Prozinc Dosing 4 Bear the unpredictable

Bear & Lora

Bear & Lora

Very Active Member
@MrWorfMen's Mom @Djamila @Kris & Teasel @Rachel

I don't have a clue what just happened to Bear's BG?

He just jumped from Blue to Red in two hours and his +7 436BG wasn't food influenced.

I'm feeding him because he about ate my hand when i fed him chicken treats at testing.

Any ideas from experience as to what is going on??
 
Bear & Lora said:
@MrWorfMen's Mom @Djamila @Kris & Teasel @Rachel

I don't have a clue what just happened to Bear's BG?

He just jumped from Blue to Red in two hours and his +7 436BG wasn't food influenced.

I'm feeding him because he about ate my hand when i fed him chicken treats at testing.

Any ideas from experience as to what is going on??
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436BG was the 2nd test because the first was 486BG and I thought it had to be wonky.
 
@MrWorfMen's Mom @Djamila @Kris & Teasel @Rachel

So I read online that in human diabetes that if you don't eat your blood sugar can go up. The liver releases glucose to fuel the body. I would guess it is the same for felines?

I wonder if Bear's recent ketone problem and huge decrease in nutrients during that time are aspects of this large spike in BG? Possibly because his body needs more nutrients and is sensitive to being on a empty stomach?

I just am lost and a bit scared at the unpredictably of Bear's BG.
 
My guess is that he is bouncing and he has quite the trampoline. He hasn't seen a blue for a few days and his little system probably went WHOA! what's going on! Feeding him is fine. If he is that hungry part of that BG might be hunger stress. Took me forever to figure out that was sometimes an issue with my girl.
It's one number...don't panic. He's bound to be a little wonky as his system re-adjusts to the extra food etc.
 
Well that is odd. Not sure what is happening, but looking over what his norm is, I'd have to assume it's just a one off. Sometimes we get weird numbers like that during a cycle. It could be anything...might have found some contraband somewhere, could be feeling stressed out by something, could be overly excited...we call that "oh look a squirrel" syndrome! Basically it means something probably happened to make him feel excited or stressed out (like seeing a squirrel) or something and we don't know what...it can cause BG to go up like that. I wouldn't worry yet. Give it a bit of time and let's see what his PMPS is.
 
@MrWorfMen's Mom @Rachel

Ok, I will work on calm. Bear's whole ketone experience has got me very jumpy. The Techs at the front desk at the vets couldn't find Bear's name because the vet has him on the critical list. Yep, just a bit jumpy.
 
Yeah that would do it to you!:arghh: Deep breathes! He's eating, had better BG this afternoon and ketones have gone down. Just keep checking him for ketones and if he shows even a trace, then monitoring needs to be more intense making sure he stays well hydrated and nourished and he's getting enough insulin. You caught it this time, he's on the mend and now you are that much more aware of how to deal with it so you can be pro-active at keeping ketones at bay.
 
Oh Lora! Sending you so many hugs right now!!! :bighug::bighug::bighug: Yes to all of those options listed above. With the main point being try to not worry about it too much. It's hard not to focus on each number as it's own thing, but it's really important to keep a wide angle lens and look at the whole picture.

And by the way, great job getting a second test when that first one seemed weird! When I started reading down the thread "wonky test strip" was what I was hoping for. Alas, it sounds like it's a valid test, but it could be any number of causes, so for now, deep breaths and focus on how he's doing overall, not just the number on the meter.

For example, you said he practically ate your hand off. Just a couple of days ago, he wouldn't eat at all. That's HUGE progress!
 
Bear 10-04-18 (1).jpg
"Looking so much better! His choice of a place to rest is somewhat out of the ordinary though." :)
 
Checked in a bit earlier and saw that 61! WOW! At that time I really thought he would bounce up higher so seeing that 152 now is really a very pleasant surprise. Now that said, as wonderful as those numbers are, I know exactly what you are feeling when you can't be there to monitor closely.

Stalling - If you test Bear and his BG is below 200 at pre-shot, don't feed him and wait 15-20 minutes and test again to see if he is rising on his own without any food in the picture. You can stall up to an hour total or 3 stalls keeping in mind what that stalling is going to do to your schedule going forward. This is when you have to balance out both Bear's needs with what you are able to do.

