5/12 - Xander | AMPS 274 (Context in post & comments)

Brianna & Xander

Brianna & Xander

Active member
5/11/25

Trying to get back to morning posts again so I stop forgetting for the rest of the day! I've been bad at this lately.

Third dose on the increase. We'll see what happens... ⏳

Hope everyone has a nice Monday!

Edit: Adding the "Dose?" prefix as Briana suggested after 4 hours of limes today. Gonna take a full reduction as is outlined, but really at a loss for what to do in general since halfway between 2.5 and 2.75 is effectively water and 2.75 gives me 4 hours of limes. 😔

Some various "Get up and give me breakfast" pictures from this week. 😊

signal-2025-05-12-085138_002.jpg
 
Last edited:
Mary & Jude said:
I LOVE the little fangies! So cute!

He was headed in the right direction yesterday, but now he's having a little bounce. I hope it's short-lived and that he starts working the new dose soon.
Click to expand...
Briana + Binx said:
OMG I cannot - all of those are adorable but the little fangies are the cutest 😭

Glad to see he’s finding those blues again! Safe surfing 🤗
Click to expand...

Thank you both!! I love them too! Showing a little skin staple remover! 😂🥹

UNfortunately, it seems that my prediction was right and he did the same exact thing he did the last (two?) times we tried to increase to 2.75: dive. Even if I change my reduction threshold to 40, he's still already earned a reduction. I've been struggling to keep him over 50 for a couple of hours.

It's so discouraging, because I'm really not sure what I can do at this point. I thought going halfway between 2.5 and 2.75 would be the trick, but nothing good there. The difference between the dose that kept him mostly in the yellows and the one that puts him in the limes is a difference of literally like 0.15mm on the calipers. That's so miniscule. What am I supposed to do now, give him the halfway-between dose + the essence of insulin? 😭
 
Never had him be this difficult to get back up before. He's been going <40 for like 4 hours now (on the Libre). Goes up to the low 50s and drops right back down again. I switched to a slightly higher MC (15%) and now it's not even moving. I gave him a tsp of that, waited ~25 minutes, stayed on LO. I just gave him 3 tsp of the same food, we'll see if that helps. He's at +8.5 so it really seems like it should be getting easier, not harder.

I do have some 20% but it's beef and I've found that he throws up anything beef, so it would probably make things worse. I could of course add honey or whatever but he's (behavior-wise) seeming fine and from what I understand that's like dire emergency level and doesn't last anyway.
 
OMG! 4 hours of limes is quite possibly a new record and one I know you're not happy about breaking. I wonder if you're about to give him gaba before his PS if you might also be able to attempt an ear prick? I know it's not what you or he wants, but just for some relief if he really isn't that low.

Also, I've seen others give honey in not dire situations - I feel like I was just reading it in someone's condo recently, but I'm blanking of course!
 
Kat & Trixie said:
Oh Brianna! So sorry you are having to go through this. Could it be his libre not functioning properly? I only say that because my hubby is diabetic and uses a CGM and I know sometimes it gets “stuck” reading constant lows when he’s not.

Wonder if @Staci & Ivy has ever had that issue.

Really hope the numbers go up and you get a break.
Click to expand...

I guess it's possible! I haven't had that specific thing happen before but I suppose there's a first time for everything!
 
Mary & Jude said:
Brianna!!! Good yord (as my baby nephew used to say)!!! What is happening? He's really hugging those limes. How are you???
Click to expand...
Briana + Binx said:
OMG! 4 hours of limes is quite possibly a new record and one I know you're not happy about breaking. I wonder if you're about to give him gaba before his PS if you might also be able to attempt an ear prick? I know it's not what you or he wants, but just for some relief if he really isn't that low.

Also, I've seen others give honey in not dire situations - I feel like I was just reading it in someone's condo recently, but I'm blanking of course!
Click to expand...

I'm struggling lol 😞 I don't feel well today either so this is been really stressful and exhausting. FINALLY in the past couple of minutes he's gone over 100. He's at 119 now.

I wish so badly that I could manually test but I can't. It just never works and makes everything worse.
 
Glad he came up for you! That is stressful when they just don't stay up. I'm sorry you're not feeling well, hopefully he's on the rise and you can get some rest.

I used honey yesterday cause he just wasn't coming up and needed a quicker fix.

Brace yourself for the bounce. 🤗
 
Brianna & Xander said:
I'm struggling lol 😞 I don't feel well today either so this is been really stressful and exhausting. FINALLY in the past couple of minutes he's gone over 100. He's at 119 now.

I wish so badly that I could manually test but I can't. It just never works and makes everything worse.
Click to expand...
I'm so glad he's out of the limes!

