Six week insulinversary

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Djamila

Djamila

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I thought I'd start a new thread.

After all the drama of the past few days, he's staying high and flat today. Which at least means his little ears get a break from the constant testing, and I get a break from staring at him and wondering if he's okay.

However, he's somewhat boycotting the low-carb food this morning. He'll take a bite, and then look at me sadly and meow, then walk away. And he's now taken to sleeping in front of the kibble-closet. It took nearly a year to get him to stop begging for kibble when I got him off of it in 2015. I think I may have re-awakened the beast. :arghh:
 
How can you tell when a bounce is cleared? If I'm understanding them right, the BG goes low, then the body responds by going high, then it's common to have some flat high cycles....but then what? What do you look for in the numbers to indicate that the bounce may be finished?
 
I look for the kitty to resume their previous numbers. That 90 you got last night doesn't look like he was still bouncing to me!

Some kitties take days to break a bounce...some take one cycle. It just depends. Over time, if your cat bounces a lot, you learn when to expect the bounce to clear...
 
Thanks, Rachel - so if yesterday's PM cycle indicates that the bounce may be over, then I could consider today to be a 'normal' response to the lower dose? Or do we need to wait for a few normal-ish cycles to know for sure that the bounce is over, before starting to make dosing decisions again? I'm really happy with last night's dose/response, I just wasn't sure if it actually counted or not.
 
So sorry Djamila! Got busy at work...

Yes, I would think today would be a normal response to a dose. It does look a lot like some of your other cycles have in the past...
 
Lol...It's okay to not be glued to this forum at all times :). I just work from the computer at home half of the day and night, so I'm around way too much!

Thanks for weighing in on this - hypos and bounces are my new learning for this week!
 
Kind of an meh cycle tonight. At +4 he's barely moved. How would you interpret today's cycles? should I start increasing his dose again? And if I increase, do I do it in babysteps again? or take a bigger jump up? I can monitor until +4 in the morning.
 
Hmmm...it looked like that bounce cleared yesterday, but that cycle last night is kind of odd.

I don't know Djamila, it's a tough call. You've had those low numbers on just a smidge more insulin...maybe give him the 1.2 if he's still in his normal preshot numbers and then keep en eye on things until +4? See if that was one wonky cycle or not and go from there tonight?
 
Djamila said:
Kind of an meh cycle tonight. At +4 he's barely moved. How would you interpret today's cycles? should I start increasing his dose again? And if I increase, do I do it in babysteps again? or take a bigger jump up? I can monitor until +4 in the morning.
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I like Rachel's suggestion of 1.2 u. No sudden moves when they can be a tad unpredictable.
 
Oops, I went with the same dose as yesterday. His PS was in normal range, but I'm going to have to go in to the office afterall this morning. He seems to be responding well every-other day, which would mean today would be a "respond" day. Of course, now that I think I see a pattern, I'm sure he'll change it. :confused:
 
And so begins the evening ritual: Sam weeping for his dinner which I am so cruelly denying him. And me, sitting at the computer trying to block out his cries of suffering.

Dear lord, kitty! It's only thirty minutes until meal time. You won't die! :arghh::arghh::arghh:
 
Whew! Made it! He's showing a normal pre-shot, so I'm thinking of sticking with the 1.2u again tonight. It didn't work last night, but seemed right the two nights before that. Does that seem good?

I feel like I'm walking on egg shells right now, hoping his numbers keep going the way they've been going. Even good numbers can be stressful!!!
 
Yep, I would! It may be that he needs higher for PM cycles only ...but I'd stick with 1.2 for now so we can see.
 
Well, crap. It looks like I smashed some of those egg shells. And the night dose isn't cutting it. What's up with these night numbers?! I'm thinking to keep the day dose around where it is (assuming a similar PS), but it looks like he needs an evening increase. How does that work with the u-100s? Does he go from 1.2 to 1.4? Or do you just eyeball a 1.5? Or go 1.2 to 1.6?

Now I'm starting to think about switching to Lantus (kidding) - not because Prozinc isn't doing it's job, but all of this guessing is making me o_O.
 
I'm not sure but could he be bouncing slightly from the greens in his am cycle giving his pm dose the look of not enough? He looks like he clears a bounce fairly quick.
Working out the right dose once you start hitting greens is nerve-racking. I get stressed about doses when chuck hits blues!
They really do need to read the rule book! If only I could speak "cat". Haha
 
Hmmm...yeah it could be a small bounce. If you're going to monitor, you could increase to 1.4 tonight to see if that helps. It is tough since he had some nice numbers at night before, but there's just no way of knowing what is up. I'm with Steph...if only I could speak cat!
 