Given the cycle he's had so far, I don't see the need for any increase in his insulin. Right now his cycle is beautiful. Now we just have to see what he does between +10 and pre-shot.

OHOHOHOH! just saw your last post ...well I guess I'll eat my words now! Well some of them. He has bounced and he's quite the trampoline master. I still wouldn't increase his dose. He's bouncing from that drop of 171 points. Better to let him run a bit flatter to bring those pre-shots down so I think I'd hold the dose for now. I might even try dropping it to 1.5u as long as he is still negative for ketones to see if that keeps the drop a little more moderate as that should bring down the pre-shot numbers.

The change from high carb to a mix of high and low which would be equivalent to medium probably had something to do with those numbers. With the DKA you don't want kitty going low because it's hard to get enough food into them to keep them from crashing. As long as Bear is eating, that is not such a concern. But if you won't be able to monitor as closely in the next week or so, then keeping him at reasonable levels is still an important consideration.

Let's see what he does at pre-shot because he's been known to pull some fast ones on us! :rolleyes:
 
Oh Linda, what a mess he seems to be. :) I guess you got to see those posts before I deleted them. I deleted them because I thought I sounded a little crazy.

I want a nice medium ground, no loss of weight, no high numbers, no low numbers. Bear just doesn't seem to have a middle ground. Yellow would be great with a few blues mixed in. I fed him low carb before shot just in case he dropped to fast after hi insulin. he only ate 0.4 ounces not quite a half an ounce.

What do you think I should do next at a +2 or+3? I usually feed him right before I go to bed which can be either the +2 or+3.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Checked in a bit earlier and saw that 61! WOW! At that time I really thought he would bounce up higher so seeing that 152 now is really a very pleasant surprise. Now that said, as wonderful as those numbers are, I know exactly what you are feeling when you can't be there to monitor closely.

Stalling - If you test Bear and his BG is below 200 at pre-shot, don't feed him and wait 15-20 minutes and test again to see if he is rising on his own without any food in the picture. You can stall up to an hour total or 3 stalls keeping in mind what that stalling is going to do to your schedule going forward. This is when you have to balance out both Bear's needs with what you are able to do.

Given the cycle he's had so far, I don't see the need for any increase in his insulin. Right now his cycle is beautiful. Now we just have to see what he does between +10 and pre-shot.

OHOHOHOH! just saw your last post ...well I guess I'll eat my words now! Well some of them. He has bounced and he's quite the trampoline master. I still wouldn't increase his dose. He's bouncing from that drop of 171 points. Better to let him run a bit flatter to bring those pre-shots down so I think I'd hold the dose for now. I might even try dropping it to 1.5u as long as he is still negative for ketones to see if that keeps the drop a little more moderate as that should bring down the pre-shot numbers.

The change from high carb to a mix of high and low which would be equivalent to medium probably had something to do with those numbers. With the DKA you don't want kitty going low because it's hard to get enough food into them to keep them from crashing. As long as Bear is eating, that is not such a concern. But if you won't be able to monitor as closely in the next week or so, then keeping him at reasonable levels is still an important consideration.

Let's see what he does at pre-shot because he's been known to pull some fast ones on us! :rolleyes:
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Linda as far as Bear is concerned he would eat more than half a can at one meal if it had the word gravy in the description. I thought that could be why he was going in the red. He was total low carb then I moved him to almost all high carb trying to follow the instructions on post DKA the best I could.
 
Dang time differences....I see that red WAS Bear's pre-shot. I was thinking it was his +11. Oh well. Bounces can last a few cycles and unfortunately they are just part of this dance. I'd feed him low carb at whichever time suits you best and get a test before bed to see what he's up to. He is not a mess. He's being a cat. You are still very new at this and anxious to see him regulated. We all want that but this is a marathon not a sprint and Bear is leading this dance. Your job is to learn his steps and follow.

I'd stick to low carb unless you see his numbers falling or you want to be sure they don't fall too much when you are not going to be there to monitor. Then it becomes a judgement call as to whether to feed medium or high carb. I'd avoid the high carb except when numbers are low and dropping.

