I am obsessed.

With what will happen to my cats if something happens to me. You'd think that Scruffy's being OTJ would be helpful, but.... not really. (Although Rege said to me last night that Scruffy'd come down and napped on his lap three times in the last couple days - now that's real progress. Maybe Scruffy's worried about the future, too.)

I was thinking that other blogs seem to give more of a picture of the cat's personality; mine, not so much. I just ramble on and on about numbers, etc. So here's a capsule of my sweet boy:

From the minute I brought him home (and an hour later when I had to take him to the emergency vet because he'd developed an instant urinary blockage!), I was amazed by what a laid-back cat this was. I plunked him down in the midst of three other cats - one of whom was the famed Picklefritz, one of the world's oddest cats ever - and he was totally unconcerned. (Well, maybe not, since there was that blockage that I assume came from stress. And a second and third blockage that probably also were stress-related.) Anyway, he has never been particularly interested in and/or threatened by other cats. He just seems to take what comes. He's always been friendly and unafraid of strangers. His two main interests in life are eating and trailing around behind me waiting for me to sit down so he can sprawl across my lap and rest his head in the palm of my hand. It's very touching to me, this kind of closeness he wants so badly. Especially when you think that for the last going-on-four-years, I've been poking his ears and sticking needles into him on a regular basis. To say nothing of dentals and ear infections and ear and eye drops. I'm surprised that he even lets me touch him, much less that he's so determinedly "my boy."

I used to have to nudge him with the sweeper to get him to move out of the way. Nothing bothered him. Except that NO ONE touches his tail. He's been like that from the very beginning. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it; he just doesn't want anyone going near his tail. And his legs are way too short for the rest of his body, although he doesn't care if you touch them. He's got that awful fur that has the undercoat "reversed" - the stuff that's supposed to be on the bottom is on the top with him - but, oddly enough, it always looks pretty good when it's photographed (see the picture at the top of this blog) - in person, it sort of sticks up in every direction. Not smooth and soft and pretty. Although, since he's been off insulin, his fur does seem softer and smoother.

Lately, he's developed this interest in the bathroom. He insists on being in there when I take a shower. He even sits beside the door for hours on end, just so he doesn't miss my making a trip. A number of times, he's been sitting on the toilet lid when I went out, and when I came back four or five hours later, he's STILL sitting there.

Scruffy's reason-for-being is food. But only cat food - no people food. He literally inhales every meal. He stands in front of his bowl and eats and eats and eats, frequently until he throws up right into the bowl. And then he goes around and empties everyone else's dish. When he was diagnosed with diabetes, he had lost 4 pounds in a week - down to ten pounds. He managed to get back to 12 pounds within six or seven months, despite being an incredibly poorly managed diabetic. He's up to something over 12 pounds now.

Every vet who's ever examined him has thought that there was something wrong with his abdomen. During his first hospitalization, they announced that he had FIP and we should take him home to be isolated until he died. (That was five years ago, and he's STILL HERE!) When he was in the hospital with DKA, they wanted to xray him because they thought he had vital organs in the wrong place. (Or else, as I discovered when I got the copies of his records - the vet had personally given him way too much fluids and she was afraid that his lungs were full....) At some point, we'll probably have an ultrasound done, and that'll hopefully put to rest the speculation about what parts are where inside him.

Right now, he's got what's supposedly a lipoma on his right side - (gonna shave him again this summer so I can keep my eye on it) - and a horrible creepy sickening iris melanosis in his left eye that I can't decide what to do about. Dr. G says just ignore it - that lots of cats have them and they don't turn into melanomas. Dr. K wants to laser it out of there, even though she's never done the procedure before. I have the name of a clinic in Ohio that I think I'm going to take him to for a second opinion.

