What do you guys think of these numbers?

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Nat & Fluffy

Nat & Fluffy

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I unfortunately do not have a lot of data for many days, those are the days my mom looks after him (she is not on top of his diabetes, long story ugh). My plan is to sneak him to my apartment within the next few days where he will stay with me indefinitely; I'm tired of his numbers not getting better and worrying about my mom not being meticulous with him.

Also yesterday he threw up! :( It might have been by eating a crumb but it was white and milky, just like I remember when he was first diagnosed a long time ago.

I've been reducing his food to 1 1/2 cans of FF Turkey & Giblets Classics. I'm thinking of switching to Purina pro plan grain free turkey and chicken, I've heard the carbs are lower. I don't know what the carb difference percentage between the two is though.

I'm worried he's been in high numbers for a month and not seeing anything in the low 200s or even any 100s. I'm hitting 3 units now and just watching him carefully. He seems to be somewhat predictable... What should I do given the data I have?
 
Firstly Hello Nat and Fluffy and welcome to LL, you've come to the right place to get Fluffy well:bighug::bighug::bighug:

Here's your previous post on health to help give folk some history and context
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/cant-trust-my-mom-to-take-care-of-my-sugar-kitty.168562/

Putting it bluntly, there's not much to say, far too little data.
I read through your post on Feline health, I'm sorry that you are having such a difficult time with your mum not taking the situation seriously. One thing that struck me is that you said in that post that your mum doesn't write the numbers down, she shouldn't need to, if she has been taking readings they should be on the meter, you can look back through the memory and add any data if you find it there, if it's not there she probably isn't checking it. (sorry):bighug::bighug::bighug:

I know it's hard to see those high numbers when you get to come home and see fluffy.
I would have suggested you hold the 2.5u and get some data before taking him up to 2.75u, also because lantus is a depot insulin it can take up to six cycles for the
depot to settle and for you to see the full effect of the dose. So having gone up you really should have held the dose for 6 cycles minimum not then taken him to 3u after only two cycles. On TR we would hold for 6 cycles, which given the issues you are having with your mum, I would not recommend following as there is no monitoring, of course if you get fluffy living with you and you are able to monitor him, always getting amps and pmps and at least one test on each cycle am and pm then you could do TR as this will enable you to be more proactive with the dosing. To be honest even following SLGS will be problematic for you if Fluffy continues at your mums and she continues to be uncooperative.
Please be aware that taking the dose up too quickly and not waiting between increases to let the depot catch up can see you overshoot the optimum dose and see Fluffy overdosed, and you faced with a situation where Fluffys numbers plummet and you spend hours trying to get them to come up, or worse. If your mum has been feeding the gravy lovers as you suspect that may well impact his numbers and as you get him into a stricter LC diet you may see a downturn in his numbers.

Nat & Fluffy said:
@Gussie's mom your spreadsheet gives me HOPE! Seeing his numbers go blue and green once you hit and held 3 units oh my goodness :( I'm just crossing my fingers so bad that Fluff's is the same way.
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Gussie's ss is impressive, but you can see how closely Leslie monitored him, now it's not necessary to test as much, you can get fluffy on track and make good dosing decisions with less tests. 3u is not a magic dose, it is for some cats, for others it's 1u, others 5u, every cat is different.

Now you have taken him up to the 3u try and see how he does there, but by that I mean monitor closely, Today it looks like he is flat and yellow, but the dose increases make me nervous and with so little data there are no patterns that we can look back to for Fluffy, so I would get a +6 a +9 and pmps, tonight get at least a before bed test, if he starts to drop into low yellows or blue please pay careful attention and monitor quite closely.

Keep posting and asking questions, and read the stickies at the top of the forum, look at other condos on the forum, take a look at their ss, you will learn a lot from 'watching' how different folk handle different situations and the advice given may apply to you another day.


