? Low Sugar and Diarrhea??

My cat Willow has been on Lantus Solostar for about 2 monthes and she is on 2 units. She went to the vet last week to get her sugar tested and it was 96. A couple days later a noticed she seemed tired after her shot so it was making me nervous and so i tried to test her with a human glucose meter i had. We have serveral since my sister is diabetic and my grandpa that just passed away was to so we had extras. I tested it and it said 28. I was like is that right and tested myself and my boyfriend. I wasn't sure the meter was working since it was giving us crazy numbers. So I waited a day and gave her the 2units as usual. We noticed some soft stools in the litter box room on the floor but I wasnt sure if it was from her or one of the other cats. Then we we came back from breakfast she had an accident all of the bed and she has never done that before. I took her sugar right away with the meter my sister uses everyday and it said 41. So I gave her something to eat. I tested before meal time and it was only up to 54. I was only going to give 1unit instead. This is where I needed advice on what to do. Do I give less or none?? I was trying to check online to find out. I was gonna give 1 but dialed 2 on accident. So this morning being sunday and no vet open here in my town. I just needed some advice. I gave her 1 unit at breakfast and I am going to check it soon to see what the numbers are. I ordered her a meter for cats and it should be here tomorrow. She is not eating as well this morning and is still having loose stool. So advice on what to do for that?? There was a couple drops of blood in the stool. Maybe from going so much hopefully. Cant go to the vet till this week. Watching her carefully tho. Any advice on how much insulin to give if its that low or what to do about the loose stools would be great. She seems to be alright right now . Awake and alert.
Thanks so Much

 

Are you testing before you give the shot? What insulin are you using?

ETA: Sorry, I see in your original post you said Lantus

 

Please check her BG and post here as soon as you can.

 

Hi Stephanie
So you did shoot the 1 U? How long ago was that? Based on the BG numbers you've outlined she seems to be on too high of a dose. You can keep her safe by giving her medium or high carb food. Can you tell me how long ago the shot was given and what her BG is now?
We'll talk loose stools later...

ETA, I don't want to alarm you but I'm concerned that Willow will go Hypo. The BG numbers you've outlined are all too low for even a drop of insulin.

 

As soon as my boyfriend wakes up Im going to test her sugar again cuz I need him to hold her. Its been about 4 hours since her shot this morning of 1 unit. She hasnt wanted to eat all of her food this morning. I will post what her reading is soon. She is really suppose to get 2 units but I only gave her 1. Should I buy anything at the store for loose stool?? Or wait for the vet though about going to the store??

 

Her BG level is the concern now. I would wake your BF and get that test in. Do you have any pancake syrup in the house? Before you gave the 1U she was at 54, correct? That is too low to shoot any insulin. Please get that test in

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

Above if a link that you should read so you better understand the importance of testing now

 

Test was 54 last night before shot. Gave her shot last night and 1unit at 6 am this morning. Just tested 11am and its 54 right now.

 

ok still too low. What kind of food do you feed Willow? Wet, dry? If you have wet food that say has gravy in it its likely a med to high carb content. We want to get Willow's BG up since its still a little early in the cycle. Without any data on when her nadir is its tough to say when she'll be out of the woods. Do you have plenty of test strips? The protocols on this forum is all based on using a human meter which you have so that's good.

How was Willow diagnosed? What was her BG then? I'm so curious about that 96 the last time she was at the vet. That is a normal number. Typically, but not all, tend to have an inflated BG number when at the vet due to stress which means to me her 96 had it been taken at home probably would've been lower.

 

When she was first diagnosed it was around 350. We started with 1unit and took her back to the vet once a week until we were at 2units. She has been at 2 for about 2monthes. Last week doc said 96 but then she started acting different since then. I give her wet food with gravy with some dryfood sprinkled on top. In the middle of the day a little tuna or chicken with a zobaline pill. Was worried thats why i got my sisters glucose meter and started checking. Ordered her one for cats should be in tomorrow. She just came in the room and ate a couple bites of dry but that all. So I should probibly skip tonights shot if it stays to low. Do u think the loose stools are related it this??

 

Your cat is very close to going hypo and you need to keep testing as there are several more hours in which she can continue to drop further. Do you have some high carb food on hand or honey/Karo syrup?

 

Not sure if the loose stools are related. For that I would suggest plain pumpkin, not the pie filling kind that is loaded with sugar.

We can help you with dosing but could you set up a spreadsheet? http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
This paints a picture of what is happening with out kitties BG levels and is a useful tool for everyone.

My suggestion for you is to stop insulin and get Willow on a low carb all wet food diet for a few days and test her BG levels. If once you switch she is still running high in numbers post here and ask for dosing advise. If insulin is indeed needed I would start her on 0.25 U. Changing a cat from a high carb diet to low carb can significantly impact their numbers. DO NOT SWITCH TO LOW CARB WHILE GIVING HER 2 U or even 1U of insulin. The numbers you list are all in normal range or too low. That 28 is so dangerously low.

Also setting up a signature with pertinent info like food type, insulin, type of meter, other health issues, etc so that folks here, at a glance can get some very useful info without have to ask you over and over. The forum gets busy and it gets hard to keep track of all the sugarbabies
How to set up a signature here

There is a lot of info, terms, language, etc that can be overwhelming. We've all been there. Take your time and read through the stickies and get familiar with how Lantus works etc. Ask as many questions as you need.

Keep an eye on Willow, try to coax her to eat even if its just a little gravy to ensure she doesn't go any lower than she is. If she drops below 54 and won't eat then you have to rub syrup on her gums to boost her BG up. This doesn't stay in the system long so even if she shot up to 125 it doesn't mean she won't drop again. Lets get her to 6:00pm and skip the insulin. This is my suggestion and based on the info you have given. you may very well be one of the lucky ones that just needs a diet change and no insulin. Bottom line is we want to keep our kitties safe, that's priority number one.

The diarrhea may very well resolve on its own and may be due to all of this. If not a vet visit may be n order to rule out any other issues.

 

Please test again right away. If it is under 50 feed some high carb food /Honey.... Then test again in 15 min.

 

Thankyou for all the helpful advice. I have honey just in case and my other cat eat high carb food I could give her. I will keep testing her and write to down to make a spreadsheet. I am keeping an eye on her she seems fine right now. I will test her in a bit and not give her a shot later since she is so low. I will post again with updates. You guys are great for helping so fast.❤❤.

 

Keep in mind a lot of cats never show signs of hypo. The only way to really keep an eye on her is testing. I have to go now so I do hope you continue to monitor and keep her numbers up. When you're ready for dose advise post over in the Lantus/Levemir forum. Plenty of folks that can help you! I'm not on much anymore, only every once in a while, but I'll look for ya next time I'm on line