Despite his unknown age, at least a couple times a week, Scruffy will come thundering and thumping across the living room floor and bounce up four or five levels of the cat trees like he thinks he's a kitten. I guess as long as he's able to do that, he'll keep on truckin'. He is such a sweet, affectionate cat, and what a fortunate thing it was for both of us that he showed up when and where he did. (Of course, he wouldn't have gotten diabetes if someone else would have taken him in; it was my insistence on treatment for the "sinus infection" that got him the shot of depomedrol that did him in.) Anyway, he's a very special cat and brother, do I love him.

May, 2008 glucose #'s OTJ

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

5/1/ 08 (Day 22 ends at +528)
+525 88
+536 82

5/2/08 (Day 23 ends at +552)
+550 119
+555.5 81
+564 67

5/3/08 (Day 24 ends at +526)
+523 81
+589.5 114

5/4/08 (Day 25 ends at +600.)
+547 102
+604.5 98
+613 95

5/5/08 (Day 26 ends at +624)
+621 141
+624 146
+627 67
+632.5 88

5/6/08 (Day 27 ends at +648)
+645 102
+655 96
+660.5 95

5/7/08 (Day 28 ends at +672 and Start of Week 5)
+669 149
+672 68
+676 107
+680 91
+ 686 64

5/8/08 (Day 29 ends at +696)
+694.5 88
+704.5 102
+709 87

5/9/08 (Day 30 ends at +720)
+718.5 109
+726 112
+731.5 90

5/10/08 (Day 31 ends at +744)
+741 125
+743.5 107
+749 133
+755 64

5/11/08 (Day 32 ends at +768)
+765.5 207
+767 154
+769 59
+771 73
+776 89

5/12/08 (Day 33 ends at +792)
+784.5 117
+789 161
+793 81
+805 101

5/13/08 (Day 34 ends at +816)
+810 106
+813.5 112
+818 85

5/14/08 (Week 6, Day 1)
+833.5 161
+837 125
+845.5 101
+848 120
+853 70

5/15/08 (Week 6, Day 2)
+861.5 105
+865.5 77

5/16/08 (Week 6, Day 3)
+886 146
+892.5 169
+895.5 133
+899.5 74
+903 85

5/17/08 (Week 6, Day 4)
+909.5 124
+914 65
+920.5 104
+923 106

5/18/08 (Week 6, Day 5)
+933.5 73
+941 103
+948.5 78


5/19/08 (Week 6, Day 6)
+957.5 110
+965.5 65

5/20/08 (Week 6, Day 7)
+982 115
+989 86
+994.5 96

5/21/08 (Week 7, Day 1)
+1005 112
+1017 88

5/22/08 (Week 7, Day 2)
+1045 91

5/23/08 (Week 7, Day 3)
+1058.5 87
+1067 124

5/24/08 (Week 7, Day 4)


5/25/08 (Week 7, Day 5)
+1100 127
+1103 117
+1117 85

5/26/08 (Week 7, Day 6)
+1131 53 (ate dry kitten food.)
+1136.5 91

5/27/08 (Week 7, Day 7)
+1148.5 77
+1159 137

5/28/08 (Week 8, Day 1)
+1176.5 102
+1182 91
+1189 76

5/29/08 (Week 8, Day 2)
+1198 114

5/30/08 (Week 8, Day 3)
+1221 108

5/31/08 (Week 8, Day 4)
+1260 76

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

The Jojo Connection

I don't think I mentioned the source of the miraculous Levemir/diabetes improvements here. And I definitely need to express my incredible gratitude to Jojo. Back in February, out of the kindness of her exceptionally large heart (well, not physically large, I hope! ) Jojo took a look at The Puffer's numbers. Which weren't anywhere near as horrific as they have been multiple times in the past, but which weren't good. He was getting 1.25u of Levemir bid. Still a little erratic, and I wasn't seeing the Levemir "hang", for instance. She has a knack - unparalleled! - for interpreting glucose testing. And she said, to my surprise - that she thought that Scruffy was rebounding on that dosage. ( November '07's numbers were shockingly good - and he was functioning - for the first time - on .5u on a fairly regular basis. In December, he had a major herpes attack that threw him off track completely. And I eventually raised his dosage to 1.25. Didn't seem to make much difference one way or another. )

I had already seen many examples of Jojo's ability to discern the solution to these feline diabetes problems. She recommended trying .75u bid and going back to using a smidge of R at the beginning. So, around 2/18/08, the big experiment began. And sure enough, she was right. The last couple weeks of February were definitely better than the beginning. And March! March! Ah, the affection I feel for March!!! And for Jojo.

