So Confused! Please Tell Me What Has Been Happening July 5 - July 10 On Spreadsheet

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Sweet Spot

Sweet Spot

Active Member
Good Morning........

The last time we "checked in" on the forum, it was the evening of July 4th (THIS THREAD) - and we were about to really jump into tight regulation protocol now that we had settled down from months of chaos/recent loss. We felt ready and excited to get going...and that we were educationally prepared, too, from all of your help to date.

But when you look at Spot's spreadsheet, you will see that our joy turned to confusion (and a bit of worry, because he got ill in the middle of it all).

Here is a brief summary - then you can have the numbers do the talking from his spreadsheet!

JULY 5 - we were happy to see lower 300s consistently that day. A step in the right direction.

JULY 6 - as always, new dose wonkiness numbers, which we expected. But dipped down into the high yellows with a 293 that night! Woo-hoo! We were excited.

JULY 7 - Wow! Dipped down into the LOW yellows that night with a 235. Super excited now!

JULY 8 - Scary day.....was this a BOUNCE? Plus, Spot acted very ill. Seemed shivery, wouldn't vocalize (he is a very talkative cat), hid under bed. This went on for about 5 hours....then he "came out of it"

JULY 9 - Acting normal again but numbers don't show much change overall. Were hoping increased dose would make his baseline a little lower after such a reaction to the increase....an awful lot of drama for not much change in the end.

SO HERE IS WHAT WE DID AND WHAT WE ARE THINKING - PLEASE CRITIQUE OUR NEWBIE DECISIONS AND THOUGHTS​

Because he was new to the 200s AND because he got so sick, we held his 4u dose for 10 cycles instead of 6 cycles (the day he would have been due for a dose increase was the morning he got so sick). Was that the right thing to do (for future reference)?

Because he was new to the 200s, we increased by only .25u this morning - now dosing at 4.25u. Was that the right thing to do?

That is where we are at this morning. He is his happy, vocal self and acting 100% ok again. But we sure got shaken up with his illness July 8th that came right after a steep drop (for him) into the actual LOW 200s. Any tips/advice as to what we should have done differently (or did right) would be so appreciated!

Thanks so much,
Robin
 
Yes. it was time for the increase. Interruptions happen and we all just do the best we can....
Looks like a good time to start the tight regulation protocol .....
Those yellows were great.... and we want to see more of them.....
and then blues and greens.... ( The Real Goal)

What would be really nice moving forward is if you could randomly get some very late tests ( or early morning)
on that ss here and there?
Many of us set alarms, kitties often get their lower numbers at night, to check....
I would do this especially as you proceed with those future dose increases....

I learned to drink a big glass of water so I couldn't ignore my alarm.... I had to get up and would grab a test.
 
Your kitties are so amazingly beautiful! Just amazing photos.....honestly!

I should share a "long shot" of Spot sometime - he has the "cow" pattern, but on his pure white belly is a large, perfectly round "spot" - looks like a belly button - hence my daughter named him Spot nearly 14 years ago! He is also very, very long.....just a big guy....with personality to match!

I do recognize I should try to get some evening numbers in - but I have to be honest. Since April 4th when my father got very ill until just a week ago, we were running every day. Until he passed May 19, we were at bedside each day. Then thousands of miles of travel for over a month, etc. The point is I did some soul searching of what my "best" could be for my guy right now. I am of no value to him if I am ill. For nearly 3 months it has been fight or flight for my husband and me, no sleep, little food, plus grieving. Took a toll on our physical and emotional well being to a large degree. My problem is if I wake up in the middle of the night....like stand up or have to use my brain, I don't fall back asleep...my mind kicks in and I am awake for hours if not permanently. So I am trying to find a balance between healing myself and healing Spot. My compromise was to allow myself 7-8 hours sleep. My husband and I are very committed, however, to grabbing a rare test when we can (if we wake up early some morning, if we go out for an evening and are up later). So what I've tested is the best I have to offer him right now......but that isn't forever. I am just so drained on all levels.

Hope that makes sense. Nothing I wouldn't do for my guy, but I have to stay strong and healthy, too, so I can be the best mom I can to him.

