Pig 6/4 +7 88; +11 72; amps 71

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LuvinThisPig

LuvinThisPig

Member Since 2017
Yesterday's

Well, you will not hear any complaints from me (except Holy Moly!!!), but this boy is racing down the dosing ladder!!

His +11 was @ 72, which unless he decided to prove me wrong, means that he will be below the 70 line upon his amps. This means he will earn, yet another, reduction in only a week's time frame! We have successfully cut his dosage in HALF in less than 1 week! :woot: I just... I have no words...

My level of thankfulness and appreciation and gratefulness is just beyond explanation at this point and just WOW! Go Pig Go!

I did give R on yesterday's (6/3) amps cycle, which will effect the next concurrent cycle slightly. However, I do not think by that much. Also, given the fact that it has not even been 3 even cycles on the 30u, that depot is still pretty unstable. And yet, he continues to trend downward. At this point, I am toying with dosing reduction or fully skipping a shot.

I can't see giving another full 30u because at this point the effects of all the BCS doses should be coming into play, but he is still trending down. Depending on where he is sitting at amps, I will most likely skip his shot. I am not happy about this, but it might be what he needs to basically reset that depot so I can have a clearer look at what is going on. Not to mention, every post-SRT that I have 'shot low to stay low' he went really low.

It is all so very different now and a bit scary. But, oh so exciting and relieving!

I have reinforcements coming today around 8 if a shot is given.

Have a wonderful day L&L with lots of love and butt licking! :p
 
@Wendy&Neko look!! It's your fence!

I found this little meme while aimlessly scrolling through Facebook.. I did NOT add the caption, but I do like the idea! I just thought it was pretty cool that this was a picture of the same fence that you sent me! I had a good little chuckle, because the real cat peeps got there first.. :p:p:p:p

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He is so just right on that line. I know that if I shoot a reduction he most likely will continue to drop lower. The aim is to get him in a safe range (100-150) without the R so that I can fine tune with the R. With all the recent dose changes, I tend to totally agree with @Wendy&Neko that the depot is going to be impossible to predict at this point. However, to dip to a 71 without a fully built one is pretty amazing. But, I do think that I need to reset his a bit so that I can have a clearer idea of what is going on.

I will skip today's shot, even though I am not overly happy about him being higher. But, dosing the reduction seems even more wrong at this point. I know a 71 is not below the cut-off, but I am trying to give some wiggle room so I can play with R. Especially considering how fast he is racing down in his dosing. I need a cushion there.
 
Good call on the skip, especially if you won't be around for part of the cycle. Better high for part of a cycle. What dose you thinking of next?

71 and 72 are the same numbers, he's surfing. Thankfully.

BTW, Julie (with punkin) called this post SRT phase "dialing for doses". :p
 
Wendy&Neko said:
BTW, Julie (with punkin) called this post SRT phase "dialing for doses". :p
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It certainly feels that way! However, I am running some plans in my head that I think will work the way I need them to and keep him safe. I want to aim for consistency.

Wendy&Neko said:
Good call on the skip, especially if you won't be around for part of the cycle. Better high for part of a cycle. What dose you thinking of next?
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So, here is my plan. I am attempting to base this off his historical data, what little I have post-SRT. The way I see it, every time I make a reduction he is dipping back into reduction territory within only couple cycles. Which is why his dosing ended up all over the place, because we couldn't catch up to either the depot, the results of SRT, or both. Most likely it is a bit of both. I also feel like that massive depot is fueling a lot of this. Especially considering the fact that when I shoot low, even a very reduced dose, he continues to drop. This tells me that at this point the majority of action is not necessarily from the current cycle's dose, but more the depot. I am also considering the residual effect that we saw post-SRT and feel that depot is not necessarily as drained as one might think.

With this in mind, I am thinking that what needs to be done to get us in target Lev range is not one, but two reductions at this point. Meaning, per my calculations (and I am horrible at math so I hope I did them right), I am looking at a 23u tonight. I first took a 15% reduction off the 30u and then I took another 10% off of that (25.5u), giving me 23uL. This I think will give me a bit to catch up, dose out a few consecutive cycles at the same dose, and also put him into a range that I can leverage that R the way we planned. If it proves to be overly much, well then we take it back up. However, at this point, I feel like I need to jump ahead of this thing or else it is going to be a constant battle of skipping and reducing..