I'm sorry if my post seems harsh it's not intended in that way, I can see that you are having to deal with a lot of s**t and have your hands full. We are here to help and guide you.:bighug::bighug::bighug:

One last thing, make sure you have a hypo kit with HC, glucose etc and that you have printed out the instructions on how to deal with low numbers and deal with a hypo. The info is there on the stickies.
You may find this link usefulo Where can I find..?

eta sorry I have no idea about the food you are asking about, I'm in europe so we have different brands.
 
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Sometimes flat yellows can mean the next cycle (tonight) will be an active one, and with those recent two quick increases, I am concerned about what he might do. I think I would go back to the 2.75 dose and get some extra tests in.

Besides the gravy food and some syrup or karo, I would make sure you have plenty of test strips on hand at all times. Whenever I got to my last 100 test strips, it always made me nervous (because I had to wait for them as I ordered them online). If you have an active cycle, you can easily go through 15 or more test strips, so be ready at all times. You don't want to be stuck at midnight with a cat testing in the 50s and only have a few strips left. ;)

I have been following you on the Health forum, and wish you the best of luck. I was thinking if you put his litter box in a closet with the door fixed open with a stopper or something, and if he runs under the bed when strange landlords appear, and you keep the litter box clean, and can quickly pick up his food and water bowls should the landlords appear, maybe they won't have a clue you have a cat there.
 
@Gill & George !!!! THANK. YOU. SO. MUCH. For the information, everything :bighug::bighug::bighug: I have been worried like nuts trying to fix all of this. :banghead: I don't even know how to check for past BG readings on the Relion Micro :( I thought I was doing pretty good for his first remission, and now I feel like a complete newbie. I've never had much experience with Lantus and I'm almost never able to come home because I am a student. My apartment doesn't allow pets, but I'm waiting for my roommates to message me about if it's okay with the cat to stay with us (I am sure they will be totally fine with it, they've agreed to it before when I raised the question). I'm the only one who cares for my cat so deeply. My whole family is subtly putting me down because I am willing to go through great lengths to give him the attention he needs, despite my whole family telling him I should give up and put Fluffy to sleep. Ridiculous.

I am going to be switching to Purina Pro True Nature Turkey and Chicken tomorrow morning and afterwards, in a very slow transition of course, if it all works out, bring Fluffy to my apartment. I will definitely be monitoring for him as closely as possible. But please tell me if I should delay the food switch because of where he is right now...

Fluffy is a champ, I have dry food stored away and a hypo kit! Only had to use it once when he was receiving way too much Novolin a long time ago.
And omg nooooo way are you at all harsh :cat: I have received nothing but kindness and help that is a GODSEND from this forum. You are what keeps me going and motivating to make it all work! I just wish my family could understand. Just because he's "old" doesn't make his life any less deserving, especially from an illness that can be treated if given the time and effort.

Thank you so much again for all the information and the kindness~!!!
 
Dyana said:
Sometimes flat yellows can mean the next cycle (tonight) will be an active one, and with those recent two quick increases, I am concerned about what he might do. I think I would go back to the 2.75 dose and get some extra tests in.

Besides the gravy food and some syrup or karo, I would make sure you have plenty of test strips on hand at all times. Whenever I got to my last 100 test strips, it always made me nervous (because I had to wait for them as I ordered them online). If you have an active cycle, you can easily go through 15 or more test strips, so be ready at all times. You don't want to be stuck at midnight with a cat testing in the 50s and only have a few strips left. ;)

I have been following you on the Health forum, and wish you the best of luck. I was thinking if you put his litter box in a closet with the door fixed open with a stopper or something, and if he runs under the bed when strange landlords appear, and you keep the litter box clean, and can quickly pick up his food and water bowls should the landlords appear, maybe they won't have a clue you have a cat there.
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Dyana ALSO thank you SO MUCH :bighug: no doubt you have seen some of my rants about my family and their management :( I felt so stupid bumping him up to 3 units. I will be reducing him to 2.75 units because it really does scare me I'm not seeing those numbers fall. And if the numbers don't fall, just wait 6 cycles? Oh man I need to buy those strips in bulk... I have about 20 on hand. I've also never done testing at night because my family would just start yelling about how ridiculous I am...