No judgment on the testing!!! I just couldn't remember your situation.

Needless to say...good luck on that reduction! I hope he gives you a smooth cycle tonight since you're not feeling well, and I hope you rebound soon!!
 
Brianna & Xander said:
I'm struggling lol 😞 I don't feel well today either so this is been really stressful and exhausting. FINALLY in the past couple of minutes he's gone over 100. He's at 119. now.

I wish so badly that I could manually test but I can't. It just never works and makes everything worse.
Click to expand...

So sorry, Brianna :( I'm glad he's on the ups now, you did such a great job keeping him safe. I can't even imagine the stress of that period, but throwing in that you're not feeling well just makes it that much more difficult. Hope this gives you a break and you can get some rest/relief.

Brianna & Xander said:
Thank you!! I guess I'll keep that in mind for next time. I had been trying to y'know, carefully nudge him upward without making him skyrocket and usually a tsp or two is enough for that. By the end when I last gave him some around 5 I was just done with the situation and needed it to be over lol
Click to expand...

I can understand this feeling - not wanting to push the numbers too high, especially when in the past what you've done as been enough to bring him up. Something must've just been different today - just not sure what... which is of course, the frustration! I can't give any dosing advice - but curious to see what others have to say. I wonder if you throw a "dose?" in the title so others can weigh in. I know it's not recommended to give different AM/PM doses (since one dose can impact another cycle), but I wonder if there are any exceptions to that rule? I don't know!! I'm not experienced enough to know :(
 
Laurie & Petey said:
Glad he came up for you! That is stressful when they just don't stay up. I'm sorry you're not feeling well, hopefully he's on the rise and you can get some rest.

I used honey yesterday cause he just wasn't coming up and needed a quicker fix.

Brace yourself for the bounce. 🤗
Click to expand...

Thank you!! It really is stressful, it seemed like it was never gonna end. I'm used to the wavering around 50, but not sticking below 40! 😨 In a 20 minute span at one point we went from LO to 80 back to LO. I wish I'd recalled your condo and did the same thing, but I guess I was too stressed.

At this point I'll happily take the bounce so I can sleep lol
 
Mary & Jude said:
I'm so glad he's out of the limes!

No judgment on the testing!!! I just couldn't remember your situation.

Needless to say...good luck on that reduction! I hope he gives you a smooth cycle tonight since you're not feeling well, and I hope you rebound soon!!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mary! 💙 I always appreciate when people understand that we can't manually test because it's not like that everywhere. I know it's the gold standard and god I wish we could because it would make life so much easier (and cheaper).
 
Briana + Binx said:
So sorry, Brianna :( I'm glad he's on the ups now, you did such a great job keeping him safe. I can't even imagine the stress of that period, but throwing in that you're not feeling well just makes it that much more difficult. Hope this gives you a break and you can get some rest/relief.



I can understand this feeling - not wanting to push the numbers too high, especially when in the past what you've done as been enough to bring him up. Something must've just been different today - just not sure what... which is of course, the frustration! I can't give any dosing advice - but curious to see what others have to say. I wonder if you throw a "dose?" in the title so others can weigh in. I know it's not recommended to give different AM/PM doses (since one dose can impact another cycle), but I wonder if there are any exceptions to that rule? I don't know!! I'm not experienced enough to know :(
Click to expand...

Thank you, Briana! 💜 I'm glad it wasn't worse and he wasn't symptomatic or anything at least. I'm hoping that he wasn't actually quite that low, but it's harder to say for sure once it hits LO since that could be 39 or it could 20!

I normally have alarms set to take note of his BG and to give food at +1, +2 and +3 and today my +1 never went off, so I didn't give him food again until +2. So his meals have been a little wonky today, but I don't think that specifically was the issue, because he doesn't usually seem particularly carb sensitive. Like you said, something was off today, just no idea what it was. Or maybe @Kat & Trixie 's suggestion is right and the Libre was just freaking out over nothing.

I'm definitely taking the full reduction tonight (unless someone tells me not to) because I certainly can't do this again tonight or tomorrow lol But I've also been wondering the same thing. I realize the consistency is important, etc, etc. At the same time Xander has been in the ECID column for basically everything, always the odd one out, so it wouldn't be surprising to me if he needed some weird exception case for this too.
 
Brianna & Xander said:
Thank you, Briana! 💜 I'm glad it wasn't worse and he wasn't symptomatic or anything at least. I'm hoping that he wasn't actually quite that low, but it's harder to say for sure once it hits LO since that could be 39 or it could 20!

