Wynken, PMPS whiplash

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Cara and Wynken (GA)

Cara and Wynken (GA)

Member Since 2012
Every time I post a new thread I feel like I am doing more and more to take control of elements that will get Wynk's sugar down.
Tonight's PMPS is a nice low 173. Not 500+ like last night, after the shot. I have whiplash, though, with these numbers!

So, I am waiting 15 minutes to recheck & see if he is still falling. If he is rising and above 200, I will follow the 200-250 dosing that @Sue and Oliver (GA) gave me and give 2u. Any other ideas, or is that good?

If under 200, don't shoot? Or shoot a lot less? Hmmmm....? Thanks as always!!
 
189 on the PMPS recheck. Advice? What I think I know is I better shoot something. Maybe 2. Maybe 1.8? In any case I will check him at +6... And he will be high at +6. Because that's just what he does. ....So - dose?
 
Well, he was finishing up his (*ahem* exactly) 3.0 ounces of dinner.... @Robin&BB ... so I was about to lose my hold-still window.... so, I drew up 1.8 u but the plunger made the decision and stopped right between 1.6 and 1.8 (between 4.0 and 4.5 on my trusty half marked U100). So I called 1.7 good and shot it, and really watched and rubbed and it was not a fur shot :D So, if he goes high tonight I will pull all of my hair out. :eek:
 
Cara, I'm so sorry I wasn't around earlier. So you shot 1.7? You'll be able to do some checking tonight to see what that dose does?
 
Hi Sue and Rachel! I will check him. In fact I'm thinking about a +2 here in 20 min or so. I think the controlled portion (thanks Robin!) of last night and this morning is starting to kick in. We may find 2u and higher are not needed for right-sized meals where he doesn't eat some of his sister's meal, too!
 
Hi, Cara! Sorry I wasn't around (out running errands). Wow, look at that cool blue PMPS! I'm getting excited!!! And so glad you lowered the dose tonight; good job!:):bighug:
 
Well, he was higher sugar in the middle of the night last night that I wanted him to be, but I wonder if that had to do with feeding Ziwipeak (supposed to be really low carb but I think he does go high when he eats this). You guys will see that I gave 2.4 this morning, based on the a.m. PS.

I am thinking about not going home at lunch, since I really have zero concern that he will be low blood sugar. Anybody else think any differently?

I do want to add that I'm pretty confident that the portion control (3 oz or 3.5 oz meals) is going to help. What I have noticed since separating these kitties is that she doesn't eat very much at all… although she also has trouble focusing on the food because she wants out of that enclosure, at meals. It's almost like she doesn't feel authorized to eat unless she's on the floor next to him. :( I will work on that! I suppose if she gets hungrier she will begin to eat more. He polishes his plate. :facepalm:
 
Had to go home for another reason and so I fit in a quick check... He gave me a nice yellow number. :joyful: I have 4 days off and I am not going anywhere.... so I am hopeful that the next 4 days I will learn more about how to manage him. Will do frequent checks with the smaller meals and higher insulin doses. Hoping for yellows and blues.... and NO blacks. Will only post if I feel I am getting in a bind or weird territory. Merry Christmas everyone!!
 
Oh boy, oh, boy, OH BOY!!! GO, WYNKEN!:cat:
What a great number, Cara ... feels just like Christmas morning to me!:D:joyful::bighug:
 
Thank you, Robin! Hugs to you!! :bighug:... I wasn't going to do a curve til Saturday, but I wondered if he would be rising at +8, but, no, he was 110. :eek: Gonna check again at+9.

Or maybe sooner? :nailbiting:
 
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@Robin&BB He was 98 at +9 and that was after giving 4 dehydrated Orijen treats after the 110 at +8. Forgive me if I say that green number scared me almost as bad as the blacks... :eek: So I gave him one ounce of Wellness GF (one of his higher carb foods at 4%). He was ecstatic with this... And is currently washing his face. :D
 
98 is a very good number on AT2 meter, Cara! (Isn't this exciting?) And I do totally understand that the first time you see something like that - especially after a long siege of pinks & reds, such as you had been experiencing - it can feel pretty scary.:nailbiting: But as a longtime AlphaTrak user, I can tell you two things about steering with food:

- You don't really need to do it until he's around 75 to 80* on the AT meter (more detail about that in a minute, see below) and ...
- You can easily steer him out with his usual low-carb rations. (The only time to whip out the higher carb stuff is when he's already dropped at/below 69 on your AT meter.)

*The exception to this would be if you can't be around to monitor; in that case, I'd say go ahead and steer earlier - say, when he's hitting 85-90.

Whenever I need to steer Bat-Bat to bring her # up, I start with about a 1/4 can of her Fancy Feast (she gets turkey/giblets @ 3% carbs), which is 0.75 oz. Then I wait about 20 minutes or so and check her again to make sure she's rising. If not, I give her another 0.75 oz. at that time, and re-check in another 15 to 20 minutes. That usually does the trick nicely. And because it's still low-carb, we don't end up with a sharp spike in her BG #s later on.