Djamila said:
Well, crap. It looks like I smashed some of those egg shells. And the night dose isn't cutting it. What's up with these night numbers?! I'm thinking to keep the day dose around where it is (assuming a similar PS), but it looks like he needs an evening increase. How does that work with the u-100s? Does he go from 1.2 to 1.4? Or do you just eyeball a 1.5? Or go 1.2 to 1.6?

Now I'm starting to think about switching to Lantus (kidding) - not because Prozinc isn't doing it's job, but all of this guessing is making me o_O.
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These aren't bad numbers. That late yellow last night looks like a small bounce.
 
Okay, assuming normal PS tonight, I'll give him a little bump to 1.4 and monitor. Thank you all so much for helping with all of this. It's so comforting to have your input into these decisions and not just be sitting here by myself trying to figure it out!
 
Sometimes I just stare at his spreadsheet and start getting obsessed with looking at points dropped, percent drop, number of cycles between certain responses....and then he just does whatever he wants anyway. :rolleyes:

It would help if my job wasn't so data-obsessed.

So he's flat again today, but it seems like he is having either one or two flat cycles, and then a responsive cycle. Which means he might be more responsive tonight. But he's also had two flat night cycles in a row, which could mean that the night dose isn't high enough and should be raised to a 1.4u. Or there might be no pattern here at all, and I'm just trying to see things that aren't really there. I think I need a drink and it's only 11am. Does anyone else get like this? Or have I gone round the bend at this point?
 
Djamila said:
Sometimes I just stare at his spreadsheet and start getting obsessed with looking at points dropped, percent drop, number of cycles between certain responses....and then he just does whatever he wants anyway. :rolleyes:

It would help if my job wasn't so data-obsessed.

So he's flat again today, but it seems like he is having either one or two flat cycles, and then a responsive cycle. Which means he might be more responsive tonight. But he's also had two flat night cycles in a row, which could mean that the night dose isn't high enough and should be raised to a 1.4u. Or there might be no pattern here at all, and I'm just trying to see things that aren't really there. I think I need a drink and it's only 11am. Does anyone else get like this? Or have I gone round the bend at this point?
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Bouncing a little after the greens I think. Keep the 1.2 u (1.1u AM) dose a bit longer.
 
An hour to go before nadir and he's at 67, with only one drop more insulin than he's been getting. Still safe, but probably worth staying up a bit longer to keep an eye on the +5. He is doing a little self-steering right now (he just went and ate a little snack), so I think he'll be fine, but I'll still feel better after he rises a bit.

So if the low-flat-flat rhythm is really a pattern right now, do I do anything about that? Just keep at this dose (and not try to sneak in any extra drops again) for awhile? Or keep trying to be a little more aggressive since this is his second diagnosis?
 
Well I think that told us Kris was right...you're seeing some bouncing (and might again today). I thought last night's cycle was pretty good...the greens were as low as we'd want them. My guess is that you want to stick with it for a bit and not increase so as to avoid any bouncing. That will hopefully help him to get gently lower and get used to those lower numbers...if he stays high and flat for a bunch of cycles in a row, you'll know it's time for an increase. I'm hoping this makes sense, because I feel like I just typed gibberish...not enough coffee yet!
 
I think that makes sense, but let me try paraphrasing to make sure: ignore the high flat cycles, as long as he's still getting the lower cycles in between. If the lower cycles disappear, then we would consider an increase. But for now, hold steady with the doses in the hope that we start to see less bouncing and more smiling cycles.
 
Djamila said:
I think that makes sense, but let me try paraphrasing to make sure: ignore the high flat cycles, as long as he's still getting the lower cycles in between. If the lower cycles disappear, then we would consider an increase. But for now, hold steady with the doses in the hope that we start to see less bouncing and more smiling cycles.
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Yes! :) Bouncing really complicates the whole picture, as I know only too well. Add to the complications the tendency for some kitties to eventually get stuck in the highs that bouncing takes them too. Not all are like this but my guy is one for sure. The way out is a (tiny) dose increase to "jumpstart" the proper responsiveness. So far, I don't think this is the case for Sam.
 
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