Sleep

[Kahluasmom]

I am in no way complaining....but how do you all deal with the lack of sleep? I've been getting about 4 hours for nearly a week and it's killing me. I have no idea when I'm safe to stop testing and sleep other then when she's gone up for 2 tests....and even then, I'm worried. Am I the only paranoid kitty mama?

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I am in no way complaining....but how do you all deal with the lack of sleep? I've been getting about 4 hours for nearly a week and it's killing me. I have no idea when I'm safe to stop testing and sleep other then when she's gone up for 2 tests....and even then, I'm worried. Am I the only paranoid kitty mama?

I think a lot of diabetic cat caregivers who home test are sleep deprived……
I used to use my alarm all the time. I was always able to wake with the alarm. Some people can’t.
At night I didnt stay up but went to sleep and set the alarm, even if it was for 1/2 hour later. I learn to fall asleep quickly….mainly because I was sleep deprived.
If I had to test multiple times during the night ( and I often did as Sheba was a diver) I would set the alarm after each time and fall asleep. I was still tired but I was at least getting some sleep.
Grab sleeps when you can during the day, if you are lucky ……or on nights when the BG is higher.

 

[Acadaca]

When I was testing FCC I was definitely sleep deprived. It was difficult, by I did get better at taking brief naps. I totally agree with setting an alarm even if it is for short intervals. Just closing my eyes and laying down made me feel a little better. I have a great deal of respect for all the hard work everyone does to take care of both their kitties and everyone else's.

 

[Kahluasmom]

How do you know when it's okay to sleep for more than 45 minutes? For instance I usually shoot at 9:15 or so. Then I check BG around 11:15, if her PS was in the blue or higher. But a couple nights ago she dropped to 57 in that 2 hours. So, now I want to check at +1,+2,+3, etc. Her poor ear! And I don't know when it's safe to stop and go to bed.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

If you get a lower than normal preshot I would get a +1 and a +2.
The +1 should show a small food bump…..if it doesn’t, then it’s likely the BG could drop again at +2 or stay the same.
The +2 is a good indicator of what could happen in the cycle. If the +2 is around the same or lower than the preshot, that can indicate that this will be an active cycle so you will need to test again. This doesn’t always happen….sometimes the BG can be higher and the BGs still drop. Cats like to keep us on our toes!
It depends how low the BG is as to when you next test. …..if it is in the 300 or 400s it is safer to leave it longer to test then if the BG is 100.

If you are finding she is dropping at +2 ( that is onset so is to be expected) you can give a small snack at +1 to slow that drop.
She is starting to give you some lovely numbers and this is when you are going to find you are going to have to test more closely at least until you get to know what she is likely to do. So try and use the alarm.

And I don't know when it's safe to stop and go to bed.

You really need to test until she has reached nadir and has started to go back up…..this is where you can use the alarm. Trying to stay up every night until nadir is very hard.

 

[Acadaca]

I am not able to really give dosing advice or even regulating advice because I relied heavily on the knowledge and kindness of others. Once I got my spreadsheet up and running I moved over to the Lantus forum where I made my daily post and could get feedback when I was unsure or confused (which was admittedly most of the time). I had to read all the stickies in that forum over and over just to try and wrap my head around everything. If you are interested, this link tells you how to post there: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/posting-guidelines-please-read.231511/

I also followed TR so I would test before shooting and then at least once during each twelve hour cycle. FCC would sometimes take a steep dive between after shooting and I would know that I would have to keep monitoring until his numbers started to head back up whenever this was the case. You test a lot which means that people will be able to give you feedback based on the data you have gathered. Without the advice I was given on those daily posts I would have been so lost.

 

[FrostD]

Echoing what Bron said - kinda just learn to fall asleep quickly, but I've always woken up for alarm. Although this whole time I've had (human) babies as well, so used to the broken sleep and/or up with them anyway. And some nights just set out a big honking can of MC and HC and call it a night. My husband would handle til +5 since he's a night owl, then we'd switch.

Would moving your shot times help?

Unfortunately knowing when to go to bed just takes a little time and experience, getting to know your cat and how things go.

It looks like she's breaking through some glucose toxicity and angling for a reduction soon, so it'll be a little bit unpredictable til she settles down.

A possible pattern - her flat blue cycles tend to be a very late nadir, +14 ish. So if you're getting a flat cycle, the +1 is good idea because of the overlapping cycles. Alternatively, you can just grab a +10 every cycle so you can compare to PS.