I had long ago given up any hope of ever getting Scruffy "regulated." Totally. And now, here he is - with lovely numbers in the under-100's for much of the time, and even getting only one shot a day every other day! Who would ever have believed it? Not me, that's for sure. And, on top of all the other delightful outcomes, it turned out that .75u was a smidge too much, and .5u was pretty much JUST FINE!

To say I am grateful to Jojo is way beyond understatement. What an incredible human being she is, and how fortunate we are at FDMB to have her contributions for the benefit of all of our cats.


And for Jojo - a

Averages

Didn't much like last night's numbers, or this morning's, actually. My little furry person sat between 157 and 139 for 11 hours, which is not particularly great news. Things have been so good for the last two months that I have the nerve now to be unhappy with those numbers. Which are, in actuality, below the mystical "Renal Threshold", after all. How quickly we forget, I guess - all those years, not months, when not only did he never get out of the 300's, but I was terrified to give him one unit for fear he'd end up in the hospital again with DKA. That said, now that I've been spoiled by the good Levemir numbers, I feel I must insist to the Universe that they continue.

I'm fascinated by the averages now on my meter. I wish they'd print out here in a neater fashion, though. (They look straight, and then when they're posted, they zig-zag all over the place.) Never really paid any attention to all the extra stuff that this One Touch UltraSmart does, since most of it's for humans, like "#'s after exercise", etc. Scruffy's really not into exercise. There's a graphing function that I never could use before because all of his numbers were so high they wouldn't fit on the graph; now they not only FIT, they're all below the magical line!

Here are the averages for the "last three months" - don't know how precise that time frame is - it says "90 days", so I guess I'll assume that's what it is: (approximately 12/20/07-3/20/08)

# of tests ... Days ...... Average
42 .......... 7 .......... 105
89 .......... 14 .......... 109
180 .......... 30 .......... 135
359 .......... 60 .......... 174
524 .......... 90 .......... 201

Amazing.

The eye situation

Cancelled the appointment in Erie because the ophthalmologist didn't have the diode laser - she would have been willing to give a second opinion, or to refer us to another veterinary ophthalmologist in Syracuse, but that adds another three+ hours to any trip there, and I just don't want to do that long a trip with both Scruffy and Milkshake involved. The good thing is, I did call the doctor's office she would have referred us to, and they were very nice, so I'm keeping the information for emergency purposes. If an emergency that would require a six hour drive is, in fact, doable. Probably not....

After a not-so-brief period of moping and misery about what to do about all this, I called Dr. K and asked the technician - still can't talk to the vet herself - for a little more information about where the "protocol" she thinks she's going to use on Scruffy came from. Someplace in Virginia. I did try to explain that I was not impugning her skills and knowledge, but that I felt strongly that experience in a procedure of this nature was very important to me. Scruffy may be just an old dumpy brown cat, but he's MY old dumpy brown cat, and I want him to have the safest care possible. I don't know exactly how they think the situation has been left - I might as well go ahead and have the bloodwork done. In fact, given the information that I'm about to type below, I will most likely just keep doing what I've done - taking a picture of his eye/s ( - since the other melanosis is growing, too) and having Dr. K continue on a regular basis - 3 months was suggested by Ohio State - to monitor the growth and make sure that it doesn't begin thickening. Apparently, size doesn't matter, but thickness is a very bad sign of melanoma. And it takes her specialized instruments to determine if it's getting thicker.

