Molly --
Anyone can provide guidance. As a result, even when I was new to the Board, I would look for information on how much experience an advice giver had. There are some members who are here for less than a month and think they have the skills to offer advice on dosing. You really need more that a month or two of experience to have a handle on how a particular insulin works let alone how it works with someone else's cat. Check a member's spreadsheet. Tag a moderator -- although there's not guarantee that the moderators will be around at any given moment. We encourage people to help out but you also need to use your judgement. I've been here since 2009 and I make typos or miss something on a spreadsheet. We're all human. If you think the advice you're being given is inconsistent with TR, ask for an explanation. No one should tell you to do something without enough information for you to understand the strategy. We truly want you to become knowledgeable and confident.
As for when to adjust a dose, anything that interrupts the continuity of dosing will cause you to restart your cycle count if you're following TR. So, a fur shot or a skipped shot starts the count over. This is a post that outlines
counting cycles with Lantus. It can also help if you put information in the comments section of your spreadsheet so anyone reviewing Bat Boy's numbers has an idea regarding how you're dosing.
I was just posting with another member. I admire your using the Libre. It would drive me crazy. I know it makes things much simpler if your cat won't tolerate having his ear pricked. Maybe I'm old school but I liked being able to rely on the numbers I got with a hand held glucometer. It took members a good deal of perseverance to figure out that if numbers are below 100 on the Libre there was a high likelihood that you were going to get a considerably lower reading than if you compared the test with a hand held meter. It makes figuring out if you need to reduce the dose a challenge. As far as whether a "hypo" is a hypo, I will offer this observation. I see many members refer to low numbers as a "hypo." Unless your cat is demonstrating symptoms of hypoglycemia, you're seeing a cat in low numbers. You don't want your cat surfing in the 40s so you want to provide some high carb food, but without symptoms it's not hypoglycemia. My cat could drop into the 30s and be completely asymptomatic. Hypoglycemia isn't a number - it's symptoms. We've had cats be symptomatic with a 60 and as I noted, Gabby could drop into the 30s and be fine -- well, she might have been a bit glassy eyed and would pester me for food but I learned what to look for.
The issue of how to handle low numbers on the Libre may be something the moderators need to discuss so we can provide consistent information.
I hope this information helps. And I do hope your feel supported.
