I've totally lost control.

Of Levemir and Scruffy's diabetes. And it was going SO well.... I've got myself all worked up about Milkshake, and now I have to be gone most of tomorrow. Poor Scruffy. Sitting in the 300's for a day and a half so far. I did get a new cartridge out today, although I feel an affection for the old one - it was such a good worker! I don't know what went wrong or why, and I don't have the energy right now to figure it out. I'm going to be optimistic and hope that Levemir will be the useful, cooperative insulin it's been for the last month when I finally get myself together.

I can't believe it, but.....

this is still going well! Amazing doesn't describe it. And for the last three or four days, he's been getting only .5 units BID.

According to my meter, here are his average glucose levels:

47 tests^^^^^^^7 days^^^^^ 129
96 tests^^^^^^ 14 days^^^^^ 141
215 tests^^^^^ 30 days^^^^^ 160
440 tests^^^^^ 60 days^^^^^ 191
658 tests^^^^^ 90 days^^^^^ 198

Aside from the incredibly improved numbers, I am filled with appreciation for the wonder of my tubby little cat who allowed me to poke that many holes in his torn ears. What a good and patient boy he is.

Why, oh, why did I let that Levemir sit in the fridge for 9 months before I got the courage to use it?

a little experimentation

Well, it's been a while since that 314 appeared. And, to my surprise, things have still been pretty good, numbers-wise. It appears that 1.0 units drops him a smidge too low for my comfort zone most of the time these days, but .75 units, which I keep pathetically trying, is not enough. Anyway, with the exception of one or two days in the last week or so, this has been the best period of Scruffy's life as a diabetic, in terms of glucose levels. And it's still amazing....

Rats. I knew it.

+11.5 184 .75uLevemir
+1.5 314

Crap. Crap. Crap. Well, I can stop worrying about a new cartridge, anyway.

Don't want to jinx what's been going on....

but there's something happening the last five days. (FIVE days, can you imagine?) I have no explanation for any of it. My mystification came to a head last night when, at +21, he finally got up to 100 again. He hadn't had any insulin the whole day. My previous experience had usually been that, the longer the duration, the less likely it was that the standard amount of insulin would be able to keep his level down. So, although I considered waiting for him to get another 20 points or so higher, I shot him. Thank goodness I didn't decide to increase the 1u that he has been getting; I was up most of the night as it was...... It appears that, even if he's going up when I test him, there's a certain - unspecified, of course - point where it does NOT take four hours for the Levemir to kick in. Last night was the second time in the last few days when he had dropped significantly by +2. (I do get really tired of all the guessing.) I have no idea how to decide when that might happen, or even if it will. He's not particularly interested in eating now, either, which makes me more nervous about the numbers he's been getting; I do NOT want to get stuck with him dropping and refusing to eat at the same time. Even his favorite Sliced Beef with Gravy Fancy Feast didn't get eaten last night. I did smear a fingertip full of Laxatone on his gums around the +2.5 feeding, just in case. I don't know where we're going with this, or why. And if it's the insulin getting stronger because it's nearing the end of the cartridge, what does that mean? What'll happen when I start a new cartridge? What was that old song - "How Do You Keep 'Em Down On The Farm, Now That They've Seen Paree"? God, I'm SO old.

Assuming that there's some obscure reason for the sudden appearance of good numbers, and adding in how things usually go, I am not expecting that this can last. But wouldn't it be nice?

November Numbers (with a mild Whoo Hoo!)

10/31/07
+9 348 fed
AM PS (+12) 419 1.5uLevemir
+6.5 111
+9 50 1/2 can FF
PM PS (+11) 95 fed
+11.5 1.0uLevemir
+4.5 171
+5.5 153
+6 159

11/1/07
AM PS (+12.5) 299 fed
+13 1.25uLevemir
+5 374
+8.5 294
PM PS (+10.5) 369 fed 1.25uLevemir
+4.5 278

11/2/07
AM PS (+12) 112 fed, threw up 1.0uLevemir
+2.5 71
+4 71
+6 99
+8 56 (bad test strip?)
+9 134
PM PS (+11) 284 fed, threw up 1.0uLevemir
+3 355

11/3/07
+13 67 fed
+15 110
AM PS (+16) 241 1.0uLevemir
+3.5 435
+6.5 405
PM PS (+8) 359 fed 1.5uLevemir
+3 358
+5 278

11/4/07
+13.5 50 fed
AM PS (+15.5) 138 1.0uLevemir (time change - hours all screwed up)
+4.5 95
+6.5 79
+9 89 fed
PM PS (+12.5) 156
+13 1.0uLevemir
+2 231

11/5/07
+9 87 fed
AM PS (+12) 132 1.0uLevemir
+2 141
+4 100
+7 64 1/2 can FF
+8.5 74 fed
+9.5 73
+12 60 fed
PM PS (+13.5) 102 skinny 1.0uLevemir
+1.5 116

11/6/07
+7.5 128 fed
AM PS (+8.5) 169 1.0uLevemir
+3.5 139
+6 73
+8 53
+10 59 fed
+12 61
+14 53
+16 80
PM PS (+16.5) 112 1.0uLevemir

