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julie & punkin (ga)

julie & punkin (ga)

Member Since 2011
hi,

punkin's spread sheet is linked below. i've tried to get every 3 hours today, but missed +9 because he just was going wild. then his PMPS tonight was 364 . . .

i've finally got the blood poke down, but haven't figured out yet how to grow one more hand to keep his head still when that blood wells up. i think the reason i wasn't getting blood before was because the cotton ball behind his ear was too soft and maybe it wasn't really a good enough poke. i rigged up a sort-of light box to help me see the veins and it's hard - since i've used it i'm getting through every time. i'll post a picture of it in the general forum - maybe it will help some other newbie.

anyway, i'm reading everywhere but still feel like i don't really know if i should be doing anything. i'm guessing with the numbers this week maybe i'm still at the "hold" phase with him.

Any thoughts or suggestions for me?
 
Others will be along soon with better advice than this newbie can give, but I know it takes 5-7 days for Lantus to build the shed, and with the fur shot in the mix, it may take a bit longer. It is also possible that the evening you had the 177 PS and then the 189 at +3 could have been a cycle where the numbers went lower that night... low blues or greens... and the higher numbers you see now are a bounce from that. They can take up to 72 hours to clear, especially when just getting started.

I find that poking on an angle helps me to not go through willie's ear... and I actually double it over to poke. It does happen from time to time.

You are doing great!! Have a good night!!
 
he's been on the lantus since Feb 12 - I only just found this site and started testing at home on the 20th.

he was diagnosed Dec 1, went on prozinc and canned purina dm - his number testing at the vets kept improving and we took him off January 4.

Jan 24 his #s were high at the vet's (350-513) and he went back on prozinc, increasing units up to 4 with the numbers not changing. Although I must point out that he went to the vet's at different times a day so i'm not really sure what the numbers told, plus he's a highly anxious cat and that no doubt sent the BG higher.

Feb 12 he started on Lantus 2 units, increased to 3 on Feb 15, then the vet wanted him to go to 3.5 on Feb 17. I didn't increase it because i was insecure about the vet BG numbers.

Perhaps that helps explain pre-chart information.
 
Hi Julie. Just wanted to welcome you. I'm new here as well and still have so much to learn but there are a lot of great people with really good advice on here to help you. Good luck with everything and have a great weekend.
 
HI Julie, I would hold your present dose for a few more cycles. Lantus needs to build the "shed" (storage depot) and that takes about a week each time you change the dose. Just have patience and you will begin to see more consistency. Don't panic and push up his dose right now. Just hang in there! You are doing fine. Take a few hours and read carefully through the "stickies" at the top of this forum and you will have a better idea of what to expect and when.

Ella
 
hi, julie...welcome!

punkin's a cutie...

there are some very experienced folks here that will help you out...Ella has a good point on familiarizing yourself with the info in the stickies at the top of the page...

and so your journey begins!

celi & binks
 
Hi Julie - welcome back.

It looks like you shifted around your feeding times -- that's great!

It looks to me like Punkin has room for you to increase the dose to 3.25u. Will you be around over the weekend to monitor?
 
aw, he IS cute, isn't he!?! thanks for noticing & thanks for the welcome! i'm enjoying the pics and stories of all of your kitties too.

i was in youth ministry for 13 years and 11 years ago when i took my youth group to volunteer at the Humane Society, he stole my heart. I just adored him, but already had a cat (felix & dog & 3 rabbits & 3 kids) and hadn't ever had more than 1 cat at a time. i said "i don't even have a checkbook with me" and my adult volunteer said she'd pay for him. I said "my husband will kill me if i bring home another pet" and the kids said they'd go with me to tell him, knowing he wouldn't get mad in front of them. he didn't get mad anyway. it was a conspiracy!

anyway, i had wanted a lap kitty because Felix was wonderful, but not a lap cat. punkin melted into my lap and purred right away. the funny thing is when i got him home he spent the next 6 months either behind the washing machine or the refrigerator, but eventually he came around. he's been a blessing to me - and i'm willing to do just about anything for him.

anyway, yes, i'm feeding him timed with morning and evening shots and moved his lunch earlier. he's not keen about waiting til 7 for dinner, but that's life! but i was curious about that, because the info on lantus is that it's slow acting and that you can even free-feed with it.

yes, i'm around all weekend. if i raise it to 3.25, do you think i need to continue testing every 3 hours? :shock:

i have read all the stickies in just about the entire site - also the tight regulation stuff, Tilly's page & the actual protocol on Lantis. woot. although i have to say some of it isn't sticking in my brain! there's just so much.

he's sitting on the floor in front of me right now trying to bore his "feed me now" message into my brain, no doubt wondering why his human is so stupid that she doesn't get it. :lol:

i love him. i know you all feel the same way about your cats.
 
You are only feeding at shot time not any time in between?

I think you should be feeding throughtout the day. Many people pick up the food at the six hour mark and feed a snack at nine hours. Lots of members have timed feeders (petsafe 2 compartment or five compartment) if your cat isn't a grazer.

