Tuxie Is it the dose or is it the Levemir not lasting 12 hours??

Status
Not open for further replies.
Tuxedo Mom

Tuxedo Mom

Member Since 2014
ALPHA TRAK 2 PET METER USED FOR GLUCOSE READINGS


I haven't posted the last few days due to a personal medical scare. But I have been keeping my SS updated and have even done some readings at later(earlier) hours than usual.

I left Tuxie's dose the same for 5 1/2 days. He was getting some nice runs of blues..which for an AT2 meter is pretty decent for a target range. However I am noticing that he seems to be going up usually around +9 or +10. Any "treats" Tuxie gets for shots are only a teeny bit of cooked chicken or salmon, especially after +6 hour. I increased his dose .25 units for the PM shot today. Does anyone have thoughts on whether he needs dose increases or is there a chance that the Levemir is just not lasting the 12 hour period even with the reserve? His shots have all been 12 hours apart within a 5-10 minute variance.

Edited to add: His water consumption and urination have been lower over the last 5 days.
 
Hi Mary Ann - here is Tuxie's last post. I hope you are well now.:bighug:

I think Tuxie needs the dose increases, so good job on doing that tonight. I find with Neko on Levemir that she gets better duration if her dose is giving her more green (somewhere under 6.5/120 ish) on the AT). If she's not getting green regularly, then that leads to more swings to higher numbers. I'm not sure if Tuxie will be the same, but I find if Neko is getting nadirs of 70's (human meter) then she's a lot flatter. One other thing to consider is the size of the increase. For kitties over 5 units, we suggest .5U increases, unless they are just tweaking down the greens a bit. Think of increases as being in the order of 10% changes. What a .25U increase is for a 2.5U cat, then a .5U change is for the larger dose. A .25U change at this point is just like fattening the dose.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hi Mary Ann - here is Tuxie's last post. I hope you are well now.:bighug:

I think Tuxie needs the dose increases, so good job on doing that tonight. I find with Neko on Levemir that she gets better duration if her dose is giving her more green (somewhere under 6.5/120 ish) on the AT). If she's not getting green regularly, then that leads to more swings to higher numbers. I'm not sure if Tuxie will be the same, but I find if Neko is getting nadirs of 70's (human meter) then she's a lot flatter. One other thing to consider is the size of the increase. For kitties over 5 units, we suggest .5U increases, unless they are just tweaking down the greens a bit. Think of increases as being in the order of 10% changes. What a .25U increase is for a 2.5U cat, then a .5U change is for the larger dose. A .25U change at this point is just like fattening the dose.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input Wendy. My ideal AT target range would be 4-7mmol/l Approx 72-126 mg/l. However I also worry that dropping him too low too fast makes for awful bounces. I would be more comfortable working Tuxie into a more solid blue/yellow ranges all the time and trying to filter him down from there.

What makes me wonder is that his numbers today for example went from +9-173 up to +10.5-311 t0 PMPS 355. His earlier numbers were acceptable but then he just seems to fizzle towards the end of his cycle.
 
I find that "working them down" isn't as good as making them eat the green. The more time spent in normal numbers, the more they realize they are normal and don't bounce as much. You can always use food at the beginning of the cycle when he does his descent to cushion the drop. He seems to like to do his major dropping around +2 to +3, so getting a good portion of his meal in around +2 may help slow the drop.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I find that "working them down" isn't as good as making them eat the green. The more time spent in normal numbers, the more they realize they are normal and don't bounce as much. You can always use food at the beginning of the cycle when he does his descent to cushion the drop. He seems to like to do his major dropping around +2 to +3, so getting a good portion of his meal in around +2 may help slow the drop.
Click to expand...

Tuxie's nadir seems to come around +6-+7 hours. That is the time I would normally be out and about. Plus with my health scare, until I get to a doc and get some things checked I am worried that if something happens to me, there is no one who could test and monitor him. I may have to revise my protocol from TR to GS for awhile. :(
 
One thing that helped me some was when I learned that absorption of the insulin can varying by as much as 50% from one shot to the next. Even if you control every other factor - feed the same volume, same food, same timing, give the same insulin dose, play the same amount - you still have variations out of your control. Insulin is a hormone and its action in the body isn't constant from one time to the next. Many cats don't have a full 12 hr duration from their insulin, but it does seem like getting to the "right" dose allows it to work better and brings about longer control.