If this works the way I think it will, then this is the protocol I will stick to until things slow down a bit. What do you think?

Wendy&Neko said:
71 and 72 are the same numbers, he's surfing. Thankfully.
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Yes... I anticipated much lower numbers on his amps, but delightfully he was holding steady! There is certainly a level of unpredictability here! However, I don't think I could be more ecstatic with it!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Try compensating with R first.

I found the SRT action went in fits and spurts. I'd have several weeks of riding the roller coaster, then get a chance to take my breath for a while. I wasn't all downward fast, sometimes it was coasting.
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Absolutely. We can do that for sure. I have plenty of the stuff. :) So, tonight we will move forward with 23u and see where that takes us! I will also most likely use the R tonight to force his numbers back into line, unless using R on a decrease is the same as using it on an increase... A no-no??? Should I hold off until the next one?
 
LuvinThisPig said:
Absolutely. We can do that for sure. I have plenty of the stuff. :) So, tonight we will move forward with 23u and see where that takes us! I will also most likely use the R tonight to force his numbers back into line, unless using R on a decrease is the same as using it on an increase... A no-no??? Should I hold off until the next one?
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Wait... Never mind. Disregard that question. That was a silly one. I have used the R on reductions a few times. Sheesh! I do not know what I was thinking... :joyful:
 
Olive & Paula said:
I need some education here. If Pig is coming down the ladder and in normal range, why use the R.
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Pig was and still is on an incredibly high dose of Lev. So, this means that the depot that has built in his system is tremendous. I think of it like this, I have a few human friends who get about 15-20u Lev BID. Pig was getting 59u Lev BID for quite a while. The dose to body size ratio comparison there is ginormous! What I have seen time and time again is that even if I give a reduced dose of 1/2-2/3 his excessively large depot will carry that cycle out as if I gave no reductions. Even when I do see a disruption in the depot and he hits higher numbers, it is only for a very short time and then that depot grabs ahold again.

He just had SRT treatment on 5-8, which is adding in a level of unpredictability there as that tumor dies and consequentially, his IGF-1 levels reduce. Meaning, there is less IGF-1 to flood out with insulin. Given how fast he is racing down the ladder, I want to give a reduced dose of Lev so that I can mitigate some of the resulting depot action. In essence, I cannot control the insulin action once it enters the body and when his needs drop, there is little and less I can do to stop that depot. That is where the R comes into play, because it gives me almost instant action and very little residual action. The idea is that if he hits below a 70 I can drop his Lev dose per protocol, but I can also take the R out of the equation. Meaning, that at that point I have far more control over his numbers should his needs really dive. It is a safeguard if you will. A cushion. I hope I explained that right... I can be confusing sometimes, especially trying to explain my thoughts... :):):)
 
I will make note of this as well. I have had to feed canned food for the past several days as there has been some discrepancies with the shipping processes in the company that I use to ship in Pig's raw. I am not very thrilled, but we will get through this. However, it is very apparent to me the lack of digestibility here as his appetite is so drastically different when on canned vs. raw.

His appetite has always been more than healthy, but the difference in appetite between the two is startlingly! I have sent in emails and made calls and hope that the RC will ship on this Tuesday. I also intend to never have this happen again, so I will be focusing on stock piling the raw just like everything else..
 
Thanks for the explanation, I don't know how you figure all that out, it's beyond me. I get the idea that the R over rides the lev so it slows it down.
 
Bouncy rubber balls. That's what you should be thinking. That's what Leo did after his SRT sessions.

I'm really happy to see Pig responding so quickly to the SRT. Just amazing. :bighug::bighug::bighug:

Keep Pig safe. As you know, I keep Leo at higher numbers to avoid hypos. Even so, Leo is now doing a hypo about every 6-8 weeks. Still bouncy 18 - 20 months after SRT.
 
LizzieInTexas said:
And Pig laughs :D
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And this is the most accurate statement of the day.... I strive for consistency and Pig sits back and chuckles manically to himself.. :p He is a diabolical one for sure...

