Pita's Dosing Party: 8

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Oh Caitlin, I'm so sorry you're feeling the stress of job hunting along with the stress from Pita numbers right now! Hopefully you can get some responses from the vets so you have that in place for whenever you're ready.

I don't think you'll get to double digit units of insulin :eek: I got to three with Sam and then he leveled off (he's waiting for a dental too). He's even gone down a bit now, although I think we're most likely stuck here until he gets his next cleaning/extraction. He just had one in August, so I'm hoping he can wait until closer to the 6-month mark. I've seen a couple other kitties that were holding for dentals and hung out around the 3-4 unit range too, so hopefully that will be Pita's magic number as well.

I don't think you'll get him back into steady blue/greens until it's done, so you're just aiming to keep a lid on it for now, which you're doing. Hopefully he'll start to show at least a little better nadir sometime soon though. He's showing more PS values that are just above 200 instead of higher 200's like he was a week ago (I'm ignoring the pink tonight), so you're getting some traction.

So all that to say, please don't be disappointed in yourself! You're doing everything exactly right. And lots of kitties around here have to wait for their dentals. They are just super expensive and as grandpa used to say - money doesn't grow on trees. So hang in there and extend some grace to yourself. You're taking really good care of him: raising his dose carefully and working to find what he needs, monitoring to keep him safe, giving him LC food - he couldn't ask for a better bean right now!

It does seem so funny to me how much Sam and Pita have followed each other around through this journey! There was a while there when you were on the east coast that I would check Pita's SS to see if Sam was going to go low that night! ;)

:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Djamila said:
Oh Caitlin, I'm so sorry you're feeling the stress of job hunting along with the stress from Pita numbers right now! Hopefully you can get some responses from the vets so you have that in place for whenever you're ready.

I don't think you'll get to double digit units of insulin :eek: I got to three with Sam and then he leveled off (he's waiting for a dental too). He's even gone down a bit now, although I think we're most likely stuck here until he gets his next cleaning/extraction. He just had one in August, so I'm hoping he can wait until closer to the 6-month mark. I've seen a couple other kitties that were holding for dentals and hung out around the 3-4 unit range too, so hopefully that will be Pita's magic number as well.

I don't think you'll get him back into steady blue/greens until it's done, so you're just aiming to keep a lid on it for now, which you're doing. Hopefully he'll start to show at least a little better nadir sometime soon though. He's showing more PS values that are just above 200 instead of higher 200's like he was a week ago (I'm ignoring the pink tonight), so you're getting some traction.

So all that to say, please don't be disappointed in yourself! You're doing everything exactly right. And lots of kitties around here have to wait for their dentals. They are just super expensive and as grandpa used to say - money doesn't grow on trees. So hang in there and extend some grace to yourself. You're taking really good care of him: raising his dose carefully and working to find what he needs, monitoring to keep him safe, giving him LC food - he couldn't ask for a better bean right now!

It does seem so funny to me how much Sam and Pita have followed each other around through this journey! There was a while there when you were on the east coast that I would check Pita's SS to see if Sam was going to go low that night! ;)

:bighug::bighug::bighug:
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You brought tears to my eyes Djamila, thank you for your kind words. I appreciate all the support and love I continue to receive here and don't know what I would do without it. I remember being in MA still and and you saying Sam was following Pita! Lol yes, I hope and pray that he'll now follow in Sam's footsteps and top off soon/get lower nadir. ::deep sigh:: Thank you. I can deal with stuff in my own life but when I think I'm failing my boys it breaks my heart. Thank you for reminding me that all-in-all Pita is healthy and happy and I'm doing the very best I can at this moment. ❤️
 
Oh Caitlin, I know how tough this is! As Djamila said, you're doing everything exactly right. I really don't think a dental is so important that waiting a bit would shoot him into double digit insulin units. We've seen dentals do great things before...but most of the time, they just nudge the numbers back down enough to help the kitty get into healing numbers.

You're definitely not failing your boys! We all feel like we are at times, but all we can do is the best we can do. You're taking care of them, trying to find a good vet (and I'd advise you to wait until you found the one you really wanted even if you had the money for a dental right now!), and worrying about them. That's what a GOOD cat mom does.