You test at least twice as often as I did when punkin was alive, Mary Ann. There's no doubt you can follow TR if you want to. What Wendy is saying is that cats have flatter, less changing blood sugar (ie, fewer highs AND lows) when they are in a lower range. For whatever reason, the only range that they can get that flat line of blood sugar control is in normal numbers.

That said, it sounds like whatever happened with your health crisis has you worried, so take your time and do what you need to do with Tuxie. If you need him to be running higher for your comfort zone then do it. He'll be fine.

Sending healing thoughts your way. I hope you are ok. :bighug:
 
julie & punkin (ga) said:
One thing that helped me some was when I learned that absorption of the insulin can varying by as much as 50% from one shot to the next. Even if you control every other factor - feed the same volume, same food, same timing, give the same insulin dose, play the same amount - you still have variations out of your control. Insulin is a hormone and its action in the body isn't constant from one time to the next. Many cats don't have a full 12 hr duration from their insulin, but it does seem like getting to the "right" dose allows it to work better and brings about longer control.

You test at least twice as often as I did when punkin was alive, Mary Ann. There's no doubt you can follow TR if you want to. What Wendy is saying is that cats have flatter, less changing blood sugar (ie, fewer highs AND lows) when they are in a lower range. For whatever reason, the only range that they can get that flat line of blood sugar control is in normal numbers.

That said, it sounds like whatever happened with your health crisis has you worried, so take your time and do what you need to do with Tuxie. If you need him to be running higher for your comfort zone then do it. He'll be fine.

Sending healing thoughts your way. I hope you are ok. :bighug:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information and healing thoughts Julie. I had a minor heart event and need to get some testing and such done to make sure that there is nothing "big" waiting to happen. I am hoping it is just a cummulation of worry and stress and not enough sleep these last number of months, but I am worried that if it is more than that I could end up back at the hospital so I am just trying to cover all basis about Tuxie. Even when I went to the hospital a few days back I wouldn't leave until I had done a glucose test and left food for my kitties. Priorities you know :)

I understand that the insulin does not always work the same even with all other factors tightly controlled. In some ways that is very frustrating, but that is just the way it is, so I will work with it. I will continue with the TR protocol unless things change on my end, since I really would like to see Tuxie in the more healing, healthier numbers for as much of the day as possible.
 
I was just wondering how Tuxie was doing with his antibiotics? But now I am hoping you are doing okay, a heart very scary! Take care of yourself- sending healing vines! :bighug::bighug:
 
Tiger and Ruth said:
I was just wondering how Tuxie was doing with his antibiotics? But now I am hoping you are doing okay, a heart very scary! Take care of yourself- sending healing vines! :bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...

Thank you for your healing vines :)

Tuxie's UTI has been good since starting the zenequin..it really kicks in quickly. He is on a 14 day run of 25mg to make sure the infection is cleared up this time. His sneezing and coughing have also lessened, either from the AB or from the l-lysine I added to the mix. All in all Tuxie is doing pretty good as far as the 5 Ps go and his urine and fluid intake are lower...but still not in a normal range. I am liking the blues he has been throwing out lately, but I would like to see less variance in his highs and nadirs. Hopefully in time...sigh!!

I don't know how much of a problem I have yet until I get some more tests done. I am in the process of changing doctors so it could be a little while yet. Part of me just thinks that it is stress/worry/not enough sleep, but the bloodwork showed higher creatine kinase levels which is indicates a heart "event". I can't afford to have anything major...I need to be healthy so that I can take care of my Tuxie, since there is no one else that can/will do the sugar dance with him...or that he would allow to :)
 
While you wait to get all the testing and diagnosing done, this may help you manage the stress.
Relaxation Breathing​
- based on the information in "The Relaxation Response" by Herbert Benson, MD.

Begin by sitting in a comfortable chair with good back support, or lying down. The key thing is to have your body pretty much straight between hips and shoulders so your lungs have room.

Now, breathe out completely. That way there will be room for a full breath in. If you start with half filled lungs, taking a deep breath in won't feel very large.

Pause.

Slowly, take a deep breath.

Pause.

Slowly, exhale.

Repeat, and establish a pattern of slow, deep breathing. Give yourself a good 20 minutes (turn off the phone, close the door) to get into this process. If done at bedtime, you may drift into sleep.

By slowing and deepening your breathing, you often cause the heart rate to slow and relax, muscle tightness to ease away, and blood pressure to decrease.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top