But no big deal; you did just fine! :) Next time, don't let that green # give you the willies - and after a few times of steering Wynken with his low-carb food, you'll feel much more confident about your ability to raise his #s without using the "big guns.";) You've jumped on the learning curve really fast, Cara - I'm so proud of you!:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Oops - just saw that the Wellness you gave was @ only 4% carbs. (Duh! That IS still low-carb. That's what I get for reading too fast!)
But try it with a little bit less next time, ok?
 
Cara and Wynken said:
What I have noticed since separating these kitties is that she doesn't eat very much at all… although she also has trouble focusing on the food because she wants out of that enclosure, at meals. It's almost like she doesn't feel authorized to eat unless she's on the floor next to him.
Click to expand...
Before I forget to ask again: Is little Blynken getting better about not being so hesitant about eating all on her own now?
 
Robin - first of all THANK YOU for all the excellent information about what levels to worry/not worry at... and what to do at different levels. I really had no idea other than a few things that I'd read and got some general thoughts in my brain. But now with numbers to go by I will feel more confident. :)

So, the 4% really is his higher carb addition. I didn't think it would work to give him the tiki which has zero carbs. I suppose I could've used NVI duck which has 1% carbs? And less -ok ok!

As far as Blynken, it's really not going as well as I would like. :( She's just not eating very much at all. In fact, she only eats a very tiny portion... like a couple of bites. And then she moves to a different part of the cage, specifically the heated bed at the bottom, and just waits. So after 20 or 30 minutes (when I'm done doing other chores) I will go put him in the cage with no food and let her eat in her normal spot (the amount she hasn't touched yet). Even then, though, she doesn't eat much.

Of course, this makes me realize that she likely wasn't eating very much, all along. Although I would SEE her eating alongside him with great enthusiasm when I would look at them together. The other conclusion, of course, is that he probably was eating a massive amount of food… As much as 6 ounces per meal !

I'm not sure how sustainable the juggling of the two cats between the enclosures going to be (morning and night) in the long term. Since I started separating them she gets 20 to 30 minutes in the enclosure with her food and probably another 30 minutes outside with him locked up. Surely if she's hungry she would eat what she wanted during that time, right?:rolleyes:

Then I have to remember to go let him out again. This whole routine is probably going to be a little bit too much for the pet sitter that I have for my occasional vacations and business trips- sigh... But getting his sugar controlled is SO important! Will continue to brainstorm.

Thanks for your support and encouragement. It means a LOT!! :bighug:
 
Cara and Wynken said:
Surely if she's hungry she would eat what she wanted during that time, right?:rolleyes:
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Yes, I'd say that's likely to be true. I know this is a big adjustment for both of them, but just stick to your guns on it, Cara - as they will adjust to the new feeding routine; it just doesn't happen all at once.
Cara and Wynken said:
The other conclusion, of course, is that he probably was eating a massive amount of food… As much as 6 ounces per meal !
Click to expand...
Cara and Wynken said:
Of course, this makes me realize that she likely wasn't eating very much, all along.
Click to expand...
I'd venture a guess that this is what had been happening. ;) And it may turn out that little Blynk actually only eats about 3 to 4 oz. of food per day - total; I'm basing this estimate on the weight you'd reported earlier that Blynken is at. (My cat, for example - at 11 lbs. - eats just a slight tad over 7 oz. low-carb per day - & maintains that weight quite nicely with that amount of food.)
I hope you & yours have a very Merry Christmas, Cara ... and more days to come of Wynken's numbers dropping - and a New Year that brings you a very well-regulated kitty!:bighug:
 
The numbers are looking encouraging, Cara. About the feeding, would switching them help her? Putting him inside the cage and having her eat outside?
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
The numbers are looking encouraging, Cara. About the feeding, would switching them help her? Putting him inside the cage and having her eat outside?
Click to expand...
Hi Sue and Merry Christmas to you! I actually do a little bit of that after his plates clean I put him in there by himself with no food so that she can eat in what (To her) is the normal eating spot. She generally eats a little more once I take her out.

The reason I don't even try to feed him while he's in there is that there's just not enough room on the upper shelf between his size and the plate, it's too crowded. I suppose I could reconfigure the bottom of the cage as a place to eat, but this is where I've got their beds, and they enjoy it down there. In fact when the doors are open (which is 98% of the time) one or both of them are usually sleeping in the bottom of the cage.

Now that I feed them separately, I suppose could up the calories for her, like increasing the amount of fat and a little more carb on her plate. Still under 10 percent of course... but just not the 1-3% carb I'm trying to feed him. She is a truly thin little wisp of a cat. Like Robin has said, she probably doesn't need much. :)
 
Not sure what's up today. BG very high this afternoon. No drop like yesterday. I ALWAYS rub the site after the shot and I know the insulin is going in.

Since I know what 2u of PZI feels like and smells like on my fingers, from the fur shots I HAVE done, I'm certain the insulin is under his skin. Bummer.
 
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