Thanks again,
Robin
 
It is very likely that Spot bounced off of the yellow numbers. You need to remember, though, that it can take up to 3 days for a bounce to clear. As for Spot having an off day, it's worth remembering that cats, just like people, can get a 24 hr bug. Alternatively, we don't know how used to yellow numbers Spot may be. His body may have been reacting. A long term member who doesn't post much any more once related a story about how a family friend who was diabetic was finally getter her diabetes under control. As her BG improved, she felt worse -- her body wasn't used to normal numbers. After a while, she adjusted and if her numbers went up for some reason, it was the high numbers that made her feel lousy. My point is that you'll have to see if this is a pattern for Spot or it Spot simply had an off day.
 
we all have life occurrences like that....it definitely can pour when it rains around here..... We have two members right now
dealing with parents starting hospice.

grabbing a rare test when you can is great.... it doesn't have to be nightly.....
and sleep is a very valued around here by the many sleep deprived caretakers.....:cool:
 
Thank you Sienne and Gabby - I am probably going to be a bit anxious with anything new until it isn't so new anymore!!:nailbiting:

Almost embarrassed to admit, but the night he hit 235 we were actually NERVOUS to shoot thinking "what if it goes too low!?" We travel with our hypo kit but we were shocked at our reaction...feeling like true goofballs. I am sure I'm not the first newbie to get nervous over every single change......so appreciate all of you being patient with me.

For future reference, was the holding for 10 cycles and/or only increasing .25u the right thing(s) to do?
 
Sweet Spot said:
Thank you Sienne and Gabby - I am probably going to be a bit anxious with anything new until it isn't so new anymore!!:nailbiting:

Almost embarrassed to admit, but the night he hit 235 we were actually NERVOUS to shoot thinking "what if it goes too low!?" We travel with our hypo kit but we were shocked at our reaction...feeling like true goofballs. I am sure I'm not the first newbie to get nervous over every single change......so appreciate all of you being patient with me.

For future reference, was the holding for 10 cycles and/or only increasing .25u the right thing(s) to do?
Click to expand...

I don't know at all if it was the right or wrong thing to do, but I do know how confusing it is. I am often confused.

There is one thing I see that I can relate to. Getting scared of yellow numbers. I had the same fear, because they were new to me, and I immediately thought that TiTi was going to DKA in seconds :eek:. Of course, she didn't. Lol. ;)
I see from your ss that they are very new to you, but what they mean to me is that sweets is getting better. If it worries you, test more often. It's quite reassuring, when you see that Sweets does not suddenly dip into crisis mode.:)

After all you've been thru, sleep. You need it.
If in the far future, if Sweets does go below, say 50, you'll need to stay up and monitor, until she's out of danger.

It looks as if Sweets is very far from that possibility, so don't worry. Court the yellow, delight in blue, be careful in green, and keep reading the stickies. :bookworm:
 
Thank you, Kathy! Relieved that we aren't the only ones who panicked in yellow!
And just now, Spot is back in yellow again.......what a ride! Thanks for sharing yours, to keep us sane as we go along..........
 
I think you are a great and balanced cat momma to your Sweet Spot! :)
It can be overwhelming to take care of a diabetic kitty even in the best of times.

So sorry for the rough time you have been through :(...but happy FOR you and for Spot that you are heading toward a time of more focused care for your baby, and for yourself. Everyone one of us on this forum has different circumstances and differing resources. But we all love our sweet babies!

It may take weeks to get him used to yellows, then blues, etc... Especially with bouncing... Be patient with yourself.

I think it's great you can do TR and there are many here who can help. :cat:
 
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Everyone has been helping us today on THIS THREAD

And while the day goes on, Spot has dropped by nearly 100 points every 3-4 hours.......honest, sorry to sound neurotic but is this "normal" or "good" or "bad?"

His numbers have been flat and high forever, now this? Obviously, a shock to us....
 
He's in perfectly safe numbers and this is good stuff. It's possible Spot has found a good dose. You can always feed him LC snacks to slow him down a bit. Do you have plenty of strips and HC food? What protocol are you using SLGS or TR? Are you using Lantus or Levemir?

ETA: don't go for any HC until he drops below 90 if following SLGS or under 50 if you're following TR. I'll be here except to feed and test Doodles.
 