It is very nerve wrecking, but luckily Pig and I are blessed to the nines with the most amazing support system! I also have the very best brother in the entire whole wide world! He will drop everything on a dime to be here an help with Pig. Last winter he was sick with the flu, but drug himself out of bed to come and give Pig his meds because I was stuck at work. That is the definition of love! :bighug::bighug::bighug: I could not do any of this, without any of them!

How is Gizmo feeling today? You are doing so wonderful with him.... I imagine it is every bit as nerve wracking for you as it is for me... Big hugs! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Olive & Paula said:
Thanks for the explanation, I don't know how you figure all that out, it's beyond me. I get the idea that the R over rides the lev so it slows it down.
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Well, it is not so much that the R overrides the Lev as it is the R compliments the Lev. Especially in our high dose kitties. Its sort of a nice red with just the right cheese.

Think of it like this. The Lev is a great depot insulin. It works to some degree on the first shot, but typically it even takes several hours to initially see its effects. These effects build and level out, if you will, as the body constructs a spare tank of this insulin that it releases slowly over time. Lev is like having an internal, ever flowing source of medication so that even if you skip a dose you continue to see the effects of that insulin. It is sort of how an ice cube melts in a drink slowly over time. It immediately cools the drink, but as it thaws it disperses the temps more evenly and thoroughly throughout the drink over an extended period of time.

Conversely, the R is what we call an immediate action insulin. It is fast acting. Where Lev may not take hold for up to 6 hours out, the R usually starts to work within about 2 hours. Likewise, it does not build up a spare tank of insulin in the body, meaning that once it is played out, it is played out. No lasting effects. Except this...

In an Acro kitty, or any high dose, that resistance is a beast to master. It is so strong that even large amounts of a long acting insulin (depot insulin) like Lev are not strong enough to actually pull the numbers down into an acceptable range. Honestly, it is sort of like pissing on a forest fire. It does little to less until you hit the 'right' dose, which can and does take forever sometimes. With R, you are not only graced with immediate action, but strength as well. It is a very harsh and powerful insulin. So, the way you leverage it in a high doser is that you use the R to grab ahold of those outrageous BG numbers and yank them downward. In essence, you use the power of R to do that which the Lev cannot do on its own. Once the R grabs and pulls those numbers down, then the star potential of the depot insulin can shine. Depot insulins hold their strength in their ability to coast out a cycle, that's why we see those beautiful curves over such long periods of time. Once you have managed to yank the numbers down, then the power of that depot will act like a lock to grab and lockdown those numbers in the right range, which will turn into a coast of sorts. Once the numbers are down, the depot can hold them down. This is why you see the effects of R over several cycles. It is not necessarily the R itself still in action, but the results of it being able to pull the numbers down so that the depot can hold them in place.

In the most basic sense, it is a balance of strength and endurance. The R gives you strength and speed, hard and fast. The Lev gives you endurance and pace, slow but steady.
 
JeffJ said:
Keep Pig safe
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This one line has echoed in my head ever since you said it months ago and this is precisely what I intend to do. Keeping his target Lev range within 100-150 allows me to manipulate with R. The good thing there is that his R cycle will play out before I ever have to leave the house. Typically, once the R plays out the rest of the cycle is steady surfing. However, I still and aiming for that 100-150 range at the moment for sure. Those hypos are scary business. I must say, however, Pig is finding that his BG home is around 80-125. This is where he appears the most comfortable, so that is where I am aiming to hit overall. That is, until he hits a reduction!!

JeffJ said:
Bouncy rubber balls. That's what you should be thinking. That's what Leo did after his SRT sessions.
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Oh! I feel so bad with this! Pig has always sort of regulated himself as far as staying within a 50 point range for many cycles in a row... It seems like it has to be exhausting to be low one minute and super high the next... And besides, Tail is the bouncy ball around here!! Although, I will say, Rockstar Pig was running around the house like a nut-job in a black fur coat just a short hour ago! :p
JeffJ said:
I'm really happy to see Pig responding so quickly to the SRT. Just amazing. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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I am as shocked by it as well!! I know that it all depends on where in the life cycle those tumor cells are and I am really starting to think that his last bought of yellows was that stupid thing's last little war cry before it started to give out... As scary as it is now, I certainly hope we continue to see such movement! Either way, I feel like we have been blessed beyond compare with just the progress thus far! I am so just wowed... :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
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