? 4/18 Nam-kha Low numbers AMPS 452 +5 254 PMPS 362 +3 79 +4 83

I'm not proud of myself

Nam-kha was mostly blue yesterday. But at her PMPS I panicked and lowered her shot for the night. Then I kept a very close eye on her and I barely slept (I even had nightmares that I would find her in a coma or passed out again...).

I don't want her to be in hypo again Those two hypos in a row last month, and the thought that we almost lost her really scare me.

Anyway, now she's in the red again because of last night.

How do you deal with that?

 

I don't think it was the lower dose that brought on the reds.
Her body isn't used to blues anymore so the natural response is to bounce upwards. Her liver dumped counterregulatory hormones.
She does seem to come down quickly so please check her again somewhere mid cycle.

 

Oh really? Hm, I'm at work now, but today I can drive home during my lunch break to check on her.

 

I agree with Rhiannon. The dose being lowered for that one cycle probably did not effect it. I can understand after a hypo event on how scared it made you. Did she show symptoms when she went down to 43?

 

No she didn't. But that was only a few days after the second hypo so I gave her lots of food + corn syrup. I was freaking out!

When she did her first hypo she could not stand, she was lying with her eyes closed and not moving and I found her like that. It's hard to forget. I called my husband just screaming "come, Nam-kha's dying!!"... Then we thought she would be okay after the vet treatment but the next day and with a smaller amount of insulin, it happened again (but this time we were there and as soon as we saw she was feeling bad we rushed to the vet). After that, it was a holiday and we had no news from the clinic, we didn't know how she was, if she would make it and there was no way to call as the clinic was closed... We finally got a call and then the vet told us that they took Nam-kha home to monitor her day and night, she was pretty bad but suddenly all her blood tests came back to normal.

That's why now I'm really scared... I don't want her to be in the red, but if she's in the blue, it's hard for me to shoot.

 

That must have been very scary!! I am so glad you acted fast and she is okay.

Over time, you will start to get more confidence in your own ability to help keep her safe and use higher carb food to boost her up when she starts to drop to fast or too low. Keep in mind that the hypo event happened on a higher dose than she is now. Since then, she hasn't had anything lower than the 115 you got yesterday AM cycle and she did a nice long surf in blues until she bounced because her body is not used to being in those lower numbers. The more she gets used to being in those numbers, she will start to bounce less and her cycles will start to flatten out.

With the data you have so far, it looks like she nadirs somewhere around +5 -+6 . Last night she might have gone a bit lower than 169 ; a lot of kitties will go lower in the PM cycle. Knowing that, anytime she is in the mid blue range, it might be a good idea if you can set your alarm and get a mid-cycle test. All the data you can get to fill in spots on the SS is all good information that will help you see her trends and patterns.

Good job shooting that blue last night as I am sure you were a wreck.



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Here is the link to your last post here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/04-14-nam-kha-amsp-382-3-200.194150/

I think almost all of us panicked at our first blue preshot. I know I was almost hyperventilating. Over time and as you gather data about what Nam-kha does on blue preshots, it will become easier. Maybe someday you'll even be able to shoot green numbers. Cycles do become flatter when you shoot lower numbers. That's the beauty of Lantus. It's great at keeping low numbers flat. Over time I preferred lower preshots, cause the cycles were much more predictable. Until you have that comfort to shoot lower, gather data. It will help you learn your cat.

 

Oh thank you for your advices!

I think I'm going to need help/advices every time she's in the blue before a shot. I went home for lunch (at +5) and she was okay, around 254. I know it's high, but it wasn't too low so I don't have to worry for the rest of the day. Now I'm looking for a good brand of wet food to slowly switch. I also need to find a good brand of dry food for my other cat until I can switch him too to mostly wet...

 

Feel free to post here if you see a blue at preshot time. Don't feed and post for advice.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a good low carb dry food in Canada. Have you ever tried freeze dried raw food? We did have one member successfully use that for her kibble addict diabetic.

 

My other cat is not diabetic, but I would like to switch him to wet food, so it's easier for me to feed them at the same time :/

 

The reason I suggested the FD raw, is that it's safe for both should one be stubborn about switching to wet. I switched both my cats to all wet then raw when Neko was diagnosed. It is easier if both will eat the same thing.

 

Oh okay! I'm going to the pet store after work, I'll see what they have. I know they sell raw food for cats. Thanks

 

I need some help please! Nam-kha is at + 3 and at 79! What should I do? Should I feed her?

 

Sorry I can't help with dosing advice, but if you need help now, I'd suggest changing the subject line of this current thread to say something like "4/18 Nam-kha Low Numbers, Help Needed Now". Maybe also add the ? Icon in front of the title. Hope this helps get some experienced members to respond.

 

Thank you @Meeja's Mom

 

Give her a little of her regular food, and test again in 30 minutes.

 

I did because I was too nervous and she's now at 84.

 

So, do bear in mind that the "take action" number is 50 on a human meter. I understand you are frightened with her history of symptomatic hypos. But remember they happened before you were home testing and on much larger doses of insulin.

This cycle indeed saw a steep drop. Did she eat normally? The same food as usual? No contraband? Had she maybe eaten in the two hours before you got the PMPS value, and could it have been food-influenced?

In those numbers, which are objectively safe at this stage, I'd also go with the advice to give a little normal food, and test again after 30 minutes if you are worried.

To help with the dosing decision for the next cycle, if you can get a +11 it would be good. If you're not sure what to do, post a new thread with the day's date, numbers, and dosing advice -- please link to this one in the first post so that people can check out the history.