Well - while you have all been helping so much, Spot has surprised us once more.........he has plummeted into BLUE today! If I was nervous at low yellow, at only +7 hours you can imagine how I feel at 160!

I started a new thread to address it..........thanks again for your help.........
 
Thanks Doodles and Karen........we are using Lantus, Tight Regulation Protocol, have plenty of strips, high carb snacks (and corn syrup) on hand in a hypo emergency......he grazes all day on his Fancy Feast and has been doing so this afternoon. I guess I missed the education on the LC snacks. I was prepped for an emergency, but not a slowing him down, middle of road sort of thing?
 
Sweet Spot said:
Well - while you have all been helping so much, Spot has surprised us once more.........he has plummeted into BLUE today! If I was nervous at low yellow, at only +7 hours you can imagine how I feel at 160!

I started a new thread to address it..........thanks again for your help.........
Click to expand...

Blue is great. Try to keep from thinking such verbs as "plummeted."
Crashing planes plummet,
Suicides plummet from bridge, roof tops,
Off balance people plummet from cliff overlooks,
Murderers watch their victims plummet backwards from balconies, picture windows.

Lol, you get my meaning by now.

Sweets, with health seeking intelligence, lowered into blue, one of the healing colors.
 
Thanks Karen.......

I really have to "cool it" with my exclamation points......don't want you to think I am having a nervous breakdown.....but this first for us is a bit scary. You picture (unrealistically) that he will just keep dropping 100 points every 3 hours until a crisis occurs. Once I have more data (which takes TIME...there is no rushing it) so I understand his particular body a bit better, I know I will be a normal, much more calm member like the others I see in this forum :)
 
Sweet Spot said:
Everyone has been helping us today on THIS THREAD

And while the day goes on, Spot has dropped by nearly 100 points every 3-4 hours.......honest, sorry to sound neurotic but is this "normal" or "good" or "bad?"

His numbers have been flat and high forever, now this? Obviously, a shock to us....
Click to expand...

Blue is great. Try to keep from thinking such verbs as "plummeted."

Crashing planes plummet,
Suicides plummet from bridges, roof tops,
Off balance people plummet from cliff overlooks,
Murderers watch their victims plummet backwards, from balconies, picture windows.

Lol, you get my meaning by now.

Sweets, with health seeking intelligence, has lowered herself into blue, one of the healing colors/zones.
 
Kathy, I love your post...........first, the healing colors is so true..........great way to look at it.
Plus, the overly dramatic, pessimistic verbiage of "plummeting" made me laugh - you are so right!
 
Sweet Spot said:
Thanks Karen.......

I really have to "cool it" with my exclamation points......don't want you to think I am having a nervous breakdown.....but this first for us is a bit scary. You picture (unrealistically) that he will just keep dropping 100 points every 3 hours until a crisis occurs. Once I have more data (which takes TIME...there is no rushing it) so I understand his particular body a bit better, I know I will be a normal, much more calm member like the others I see in this forum :)
Click to expand...

I didn't see the earlier thread and after over a year I still panic and know exactly what to do 90% of the time. It's part of the dance and we're here for that reason too. But getting back to your question..it is OK to give LC snacks. I realize he is free fed but sometimes us beans want them to eat at a certain time.

What's happening with Sweet Spot is super exciting! Keep watching him....I'll be here all night but about to be in a pickle with my Doodles so might not be able to answer right away.
 
:cool::cool:Spot is so cute! The first time Plum showed us a blue number I was really excited. He seems to be pretty sensitive to carbs so I've been able to "steer" him somewhat with food when his BG is dropping fast. Plus, he's hungry when that happens. Maybe the same will be true for Spot?

Now, shooting on those low blue/green numbers is scary.....but I'm getting there. Surf on, dudes!
 
Thanks PlumsMom!
Plum is quite the handsome guy!!
I cannot even imagine shooting on blue/green....oh boy...I am so caught off guard by his much lower numbers, I didn't even think of THAT :eek:
 
Sweet Spot said:
Kathy, I love your post...........first, the healing colors is so true..........great way to look at it.
Plus, the overly dramatic, pessimistic verbiage of "plummeting" made me laugh - you are so right!
Click to expand...

