? BG going down instead of up after meal?

I have a weird encounter going on with Pepper.
6am AMPS 197
recheck 190 (to make sure it wasn't a bad strip)
Fed 1/2 can FF Pate Chicken
recheck 630am BG 179
waited 15 mins BG 174.

I was running late for work, so I had to leave. I did not give Pepper her insulin since her BG was going down, even with food.

What is your opinion on why it would be dropping, instead of going up?

 

These numbers are well within the meter's allowed variance of +/-20%. Sometimes there'll be a significant drop if the pancreas is "waking up" and contributing its own insulin after a meal. You have the option of giving a token dose in a situation like this where BG isn't too far off the no shot number and you can't stay around to stall and retest. What size that token dose is depends on the data you have from other similar situations but you could try a 50% dose.

 

I won't count my chickens before they hatch, but a waking up pancreas would be nice. Her BG has never gone down after a meal, so this is definitely a new experience.

 

@Kris & Teasel

Well, that was short lived. I spoke to the vet clinic. They want to do a fructosamine test and an ultrasound of her abdomen. This is going to cost me about $450. This is getting out of hand.

 

Try not to worry. My opinion is that the fructosamine test won't tell you much that you can't see by scanning your SS. That shows an average BG in the pinks (approximately), so the 300s. They probably want to ultrasound to look for other issues like bowel thickening, pancreatic structure, etc. How is she feeling based on her eating, peeing, pooping, grooming, etc.? If all that is normal I'd be tempted to put off the ultrasound for now.

Insulin wise I think it might be worth doing a full curve this weekend to fill in the data picture. Maybe try 1.5 u? It also might be worth trying a consistent dose AM and PM for several days after the curve day to see if that settles her down. She's prone to throwing you the odd high black or lower (but still shootable at some dose) blue PS so that shows a little volatility in her responses. Volatile kitties usually do better with consistent dosing rather than doses changed in line with PS. You might need to find a slightly lower dose that can be given AM and PM and doesn't cause a "no shot" then spikes her into black.

The best way to assess progress is to focus on trends rather than individual numbers even though the blacks stick out like a sore thumb. They're really no more important than any other number in determining dosing. What is important is to collect as much middle of cycle data as you can to see how low a dose takes her. So far you have nothing lower than mid blue so there's room to increase her dose. What to increase it to is hard to know because of all the dose changes. That's why I suggest a curve at a moderate dose to establish a baseline to work from.

You're only a little over two months since her diagnosis and that's still early days. It can take quite a while to get a kitty more stable on insulin let alone regulated.