Other than that, I'd actually use a +2.5 as your gauge for how the cycle will go. No need for a +1,2 and 3 unless you're getting those overlapping cycles

(Everything Bron said in addition to this, just didn't want to repeat)

 

[Kahluasmom]

Echoing what Bron said - kinda just learn to fall asleep quickly, but I've always woken up for alarm. Although this whole time I've had (human) babies as well, so used to the broken sleep and/or up with them anyway. And some nights just set out a big honking can of MC and HC and call it a night. My husband would handle til +5 since he's a night owl, then we'd switch.

Would moving your shot times help?

Unfortunately knowing when to go to bed just takes a little time and experience, getting to know your cat and how things go.

It looks like she's breaking through some glucose toxicity and angling for a reduction soon, so it'll be a little bit unpredictable til she settles down.

A possible pattern - her flat blue cycles tend to be a very late nadir, +14 ish. So if you're getting a flat cycle, the +1 is good idea because of the overlapping cycles. Alternatively, you can just grab a +10 every cycle so you can compare to PS.

Other than that, I'd actually use a +2.5 as your gauge for how the cycle will go. No need for a +1,2 and 3 unless you're getting those overlapping cycles

(Everything Bron said in addition to this, just didn't want to repeat)

Okay.....so I could shoot at 9 and test at like 11:30? I am so clueless! None of these numbers mean a thing to me. I'm reading and re reading.... it all seems so random. She started kind of high last night, but then down into the green. And yet other nights she's close to green and never gets down there. I stay up until +5 or when she's gone up for 2 hours. Which is usually at 2:15 a.m. I get up at 6:45. Kiddos need to go to school! Luckily, I'm home all day. But we have no groceries... or cat litter.....

 

[Kahluasmom]

If you get a lower than normal preshot I would get a +1 and a +2.
The +1 should show a small food bump…..if it doesn’t, then it’s likely the BG could drop again at +2 or stay the same.
The +2 is a good indicator of what could happen in the cycle. If the +2 is around the same or lower than the preshot, that can indicate that this will be an active cycle so you will need to test again. This doesn’t always happen….sometimes the BG can be higher and the BGs still drop. Cats like to keep us on our toes!
It depends how low the BG is as to when you next test. …..if it is in the 300 or 400s it is safer to leave it longer to test then if the BG is 100.

If you are finding she is dropping at +2 ( that is onset so is to be expected) you can give a small snack at +1 to slow that drop.
She is starting to give you some lovely numbers and this is when you are going to find you are going to have to test more closely at least until you get to know what she is likely to do. So try and use the alarm.



You really need to test until she has reached nadir and has started to go back up…..this is where you can use the alarm. Trying to stay up every night until nadir is very hard.

That's what I try to do. I usually just stay up because I have 4 other people who need to get up early. So I'm trying to be very quiet. I have done the alarm thing. It works okay. I'm just a hot mess when I'm half asleep. But Kahlua is not. She's an octopus! I'm seriously considering moving her times.

 

[FrostD]

Okay.....so I could shoot at 9 and test at like 11:30? I am so clueless! None of these numbers mean a thing to me. I'm reading and re reading.... it all seems so random. She started kind of high last night, but then down into the green. And yet other nights she's close to green and never gets down there. I stay up until +5 or when she's gone up for 2 hours. Which is usually at 2:15 a.m. I get up at 6:45. Kiddos need to go to school! Luckily, I'm home all day. But we have no groceries... or cat litter.....

If you get up at 645, can you shoot then? Or perhaps get up at 630? That way +5 is 1130 which isn't as bad.

The +2 last night, and the night before, was your clue that she was going to keep going down. How much? Well, we never know!

Now looking at the 12th - the entire back half of that cycle was flat. That's unusual. Her pattern seems to be when that happens, you get an overlapping cycles (where you give the AM shot, and it doesn't nadir until after you've given the PM shot).

Now that she's yellow, we'll use tonight as an example -

• if her +2 is still yellow, then you're probably good for the rest of the night. It's never a guarantee, so it's really up to the caregiver what they want to do. Some cats are very predictable, others not so much. I always preferred to get another test an hour before the usual nadir, just in case.
• If her +2 is upper blue, then it's an active cycle and she'll keep going down. To Brons point - lot of wiggle room in upper blues. So I'd feed a little LC, get some sleep and test in 2 hours. Now if she's mid blue or lower, that's a big drop. So LC, test again in an hour.

 

[Kahluasmom]

If you get up at 645, can you shoot then? Or perhaps get up at 630? That way +5 is 1130 which isn't as bad.

The +2 last night, and the night before, was your clue that she was going to keep going down. How much? Well, we never know!