Oh, good. It isn't that you were being overly dramatic at all. No. It was just that you were way more scared than I wanted you to be. So, I used humor.
I once posted a 911, which was completely unnecessary. Lol. That was really embarrassing.:banghead: But wow was I scared. I don't remember why I posted it as 911, I only remember feeling extremely stupid.
Ahaha.
I think we've all experienced more fear than was needed at one time or another. After all, these are our beloved lil furs. .
 
Thanks Kathy......
If only they came with instruction manuals.......

I think my biggest source of anxiety is going too low, too fast - and not knowing his body enough yet to see it coming. Seeing how he can drop so quickly, without acting differently at all today, makes me worry about "what if" he started out lower today or kept dropping or??? Makes you afraid to ever leave the house in this learning phase. I don't know what his body typically does yet and thought I had a lot of time to figure it out! But he went from purple and red for what felt like eternity down to the world of yellow and blue. What happens tonight if I give him insulin at a lower number? Will he drop even more? Those types of fears, given I don't know his diabetic language yet, do make me feel a likely candidate for an embarrassing 911 in the near future, too!
 
Sweet Spot said:
Thanks Kathy......
If only they came with instruction manuals.......

I think my biggest source of anxiety is going too low, too fast - and not knowing his body enough yet to see it coming. Seeing how he can drop so quickly, without acting differently at all today, makes me worry about "what if" he started out lower today or kept dropping or??? Makes you afraid to ever leave the house in this learning phase. I don't know what his body typically does yet and thought I had a lot of time to figure it out! But he went from purple and red for what felt like eternity down to the world of yellow and blue. What happens tonight if I give him insulin at a lower number? Will he drop even more? Those types of fears, given I don't know his diabetic language yet, do make me feel a likely candidate for an embarrassing 911 in the near future, too!
Click to expand...

Doodles, who is very very good is with you, and if need be, will turn you over to a night owl. That's how it works. You're not alone. And well, if you turn in a silly 911, think of me. Lol. :p
 
and at +10 we are at 181

admittedly, a bit nervous about "shoot time" in two more hours.

Today was a new dose (4.25u) - don't know if he was just "settling in" to his 4u dose OR responding to the increase OR both.

With that huge drop today, his first day ever in blues, are we really going to shoot in two more hours at 4.25u? Nervous mom here! I know we need to revisit his numbers in two more hours, and they could/should climb a bit, but so scared about another big drop reaction with is first day in blues (and still in blues 10 hours in).

Thanks for being there - Robin
 
Thanks Kathy!

10 hours in and he is still in the blues....a little nervous about his first shoot in this number range...could be a long night! Oh, Spot will likely be snoring and just fine, but I will be checking on him all night long!
 
For people following TR on this forum, we say you are good to shoot over 150. Below 150 at preshot time, do not feed, and post for help. There are several options. Experienced members will shoot above 50, but we expect you to work your way down there.

I LOVE the progress today! :cool:
 
Thanks for your advice, Wendy & Neko - we are now at 211 at +11

I know I am sounding like a complete nutcase - but is a "first time" drop into the blues like this ok? I do understand the 150 "ok to shoot" guideline, but I think what I lack is experience.

Here is a quick trip into my nervous brain. He dropped from 378 at AMPS to a low of 159 4 hours later....a drop of 219. So...and I know this isn't logical and it doesn't quite work like this...you can see where I would be terrified to shoot his new dose of 4.25u at a BG of 211....because what if he dropped 200 AGAIN tonight, when cats typically are even lower and drop more? I guess I fear we don't have much wiggle room if his body decides to go fast and hard down to blues or greens.

Does this make sense, even if illogical? Again, I am missing experience...but when I do the numbers, I admit I am a bit frightened. I want to celebrate his progress, not fear it....
 
I'm going to redirect everyone to your first thread (condo) for today. We keep to one condo per cat per day so that all the information stays in one spot. Otherwise, like what is happening right now, people are giving you advice on 2 different threads.

So . . . everyone please go here to comment and don't do any more replies to this thread.
 