I contacted the Ophthalmology Department at Ohio State's vet school in Columbus. Very nice and helpful person I spoke with - she actually asked me - when I said that I had a picture of Scruffy's eye - if I wanted to email it to her and she'd show it to the vets there. Which we did. (And she complemented my photography.) I asked about complaints that I'd heard from people who took their cats to Ohio State for treatment - that it took forever to get appointments, student involvement, etc - and she said that if I want to take Scruffy to them - either for a second opinion or for the actual laser treatment, it would take about a month to set up the initial appointment. But that, once an animal is a registered client of theirs, they get immediate appointments whenever they're needed. I also talked to the MedVet office which is outside Columbus - this is where Jennifer and Dylan's IM vet that recommended Dr. Champagne previously worked. They were also very nice - they have the appropriate laser, and have done the procedure many times. There was also a Veterinary Eye Clinic in Akron that I have the number for, but it was the same number as a man named Johnson in a nearby town, and when I called, I got Mr. Johnson instead of the clinic, and I didn't want to risk calling him again.....

All in all, I have a significant amount of information now that was lacking before, and the beginning of a "plan" to deal with this. Despite my concern about the rapid growth that the melanosis has undergone recently, that is apparently not a huge danger to Scruffy. Monitoring is necessary, and can be done by Dr. K, if she's willing. (If she isn't, then I could be stuck doing a whole lot of unnecessary driving....) There are resources out there that can help us, which I didn't know for sure before, and that is good news.

This probably falls under the category of "give it a rest, already".....

but I'm already stewing because Scruffy's numbers have been so good for the last month. Same insulin, same syringes, same food, and there certainly hasn't been any increase in my skill or treatment methods. He could already have cancer brewing in his eye. He could have cancer brewing in that lump on his side, for that matter. As soon as it gets warm enough, I'm shaving the fur around the bump so I can see if it's grown.

Because of my unfortunate need to worry about everything to the greatest extent possible, I'm trying to figure out what to think/say/do - aside from bursting into hysterical tears - if the new ophthalmologist says that laser surgery isn't an option now. Well, I suppose there's really no question - he'd have to have the eye removed. Which I could deal with - it's the OTHER eye that is worrying me. Given how fast this one went from the tiny little brownish pin-prick to this big dark octopus in his eye, I hate to think that I could be doing the exact same thing this time next year. And my cat would be blind. It's not much of an achievement to keep him alive with diabetes if I'm having body parts lopped off/scooped out every couple of years.... He really DID pick the wrong garage to wander into.

I don't know if there's any real relevance to this, but it seems like progress:

Current average glucose test results: (approx. Dec '07-Mar '08)

36 tests .......... 7 days ........... 149
75 tests ........... 14 days ........... 151
175 tests ...........30 days ........... 187
356 tests .......... 60 days ........... 208
511 tests ...........90 days ............ 231

(Stick THAT in your old fructosamine, Dr. K.)

March, 2008 #'s

2/29/08
AM PS (+11) 244 fed .75uLevemir
+1 157
+3 77 fed
+4.5 85
+6.5 86
PM PS (+11) 139 fed .5uLevemir
+1.5 236
+4.5 210


3/1/08
AM PS (+12) 395 fed .75uLevemir
+6 182
+10 150
PM PS (+11) 140 fed .5uLevemir
+4 97

3/2/08
AM PS (+12.5) 317 fed .5uLevemir
+2.5 241
PM PS (+11.5) 267 fed .75uLevemir
+3.5 408

3/3/08
AM PS (+12) 295 fed .75uLevemir
+8 144
PM PS (+11.5) 156 fed fat.5uLevemir
+4 193

3/4/08
AM PS (+12) 232 fed .75uLevemir
+3 164
+7.5 95
+10.5 139 fed
PM PS (+12) .75uLevemir
+2.5 78
+5 62 fed