I normally have alarms set to take note of his BG and to give food at +1, +2 and +3 and today my +1 never went off, so I didn't give him food again until +2. So his meals have been a little wonky today, but I don't think that specifically was the issue, because he doesn't usually seem particularly carb sensitive. Like you said, something was off today, just no idea what it was. Or maybe @Kat & Trixie 's suggestion is right and the Libre was just freaking out over nothing.

I'm definitely taking the full reduction tonight (unless someone tells me not to) because I certainly can't do this again tonight or tomorrow lol But I've also been wondering the same thing. I realize the consistency is important, etc, etc. At the same time Xander has been in the ECID column for basically everything, always the odd one out, so it wouldn't be surprising to me if he needed some weird exception case for this too.
Click to expand...
Especially while the depot from the higher dose is there, agreed the full reduction for rest and safety! Xander definitely keeps you on your toes and is a hard one to nail down - ECID is right. Wouldn’t it be so easy if every cat was the same 😭

Poor guy threw up too - really hope he doesn’t drop too much from it. If you need the honey, even just to get something in his system, you have it in your tool kit.
Tough day, give your mom some rest tonight, Xander 🤗
 
Try feeding him just a little at a time when you feed him again. Looks like it's 2 hours before PMPS? There's also the possibility of a bounce.

For next time he goes hunting the bottom of the greens, I'd suggest a variety of higher carb%. What works for one cat might not work for another, they all differ in how carb sensitive they are. If Neko went below 40, out came the corn syrup (karo in the US) and I added a drop to her HC. I didn't want her hanging out down there either. Looks like you gave barely MC for lows for a good part of today. Xander may be one of those cats that needs real HC (over 15%) and maybe even higher. I've seen some cats that need 20% carbs.

A little favour to ask, could you put information about food you gave in + times instead of o'clock on the Remarks. You're making me do math. 🤣
 
Briana + Binx said:
Especially while the depot from the higher dose is there, agreed the full reduction for rest and safety! Xander definitely keeps you on your toes and is a hard one to nail down - ECID is right. Wouldn’t it be so easy if every cat was the same 😭

Poor guy threw up too - really hope he doesn’t drop too much from it. If you need the honey, even just to get something in his system, you have it in your tool kit.
Tough day, give your mom some rest tonight, Xander 🤗
Click to expand...

He sure does! I wish it didn't always have to be so hard lol

Yeah, he did. He definitely seemed to feel better after though; suddenly very cuddly and then screeeeaming for food. I was trying to wait until PS (another 45 minutes) but he was really asking for it and he did drop a bit after vomiting, so I gave him what he would've gotten for dinner which is just 3%. I'm sure he'll bounce tonight anyway, so I doubt it'll hurt.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Try feeding him just a little at a time when you feed him again. Looks like it's 2 hours before PMPS? There's also the possibility of a bounce.

For next time he goes hunting the bottom of the greens, I'd suggest a variety of higher carb%. What works for one cat might not work for another, they all differ in how carb sensitive they are. If Neko went below 40, out came the corn syrup (karo in the US) and I added a drop to her HC. I didn't want her hanging out down there either. Looks like you gave barely MC for lows for a good part of today. Xander may be one of those cats that needs real HC (over 15%) and maybe even higher. I've seen some cats that need 20% carbs.

A little favour to ask, could you put information about food you gave in + times instead of o'clock on the Remarks. You're making me do math. 🤣
Click to expand...

Oops - I already gave him some food. lol Sorry. It's about an hour and 15 minutes from PMPS right now, but it's been over 2 hours since I gave any MC, this is just 3%.

I'll have to be on the lookout for some more options. He can be kinda fussy and apparently some things make him sick, so I haven't had many to choose from. He'll almost always eat the 12% that I have and usually it works, even if it takes a few "doses." I have some 20% but now that I know that beef makes him vomit I didn't want to risk giving him that and making it worse (but apparently the 15% chicken I have makes him vomit too. 🙄) Is there anywhere with a more updated list of foods? Last time I referenced the Dr. Lisa chart I was told it was way out of date and not to link it, so I don't know what's reliable anymore.

Yes, I'll start adding those! Sorry lol
 
I am sorry Brianna you had such a rough day with Xander in the limes. I hope he doesn't drop too low after vomiting.
I know what you mean about not wanting to overdo it. I have used the karo when the mc & hc didn't hold Butch.
Good luck with the reduction. I hope you both get some rest tonight. 🤗
 
Madeline & Butch said:
I am sorry Brianna you had such a rough day with Xander in the limes. I hope he doesn't drop too low after vomiting.
I know what you mean about not wanting to overdo it. I have used the karo when the mc & hc didn't hold Butch.
Good luck with the reduction. I hope you both get some rest tonight. 🤗
Click to expand...
Thank you, Madeline! 🤗 It's a careful balance, I guess.
 