Now looking at the 12th - the entire back half of that cycle was flat. That's unusual. Her pattern seems to be when that happens, you get an overlapping cycles (where you give the AM shot, and it doesn't nadir until after you've given the PM shot).

Now that she's yellow, we'll use tonight as an example -

• if her +2 is still yellow, then you're probably good for the rest of the night. It's never a guarantee, so it's really up to the caregiver what they want to do. Some cats are very predictable, others not so much. I always preferred to get another test an hour before the usual nadir, just in case.
• If her +2 is upper blue, then it's an active cycle and she'll keep going down. To Brons point - lot of wiggle room in upper blues. So I'd feed a little LC, get some sleep and test in 2 hours. Now if she's mid blue or lower, that's a big drop. So LC, test again in an hour.

What is the back half? Nighttime? And how do you know she didn't nadir until the evening? I am soooo lost. I'm going to start moving her back to 6:45 . I have to do it when the kids aren't in school though. I will get a +2 in 15 minutes and then aim to get up later.....but when?

 

[FrostD]

What is the back half? Nighttime? And how do you know she didn't nadir until the evening? I am soooo lost. I'm going to start moving her back to 6:45 . I have to do it when the kids aren't in school though. I will get a +2 in 15 minutes and then aim to get up later.....but when?

Back half = basically anything after +6

And maybe save this next part for when you've had some sleep haha A flat cycle that starts to drop heading into PS time is usually a late nadir.

Let's start with the 11/10 AM cycle. Started at 107, then hung out at 150-160 for quite a few hours, no discernible nadir. Then all of a sudden a drop into PMPS, that was a clue that she may be nadiring late. And she did, at +15. It looks like the same thing happened on some PM cycles heading into AMPS as well.

Now, as for that 209 you just got - short answer is I'd check around +6, will edit this with a long answer in a minute

Long answer - compare tonight to 11/4 PM cycle where she just kinda stayed high. BUT you also have the 11/7 PM cycle where she was back down to 100 by morning and we don't know how low she went overnight. Hence my recommendation of a +6 - it'll get you a decent chunk of sleep and hopefully catch her if she heading down. She stayed higher overall today so I don't think she'll see green tonight. But I think you'll see it tomorrow.

 

[Kahluasmom]

Back half = basically anything after +6

And maybe save this next part for when you've had some sleep haha A flat cycle that starts to drop heading into PS time is usually a late nadir.

Let's start with the 11/10 AM cycle. Started at 107, then hung out at 150-160 for quite a few hours, no discernible nadir. Then all of a sudden a drop into PMPS, that was a clue that she may be nadiring late. And she did, at +15. It looks like the same thing happened on some PM cycles heading into AMPS as well.

Now, as for that 209 you just got - short answer is I'd check around +6, will edit this with a long answer in a minute

Long answer - compare tonight to 11/4 PM cycle where she just kinda stayed high. BUT you also have the 11/7 PM cycle where she was back down to 100 by morning and we don't know how low she went overnight. Hence my recommendation of a +6 - it'll get you a decent chunk of sleep and hopefully catch her if she heading down. She stayed higher overall today so I don't think she'll see green tonight. But I think you'll see it tomorrow.

I think I get it....I'll reread tomorrow. Thank you!

 

[Kahluasmom]

Back half = basically anything after +6

And maybe save this next part for when you've had some sleep haha A flat cycle that starts to drop heading into PS time is usually a late nadir.

Let's start with the 11/10 AM cycle. Started at 107, then hung out at 150-160 for quite a few hours, no discernible nadir. Then all of a sudden a drop into PMPS, that was a clue that she may be nadiring late. And she did, at +15. It looks like the same thing happened on some PM cycles heading into AMPS as well.

Now, as for that 209 you just got - short answer is I'd check around +6, will edit this with a long answer in a minute

Long answer - compare tonight to 11/4 PM cycle where she just kinda stayed high. BUT you also have the 11/7 PM cycle where she was back down to 100 by morning and we don't know how low she went overnight. Hence my recommendation of a +6 - it'll get you a decent chunk of sleep and hopefully catch her if she heading down. She stayed higher overall today so I don't think she'll see green tonight. But I think you'll see it tomorrow.

Good thing I got that +6! Miss sassy britches did hit green! Thank you!

 

[FrostD]

Silly cat!

So, somewhat unfortunately, now you now that +2 isnt going to be a perfect predictor, even if yellow (it wasn't for Mr Kitty either). So nights where it's flat or even a small drop like you saw last night, I would suggest getting a test an hour before what you think nadir is (and obviously make sure food it out in the meantime)

 

[Kahluasmom]

Right? So......when is nadir? It seems to be all over the place! I wonder where she was between 11:15 and 3:15!