Now you realize of course that with you deleting your posts, I look like I am just talking up a storm for no reason. :p:woot::woot: Your post made sense to me and didn't sound crazy at all.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Dang time differences....I see that red WAS Bear's pre-shot. I was thinking it was his +11. Oh well. Bounces can last a few cycles and unfortunately they are just part of this dance. I'd feed him low carb at whichever time suits you best and get a test before bed to see what he's up to. He is not a mess. He's being a cat. You are still very new at this and anxious to see him regulated. We all want that but this is a marathon not a sprint and Bear is leading this dance. Your job is to learn his steps and follow.

I'd stick to low carb unless you see his numbers falling or you want to be sure they don't fall too much when you are not going to be there to monitor. Then it becomes a judgement call as to whether to feed medium or high carb. I'd avoid the high carb except when numbers are low and dropping.

Now you realize of course that with you deleting your posts, I look like I am just talking up a storm for no reason. :p:woot::woot: Your post made sense to me and didn't sound crazy at all.
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LMAO!!!!! You gave me a full belly laugh. That was great! I so needed that.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Dang time differences....I see that red WAS Bear's pre-shot. I was thinking it was his +11. Oh well. Bounces can last a few cycles and unfortunately they are just part of this dance. I'd feed him low carb at whichever time suits you best and get a test before bed to see what he's up to. He is not a mess. He's being a cat. You are still very new at this and anxious to see him regulated. We all want that but this is a marathon not a sprint and Bear is leading this dance. Your job is to learn his steps and follow.

I'd stick to low carb unless you see his numbers falling or you want to be sure they don't fall too much when you are not going to be there to monitor. Then it becomes a judgement call as to whether to feed medium or high carb. I'd avoid the high carb except when numbers are low and dropping.

Now you realize of course that with you deleting your posts, I look like I am just talking up a storm for no reason. :p:woot::woot: Your post made sense to me and didn't sound crazy at all.
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Honestly right now I just want Bear to be safe as he can possibly be while I can't monitor him. What is safe for post DKA, yellows and pinks, definitely not greens or reds, right?
 
Since you have a busy week ahead and won't be able to monitor as closely, I think you can consider dropping his dose to 1.5u if his pre-shot BG is down and/or leaving out higher carb food for him to eat in your absence. If you don't have a feeder, you can freeze some food in ice cube trays and leave it out so it stays fresh and melts gradually for Bear to eat as he sees fit.

He is getting a significant drop at times but not consistently and I think some of that is bouncing. Some kitties are bouncers. Kris's Teasel has a medal! Hopefully Kris and Djamila will chime in with their suggestions and we find a way to get stop Bear from beating Teasel out of his prize! ;)
 
Lora, nice blues and greens would be totally safe post DKA and in fact they would be preferable however, Bear isn't there yet. Admittedly I don't like the reds but then he isn't spending long periods in red so that is good. Pinks are Ok but ideally I think the goal should be to get Bear to yellow pre-shots and nice blue mid-cycle numbers for now. That said, if he starts out pink and drops to yellow instead of all the way to blue or green, that would be a step in the right direction too.

The problem with these critters is that they are so used to being high numbers, their panic button goes off prematurely. The only way to get the numbers under control is to try to nudge them down rather than hammering them. That's why sometimes a little less insulin works better than more.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Lora, nice blues and greens would be totally safe post DKA and in fact they would be preferable however, Bear isn't there yet. Admittedly I don't like the reds but then he isn't spending long periods in red so that is good. Pinks are Ok but ideally I think the goal should be to get Bear to yellow pre-shots and nice blue mid-cycle numbers for now. That said, if he starts out pink and drops to yellow instead of all the way to blue or green, that would be a step in the right direction too.

The problem with these critters is that they are so used to being high numbers, their panic button goes off prematurely. The only way to get the numbers under control is to try to nudge them down rather than hammering them. That's why sometimes a little less insulin works better than more.
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@Kris & Teasel @Djamila

You know since I deleted the two posts with Kris &Djamila tagged they probably wouldn't be alerted that we need some input. :)

I don't know if you noticed but you probably have, I upped Bear's insulin .25 after his ketones were negative thinking I was following post DKA correctly.