3/5/08
AM PS (+13) 168 fed .75uLevemir
+3 88
+9 164
PM PS (+9.5) .75uLevemir
+1 fed, threw up, ate again
+3.5 271
+5.5 187

3/6/08
AM PS (+13.5) 135 fed .75uLevemir
+2 101
+5.5 46 fed
+7.5 129
PM PS (+11.5) 117 fat.5uLevemir
+4 119

3/7/08
AM PS (+13) 197 fed .75uLevemir
+2 222
+7 173
PM PS (+11.5) 141 fed fat.5uLevemir
+4.5 53

3/8/08
AM PS (+12) 156 fed, threw up, ate again fat.5uLevemir
+5 113
+8.5 90
+10 93
+12 102
PM PS (+14) 129 fed .5uLevemir
+2.5 116

3/9/08
+10 126 fed
AM PS (+11) 175 .75uLevemir
+4 122
+6 103
+9 88 fed, threw up, ate again
+10.5 103
+12 115
PM PS (+13.5) 137 .5uLevemir
+3 114

3/10/08
+8.5 121 fed, threw up, ate again
+12.5 81
AM PS (+16) 122 .5uLevemir
+3 81 fed
+7.5 184

3/11/08
AM PS (+16.5) 173 fed .5uLevemir
+3 105 fed ( because I had to go out)
+9.5 101
+12 87 fed
+14 107
PM PS (+16) 126 .75uLevemir

3/12/08
+7.5 132 fed
+10 89
+13.5 86
+15 91
+18.5 89 fed
PM PS (+20) 139 .75uLevemir
+3.5 45 fed a ton
+4.5 68

3/13/08
AM PS (+12) 239 .5uLevemir
+2 180
+7 80
PM PS (+11) 136 fed .5uLevemir
+3.5 88 fed

3/14/08
+12.5 100 fed
+15 97
+16.5 92
+21 94
PM PS (+24) 120 .5uLevemir
+4.5 90 fed

3/15/08
+12.5 97 fed
AM PS (+15.5) 126 .5uLevemir
+4.5 106
+7.5 83 fed
PM PS (+12) 127 .5uLevemir

3/16/08
+8.5 79 fed
+12 93
+14.5 91
+18.5 84
+20 72 fed, threw up, ate again
PM PS (+22) 140 .5uLevemir

3/17/08
AM PS (+10.5) 155 fed .5uLevemir
+4.5 85
+11 103 fed
PM PS (+14) 135 .5uLevemir
+1.5 88 fed

3/18/08
AM PS (+10.5) 175 fed, threw up, ate again .75uLevemir
+2.5 57 fed
+3.5 56
+7 106
+11 97 fed
+15.5 113
+16.5 98

3/19/08
+23 110 fed
+24.5 125
AM PS (+27) 145 .5uLevemir (fur shot? - reeked of insulin)
+3 94
+6.5 108
+8.5 100 fed
+10.5 110
PM PS (+13) 127 fed .5uLevemir

3/20/08
+7.5 111 fed
+10.5 61
+11.5 66
+13.5 60
16.5 84
PM PS (+19.5) 153 fed .5uLevemir
+4 97

3/21/08
+12 65 fed
+14 75
+19 106
+21 117
+23.5 121 fed
PM PS (+26) 157 .5uLevemir
+3 146

3/22/08
AM PS (+11) 139 fed .5uLevemir
+5 66
+8.5 60 fed, threw up, ate again
+14 61 fed, threw up, ate again
PM PS (+16.5) 119 .5uLevemir

3/23/08
+7 52 fed
+10.5 47 fed
+11.5 60
+16 71
+17.5 59 fed
+19 94
PS (+22) 123 .5uLevemir
+2 72 fed