11/7/07
+6 157 fed, threw up
+7 160
+9 89
+12 74
+14 60
+16.5 53
+17.5 59 fed
+19 68
PS +21 100 fed, threw up skinny 1.0uLevemir
+2 59 fed
+2.5 42 fed
+5 58

11/8/07
AM PS (+7) 47 fed
+9 83
+11.5 184 .75uLevemir
+1.5 314
+5.5 338
PM PS (+9) 300 fed 1.0uLevemir
+4 76

11/9/07
AM PS (+13) 135 fed 1.0uLevemir
+3 146
+5.5 71
+7 79
+11 98 fed
PM PS (+14) 141 1.0uLevemir
+3.5 131

11/10/07
+8 69 fed
+10 66
+12 52
+14.5 99
PS (+15.5) 155 1.0uLevemir
+4 385 (ate a whole pile of dry food)
+8.5 342

11/11/07
AM PS (+17.5) 397 fed 1.0uLevemir
+4 266
+7.5 71
+10 68 fed
+13 102
PM PS (+15) 132 skinny 1.0uLevemir

11/12/07
+8.5 104 fed
AM PS (+11) 133 1.0uLevemir
+2.5 79 fed (I had to go out)
+3.5 63 fed
+5.5 157
+9 157 fed
PM PS (+11.5) 192 1.0uLevemir
+2.5 181

11/13/07
+11 79 fed
+13 96
+15 122
AM PS (+16) 125 .75uLevemir
+5 52 fed
+8 82
+11 103

11/14/07
AM PS (+17.5) 421 fed, threw up 1.0uLevemir
+2 394
+8 251
PM PS (+12) 215 fed 1.0uLevemir
+4.5 53


11/15/07
+8 93
+11.5 115 fed
AM PS (+13) 190 .75uLevemir
+3.5 223
+6.5 105
PM PS (+9) 117 fed .75uLevemir
+3.5 189

11/16/07
AM PS (+13) 307 fed, threw up 1.0uLevemir
+6 39 fed
+6.5 48
+8 79
+11 119 fed
PM PS (+12) 127 .75uLevemir
+4.5 126

11/17/07
AM PS (+12.5) 160 fed .75uLevemir
+4 107
+6.5 62
+10.5 106
PM PS (+12.5) 150 .75uLevemir
+4 402

11/18/07
AM PS (+11) 389 fed, threw up three times 1.0uLevemir
+4.5 72 fed (had to go out)
+7 74
PM PS (+10.5) 132 fed .75uLevemir
+3.5 122
+4.5 73

11/19/07
+13 112 fed, threw up
AM PS (+14.5) 139 .75uLevemir
+3 64
+4.5 41 fed, threw up
+5 39
+6.5 59
+9.5 88
PM PS (+13.5) 170 .75uLevemir
+3 fed

11/20/07
AM PS (+10) 344 fed, threw up .75uLevemir
+3.5 275
+8 42 fed
+9.5 55
+11.5 74 fed, pepcid
PM PS (+15) 124 .5uLevemir

11/21/07
+7.5 69 fed, pepcid
+9.5 82
+10.5 108
AM PS (+12) .5uLevemir
+3 164
+7 84 fed, pepcid
+9.5 111
+11.5 96
PM PS (+14) 112 .5uLevemir

11/22/07
+6.5 74 pepcid, fed, threw up
PS (+11) 129 .5uLevemir
+3 119 got into Milkshake's dry food
+5 144 pepcid, fed
+10 136
+11.5 122

11/23/07
AM PS (+19) 157 pepcid, fed .5uLevemir
+3 148
+5.5 102
+8 112
+9 pepcid, fed
PM PS (+12) 124 .5uLevemir
+3.5 114

11/24/07
+10 62
+11.5 86 pepcid, fed
+13 69
+18 63
PS (+24) 160 pepcid, fed .5uLevemir
+2 201
+3.5 230
+7 246

11/25/07
+12 126 fed, no pepcid
+13.5 99
+15 124 tried to feed, wouldn't eat
PS (+18) 153 .5uLevemir
+2 195
+5 197 pepcid, fed (Busy spilled dry on floor, Scruffy ate some)
+7.5 fed 1/2 can FF
+11 105

11/26/07
+18.5 113 fed, no pepcid
+21 132 snacking, threw up, more snacking
+22 107
+26.5 133 fed
+28 173 threw up
PS (+29.5) 248 (lost track of time - meant to shoot at that 173) .5uLevemir
+3 156 fed
+5 100
+6.5 99

11/27/07
+11.5 121 Teeny hairball
+15 310 fed (I had to go out)
PS (+20) 329 .5uLevemir
+4 299
+9.5 204

11/28/07
+15 190
AM PS (+16.5) 214 fed .5uLevemir
+6 321
+8 329
PM PS (+10) 412 fed .75uLevemir New cartridge of Levemir
+3 379

11/29/07
+11 421 fed .75u Levemir
+1 443
+8 158
+11.5 39 (????) fed
+12 51
+13 45
+13.5 53