Then I thought since I can't monitor regularly at this time instead of going up another .25 I would try to steer him down a bit with food since he is eating great.

I must have went overboard somehow or I am just too new to understanding these nuances of BG. I thought I was following the instructions correctly, but maybe not.

That is why I feel a bit crazy/confused like up is down and down is up.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Lora, nice blues and greens would be totally safe post DKA and in fact they would be preferable however, Bear isn't there yet. Admittedly I don't like the reds but then he isn't spending long periods in red so that is good. Pinks are Ok but ideally I think the goal should be to get Bear to yellow pre-shots and nice blue mid-cycle numbers for now. That said, if he starts out pink and drops to yellow instead of all the way to blue or green, that would be a step in the right direction too.

The problem with these critters is that they are so used to being high numbers, their panic button goes off prematurely. The only way to get the numbers under control is to try to nudge them down rather than hammering them. That's why sometimes a little less insulin works better than more.
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So I am glad you said something about going down on dosage since on my own if I could find some time to monitor I probably would have went up the .25 and went back to feeding him all high carb foods.

I thought I had a brain in my head but I am starting to wonder....
 
Simple equation.....less carbs will need less insulin. More carbs will need more insulin. So with the DKA, we suggested high carbs to get calories into Bear and adjusted insulin to suit so his body would get more nutrition out of the food he was taking in and stop producing ketones. Now that he is eating well on his own and ketones are negative, you can stick to low carb foods which means his insulin needs may also decrease. The bouncing blurs the picture so it's a bit of a guessing game but we'll figure him out.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Simple equation.....less carbs will need less insulin. More carbs will need more insulin. So with the DKA, we suggested high carbs to get calories into Bear and adjusted insulin to suit .so his body would get more nutrition out of the food he was taking in and stop producing ketones. Now that he is eating well on his own and ketones are negative, you can stick to low carb foods which means his insulin needs may also decrease. The bouncing blurs the picture so it's a bit of a guessing game but we'll figure him out.
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Thank you Linda for giving me stability! So your advice is when I give him his last meal for the night at +3 his food should be low carb if his numbers are higher (300+)? If his numbers are lower say in the 200's then I should feed him higher carb food? If his numbers are lower than 200 I should feed him higher and retest in an hour?

Just pretend I am mentally challenged this time around. I got a bit of disturbing news from mom's cardiologist today and I think my brain really is in low gear.
 
Oh Lora, I am so sorry to hear about your Mom. I know only too well how muddled family stuff like that can leave us. You have a lot on your plate so be kind to yourself. When's the last time you treated yourself to some special chocolate or other special treat?

I would judge what to give Bear based on how much he has dropped in comparison to where he started the cycle rather than the actual reading unless of course he throws you another lower green number. Unless Bear is dropping fast or a lot (100 points in first 2 or 3 hours post shot) I'd stick to low carb. If he drops more than 100 points then some medium carb should slow him down and hopefully level him off. If he drops something crazy like 300 points, then high carb. Hope that makes sense. If not, holler. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Oh Lora, I am so sorry to hear about your Mom. I know only too well how muddled family stuff like that can leave us. You have a lot on your plate so be kind to yourself. When's the last time you treated yourself to some special chocolate or other special treat?

I would judge what to give Bear based on how much he has dropped in comparison to where he started the cycle rather than the actual reading unless of course he throws you another lower green number. Unless Bear is dropping fast or a lot (100 points in first 2 or 3 hours post shot) I'd stick to low carb. If he drops more than 100 points then some medium carb should slow him down and hopefully level him off. If he drops something crazy like 300 points, then high carb. Hope that makes sense. If not, holler. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
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I have been grabbing chocolate every time I go to the pharmacy or the store, lol. I think they call that emotional eating.

I did get to watch a rented movie this weekend, first time in months. Sounds silly but it was a huge treat for me.
What I really miss is reading. When I go by books in the store I am hungry for one, but I know better. I can read fiction books really fast but I can hardly put a book down once I start reading usually a three hour stint for me.

You make total sense. Thank you again for being there for us.
 
I'm so glad Linda was around to help and I'm sorry your worries about your mom have increased. Life is really tough at times and looking after a diabetic kitty makes it extra challenging.