3/24/08
+8 108 fed
+11.5 67
+15 72
+19 95 fed
+23 83
+25 128 fed

3/25/08
AM PS (+33) 144 fed, threw up, ate again .5uLevemir
+4 45 fed
+5 64
+8 94
PM PS (+12) 118 fed .25uLevemir
+1.5 99
+3.5 73

3/26/08
AM PS (+12) 141 fed .25uLevemir
+3 62
+4.5 41 fed
+6 51
+7 93
+9 92
+10.5 89 fed
+13 86
+16 75

3/27/08
+21 101
AM PS (+24.5) 219 fed skinny .5uLevemir
+1.5 220
+4.5 42
+5.5 56
+9 91
+10 fed
+10.5 87
+14 78
+15.5 70

3/28/08
AM PS (+23.5) 192 fed skinny .25uLevemir
+1.5 145 fed
+5 60
+10.5 99 fed
PM PS (+13.5) 128 .25uLevemir
+2 120
+3 134

3/29/08
AM PS (+10.5) 116 fed .25uLevemir
+3 120
+6 68
+11 fed
PM PS (+13.5) 106 .25uLevemir
+2 103

3/30/08
AM PS (+10) 126 fed .25uLevemir
+5 100
+10 91
PM PS (+12) 127 fed .25uLevemir
+3.5 72

3/31/08
AM PS (+11.5) 89 fed .25uLevemir

Iris Melanosis

I need to make an appointment for Scruffy to see the ophthalmologist again. I take a picture of the left eye and the growth in it each time, for comparison. Today's picture has really upset me. It has grown significantly since November. (I tried to find the November picture - no luck yet.) I asked the ophthalmologist then to refer me to someone who could laser the thing out of there .

Update: I made an appointment for 2/21/08. And in the course of my mumbling about the difficulties of arranging an appointment (because of the timing of Milk's first two doses of medication each day), the receptionist said that she spoke with the ophthalmologist, and that they DO now " have the equipment and if I'd bring Scruffy in to see her on Friday at 8:45, instead of Thursday the 21st, she'd do the procedure that afternoon." I was so surprised that none of the normal questions occurred to me: 1) Is she talking about the laser treatment? Or removing his eye? In which case, I think I'd want a little time to get ready for that huge of an ordeal. To say nothing about blood work, etc. And fasting, and what to do about his insulin? 2) If they didn't have the equipment and she had never done laser stuff - which is what she told me at the last appointment - did she become an expert in three months? I really want someone to do this who's got lots and lots of experience.

I am dreading this whole thing, no matter how it turns out.

Is anybody home?

Inside my brain? Apparently not. Here's yesterday:

2/15/08
AM PS (+12.5) 195 fed 1.25uLevemir
+4.5 338
PM PS (+10.5) 450 fed, threw up, ate again .5uR, 1.25uLevemir
+4 272
+6 259

Decent preshot. Usual dose. I have a clear memory of filling the syringe, and even of holding it up to the window and thinking that I wanted to take out just a drop, and doing that. And then I put the syringe in my teeth to warm the insulin while I got Scruffy, and put the Muffer on the window ledge to eat and get his shot. And that is where the "blank" occurred. The needle was in his side, and the plunger was depressed, but I had NO memory of pushing it. His fur wasn't wet. I don't know if there was insulin in the syringe when I poked him or not. Going by the incredibly rising numbers, NOT. I actually looked at the syringe when it was still in his skin, wondering why the plunger was depressed and I didn't remember doing it. I always hold the orange cap in my teeth so it doesn't get misplaced while I'm shooting. (My whole life seems to be a massive, sadly ineffectual attempt to keep from losing things.) I don't recall tasting insulin from the cap, which you'd think would be the disgusting case if I'd squirted the stuff in there instead of into Scruffy. No drips.

The whole event seems, in retrospect, to have been absolutely the same as virtually every other morning shot in the last three years, with the exception of that plunger I can't account for and the fact that it appears that there wasn't any insulin inserted in the brown furry cat in front of me. And that now I'm thinking that any day now, I'll just wander away from home in the snow without a coat and freeze to death because I can't find my house again....

