Smokey's Saga Chapter 3

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AMPS 440. 2.5U. Really close to lasts nights

I will get it on the sheets later. I get to go back to bed for hour.
 
Good morning, Paula - Hope you had some good rest last night! Will be interesting to see how things go for Smokey today at this dose.:)
 
Robin&BB said:
Good morning, Paula - Hope you had some good rest last night! Will be interesting to see how things go for Smokey today at this dose.:)
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Wish I was home to spot check but so be it. Hoping just leaving him alone and adjust for a day or two will give me a better picture. And his ear needs the rest. Maybe by Saturday night a curve might not be needed. Maybe this will be enough. Wishful thinking on my part.
 
His latest is posted. I even got his labs from April in there. I have some tests I don't see on the list or not sure if the are the same. The test was done when he was vomiting and had diarrhea and yet they are normal.

I'm wondering if going to 3u in morning and night with spot check every 3-4 hrs would be sufficient instead of doing a curve overnight. Any opinions? I would like to give ear some rest but will do it if the best thing.
 
IMHO, 3 units is fine as long as you are around to monitor him. With Vetsulin, It'e be nice to have a +2 (how soon does he start down?) +4 (some of his lowest number in a cycle have been here) +6 (in case the +4 isn't the lowest)+8 (is he headed back up?) That's ideal. But get what you can. Some people do +2/6/10 one day and 3/5/8 the next. It's not as easy to see exactly what is happening, but any data is good data.

The main thing we'd like to figure out is how low the insulin takes him, and right now we have no consistent data that gives us an idea when that might happen...
 
I'm home all day tomorrow. Since his trouble is the night time I was thinking of doing the curve starting 7pm. Throughout the night. But also want to stick as little as possible. His ear is a mess and he is starting to fight me. Was hoping 3, 6, 9, would be good enough unless indicated otherwise.
 
3/6/9 is good. And I think 3 would be okay because you'll be testing. And we know you know how to bring up low numbers...... It looks like 2.5 might not be quite enough, but without those mid cycle numbers, we can't be sure. If 3 makes you nervous, You could do a fat 2.5. (Pull up a little more than 2.5 and let out drops till it's just a bit more than the 2.5 line.

Are his ears hurting? Does the Neosporin help? Have you tried the other ear and alternating?
 
Not nervous going to 3u as look as I'm checking. I think that's going to be his number. I think 2.5 isn't enough and 3.5 u I believe he had when the first hypo episode happened.

One ear I can't get to bleed at all no matter what I do and he doesn't like it being touched. So it's always the same ear. I've used Neosporin between the longer periods of sticking.

Do you think it's matters whether I start the curve with morning dose or evening? I just picked evening because that's when the episodes happen.
 
Evening is fine, if it is easier. It may look different than the day cycle - sometimes they are higher or lower overall - maybe because of the difference in food intake and/or excercise.
 
woodsywife said:
One ear I can't get to bleed at all no matter what I do and he doesn't like it being touched.
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Just throwing out ideas here, fwiw: do you think it's possible that, at some point, Smokey might have injured that ear? If he has scar tissue there, it could account for you not being able to get blood from it, and his sensitivity in that ear, as well. Just a theory. :)
 
Smokey is very hungry tonight. At +2.5 I gave him 1/2 oz boiled chicken, at +5 I gave him another 1/2 oz and his BS is 263. I can hear his stomach rumbling. Any thoughts?
 
I prefer the pink amps to a red one, Paula!

Instead of a big curve tonight, how about a 3/5/8 today? I am thinking that your number
last night looked good and unlikely not too low after that. Now to see if he nadirs earlier. Numbers today would let us see more conclusively if 2.5 or 3 is a better dose, and then you could sleep tonight. Would that work?
 
On labs from April the normal range for glucose is 70-150. I don't know if he will ever get there. Glad I stayed at the 2.5u this morning and not go with 3u as planned. Maybe he just needed a day to two to adjust. Hopefully today will tell.

