Re: 9/26 PowderAMPS356 need feeding advice
First, food doesn't cause the bounce. Until Powder gets used to spending time in lower numbers, bounces will happen. It's the body's protective mechanism against low BG. Because most of our cats have spent more time than we realize in high BG ranges before we realize they are diabetic, their bodies get used to being in those higher ranges and it becomes their new "normal." Once you start giving insulin, numbers come down but the body, specificially the liver, doesn't view those truly normal ranges as normal any more. As a result, when you get a number like a 41, the liver dumps stored glucose and counterregulatory hormones into the bloodstream and numbers bounce back up (and then some).
How much you feed is based on Powder's weight and how much he wants to eat. Cats that are not yet regulated are usually hungry all the time. It's OK if Powder grazes and if you leave out food most of the time. You just want to do what you can to avoid feeding 2 hours prior to shot time. One calculation for how much food a cat needs is based on calories: Required calories per day = [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70. This is from Lisa Pierson, DVM's website on
feline nutrition.
When you feed is largely trial and error. Most of us do not feed just 2 meals per day. You might want to try feeding at shot time and 2 other times during the day -- +3 and +6. Usually feeding after Lantus action has peaked, may raise numbers. I use a different feeding schedule with Gabby because she tends to have big drops early in the cycle. As a result, I spread her food out over the first several hours of the cycle.
If you see a big drop in numbers, like what you saw between your AMPS and +2, I might have fed a little bit of LC food. I probably would have tested at +3. My guess is that testing at +3 would have told you to feed a bit more LC with the idea that this would have slowed the drop a little. At +4, you could have added a teaspoon or so of gravy which would have slowed things down even more. You definitely give gravy/HC when numbers drop below 50.