Linda has given you good advice on how to feed Bear. Hang in there! Your knowledge level and decision making skills WILL get better over time. :bighug:
 
Hmmmm.....as far as dosing. I agree that you don't want to raise right now, but I'm not sure I would lower either. I think I'd hold steady at the 1.75 and see if he gets another big drop like yesterday. He's likely to sit higher and flatter for a few days after that, so I don't really want to lower the insulin while he's raised his own BG for a few cycles.

I missed the deleted posts though, so I'm not sure if there was something about your schedule that I needed to know? I see Linda referred to a busy week. If you're still able to get two mid-cycles like you've been doing, I think I'd stick with 1.75 though, and then we can talk about reducing if he does it again.
 
Djamila said:
@Kris & Teasel @Rachel What do y'all think about the dosing?
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My mistake for not commenting on that. This is a tough call because Bear is a kitty that will throw a low dark green the odd time but it's not a regular pattern. He's done it at 1.5 u and again at 1.75 u. He's also very volatile. I'd be inclined to keep 1.75 u for another few cycles to see what happens.
 
Djamila said:
I'm not sure if there was something about your schedule that I needed to know? I see Linda referred to a busy week. If you're still able to get two mid-cycles like you've been doing,
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@Djamila You are right. Lora is concerned about not being able to test as often this week due to medical issues with her Mom. It's this probable lack of monitoring as well as Bear's propensity to drop suddenly for no apparent reason followed by huge bounces that made me even consider suggesting lowering the dose a bit. I thought it might be a viable option to possibly flatten him out a bit and give Lora a bit more peace of mind until his pattern of activity becomes more consistent or at least more predictable when she can't monitor as much.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
@Djamila You are right. Lora is concerned about not being able to test as often this week due to medical issues with her Mom. It's this probable lack of monitoring as well as Bear's propensity to drop suddenly for no apparent reason followed by huge bounces that made me even consider suggesting lowering the dose a bit. I thought it might be a viable option to possibly flatten him out a bit and give Lora a bit more peace of mind until his pattern of activity becomes more consistent or at least more predictable when she can't monitor as much.
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Good point, Linda!
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Bear's propensity to drop suddenly for no apparent reason followed by huge bounces
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While this is stressful, it's also somewhat inevitable with prozinc. It just doesn't get as flat and stable as the L's do. And responding to each drop with lowering the dose makes it hard to make much progress. That being said, there isn't just one "right" way to do this. My preference is to hold the dose and see what happens. Either the drops will happen more often, and then a reduction might be needed, or the pre-shots start to come down (which is ideal), or Bear mostly stays higher and actually shows that he needs an increase. Because prozinc tends to be less stable, I think it's best to respond more slowly to single cycle numbers, and look at the broader patterns instead.

Just my 2 cents. I know I tend to get less stressed about lower numbers than a lot of people, and I absolutely respect if it's just too much anxiety.
 
@MrWorfMen's Mom @Djamila @Rachel @Kris & Teasel

We had a black BG this morning. I am not panicking. I'm trying to keep a reasonable reaction.

Is this a possible reason to up his dosage, or is this a hang tight and see what happens for a day or so?

I will be leaving in a few minutes and will be gone till mid to late afternoon.

I'm fully open to experienced knowledge.

What do you guys think?
 
He dropped to the blues last night and it's possible he went even lower. I am not the most experienced with ProZinc by any means but I am still not convinced it wouldn't be worth trying to back off a tad to 1.5u to try to stop those major bounces. It's easy to get carried away increasing every time pre-shot numbers go up but if the dose is already a little high given his carb intake has decreased recently, it may just set up a perpetual bounce/increase/bounce situation. Let's see what Kris and Djamila think about this.

ETA: With that drop of almost 200 points so far today, I'd leave a little medium or high carb food out just to give him something to munch on should he still be dropping at all.
 
I would leave the dose as is for now. It's the low numbers you need to give more weight to. I understand Linda's thinking about trying a small decrease to see if it lessens the height of the bounces but I'm no sure that's the way to go.

DKA can leave them more unstable for quite a while afterward. That could be part of the reason. Bear might do better if you decide to try a depot insulin once you're past the post DKA upset.
 