That's a good idea!! My cat is big though, like he's not fat, he's just a large long cat, and so we've had to use a very large litter box, but I might make a switch and get a smaller one. Luckily, I have never even met my landlord! She's never stopped by either, so I feel fairly confident I can keep him in secret :) Unfortunately, my bed is literally just a mattress on the floor, and Fluffy loves strangers :facepalm:
 
Hey girls, he tested at 433, and then I did a second test and got 400. Holy moley... he seems uncomfortable but he's always been really resilient but what the heck are these numbers?! :( so worried :(
 
This could be a bounce from some low numbers (for him) that he got last night or it could just be what we call NDW (New Dose Wonkiness). Or maybe he got into some extra carbs.
 
Hi sorry, was buried in paperwork..
To add the prefix, there is a ?, and a 911 ( only for emergencies but if you need it you want to know how to add it!)
Where you create your thread like you did today there is a drop down arrow there where it says no prefix left of where you type. Click there and you can choose the prefix. To delete it after you get help go into Edit thread.
Hope that helps!:bighug::bighug:
Yep with Gussie we had to go up to go down!:D:D
 
On the reliOn to check past numbers just turn it on ( with no strip) by holding down the up arrow and the first number that comes up is the average, push the up arrow and it will show you the test numbers stored in it, most recent first. Wait a second and it tells you the date and the time, click the up,arrow to go back to the one before that..
Once you do it you will say oh man that's so simple!:bighug::bighug:
Remember your brain is on overload:bighug::bighug:

ETA to turn it off you hold down the down arrow
 
@Gussie's mom thank you so much!! :bighug::bighug: I will be sure to do that to the post and to check his past BG numbers~ And Gussie's spreadsheet is literally saved on my bookmarks! He gives me hope haha~ I know ECID but it's so helpful to look at and I admire that dedication :bighug: spreadsheet goals!

Yesterday's numbers were very strange, like he went up and down and I'm very sure he didn't eat anything. The only thing is that he went outside on the porch and just walked around a bit, but other than that I have no clue... We had family members over, but he usually doesn't mind strangers, but it was noisy so hmm...

Today is going to be a bit stressful for Fluffy in the afternoon, because that's when I have to drive about 30+ minutes and bring him to my apartment. Driving and a very new living space will be a little difficult, but he's very resilient (for every year or two years of his life, we moved because we're in the military!) His morning are a bit rough, I can tell he's uncomfortable and hungry, chows down his food, laps his water like a dog, and takes a long time to pee :( He tries to lie down and relax and take a nap.
 
:bighug:
Nat & Fluffy said:
@Gussie's mom thank you so much!! :bighug::bighug: I will be sure to do that to the post and to check his past BG numbers~ And Gussie's spreadsheet is literally saved on my bookmarks! He gives me hope haha~ I know ECID but it's so helpful to look at and I admire that dedication :bighug: spreadsheet goals!

Yesterday's numbers were very strange, like he went up and down and I'm very sure he didn't eat anything. The only thing is that he went outside on the porch and just walked around a bit, but other than that I have no clue... We had family members over, but he usually doesn't mind strangers, but it was noisy so hmm...

Today is going to be a bit stressful for Fluffy in the afternoon, because that's when I have to drive about 30+ minutes and bring him to my apartment. Driving and a very new living space will be a little difficult, but he's very resilient (for every year or two years of his life, we moved because we're in the military!) His morning are a bit rough, I can tell he's uncomfortable and hungry, chows down his food, laps his water like a dog, and takes a long time to pee :( He tries to lie down and relax and take a nap.
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Housekeeping: remember to start a new thread today! You link today's to the new one by going to the main LL forum page, copy your old link and paste it in the new one you created for today by clicking on that paper clip thing and pasting in the black URL box that shows up. Let me know if you have trouble..