On a happier note. The pet stroller I got for him arrived yesterday. I just took him out on my deck with it so he gets use to it, he loved it. Layed right down, sniffing the air, watching the chipmunk, the bugs biting me. Which I could post a picture here.
 
The new curve is up. What does it tell me. The 2.5u works for about 8 hrs. Wondering if keeping him at 2.5 so he can adjust then Wednesday when I have off again try 3u.

I will continue checking til I go to bed but maybe do +3 & +5 don't think I will make the +8.
 
I wouldn't go higher; he got down to pretty low numbers on a lower dose a few days ago.
 
Not bad. So what I think it means is that the insulin drops his levels - which is good - and that he starts to rise around+8 . Sometimes, this is just the way Vetsulin works in cats. After 8 hours, it is pretty much gone. But sometimes, it is that a little more insulin is needed. His nadir is not early like sometimes happens; it's around 6 which is good for Vetsulin. (With some cats on Vetsulin is +3/4.)

You might want to stay with 2.5 a while longer. I agree with BJ that he dropped down to the 147 preshot on 3 units. It does seem that he was generally higher today and had room to drop. Maybe, on a day you can monitor, eyeball 2.75, if you decide you want to up the dose a smidge. Your hold the syringe; your choice.
 
That's what I'm thing. Keep at 2.5u for now unless something happens. Then Wednesday maybe up it since I'll be home for 2 days.

2.75u. Is that even possible to pull up on a syringe? Think I need a magnifying glass to see it.
 
Another way is to pull up 3 units of colored water and let out enough so you think you have about 2.75. Mark the syringe with tape or a permanent marker. The next time you want to draw up that much, use that syringe as your sample. It's not perfect, but it gives you an amount more than 2.5 and less than 3.
 
This morning he is so hungry. He had his normal amount .75 oz canned. Still hungry. 1 1/2 hrs after shot (2.75u. Thought I try) he is pushing his bowl around. Gave him 1/2 oz boiled chicken. 3hrs post shot he settled down.

He is fighting me now on checks something he never did and having trouble getting blood. He is rubbing his ear a lot. So no more checks for awhile. But I will not go over 2.75u. I keep trying other ear but he bites when I touch it.

I checked the memory on the meter. Average for 7 days is 247 in 46 sticks. 14 day average is 245 in 48 sticks; 30 day average is 264 in 54 sticks. Not to bad overall.
 
Wonder why his ear is so tender. What size lancet are you using? Once the ear"learns" to bleed, a 30 gauge lancet might work fine. And if the lancet is set on a deeper setting, you could lighten up that a bit.

Paula, even if he is sensitive, I'd be sure to always get a test before the shot. You never know when the insulin and food might start working together and he might start to drop. I love the analogy Dr. Lisa used: shooting without testing is like driving down the highway with a bag over your head.
 
I will do the amps and pmps just not in between unless warranted. At least for a few days. He has had a lot of sticks between 2 curves, 2 hypo episodes and in betweens in the past week. And Actually use a 22g needle which normally works extremely well. Even the vet can't get it with lancets. So I know he's okay on 2.5u. So a few days of only doing the 2 sticks will give him a break and the ear to heal. Of course if anything changes I will do them. I'm watching him like a hawk. Even husband when I'm at work will text me hourly on what he is doing (without me asking him) Yet he claims to not being interested at all.
 
Paula, I know it's not ideal but, in cases like this...have you tried something like Polysporin with lidocaine for the ear? The lidocaine doesn't take all the discomfort away but, does take a bit of the edge off. You can use it instead of vaseline.
 
Louellen said:
Paula, I know it's not ideal but, in cases like this...have you tried something like Polysporin with lidocaine for the ear? The lidocaine doesn't take all the discomfort away but, does take a bit of the edge off. You can use it instead of vaseline.
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I will get some. I've been using plain Neosporin.
 
What a nice pmps! Maybe 2 units? I am thinking it's overnight and he tends to drop more at night.

Nrperve wracking, yes. But good news - he is gradually coming down.
 
Thinking same thing or even 1.5. Maybe he will end up requiring 1 amount in am and different amount pm.???? Of course make it difficult for me. Lol
 
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