Averages improving......

(Remember this fortune-telling lady on television infomercials a few years ago - with the wonderful Caribbean accent?! I always liked her, even if she was a fake. What was her name, though?)



Averages as of 10:30 AM on February 11, 2008:


7 day average ***** 36 tests ***** 189
14 day average ***** 81 tests ***** 181
30 day average ***** 177 tests ***** 225
60 day average ***** 333 tests ***** 248
90 day average ***** 529 tests***** 234

Well, things have improved, relatively speaking. And that 189 number includes yesterday's unfortunate 406, which came after a very late dinner and a six hour power failure during an exceptional cold spell. (That counts, right?) First November, 2007, and now February, 08, is looking pretty good so far; two good months out of each year? Not wonderful, but at least a step in the right direction.

I 'm always a little surprised at the total number of tests. If there was ever proof that 1) your cat won't hate you - the minute I sit down, Scruffy's sprawled on my lap and 2) their ears won't "abscess", or show ANY sign of distress - Scruffy's IT.

I wonder why it is that it's impossible to make columns here and on FDMB - the program just smashes the stuff together no matter what I try to do. I'd also like to know what people do to get multiple pictures included in their posts here, and how you get the pictures/graphics to go where you want them to without spending two hours copying and pasting..... Life's little mysteries, I guess.

February, 2008 #'s

1/31/08
AM PS (+12.5) 157 fed, threw up, ate again 1.25uLevemir
+1.5 204
+6 64
+10 86 fed
PM PS (+12) 174 1.25uLevemir
+3 233

2/1/08
AM PS (+12) 66 fed
+13.5 78
+14.5 116 fat 1.0uLevemir
+3 121
+5 96
PM PS (+7.5) 132 fed 1.25uLevemir
+2.5 165
+6 93 snack, threw up
+7 111

2/2/08
+9.5 92
AM PS (+13) 101 fed, threw up, ate again 1.25uLevemir
+3 152
+8 81
+10 79 fed
PM PS (+12) 153 1.25uLevemir
+3.5 209

2/3/08
AM PS (+12) 303 fed, threw up, ate again 1.25uLevemir
+3.5 350
+7 188
+11 68 fed
+13.5 100
+14 102
PM PS (+15) 123 1.25uLevemir

2/4/08
AM PS (+9) 64 fed
+10.5 61
+14 92
PM PS (+15.5) 117 fed 1.25uLevemir
+3.5 271
+7.5 327

2/5/08
AM PS (+16.5) 382 fed 1.25uLevemir
+3 257
+8 67
+10 73
PM PS (+12) 103 1.25uLevemir

2/6/08
AM PS (+11.5) 139 fed 1.25uLevemir
+3 185
+6 292
+10.5 386
PM PS (+11.5) fed 1.25uLevemir
+6.5 350


2/7/08
AM PS (+13.5) 293 fed 1.25uLevemir
+5.5 96
+8 93
+10 88 fed
PM PS (+11) 110 1.25uLevemir
+3 183
+5 232

2/8/08
+13.5 105 fed, threw up, ate again
+16 88
AM PS (+18) 137 1.25uLevemir
+3 151
+6 117 fed
+11 107

2/9/08
AM PS (+19) 200 fed 1.25uLevemir
+6 157
+10 122 fed
PM PS (+12) 134 1.25uLevemir
+5 76

2/10/08
AM PS (+12) 139 fed 1.25uLevemir
+2.5 225
+7.5 294
PM PS (+11.5) 406 fed 1.25uLevemir
+4 374

2/11/08
AM PS (+12.5) 263 fed 1.25uLevemir
+5.5 294
PM PS (+10 ) 188 fed 1.25uLevemir
+5.5 355