Aw thanks! ( but keep in mind, Gussie kind of wrote his own rules a bit...still is....) I also tested ALot! But I needed to until I could see and understand what his body did with the insulin, it's how I am wired, I'm a visual learner. Needed enough pieces in the jigsaw puzzle to make it out! You don't have to fill in all the blanks like I did!;) But I had plenty of data for the pros to help me!:rolleyes: Look at lots of spreadsheets, I did, it really helped what I was learning make sense, especially about numbers bouncing, new dose wonkieness and all the new stuff!:bighug::bookworm:

Gussie hyperventilates in the car, he literally scares me to death the whole way. The vet tech put a drop of Bachs Rescue Remedy on the back of each ear and it did the trick! No hyperventilating the whole way home! I even pulled over to check because he was so quiet! It's sold lots of places, you might see if there is a store near you. Health foods, pet stores, and fancy grocery stores carry it and it's also on Amazon. There is a calming collar too that's natural and helped Gussie when he boarded. I've seen it in the pet stores too.

https://www.amazon.com/NurtureCALM-...&keywords=nature+calm+calming+collar+for+cats

I'm so happy Fluffy is going home with you. I think being where he knows he is truly loved will make a HUGE difference, and that he will adjust quickly. There's a really special bond that comes out of doing this dance with our cats..
I admire that you have the strength to buck the noise around you and stick to helping Fluffy, that takes fortitude and strength of character..give yourself a huge hug..

Fluffy is one lucky cat to have such an amazing Bean!! Hang in there and we'll wishes for the first day of Fluffys next chapter!!:bighug::bighug:
 
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Gussie's mom said:
:bighug:
Housekeeping: remember to start a new thread today! You link today's to the new one by going to the main LL forum page, copy your old link and paste it in the new one you created for today by clicking on that paper clip thing and pasting in the black URL box that shows up. Let me know if you have trouble..

Aw thanks! ( but keep in mind, Gussie kind of wrote his own rules a bit...still is....) I also tested ALot! But I needed to until I could see and understand what his body did with the insulin, it's how I am wired, I'm a visual learner. Needed enough pieces in the jigsaw puzzle to make it out! You don't have to fill in all the blanks like I did!;) But I had plenty of data for the pros to help me!:rolleyes: Look at lots of spreadsheets, I did, it really helped what I was learning make sense, especially about numbers bouncing, new dose wonkieness and all the new stuff!:bighug::bookworm:

Gussie hyperventilates in the car, he literally scares me to death the whole way. The vet tech put a drop of Bachs Rescue Remedy on the back of each ear and it did the trick! No hyperventilating the whole way home! I even pulled over to check because he was so quiet! It's sold lots of places, you might see if there is a store near you. Health foods, pet stores, and fancy grocery stores carry it and it's also on Amazon. There is a calming collar too that's natural and helped Gussie when he boarded.

I'm so happy Fluffy is going home with you. I think being where he knows he is truly loved will make a HUGE difference, and that he will adjust quickly. There's a really special bond that comes out of doing this dance with our cats..
I admire that you have the strength to buck the noise around you and stick to helping Fluffy, that takes fortitude and strength of character..give yourself a huge hug..

Fluffy is one lucky cat to have such an amazing Bean!! Hang in there and we'll wishes for the first day of Fluffys next chapter!!:bighug::bighug:
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;) Will do!! YOU DID lol there are no blank spaces!! I'm thinking of making a switch from the Relion Micro to something less expensive in the long run because I just spent 40 bucks on a pack of 100 strips :/ (We used to use AlphaTrak 2, those strips are ridiculously expensive...) I am grateful I am not the one who has to pay for it, my parents reimburse me, so even though we don't get along at all concerning Fluffs, I still want to make it easier on them.

That sounds like a godsend! I'll go check the stores for it (Walmart said they don't have it but I think they're lying lol)~ Is there a certain time you administered it to him before? Like should I give it 10 minutes before the car ride? I also suffer from anxiety but I'm very skeptical of pharmaceuticals... I drink chamomile tea or do yoga when it gets really bad haha. Looks like Fluffy and I could use a little :p Ack thank you so much! You too :bighug: I just get so attached and I'm a control freak and I just care way too much :blackeye: ahaha~
 
Nat & Fluffy said:
;) Will do!! YOU DID lol there are no blank spaces!! I'm thinking of making a switch from the Relion Micro to something less expensive in the long run because I just spent 40 bucks on a pack of 100 strips :/ (We used to use AlphaTrak 2, those strips are ridiculously expensive...) I am grateful I am not the one who has to pay for it, my parents reimburse me, so even though we don't get along at all concerning Fluffs, I still want to make it easier on them.

