Kitty as Much as they Want.
 
THANK YOU for being here - think I need to get my blood pressure tested! Yikes! So, I am off to feed & kiss her and BED! See ya in the mornin'!
 
I keep seeing that mom cat is typing ".05" just to clarify, does she mean a .50 shot ? I never heard of a .05 shot- it would mean, what, about a drop?
 
Mom cat is a stressed out momma! She needs to learn how to PROPERLY chart 1/2 of 1.0U! ........trust me, the eyes have a hard time doing that - how would you draw 0.05?!!! Bear with me - I'll learn! Doing this under duress @-)
 
Tash read HIGH on the meter this morning. The water bowl was almost empty. Received her 0.5 U shot and fed LC food. We go to the vet this morning and I was wondering if anyone out there could help me explain exactly what we are up to - why were are going it in very simple terms. I think she (vet) will be fine with it but I don't want to insult her as I still "need" her.

Oh, and FYI - if looking at my SS I have 0.05U it should be 0.5U - SS won't let me change the value.
 
1. 1u was too much of a starting dose for such a tiny kitty.
2. dose reduced to 0.5U because of hypo.
3. home testing started to keep your kitty safe
3a. testing before every shot to make sure the BG is high enough to dose (200 for now)
3b. testing at other times to find the nadir or low. lantus dosing changes are made based on the nadirs.
4. HI numbers the last few days because a kitty can bounce for up to 72 hours from those low numbers.
5. feeding low carb canned food now to help keep the numbers low

I think that about covers it. If not let me know what else you need to talk to the vet about.


ETA: Where do you live? East coast? Would you be willing to change your user control panel, profile, edit profile and update the location field to indicate what state/province you live in? Sure would be a useful bit of information.
 
Thanks Deb! Gosh, I must be starting to "get it" :idea: as this is what I sort of came up with too but wanted to make sure! A lot to absorb in just a few days but I think some of it may be sinking in ..... ? Seems I am not a great under stress as I thought I was - I'd be better if this was a human and not my baby! .......I started the SS not knowing what the heck ANY of it was - just filled out the columns and that was that - now I KNOW what they mean - duh!
You guys are fabulous for always being there! Pat yourselves on the back! twice!

B
 
BorisV said:
Mom cat is a stressed out momma! She needs to learn how to PROPERLY chart 1/2 of 1.0U! ........trust me, the eyes have a hard time doing that - how would you draw 0.05?!!! Bear with me - I'll learn! Doing this under duress @-)
Click to expand...
I feel your pain! I was so totally freaking out when Gobbles' was dx'd that I think I was driving everyone bonkers....and it didn't let up for a few months :shock: I do know about the eye thing.... Are you using half-unit syringes? They are marked with half unit increments so it is a lot easier to try to do a dose like .50 . What I finally figured out to do was put a pair of reading glasses over my regular glasses (or contacts, if I was wearing them)....It really helped a lot. I also would draw the needle/insulin in our bathroom which has a lot of lights over the mirror. Maybe try something like that? And I do know how hard it is to not stress out, believe me :-D Maybe try some deep breathing exercises? You are doing a superb job; it will get easier, really--just hang in there cat_pet_icon
 
Deb: updated user control panel . Let me know if you need any more info.

The Bow Huntress: Yes, we have the half unit syringes. Originally using the pen needles but changed ove about 4 days ago. Trust me - there are reading glasses WITH the syringes, flashlights with the lancets, and I "pre tray" all for PS testing - have ALL supplies needed along with clean food bowls, change of water, food, neosporin, rice sock ready for warming .....the whole deal! I make it up WAY ahead - it's becoming a new routine.

I am sure MY stress level will go down once we get this a bit more regulated. I also think I may have a little bug or something but we'll deal with me later - actually got SOME sleep last night so things are looking up!
 
Sorry Bernadette, I think I'm a little brain dead this morning. I do remember you saying you were from Ohio. But my excuse is that 4 pages of posts is a lot and information can get lost in the shuffle. ohmygod_smile

When you have time, you may want to go back and read through those 4 pages and make a list of questions. We were throwing a lot of information at you pretty fast and want to make sure you understand the whys and wherefores.

I equate this to a crash course, college masters degree level, in learning to manage a diabetic cat. Yes, the stress can be unbelievable. :shock:

Please remember to take some time for yourself to recharge and refresh yourself. We tell people to breath, just breath. Take a deep breath, let it out slowly, take another deep breath, let it out slowly, repeat as necessary. It really does help.

This is a physically, mentally, emotionally draining process. It does get better and easier. The first 2 weeks are the hardest I think. After a month it gets a bit easier. After two months, you'll feel like you have been here for years.

You'll be an old pro in no time and letting other new members know it can be done and support them along the way with what you have learned. Those words of encouragement from another recent new member are as important, maybe more important, than the words from the oldtimers.

ETA: more info on the user control panel? Your name is nice, any complicating conditions your cat Tash may have like IBD or CRF, Tash's weight, what food you are feeding.
 
Good morning ladies!

Good summary by Deb on what to discuss with the vet. Be aware that vets like to run fructosamine tests. This provides you with an average BG over the last few weeks. Most of us do not pay for this as we are getting real time data by hometesting and that data is much better and a more accurate view of what's going on. The fruc tests don't show you the highs and lows.

I have to be quite honest here and then I'm going to zip it and go back to Lantus Land (LL) I think Tashie is getting low on you somewhere in the cycle. I have no idea how low because the liver will release those counterregulatory hormones and glucagon even on numbers in the 100-200 range or when the BG drops fast like yesterday. BUT, popping up into the 500s worries me that she is going lower than we would like.

It's going to be difficult to zero in on a good dose for her without a bit more testing. I know we need to be careful with her but at least a midcycle test during the day and, if possible, somewhere around +4 or +5 at night. That puts it closer to midcycle but also puts it in the 11:30-12:30 time range for you so it's not TOO late and you don't have to get up at +6 or +7. The +4/+5 are not ideal tests but work as a "before bed" test.

Anytime you are getting dropping numbers into the low 100s, anywhere in the cycle, you need to grab another test and see where she stops.

Ok...you are in great hands here. When you are ready (more comfy), we would love to see you in the Lantus TR ISG. On the main FDMB page, just scroll down to Insulin Support Groups and click on Lantus TR ISG.

Good luck at the vet. :-D
 
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