It would be very helpful for you to erase the current title and update with Spot's current BG readings. This way people who are scanning can keep an eye out for you.
 
Thanks Jill!

Marci - it doesn't work that way that cats plummet the same amount from lower numbers as they do from higher numbers. That's the beauty of Lantus and Levemir. The lower you shoot, the flatter the cycles. I much prefer shooting lower numbers cause I have an idea what the cycle will look like. With a high preshot, who knows, could go low or stay high. Take a look at some of the other threads where people shoot lower numbers and take a look at what the cycles look like. This is no guarantee for Spot, cause he's a cat after all, but it's an rough idea of what to expect.
 
I'm redirecting people away from the other thread. Just fyi, we keep to one thread (condo) per cat per day. That keeps all the advice in one spot. With as many as 50-75 cats actively posting on this group every day, it's one thing that we do to keep things manageable and to also not let anyone get "lost" and not get helped.

Here's your last post from the other thread:

Sweet Spot said:
Thanks for your advice, Wendy & Neko - we are now at 211 at +11

I know I am sounding like a complete nutcase - but is a "first time" drop into the blues like this ok? I do understand the 150 "ok to shoot" guideline, but I think what I lack is experience.

Here is a quick trip into my nervous brain. He dropped from 378 at AMPS to a low of 159 4 hours later....a drop of 219. So...and I know this isn't logical and it doesn't quite work like this...you can see where I would be terrified to shoot his new dose of 4.25u at a BG of 211....because what if he dropped 200 AGAIN tonight, when cats typically are even lower and drop more? I guess I fear we don't have much wiggle room if his body decides to go fast and hard down to blues or greens.

Does this make sense, even if illogical? Again, I am missing experience...but when I do the numbers, I admit I am a bit frightened. I want to celebrate his progress, not fear it....
Click to expand...

Your thoughts are completely logical. Everyone thinks like that - but the missing factor is "how Lantus works best." It is great at holding blood sugar flat, so although it's very counter-intuitive, shooting lower numbers results in flatter cycles. In other words, an experienced person will shoot everything over 50 if their cat isn't ill, is eating normally, and they can monitor the cat's cycle (at first.) The cat shot at 60 might stay in the 50's and 60's for the next 12 hours. That is something you want to work toward. The safe way to do it is to gradually shoot lower and lower preshot numbers, allowing you to see and gain experience on what Spot does at each level.

At first, with a number under 150, it's a good idea to post and ask for advice. While you are waiting for help, DON'T feed Spot. We call this "stalling." An experienced person will help you figure out what to do, and if they encourage you to shoot, they will also stay with you or tag-team with another experienced person, so that if Spot does go into low numbers you'll have someone staying with you, like Karen/Doodles was doing today.

Spot's on his way back up from blue now, but it was great to see him get there. While scary at first, soon you'll get to crave the blues and green numbers as they become familiar to you.

Think of the dose like this - he needed 4.25u to get him into blue, so that dose is great for him for the moment. It's good to see him making progress. Knowledge is power - and your fear of him dropping will be alleviated as you get information and you learn what his patterns are, now that he is finally getting out of his pink tutu. :p Every cat has patterns in how they respond to their insulin and as you get more info, you'll be able to make some predictions about what will happen next. Then you won't be so fearful.

In the meantime, keep posting here and learning all you can.

And you have my deepest condolences in the loss of your dad. :bighug:
 
One more thing - on the top right of this page you'll see "thread tools." Click there and then there is an option to edit the thread title. People edit that all day long with updated test numbers, or to put in questions, or ask for help. That is your best tool for getting attention. You'll want to figure out how to edit it and use it all day long to reflect whatever is current.
 
Thank you everyone........I am sorry about having too many posts......won't do that in the future. Will also learn those tools!

For tonight, my husband and I made a few decisions as we read and read and studied, etc. Spot's PMPS was 304, so definitely not as nervous now. That said, we want to heal him asap, but also want to be as comfortable as we can...I am not at my best emotionally yet and it doesn't take much to knock me down - so may lean a bit more toward the SLGS in the future, which sounds more within my comfort zone at this point in time. Made a notecard with both protocols and guidelines, to grab in an instant when I start to get worried or confused.

