No purpose for this

I just think the expression on Scruffy's face is priceless. How much more pleasure can an old diabetic cat have than this?

After all the anticipation and nervousness.....

today was supposed to be Scruffy's official OTJ day. Only, I got sick in the middle of the night, and what with the wandering around that was going on, no one got much sleep. And when Rege left for work, he apparently gave Scruffy more than the approved ONE Temptations treat, which, even at this stage, seems to be a recipe for glucose level disaster. Then I was awakened for the day by the sound of Scruffy heaving up a healthy hairball. I can't remember for sure, but I don't recall him having ever had a hairball, which is odd and hard to believe, given how long and fluffy his fur is. Anyway, when I tested him, he was at 150. Which made me want to cry. He didn't want anything to eat, so maybe his stomach was upset, too.... And a couple hours later, I tested him again and he had only come down to 105. So, I officially cancelled the "celebration" - not that there was going to be any fussing anyway, since it was all only in my head. But I feel sad. By 6:00, he was back down to 69, which was a relief, but it left me feeling sufficiently uncertain that I'm just going to wait and not say anything about his OTJ.

I went to vote yesterday afternoon, and Dr. C was standing, as usual, at the bottom of the steps in the town hall. And I couldn't resist - we hugged, and then I said, "Do you ever see Jay anymore?" (because I know, even though I haven't been to their hospital for four years, that he sold the practice to Dr. O'L.) And he said that he does, so I said that I'd left their practice because I just wasn't able to do what they wanted when Scruffy was diagnosed, but that he had been on this wonderful new human insulin for a year, and now he was OTJ. And Dr. C was very nice about it, and congratulated me, and acted like he may have had some clue what I was talking about. I was wishing afterwards that I'd offered to teach any of their diabetic patients' families to hometest. I always had this fantasy of telling Jay all the stuff I couldn't accept and why - not nastily, because I always considered him a friend as well as a vet. Oh, well.

What I never expected would happen....

seems to have. Scruffy's been without insulin for going on four days now. (Actually, except for two 0-line unit shots I panicked and gave him earlier this week, he's almost to a week of doing it on his own.) His numbers were way better with Levemir than they are without, but I've been assured (ha!) that they'll improve as time goes by.

Being as regressive as I tend to be, I would be perfectly happy to still be giving insulin. I loved Levemir, and Scruffy was never a fussy cat about either the shots or tests. (It always made me laugh - with Levemir, I mostly ended up shooting while he was eating, and before he'd start to eat, he'd turn around to look at me, and I'd have to show him the syringe and say, "It's just your shot," before he'd go ahead and attack the food.) I do, of course, think that it's an amazing thing that cats can be diet-controlled, and I know how incredibly lucky this is to have ocurred. And if it doesn't last, I will still be amazed that it happened at all, and happy for Scruffy that he's had at least a small break from all those years of poking for something that wasn't his fault in the first place. And I will NOT think of any other reasons why a formerly long-term-insulin-dependent cat even went OTJ..... mostly because I can't bear the thought.

Now, if only someone would invent a way for feline epilepsy to be diet-controlled - I'd have a life again....

April '08 numbers

3/31/08
AM PS (+11.5) 89 fed .25uLevemir
+1.5 78
+4 53
+6 66
PM PS (+10.5) 137 fed .25uLevemir
+5 66

4/1/08
AM PS (+13) 161 fed .25uLevemir
+5.5 78
+11.5 48 fed
PM PS (+13.5) 114 .25uLevemir

4/2/08
AM PS (+10.5) 143 fed .25uLevemir
+4 58
+5.5 59
PM PS (+11) 99 fed .25uLevemir
+5.5 95

4/3/08
AM PS (+11) 185 fed .25uLevemir
+3 89
+9.5 67
PM PS (+11) 86 fed .25uLevemir
+4.5 99

4/4/08
AM PS (+13) 127 fed .25uLevemir
+3 54
+5.5 74
+8 59
+12 77 fed
PM PS (+14) 142 .25uLevemir