Yikes on the 548. :blackeye:. I agree that you're seeing some bouncing, but my inclination would be to hold the dose through it unless you get a number that forces an adjustment (lime green). Prozinc can be bouncy enough without moving the dose around, and as Kris mentioned, DKA can contribute to that as well. I certainly woulndn't be upset if you decided to lower, as an argument can be made for that approach. There are a few ways to do just about anything around here, and holding the dose steady is my preference, but certainly not the only way to do it.

What I've found from studying the history of viewable spreadsheets around here is that the bounce is nearly unavoidable. Lowering the dose does stabilize things, but then the numbers are too high. And when you try the increase the next time, the bouncing is going to happen at that point anyway. So if there is a bean who can monitor and not suffer from too much bounce-anxiety, my inclination is to just hold tight and let the kitty ride it out. I do understand how stressful this dance is for the human - I had my own little melt-down yesterday - so when I suggest a reduction through a bounce, it's usually more in care of the person than the kitty. And that's absolutely fine when it needs to happen that way. If we aren't taking care of ourselves in this process, we soon enough won't be doing any good for the kitty anyway.

This is cycle 4 since the green, so if things don't stabilize by cycle 6, we can definitely reconsider. And again, Lora, you need to feel comfortable with the decision and we will always always support you no matter what you decide. There are guidelines and trends, but there are no hard and fast rules or commandments around here. And the longer back you read in the archives, the more you'll see how thinking here shifts and changes over time. So whatever way you want to go, we'll be here. :bighug:
 
Lora, something I don't think any of us have touched on is just how Bear's demeanour is at this point in time. Sometimes we get so caught up in numbers that we forget to think about how our cat's are acting in comparison to their usual behaviours and behavioural changes can be very telling too. If Bear was a cuddly cat, is he still cuddly? Does he sleep more than usual now? Is he still preening as usual? Does he appreciates your attention as he usually would? All these things should also factor into any suggestions/decisions made about how to proceed.
 
@MrWorfMen's Mom @Djamila @Kris & Teasel

Thank you so much for all your input. Bear's BG was in the low yellow today. I fed him half low carb 5% & half high 13%. I stayed with 1.75 as I will be home all day and can monitor him, plus the bounces with Prozinc & DKA played a part with the decision to see how this rides out.

My mother was admitted to the hospital yesterday by the Infectious Disease Dr for IV Antibiotics and the good news is even though she is allergic to Penicillin they tested her with a modified synthetic Penicillin and she isn't allergic to it, plus is doing well. The Dr said she can be released soon and continue IV Antibiotics at home. I love my mother with all my heart but I am hoping I can have a few days with a less full plate. Lol.

Linda my mother came to live with us about two years ago basically at deaths door and Bear hasn't received a lot of attention during that time so it is hard to say what has played the bigger role in his improved demeanor, health or more attention. Bear was more of a grumpy cat with small bouts of jump in our laps and love me. Before he was diagnosed he slept a lot under a living-room end table and came out intermittently but when you pet him he wouldn't tolerate that for long. My husband started calling him Grumpy Old Man.

Bear now comes to my feet when I get the chicken treats out and knows it is time for testing. He purrs and head kisses me when I pick him up. He barely complains when i prick him. His eyes follow me all the time, he stays more out in the middle of the floor and most of his grump is gone. His dry skin has improved and he stretches out in happiness when I run my fingers down his back.

I did notice he was irritated when I picked him up and put him on my lap when he tested at that 548BG.

If anyone has any suggestions on the best times to test Bear's BG I am all ears. I know we could use more info on his nightly BG. This weekend I might have more of an opportunity to fit in an additional night test. What time would be best?
 
So what I am hearing is that your little Bear is luxuriating in all the extra attention he is getting these days and that is great! :D A cat who is feeling lousy (or pouting :smuggrin:) will usually be a lot less likely to be affectionate and looking for attention. I think all that sounds like Bear is in good shape. Case in point, he probably did feel off with that 548 the other day and didn't want to be bothered. That is the type of change you need to try to pickup on. Things like whether they are purring, preening, amount of peeing, pooping etc. are all barometers into how kitty is feeling.