That sounds like a godsend! I'll go check the stores for it (Walmart said they don't have it but I think they're lying lol)~ Is there a certain time you administered it to him before? Like should I give it 10 minutes before the car ride? I also suffer from anxiety but I'm very skeptical of pharmaceuticals... I drink chamomile tea or do yoga when it gets really bad haha. Looks like Fluffy and I could use a little :p Ack thank you so much! You too :bighug: I just get so attached and I'm a control freak and I just care way too much :blackeye: ahaha~
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Hmm the website they do..

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bach-Flo...75035&wl11=online&wl12=53352795&wl13=&veh=sem

I'd ask petsmart or Petco if you have those nearby, or your local shop.
 
I use Bach's Remedy for Pets when I travel with my cats. I give them a drop orally and put a drop on top of each fore foot and a few drops around the pee pads in their carrier, all just before we load them in the car.
 
I bought mine at our nearby health food store (be sure you get the kind for pets or children as the adult version has alcohol). I'm pretty sure I've also seen it sold at PetValu.
 
Guys I was unable to get the rescue remedy :( Thank you so much for the help though~ Fluffy was a bit stressed out, but the trip was about 40 minutes to my apartment. He seems to be adjusting pretty well. I also was so STUPID to leave the insulin almost halfway through the trip, so I had to go back... so embarrassing... that's how stupid my brain went with all the things I have to do! :banghead: But I am SO happy I can now monitor him mostly 24/7 excepting the times I have classes :)

Fluffy is doing OK but obviously looks very uncomfortable... when his numbers are high, his eyes are all big and he's very silent, and scrounging around for food... No ketones though, he's always been very good about not getting those!

Our internet here is also HORRIBLE. But I was able to connect after a solid hour. Lol

Alright so I think I'm going to make a new post concerning his dosing, thank you for all the help <3 :bighug::bighug::bighug: Fluffy is SO grateful for the info and support you give!!
 
Congratulations on making the move! Glad you are the one in charge of Fluffy's care now. Your dedication is obvious to all. Since Uncle and I are pretty new here, I won't be making any dosing recommendations but will be one of your supporters. Don't beat yourself up about forgetting the insulin, you've got A LOT going on! Hopefully things will calm down.
 
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Hi Nat and Fluffy,
I don't know what the carb. percentage of Purina Pro True Nature Turkey and Chicken is, but the Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets is 3%.
You have a lot on your plate and you are handling everything very well. You've gotten some good suggestions here. I would only add that it often will take a while to find the "right" dose and following the protocol is the safest way to do it. So be sure to give the 2.75 Unit dose enough time to settle in (and for the "depot" to reflect the size of the dose).

Many of us buy our diabetes supplies from American Diabetes Wholesale (ADW; go to the "home" page of the FDMB, go down to "shopping partners" and click on American Diabetes Wholesale. They have good prices and fast service. I use the Arkray Glucocard 01 meter and strips. (The Walmart Relion Confirm is the same meter, but with Walmart's brand name). ADW's price for the Arkray Glucocard 01 meter kit and 200 test strips is $72. https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/arkray-glucocard-01-blood-glucose-monitoring-kit_4045_53.htm
Note that the Walmart Micro and Walmart Confirm take the same strips as the Arkray Glucocard 01 and Arkray Mini (ADW no longer sells the Mini, however).

Hope this helps. Good luck with Fluffy, your landlord, etc. etc. Do not be alarmed if Fluffy takes a while to get down into better numbers. Have confidence in the protocol. Some cats take much longer than others. Every Cat Is Different (ECID).

Ella & Rusty
 
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