Anyway, though maybe our decision won't be regarded as the best solution, we are going to keep him at 4u a few more days and see what happens, then nudge up to 4.25u. It is just a gut feeling and makes me sleep easier tonight. We are thrilled that he got into the blues today.........some good news at last. We will get through this/work it out....much more optimistic now and he acted so back to normal today throughout the blue numbers.

Will keep you posted! Thanks again to everyone - I can't wait until the day that I can help someone new like me...........Robin, Jim and Spot
 
Let me sum up some of the differences between the Tight Reg Protocol and Start Low Go Slow and perhaps that will help you.

With the Tight Regulation Protocol, doses are held about 3 days, then re-evaluated and increased if needed.
With the Start Low Go Slow, doses are held for a week at a time.

With Tight Reg, you need to test multiple times a day (which you are already doing). The goal of Tight Reg is to get the cat into normal numbers (50-120 on a human meter) as quickly as is safely possible. Because one is pushing the cat's blood sugar into normal numbers, it means testing enough to keep the cat from becoming hypoglycemic.

With SLGS, one needs to get preshot tests and ideally, a spot check here and there, and once a week do a curve. Because Lantus dosing is based upon how LOW the dose gets the cat, you've got to get enough tests in to be confident about how low the cat is getting. Most people using SLGS don't test much.

Tight Reg requires low carb canned food or raw food.
SLGS allows dry food - if a cat is eating any dry food, they cannot follow Tight Reg.

With Tight Reg, dose reductions are made at 50 on human glucometers.
SLGS calls for dose reductions at 90.

There is far more than this on the stickies, but they can be overwhelming to people. Do take a look at the stickies and ask questions if things are confusing.

Just as an observation, you test more than enough to follow the Tight Reg guidelines if you want to.
 
Thank you for taking time to write all of this down, Julie - just saw it this morning.

We did make a large notecard of both protocols yesterday (have reviewed the stickys) to put in our diabetic "kit" and had one question...does anyone do a hybrid of the two protocols?

We agree with you - we do test a LOT and lean more toward TR protocol on many levels - don't think we would ever scale back and test infrequently. However, we like the parameters a bit better with the SLGS protocol, the not raising more than .25u at a time (Spot just does not take well to dose increases and we want to try being a bit more "gentle"). The preshot level has many options based on our comfort (like yesterday...if greater than 200 but lower than a normal preshot, dose reduction considered - or if 150-200 range, there are various options available).

I guess what I am saying is we like the testing involved in tight regulation, but are more comfortable with the slower, steady climb to finding the optimal dosing. Does anyone do a hybrid of the two? Would love to hear from them!
 
Mixing the protocols is not recommended, as each has it's built in safeguards, mixing and matching from the two protocols can become problematic or even dangerous.

Just want to clarify for you, with TR typically dose increases are done at 0.25u, only when the are mired in pink and red do we consider the 0.5u, but you hold the syringe, you don't 'have' to take him up quicker, we just don't hold on to doses quite as long as with SLGS, having said that, as I am sure you have figured out by reading all the info, the length of time you hold on to a dose is directly dependent on how low that dose is taking kitty, the lower they go the longer we hold on to the dose.
You do have options at shot time with TR as well when faced with a lower than expected PS,
1) stalling
2) shooting a BCS (big chicken shot) ( a one time reduced dose)
3) skipping
you would gradually start reducing the number you are shooting as you learn more about Spots cycles and responses to his dose. To start with you wouldn't shoot below 150, at least not without guidance. You would reduce that no shoot number as you become data ready to do so and your confidence increases you can read all about this here, it discuss how you can become data ready by gathering the relevant spot checks, I hope you find it reassuring
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...regulation-shooting-handling-low-numbers.147/


There is no problem testing more and doing SLGS, in fact it will make dosing decisions easier, but you will still need to hold on to doses for 7 days even if you are seeing high numbers, and if you skip a shot then the cycle count restarts that's what the method calls for. This can result in very slow progress up the dosing scale, and spending prolonged periods in high numbers can lead to glucose toxicity which in turn results in more insulin being needed to bring the BG down.
 
Gill,
Thanks so much for all of this information - makes so much sense - appreciate your honesty and being direct with me....