As for testing, ProZinc's most active period is usually between +4 and +7 or +8 hours post shot so getting some tests in that time frame should catch his nadir and give some clues as to just how low he is actually going. Nadir's move so random testing gives you a good overview. Catching the odd test outside that timeframe can be useful too albeit not quite as informative.

If you get up at all in the middle of the night for a BR beak, you could snag a test then. Some folks drink extra water before bed so they wake up while others set an alarm. Getting the before bed test is a must for safety sake but any other night mid cycle tests are invaluable because a lot if not most cats have a tendency to go lower at night.

I'm loving that yellow this morning. Let's see if he's finally calming down his trampoline routine!
 
@MrWorfMen's Mom

What information does a person want from stalling? Majority of the time Bear has tested (green) I was already planning to feed him before I got his BG.

I am trying to feed him multiple meals daily because Bear is a slow, dainty eater, where as my female cat Squantch (I didn't name her) eats quickly and then starts eyeballing Bear's plate, sometimes trying to push him away so she can have his.
Bear likes to eat some and take a lick my paws break and then return to his plate multiple times within a 45 minute period.

I know stalling is to see if his BG goes up on it's own. Is stalling mainly for at night to see if the green BG is indicating when the prozinc effect has bottomed out (at maximum strength) and therefore 20 minutes later if it is rising you know that is correct?

I have read through all of Getting Started and am in Education section at this point and I am trying to educate myself but not fast enough.

(Linda), I have two (GREEN) BG numbers on Bear after feeding him one hour ago? I just gave him a gravy meal and will retest in 5 minutes. Not panicking but my adrenaline is a little up.
 
First DEEP BREATHES! All is fine.

You did exactly what you should, giving the high carb with the reading at 64. You are handling him great. The stalling is for those times when you test pre-shot and get a reading that is too low to shoot like the 27th of Sept. when he gave you an 87 at pre-shot. The stall means no feeding and retesting 15 minutes later to see if kitty is rising, staying steady or still dropping. If they are rising, you make a decision based on how much they have come up and you can stall about an hour (3 to 4 times) if need be when you want to keep to your regular shot times. Stalling doesn't effect anything but preshots. Any other time you get a low number, you deal with it as dictated by the number.

I love your description of meal time. I have the same problem here except its my diabetic who wolfs down her food and then pushes her brother out of his bowl. I have taken on a new profession at this point.....lunchroom monitor! :rolleyes::banghead::arghh:
 
Deep breathes! The gravy food has brought him up a bit and you can take a little pokey break and retest in an hour. He is fine and will likely come up a bit more. And no I don't think you are looking at a hypo event. You are monitoring and can control his BG with food. If he drops again at next test, give him a bit of gravy only so you don't fill him up with food. That way if he should stay low, you'll be able to get him to eat when he needs to.
 
The first run of green numbers is always heart stopping. I remember doing circles in my living room holding my own personal firedrill talking to myself between tests with Menace's first green number. Bet I could have won America's Funniest Home Video had someone been filming me! :woot:
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Deep breathes! The gravy food has brought him up a bit and you can take a little pokey break and retest in an hour. He is fine and will likely come up a bit more. And no I don't think you are looking at a hypo event. You are monitoring and can control his BG with food. If he drops again at next test, give him a bit of gravy only so you don't fill him up with food. That way if he should stay low, you'll be able to get him to eat when he needs to.
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MrWorfMen's Mom said:
The first run of green numbers is always heart stopping. I remember doing circles in my living room holding my own personal firedrill talking to myself between tests with Menace's first green number. Bet I could have won America's Funniest Home Video had someone been filming me! :woot:
Click to expand...

Ok, not as cool as a cucumber but not too bad. :)

Someone needs to give Bear the memo his mom would like to get used to a few blue colors sometime soon. Lol.
 
Our sweet little kitties all make up their own steps to the sugar dance. None of them it seems, are willing to read the manual and follow the rules! How is Bear acting now? Still hungry?
Housekeeping so we can keep an eye on you.....can you add the 76 reading to the spreadsheet. If that was at +5 and a quarter or half hour, you can type it in as 76 @ +5.25 or +5.5 in the +5 box under the 64 so it looks like this. Don't pay attention to those strange readings....they're Canadian.

Capture of stacked numbers.PNG
 
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