I think he was asking for food because he felt himself dropping again because about 20 minutes after him begging like crazy for food, he's back down <100 and falling. Sigh. Beginning to wonder if we'll even be able to shoot the reduced dose tonight.
 
@Wendy&Neko We're at 93 right now, 7 minutes from PMPS (asking a little early to give me time).

Should I shoot the reduced dose of 2.5 tonight, or should I cut it even lower? Normally he'd at least be heading up by now and he's lower than he was before I fed him 45 minutes ago.

Edit: Actual PMPS is 116.
 
Last edited:
You've shot 115 before, on a higher dose. If he's not had food for a couple hours, then he's on his way up. But you have to decide if you can monitor. While you decide, it might be useful to look at the spreadsheet and see what he typically does after hitting limes.
 
Oh my goodness Brianna, what a day you had! So stressful and exhausting.
That screaming hunger they get when the BG has gone too low so is distressing. Big hug 🤗

Perhaps you can find another HC food that agrees with Xander in case he dives like this again. Or consider adding just a tiny bit of honey into the MC food (quarter of a teaspoon was enough to bring Noogis up but not cause a mega-bounce). I also keep a few 30% carb crunchy treats on hand for in case of emergency.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
You've shot 115 before, on a higher dose. If he's not had food for a couple hours, then he's on his way up. But you have to decide if you can monitor. While you decide, it might be useful to look at the spreadsheet and see what he typically does after hitting limes.
Click to expand...

I think what worried me in this instance is that from what I've seen he tends to have shorter limes (1-2 hours) and then skyrocket after. This time it was much longer (4 hours) and even after it it took a while for him to really trend upward. I did end up giving him 2.5 though and his bounce isn't even as bad as expected.
 
Helen + Noogi said:
Oh my goodness Brianna, what a day you had! So stressful and exhausting.
That screaming hunger they get when the BG has gone too low so is distressing. Big hug 🤗

Perhaps you can find another HC food that agrees with Xander in case he dives like this again. Or consider adding just a tiny bit of honey into the MC food (quarter of a teaspoon was enough to bring Noogis up but not cause a mega-bounce). I also keep a few 30% carb crunchy treats on hand for in case of emergency.
Click to expand...

It was definitely a stressful and exhausting day. 😭

I'm going to have to find one! After our whole ordeal with random batches of FF making him so ill, the idea of finding a whole different food stresses me out too. The honey as an alternative is a great idea too, and I had been wondering how much, so thank you! He did really really love the Friskies Party Mix (was having them for the first time right before his diebetes got bad enough to detect... ugh). I wonder if that'd be good to have more of on hand too.
 
Kat & Trixie said:
Oh Brianna! So sorry you are having to go through this. Could it be his libre not functioning properly? I only say that because my hubby is diabetic and uses a CGM and I know sometimes it gets “stuck” reading constant lows when he’s not.

Wonder if @Staci & Ivy has ever had that issue.

Really hope the numbers go up and you get a break.
Click to expand...
Hi Brianna, thanks for tagging me Kat!
Sorry I missed all of this last night (I fell asleep early as Ivy was a little higher) and I am 3 hours ahead of you.

That was way more excitement than you needed!
I usually have those cycles of hours on end of Ivy being LO on the Libre. I feed her small amounts (like 1 tsp or 1/2 tsp) so I try to keep her not too full so she will want to eat if I need her to.
I never give large amounts (I am too scared she will turn away).

So it does seem that they can have low cycles which go on and on as you had with Xander yesterday.
I think it's just exaggerated with the Libre, since we don't really know what that LO number is (unless we can poke and get a blood test).

It's good to have various level of carbs you know he will eat and won't make him sick on hand, and higher than medium carbs. As others have mentioned, some cats need higher carbs to pull them up.

When Ivy lingers in LO ranges for hours on the Libre, I sometimes use 25% (the food I make her, and I often wonder if it's as effective as commercial cat food since it doesn't have the thickeners, chemicals and gravies in it) so I tend to need my higher carb recipe food to just try to keep her form diving. But I have to feed it like every 1/2 hour to 45 minutes over and over as she can bump up a bit but then dive back to LO again.
It makes for an EXHAUSTING night, as you experienced yesterday (be thankful it was daylight).

And on top of it, I am always praying to the Libre God (if there is one) that the Libre please not FAIL during those LO stretches. It HAS happened way too many times. And so I have to install a new sensor at ungodly hours overnight. 😩

I hope Xander has recovered and you as well. Hope you can get some rest today to recover!
Sending you both lots of hugs :love:🐈‍⬛😻
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top