Silly cat!

So, somewhat unfortunately, now you now that +2 isnt going to be a perfect predictor, even if yellow (it wasn't for Mr Kitty either). So nights where it's flat or even a small drop like you saw last night, I would suggest getting a test an hour before what you think nadir is (and obviously make sure food it out in the meantime)

 

[Denver & Magic (GA)]

I am in no way complaining....but how do you all deal with the lack of sleep? I've been getting about 4 hours for nearly a week and it's killing me. I have no idea when I'm safe to stop testing and sleep other then when she's gone up for 2 tests....and even then, I'm worried. Am I the only paranoid kitty mama?

Lol... Dealing with EXACTLY the same thing myself. I set my alarm and check Magic every two hours at night. It's tough...
Though it has prevented him from getting into a dangerous situation more than once.

I try and sleep in small naps and it seems to help. When his numbers are running higher I extend them out to 3hr intervals which helps also.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Hi I think we all have gone through your situation and it'd been a combination of taking naps, getting to know your cat and starting to know when you can sleep a bit more and just learning how to function during the day having slept very little I guess, I did fall asleep sometimes longer than I should just because I just simply didn't heard the alarm because I was just too tired so don't beat yourself about it, just try your best and get some sleep any time you can but don't forget you have to take care of yourself to be able to take care of him

 

[FrostD]

Right? So......when is nadir? It seems to be all over the place! I wonder where she was between 11:15 and 3:15!

Probably the easiest advice I can give is look for similar cycles in the past - for example, today is looking like the 6th and 11th. The 11th she may have gone lower in the times you didn't test.

Obviously nothing is ever guaranteed, so when in doubt, test earlier lol She seems to be +4 to +6 on cycles the +2 shows a drop (the bigger the drop, the earlier the nadir). On the cycles +2 is flat or higher...the pattern isn't easy to explain so ill just say err on the side of caution and test (once your brain has recovered from being fried, I'll explain lol). Sometimes nadir is +4, sometimes +7.

 

[Kahluasmom]

Right....I'm kind if going on instinct and looking at her chart. She's a fun one! But, so worth it. She's looking amazing and she's gained 2 lbs. And she seems perkier. In fact the other day she swatted me across the face for kissing her forehead. She is a sassy one for sure!

 

[JanetNJ]

i used to give shots about 6 am/pm then test again around 9 or 10 o clock before bed. unless she was unusually low that was it in the evening.

 

[Lando demando]

I am in no way complaining....but how do you all deal with the lack of sleep? I've been getting about 4 hours for nearly a week and it's killing me. I have no idea when I'm safe to stop testing and sleep other then when she's gone up for 2 tests....and even then, I'm worried. Am I the only paranoid kitty mama?

Sending a lot of compassion your way!!
I am by no means a fragile flower but this rollercoaster ride of diabetes and pancreatitis is a MONSTER! It took about two months for my rollercoaster to level out and i hope yours comes sooner. Remember, nothing is finite and things WILL change. Hang in there and Kahlua is a cutie. Wellwishes to you both

 

[Lando demando]

Right....I'm kind if going on instinct and looking at her chart. She's a fun one! But, so worth it. She's looking amazing and she's gained 2 lbs. And she seems perkier. In fact the other day she swatted me across the face for kissing her forehead. She is a sassy one for sure!

Sassy torties

 

[Jill & Jade]

Okay.....so I could shoot at 9 and test at like 11:30? I am so clueless! None of these numbers mean a thing to me. I'm reading and re reading.... it all seems so random. She started kind of high last night, but then down into the green. And yet other nights she's close to green and never gets down there. I stay up until +5 or when she's gone up for 2 hours. Which is usually at 2:15 a.m. I get up at 6:45. Kiddos need to go to school! Luckily, I'm home all day. But we have no groceries... or cat litter.....

I sure understand how you feel.
I am lost with all of this no matter how many times I read and re-read and so tired and stressed . Super grateful to have found this message board. Someone will always be around to help when you need it. Hang in there!

 

[Kahluasmom]

I sure understand how you feel.
I am lost with all of this no matter how many times I read and re-read and so tired and stressed . Super grateful to have found this message board. Someone will always be around to help when you need it. Hang in there!

Oh good! It's not just me! I was thinking my brain had shrunk and I was hopeless!!! I am very grateful for the help here!

 

[Jill & Jade]

Oh good! It's not just me! I was thinking my brain had shrunk and I was hopeless!!! I am very grateful for the help here!

Just yesterday I said that I wished they would write a “Feline Diabetes For Dummies” book. It’s most definitely not just you!!