2/12/08
AM PS (+13) 422 fed 1.25uLevemir
+1 435
+7 296
PM PS (+12) 234 fed, threw up, ate again 1.25uLevemir
+3 230

2/13/08
AM PS (+12.5) 146 fed 1.25uLevemir
+3.5 90
+6 72
+10.5 62 fed
PM PS (+14) 376 1.25uLevemir
+2 402

2/14/08
AM PS (+9.5) 356 fed 1.25uLevemir
+3 261
+7.5 53
+9.5 78
+10.5 87 fed
PM PS (+12) 101 1.25uLevemir
+2.5 140 ate, threw up, ate again
+5 109

2/15/08
AM PS (+12.5) 195 fed 1.25uLevemir (Or not - see 2/16 post)
+4.5 338
PM PS (+10.5) 450 fed, threw up, ate again .5uR, 1.25uLevemir
+4 272
+6 259

2/16/08
AM PS (+13) 240 fed 1.25uLevemir
+2 232
+4.5 177
+9 170
PM PS (+11) 200 fed 1.25uLevemir
+5 342

2/17/08
AM PS (+121.5) 181 fed 1.25uLevemir
+2.5 120
+5 78
PM PS (+10) 130 fed, threw up, ate again 1.25uLevemir
+5 283

2/18/08 The Experiment begins
AM PS (+14) 396 fed .5uR and .75uLevemir
+2 201
+4 106
+5 81
+7 67
+7.5 105
PM PS (+10) 180 fed .25uR and .75uLevemir
+4.5 72
+6 77

2/19/08
+9.5 153
AM PS (+13) 426 fed .5uR and .75uLevemir
+1 385
+4 242
+8 210
PM PS (+11) 304 fed .5uR, .75uLevemir
+2 278
+5 222

2/20/08
AM PS (+13) 138 fed .75uLevemir
+1.5 161
+5 210
+7 305 .25uR
PM PS (+11) 212 fed .25uR, .75uLevemir
+5 152

2/21/08
AM PS (+12) 437 fed .5uR, .75uLevemir
+3 228
+4 170 (AT VET!)
+10 192
PM PS (+10.5) fed .5uR, .75uLevemir
+2.5 120
+6 151

2/22/08
AM PS (+13) 267 fed .5uR, .75uLevemir
+4 77
+7 118
+9 133
PM PS (+11) 125 fed .75uLevemir
+3 241 .25uR
+5 130

2/23/08
AM PS (+12.5) 152 fed, threw up, ate again. .25uR, .75uLevemir
+2.5 84 fed (had to leave for wedding)
+3 88
+9 339
PM PS (+10) 347 .5uR, .75uLevemir
+4.5 117
+5.5 220

2/24/08
AM PS (+14) 216 fed .5uR, .75uLevemir
+6 215
+7.5 310
+10 345 fed, threw up, ate again.
PM PS (+10.5) .5uR, .75uLevemir
+3 178
+5 72

2/25/08
AM PS (+13.5) 233 fed .5uR, .75uLevemir
+3 90
+9.5 134
PM PS (+10) fed .75uLevemir
+5 145

2/26/08
AM PS (+13) 184 fed .25uR, .75uLevemir
+5.5 68
+6.5 73
PM PS (+10) 190 fed .5uR, .75uLevemir
+5.5 83

2/27/08
AM PS (+14) 139 fed, threw up, ate again .25uR, .75uLevemir
+7 77
+10 69
+12 67 fed
PM PS (+13) 112 .75uLevemir
+2.5 189

2/28/08
AM PS (+10) 159 fed .75uLevemir
+5.5 38 fed
+6 73
+10 101
+11 fed
PM PS (+13) 261 .5uLevemir
+3 322

2/29/08
AM PS (+11) 244 fed .75uLevemir
+1 157
+3 77 fed
+4.5 85
+6.5 86
PM PS (+11) 139 fed .5uLevemir
+1.5 236
+4.5 210