Just shot my lowest #

Going to be a long night. Will need to check her BG at least 2 times before +8. My bf was successfully able to check Angel's blood twice today while I was at work so I'm so happy about that. Now with his help we can be sure to keep her safe always so mommy doesn't have to worry (me). Hahaha. This crazy cat is really something. Her numbers have been so back and forth. But today she seemed different. Playful and so happy. Maybe this is a turning point.

 

Um, you shot 4 units on a blue number. I am actually very concerned. Do you have honey or Karo and some high carb food handy in case of hypo?

 

I wouldn't have recommended no more than 1 unit tops.... 0.5 would have been safer as you have no data shooting such a low preshot.

 

I didn't know I had to adjust doses based on numbers. uhggg. And yes I do. is the number really that low?

 

We usually recommend new people with little data not shoot at all under 200... Please monitor carefully.

 

I will

 

Please post if the number starts to crash.... If it dips really quickly you may need to bring to a vet. Are there any er vets in your area?

 

Yes I gave shot at 6:15. When should I test?

 

@Kris & Teasel are you around to keep an eye on this?

 

So is that almost an hour ago? (I'm in the eastern time zone)

 

Yes

 

I'm here now.

 

Ok... Vetsulin usually takes an hour or two to start.... Wouldn't hurt to take a reading at the hour mark.

 

I'd do another test right about now - it's around +1, right? If she's dropping already I'd steer with food sooner than later.

 

Cherish, do you have high carb food and honey or karo syrup and a lot of test strips?

 

Absolutely. She hit a low of 77 today with a starting AMPS of 389. I'd start testing now, and have lots of carbs ready.

 

So glad to see a few more folks here.

 

If she's already beginning to drop, I'd steer right away with high carb food and if you don't have that, add some honey or karo to her regular low carb food. This isn't a situation where you're trying to get the BG nicely low. This is a situation where you want to abort the cycle for safety's sake.

 

287

 

Yes

 

Good. I would test again at +2.

 

Is Angel a good eater?

 

Maybe a food spike.

 

I didn't know to adjust dosage based on #'s. this is not fun.

 

Don't be too hard on yourself. This is a complex condition to treat and there's a lot to learn. Unfortunately, a lot of learning happens because situations like this arise. We're all here to help you through it.

 

Yes but she didn't finish her small can of wet food. We just took up the remainder and the dry food in case we need to feed her again soon.

 

It's OK.... Thank goodness you are around to keep her safe and didn't shoot and then leave for work or something, ya know? We will help you keep her safe. Start a pot of coffee. Could be a long night.

 

Is it possible that she will be ok?

 

When steering BG numbers, it's usually better to use the gravy from high carb food first (carb heavy and doesn't fill them up too much), then small amounts of wet food because its effect lasts longer. Dry food takes too long to affect BG.

 

Yes.

 

Got a can of her old favorite fancy feast gravy lovers

 

Did she eat any of the dry food? If she did, it may help keep her bg up a little later tonight.

 

Why not get ready by using the can's lid to squeeze the gravy out into a container so it's ready to go if needed.

 

She will be ok.

 

While I'm waiting can we talk about what I do with her doses based on AMPS & PMPS? don't give at all? Reduce? When do I reduce? How much do I reduce?

 

A little.

 

As Kris says, there's a lot to learn, we have all been there, trust me! We will help you make sure Angel will be okay!

Since you are new to this and don't have a lot of information in your spreadsheet, we would recommend you not shoot any numbers below 200.

 

Any signs I should be on the look out for?

 

Typically, if her numbers are low at AMPS or PMPS you would not feed, stall for 20-30 minutes, then retest.

 

Low as in what?

 

Until you have a lot more data on your SS, we recommend using 200 as your "no shot" number, especially with Vetsulin that can act fast and drop BG low. Once you have much more data that shows you Angel's patterns, your no shot number can drop a little lower.

When you end up in a no shot situation the dose should be dropped enough to give you two shootable pre shot numbers. How much to drop the dose is guesswork based on your experience, knowledge of Angel's responses and your gut. Until you reach that level of confidence it's safest to post here with the question mark icon and ask for dosing advice.

 

Here's our info on dealing with hypos.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

 

Hopefully we'll be able to head off any dangerously low numbers, so there won't be any signs to look for! Good that you got onto this quickly, early on in the cycle.

Not all cats show signs of hypos when their numbers get low. My cat has been as low as 23 and was asymptomatic, showed no signs at all.

 

Just under 200. You have to judge the likelihood of the BG rising enough on its own after stalling up to an hour or so to enable you to shoot.

Example #1: PS is 185. You stall 20 minutes without food, retest and get 193 - looks promising. Stall another 20 minutes without food, retest and get 203. Give a slightly reduced dose - maybe 0.25 u to 0.5 u less depending on the size of the regular dose.

Example #2: PS is 162. Your judgment is that it's not likely to get up to 200 or so in an hour. You opt for a no shot.

I suggested that the stalling/retesting can go on for up to an hour or so because the timing of Vetsuin dosing can move about an hour in either direction without having a big effect on BG.

 

Should I give her the gravy lovers can of food now?

