Low BG reading after shot

Discussion in 'Caninsulin / Vetsulin and N / NPH' started by crazy_moo, Feb 26, 2018.

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  1. crazy_moo

    crazy_moo New Member

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    Feb 7, 2018
    Should I be worried that 3 hours after giving my Jack his evening feed & insulin shot his BG has dropped from 13 to 3.4 mmol/l? (234 to 61.2).
    Is normal for a cat between 2-6 mmol/l on a human meter?
    He just hasnt had that big of a drop before now....Im scared to go asleep in case anything happens to him while Im snoozing xx
     
  2. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

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    Aug 17, 2016
    That's a BIG drop. Was that a dose of 1 unit? I'd give him a small snack of his regular food, wait 30 minutes and retest. He's not at nadir (point of lowest BG) yet. That's generally 4 to 6 hours after the shot for Caninsulin.

    Post that next test result here. We'll guide you in what to do next. :)
     
  3. crazy_moo

    crazy_moo New Member

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    Feb 7, 2018
    Yes only the 1 unit shot as normal

    I gave him some food again right after doing the 2nd reading of 3.4....

    Will re-test again soon to see if its done the trick.

    I use the vet pen for his shots.....Just out of curiosity....If I was to set the vet pen to 1 unit then re-set to 0 & then set again to 1 would the insulin double dose if shot?
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2018
    Reason for edit: Correcting typos
  4. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

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    Aug 17, 2016
    I have no experience with vet pens so I can't give you a definite answer. I think it depends on whether the reset to zero expels the insulin dose from the pen needle section.

    The issue with vet pens is that you're confined to whole unit doses. Cats respond strongly to even tiny dose changes which is why we recommend using insulin syringes with half unit marks on them. That allows half units to be read from the marks and 0.25 u fractions to be eyeballed. I guarantee you that you'll want fractions of units at some point. Many vets don't seem to understand this. o_O
     
  5. crazy_moo

    crazy_moo New Member

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    Feb 7, 2018
    My vet pen can increase/decrease in .5 increments but was thinking of getting some syringes for future use so I could amend dosage by .25 increments if need be.
     
  6. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

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    Good plan! Please give some thought to setting up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. It makes it so much easier and faster for us to help if you need advice. :)
     
  7. crazy_moo

    crazy_moo New Member

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    Feb 7, 2018
    Im planning to....Havent got a working PC/laptop at home to use so need to do it while in work & just havent had any spare time to sort it out as of yet....
    ....Ive got a tablet at home, tried doing it at the weekend but it fried my brain & couldnt figure out how to edit the copy of the spreadsheet Id downloaded even after following the step to step guide on how to do it.....
    .....My brain is like mush lately with the lack of sleep Im getting stressing over Jack so much!!
    Ill be running on fumes again tomorrow, its just oadt 1am here & Im due in work at 7am!!
    :confused:
     
  8. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

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    Aug 17, 2016
    No pressure ... you have a lot on your mind. If you need to get to bed you can feed him some high carb food and leave it at that. It'll basically shut this cycle down and pull up his BG. Tomorrow I'd drop the dose to 0.5 u after a big dive like that. You need a bit more of a cushion at nadir, especially if he's alone all day.
     
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  9. crazy_moo

    crazy_moo New Member

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    Feb 7, 2018
    I gave him some dry food about half hour ago.....Going to re-test now & then try getting some sleep.
    Thankfully my partner is here during the day time to watch over him.
    Thanks for listening though & for all of your advice!
    :bighug:
     
    Kris & Teasel likes this.
  10. crazy_moo

    crazy_moo New Member

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    Feb 7, 2018
    Ive just re-tested & he has gone up to 7.0 BG.....phew, panick over!!
    Time for me to get some rest!!
    Thanks again for your help!
     
    Magic Johnson and Kris & Teasel like this.
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