The only reason we are "rethinking" (again, completely aware of newbie fear steering this boat) is because we only recently were able to start TR protocol - up until the 3.5u mark we were just "hanging on" given my father's death and being on the road/in motels for over a month.

Granted, his numbers were high and awful and flat prior to starting in on true TR....no argument there. However, we have never dealt with such turmoil with Spot until really getting into TR. At 4u we had him acting lethargic and ill. Then yesterday he sank low very quickly, now this morning we have our first 500 BG. This scary swinging and acting ill is, admittedly, "freaking us out" a bit - enough so where we thought maybe his body needs to hold doses a bit longer to figure things out, etc?

We aren't experts by any means....so much to learn and understand....but in the meantime it was just our guts telling us he might need a little more time to adjust to doses. We could be wrong, but that is where we are at - at this point.

Won't "mix" protocols given your advice - just need to get him over this bounce and do a little thinking.

Again, thanks so much.......have a great day!
 
You have had a lot to deal with. It's totally understandable that you haven't been able to take this FD bull by the horns:bighug::bighug:

Just to offer some explanation to the numbers you are seeing.

Spot got into nicer/healthier numbers yesterday. Namely those blues you saw. Spot's body and primarily his liver are not used to these healthier numbers, in fact they perceive them as 'dangerous' simply because he has got used to running at high BG levels. So when he drops into this lower numbers his liver 'panics' and in an attempt to keep Spot safe from this 'perceived danger' the liver reacts by releasing counter regulatory hormones which ultimately result in more glucose being dumped in the blood stream, we refer to this as a bounce.
Bouncing is a normal in FD with time and as Spot spends more time in healthy numbers he may bounce less and eventually stop bouncing, though some kitties bounce all the way into remission, it's a case of ECID.
Bounces can last up to 6 cycles, but can also be shorter.

You should have seen me freak out when I got my first blue!!! I got my knickers in a right old twist:eek: Before you know it you will be greedily craving those greens and blues:cool::D
I found that George started to look and feel a lot better when we regularly got into that blue range, he also got perkier. It was then that I realized that those high numbers really made him feel queezy.
 
Thank you for sharing this Gill!
I have read and read on this great forum for so long...thinking "I've got this!" Haha....yeah...right....
Until something new happens with Spot, then I forget everything and hit the panic button. I do this with my 21 year old daughter, too (haha) - so I think it is a "parent thing" right?
Have a great day - your optimistic post makes me feel so much better.......
 
That black number last night was a direct result of the great blue numbers yesterday afternoon. It was entirely predictable - and it's also quite predictable that this bounce will most likely last a full 3 days. If he does, that would mean that he'll likely be in high numbers now until Wednesday night's cycle, or maybe a little before/after that. Watch for a yellow number and that is your signal to step up the testing to see if he's beginning to clear the bounce. I would do minimal testing between now and then - both preshots and one mid-cycle test. As you get closer to Wednesday evening, be aware that he could clear the bounce at any point.

In fact, looking at that blue streak yesterday and counting backwards 3 days would be the day cycle of July 7th. He had a yellow pmps that evening, and it's quite possible that he was in blue earlier that afternoon and rising up to the pmps 235. That would conform with the idea that he's having 3 days of bouncing in between his lows. That's very normal at this phase, by the way.

Gill gave you a great explanation of why his body reacted. There is another explanation in the second post in this thread.

The more he's in better numbers, the more his body will "remember" that those are good for him and as that happens, the bouncing will lessen and even possibly stop.

As Gill said, you don't want to mix and match parts of the dosing guidelines. If you're nervous, start with SLGS and then as you learn more you may want to switch to Tight Reg. It's up to you - although pretty much everyone will look at Spot's ss and suggest that you follow Tight Reg because of your testing. Tight Reg is simply a faster & more flexible way to get to the goal - and it's safe for those who test.

The more you learn, the more you'll feel comfortable with what you're seeing because it will begin to make sense to you and your husband! Everyone has to start at the beginning and learn at their own rate. Just keep asking questions.
 
Julie,
My husband and I both want to thank you for your post above........just the perfect information when we needed it the most. We are so grateful........
Robin and Jim
 
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