 

Let's wait until your +2 test.

 

Gotta go feed and medicate my own kitties, will be back shortly!

 

Even when it's over 200 I would reduce when it's lower than usual. So if it's 200- 240... Until you have more data.... Be conservative maybe 1 u. 240-280 1.5 280-325 2 units.... The insulin needs change, sometimes every few days.


When my cat was still on insulin I would test and then literally study her last 3-5 days of data to figure out her dose based on how she recently reacted. How she reacted a week or two ago was irrelevant.

 

Eventually you WILL shoot partial doses under 200... Just is safer after there's more data in lower numbers.

 

I've shot several times in low 200s. 202 and 203 and she was fine. I'm hoping she will be tonight.

 

She wasn't as reactive to the insulin then as she has been the last few days.

You could be right.... She may just stay in the low yellows and blues. The only way to know for sure is to test and see and just be prepared.

 

Was this when you were using a pet meter? I don't see these on your old SS.

 

242. Couldn't wait.

 

It's on the new updated spreadsheet.

 

Haha. I don't blame you. That's a nice safe number. So far so good.

 

Yes, I see two instances of 3.5 u on a 202/203 pre shot.

Good so far. Was that about +1.5? Looking a bit like April 03 daytime cycle.

 

So far, so good! Can you please update your spreadsheet so we can easily keep an eye on the numbers?

 

+1.45

 

If those two BGs are less than an hour apart you can "stack" them both in the same cell so we can see at a glance how close in time they are - eg. 287 @+1 242@+1.75 all entered in the +1 cell.

 

Updating

done I think I did it right even tho there's no color anymore

 

If you go up to the tool bar on the SS and click on the little paint can you can select the proper colour for the cell.

 

Active evening here, Cherish. How are you holding up? Don't beat yourself up too much, this will be an experience to put on your FD belt

 

Alarm set for +3 and every hour after that. Boyfriend is a night owl and is keeping a close eye out in case I doze. My work alarm is set to go off at 5am. Eeeek lol.

 

If it's on your phone go to the A- at top of ss. It will bring up the option to color.

 

I'm ok just super tired after a long work day and I have to open the shop tomorrow morning. So this isn't what I had planned for my evening. But I'm a coffee roaster and barista so at least I'm well stocked. Lol

 

Show the boyfriend how to post here and go to sleep for a couple of hours.

 

Done

 

ok boyfriend here. I will be testing in little over 44 minutes, and will post number here when I have it.

 

+3 reading is 103.

 

I suggest you give her a small snack (2 tsp or so) of regular low carb wet food. She's not that low so I don't think she needs the gravy food for now. Test again in 30 minutes. Don't wait an hour.

 

Looks like a good thing you're a night owl!

 

I agree with Kris. Do you (boyfriend) have the Hypo link sheet open?. Just in case. Brains can turn to mush so better to have it open and readily available now =)

 

will report again in 26 minutes.

 

do not have a hypo link sheet. However, Cherish is only mock sleeping and making me report numbers to her. Trust me my brain is far from mush yet, with my social anxiety the quiet night is when my mind is at it's best.

 

30 more minutes so +3.5 reading of 70.

 

You still have an hour and a half or more to nadir. Give a teaspoon or so of gravy from high carb food right now. Test in 20 minutes and post here. The goal is to keep her from getting to 50 or lower.

 

I would give her a teaspoon of gravy from the gravy food and test again in 20 minutes.

 

Lol Kris, looks like we cross-posted!

 

will test again in 20, this little girl loves her gravy. ate it all up quick.

 

Great minds ...

 

Good thing she does. She probably thinks all this is great! Gravy..... Everyone paying attention

 

kinda of fed up with me testing her but she still more or less behaves.

 

Can't really blame her. Give her an extra treat and a chin scratch....she'll forgive you!

 

+4 reading 45. cherish is getting her food ready.

 

she also added honey.

 

give her some more gravy and a bit of Karo, honey, syrup, whatever you have on hand. Want to get her back up over 50.

 

Perfect. Test her again in 20.

 

Cherish, when is Angel's usual nadir?

 

I don't know she's been so inconsistent. Check SS

 

earlier today it was before +5, but two days ago it was +8

 

I was away from my computer for a little bit. Glad the others were here.

 

Looked to me like it was around 6-8-ish, as a rule, just wanted to be sure.

 

Don't feed too much at once. You want her to be willing to eat as BG dictates.

 

I'm hoping once we pass 11-12pm which will be +6 & +7 it will raise back up.

 

It looks that way to me too but she's been all over the place.

 

Let's hope. They can sometimes have a later nadir and/or longer duration when the dose is too high.

 

That's what's concerning me at this point.

 

Have you tested her again? Make sure you keep detailed notes on what you fed her, how much and when. This will be good reference info in case you end up in a situation like this again. The best place for this is in the right hand comments section of the spreadsheet.

 

ok so latest reading is 92.

 

can we check again in an hour?

 

That's good. You're seeing the effect of the high carb snack. It can wear off though so I wouldn't wait an hour. Don't give any food right now and test in 30 minutes.

Enter that number (92) in the appropriate cell - probably belongs with the 45.