Maverick is a free feeder. He doesn't eat on my schedule and he needs to eat with his history of FHL I can't risk him going off food. So he just goes to grab a bite when he wants to. But Maverick is extremely well regulated also and has never bounced or gone low. So he isn't the norm per say.

Any cat food is good as long as its low carb. Binky's list is amazing. Have you seen it yet?

I love how Punkin came to be yours. This is one of the things I look forward to most - hearing how everyone has found their kitties. It's like its meant to be.
 
he eats a full meal 4 times a day - basically 7am & 7pm with shots and then about 11am and 11pm, plus i'm giving him little tuna snackies when i'm testing him. he's a big guy! he's probably close to twice as big all around, not just heavy, but his frame is about twice as big as our little 2 year old kitter. you can really tell it in a picture of them together. i did cut down the total amount of food - instead of feeding the 2 cats together 1.5 cans x 4 times a day i'm giving them 1 can x 4 times a day, plus the little tuna bits.

i think his weight has been fairly stable - he was 14.3 last week at the vet's.

he's eating fancy feast now, the classic ones.

yes, he was meant to be with us! he'd been in the Humane Society cage for 3 months, i think, before we adopted him. he was about a year old, i think a street kitty. as skittish and anxious as he is, i can only imagine how traumatic that was for him. even now if people are here, unless he knows them well, he will disappear.

what is FHL?
 
Awww three months in a cage. Wow. You have a big heart giving him such an awesome forever home. So he's completely comfortable as long as there is no strangers?

Good to know about the feeding. Thats awesome.

FHL/FattyLiver/Feline Hepatic Lipidosis is something I get on my soapbox about :-D I tell as many people as I can to help prevent another cat from dealing with it. Maverick almost died from it in 2008 and needed a feeding tube to recover. Cats livers don't work like humans do, they don't process body fat for energy very well and when a cat loses weight their livers can clog with fat. So weight loss should always be done very slowly, monitored closely with maintenance periods to give the liver a break. Some cats get it very quickly, some cats can lose a pile of weight quickly and not get FHL. I just wish I had known about it.
 
Hi again, Julie,
Punkin is sure lucky to have found you!
Sienne is very knowledgeable about dosing and really knows how to interpret spreadsheets. If she thinks you can go up to 3.25 units, you should follow her suggestion. And yes, you should be around to monitor and test.
Good luck with the dosecrease!

Ella & Rusty
 
Hi, Julie and Punkin!
I'm sorry I got his gender wrong last time- I have put it in my head now that Punkin is a boy. :mrgreen: And a very cute one, at that.

I don't have any dose advice for you as I am only a year into the sugar dance, but I wanted to stop by and say hello, and to give you encouragement. It's overwhelming to try and learn so much at once, but you are doing great. Have a great Caturday!

p.s. Chaos was an anxious cat in the beginning, but after much love and careful handling, he is much better with strangers in the house. I hope Punkin relaxes some, too.
 
ok, thanks everybody! 3.25 it is.

he's fine with just us, and he has probably a dozen familiar people that he's fine with - will even love up some of them. i saw him nuzzle the neck of one of the vet techs when i handed him over a couple of weeks ago. when i have him at the vet's for testing the techs kept saying "he's my favorite" because when he's ready to be picked up he puts his arms up for you to lift him. reminds me of a 2 year old. it's just strangers now that scare him - and the vet's office has LOTS of strangers. the home testing is taking care of that, of course.

we're lucky to have him.

and i think a year doing this :o you must be an expert too!
 
Hello!

This is the first time I've seen your posting, and can feel what you're going thru.....my cat Harry was Dx back in Nov. of last year, had mega weight loss (from 17 pounds down to 10.5) and looked so frail! But now he's back up to 13 and holding steady.

A big problem for me, at first, was the testing. I found it handy to have the warm rice sock in hand, at the same time (with the same hand) using extra fingers to pet Harry's cheek when testing. Some have found it handy to sing to their pet when doing it, for us it was mega pets, cheek rubbin's thru the process, and directly afterwards giving him a little lick of butter (as a treat) or food. They get so used to it, I've fallen asleep a few times and he's woken me up with a large "meow" to say "hey, it's my treat time!".
One thing I've been trying to find is a 5 sectioned pet feeder that works. I bought one recently and it worked once, but not after that...return to the store time!

It's best to check your Punkin at least 4 times a day, is possible. (I say that, at yet when i test him it's about 3 times, not getting that late night reading while I'm 1/2 asleep) Once for the AMPS, mid day, PMPS, and a +2 or +3 to see where he's at.

Also, I'm not sure if you've had any problems with testing, or the shots themselves? How has it been going? Other than the amounts given per shot, I would suggest leaving the dosage at the tried amount for at least a week before changing it lower or higher. I had Harry at 1 unit to start, waited a week, up to 2 units, waited a week......then got the fantastic 1/2 unit marking syringes and he's now back down to 1 unit twice a day. But staying at your 3.25 units is a good idea to leave for a week.

Hope it all goes well so far! I know it's hard with our diabetic kitties....they are our family!!!!
 
PS - So jealous of your numbers so far (and even where you've started at!)...Harry's jumped all over the place!!
 
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