4/5/08
AM PS (+9.5) 96 fed .25uLevemir
+5.5 73
+9 100
PM PS (+10) fed .25uLevemir
+4 111

4/6/08
AM PS (+13.5) 118 fed .25uLevemir
+6.5 76
+10.5 67 fed
+11 73
+13 90
+15 82 fed, threw up, ate again

4/7/08
+24 102 fed, threw up, ate again
+26 72
+31 87 snack
+32 105
+34 98
+35.5 fed
+37.5 117
+41 82 fed

4/8/08
+48 99 fed
+50.5 91 self-snacked
+52 87
+ 55.5 131 fed
+57.5 149
+58.5 165 fed
PS (+59.5 ) 154 0+uLevemir
+3.5 113
+5.5 120

4/9/08
+12 104 fed
PS (+15) 105 0+uLevemir
+4.5 69
+7.5 113 fed
+10 113 fed
+14 137

4/10/08 (Day 1 ends @ +24)
+22 107 fed
+25.5 109
+31.5 107
+33.5 99 fed
+35 168 offered food, didn't eat
+37 142 fed


4/11/08 (Day 2 ends @ +48)
+43.5 129 fed
+45 126
+48.5 69
+51.5 110 fed
+53.5 231
+54.5 211
+55.5 197 fed
+59 72
+61.5 90 fed

4/12/08 (Day 3 ends @ +72)
+70 201 fed
+72 127
+75 75
+77 110
+80 129 fed
+83 135
+85.5 121 fed

4/13/08 (Day 4 ends @+96)
+94 169 fed
+98 98
+99.5 72
+101.5 101
+103.5 fed
+108.5 90 fed
+110.5 134

4/14/08 (Day 5 ends @+120)
+117 139 fed
+119 123
+121 84
+129 125 fed
+131.5 131
+134.5 132 fed

4/15/08 (Day 6 ends @ + 144)
+143 99 fed
+145 150
+148.5 90
+151 122 fed
+154 112
+157.5 159

4/16/08 (Day 7 ends @+168 and start of Week 2)
+164 164 fed, threw up, ate again
+166 147
+171 63
+174.5 88
+176 fed
+178 114
+181 101 fed

4/17/08 (Day 8 ends at +192)
+190 126 fed, threw up, ate again
+191.5 130
+194 72
+200.5 104 fed
+205.5 74

4/18/08 (Day 9 ends at +216)
+213 121 fed
+215 100
+220 73
+224 fed
+227.5 112

4/19/08 (Day 10 ends at +240)
+237 174 - Rege gave handful of Temptations treats. fed
+238.5 124
+242.5 62
+245 71
+246.5 85
+248 fed
+249 87
+252 108 fed

4/20/08 (Day 11 ends at +264)
+261 119 fed
+264.5 65
+266 63
+271.5 83 fed
+276.5 79

4/21/08 (Day 12 ends at +288)
+284 85 fed
+293 83
+297 66 fed
+302 74

4/22/08 (Day 13 ends at +312)
+309 71 fed
+320 93 fed
+326.5 100 (Was all this the build-up to producing that disgusting hairball?)

4/23/08 (Day 14 ends at +336 and start of Week 3)
+333 150 fed (He ate too many Temptations AND had a hairball.)
+336 105
+339 69 fed
+341 86
+345 69 fed
+349 132

4/24/08 (Day 15 ends at +360)
+357 121 fed, threw up, ate again
+361 81
+373.5 71

4/25/08 (Day 16 ends at +384)
+381 164 Another hairball. fed
+385 60
+391 78

4/26/08 (Day 17 ends at +408)
+405 135 fed
+409 62

4/27/08 (Day 18 ends at +432)
+428 156
+429 192
+431 134
+435 85
+438 76
+448.5 85
+445.5 79

4/28/08 (Day 19 ends at +456)
+452 124
+456 65
+469.5 78

4/29/08 (Day 20 ends at +480)
+478.5 77
+485.5 74
+492 107

4/30/08 (Day 21 ends at +504 and start of Week 4)
+501.5 86
+512.5 86