We're here when you need to vent or cry on a shoulder! That's what we all do for each other...I'm hoping that the job search yields results for you soon! :bighug::bighug:
 
Caitlin, Djamila and Rachel have said it well. You're taking great care of Pita and that's all you can do. We're always here if you need to vent. People who love their fur kids worry about them constantly. I agree - we can deal with our own stuff but it's a whole different thing when pets are involved. :bighug::bighug:
 
@Djamila @Rachel are either of you awake? Or anyone else! Gave 3 units last night and got a 153 AMPS. Want to make sure it's agreed to give the 3 units again! I'll test again in about three hours regardless. Thanks!
 
Caitlin M said:
@Djamila @Rachel are either of you awake? Or anyone else! Gave 3 units last night and got a 153 AMPS. Want to make sure it's agreed to give the 3 units again! I'll test again in about three hours regardless. Thanks!
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Hi Caitlin,
Why not try the stall without feeding/retest in 20 minutes thing? You can repeat for up to an hour of stalling. If he gets close to 200 you can give 3 u again or shave off a little bit for comfort's sake.

Another thing I did with Teasel when he was on ProZinc was feed him, wait 45 minutes or so, retest and then give the full dose. It's not an "official" method but it worked fine for me.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Hi Caitlin,
Why not try the stall without feeding/retest in 20 minutes thing? You can repeat for up to an hour of stalling. If he gets close to 200 you can give 3 u again or shave off a little bit for comfort's sake.
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In my half asleep state, I already fed them :banghead:
 
I agree with Kris that it will probably be okay. I'd probably do the second test just to make sure he's heading up. It sounds like you'll be monitoring so you can help him out if he gets below 50. Sam's PM cycle on 11/14 was similar. He did skate pretty close to the edge, but it was our first green. Fingers crossed Pita does well for you today.
 
I've already knocked on wood many times! PMPS was at 172. I'm thinking I should give the full 3 units because I can test tonight and make sure he doesn't go too low.... thoughts?!
 
Yup, that's what I would do. Odds are he'll be flat tonight anyway since he isn't used to those greens anymore, but you never know....
 
I'm jumping the gun a little bit, but I'm wondering if I should hold the 3 units for 6 cycles this time? Tonight was the end of cycle 3 and I would have upped his dose tomorrow am...
 
Soooooo. I tested at 5pm and got 100. It was a bit early but Brat was being annoying for food. I waited and just tested at 6:30 and he's at 101. I'm laughing to myself because I don't know if/what dose to shoot! Heeellppp! :p
 
He'll probably be a little high in the morning of course. The alternative is to feed, let him rise, and shoot late. That means you have to walk back the shot times over the next few days, but it does work. Or you can skip. If it was me I'd skip. (See Sam PM 11/26) It did take a few cycles to get him back on track, but it was worth it. :D:cat::D:cat:
 
Djamila said:
He'll probably be a little high in the morning of course. The alternative is to feed, let him rise, and shoot late. That means you have to walk back the shot times over the next few days, but it does work. Or you can skip. If it was me I'd skip. (See Sam PM 11/26) It did take a few cycles to get him back on track, but it was worth it. :D:cat::D:cat:
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Honestly, I'll probably just post here in the am and go from there. Thanks so much Djamila!
 
Ok all, 291 AMPS, which was to be expected. Should I skip again as Djamila mentioned or stick with the normal dose?...Thanks!
 
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I would stay at 3u and see if he has a low PMPS again. If it happens a second time then he might need a little reduction.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Try stalling without food first. Your lower PMPSs recently might be an indication that 3 u is a bit high. Maybe a reduction would even out your PSs. Maybe try 2 u? I’m guessing at this.
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Haha I clearly haven't been doing well withholding food! His test was actually later so I didn't get think twice about letting him eat. Maybe I'll reduce to 2 as you guess and I'll see how it goes
 
No nail biting necessary. You did fine! I was just wondering how much thought I should put into guessing at the dose. ;)
 
You are officially in the magic 8 ball/random guess phase of dosing.

Since this is his second too-low PMPS in a row, I would say to lower the AM dose a little. What does "a little" mean? Who knows? 2.8? 2.6? 2? I would say try 2.8, but I would also say to use your mama-sense. His AM cycle isn't all that low in general is why I wouldn't want to lower too much, but you do want it to wear off a little sooner so you can shoot a full dose at PMPS. You're just going to have to try things and get data and see how it goes. And of course keep posting because guess-a-dose is one of my favorite games ;).
 
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