URGENT: Low BG Levels

I hope there are some people on here who see this and can give some extra advice. We gave Victor his full dose of 4 units on a PMPS BG reading of 350 and by +2 he was down to 98, so we gave him some of his regular food and I just retested at +3 and he's down further to 65 so we gave some gravy from Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers canned food and I plan to test again in 20 min to see how his numbers are doing. He doesn't seem to be showing any symptoms of hypo except for being a bit unsteady while walking, but he does have neuropathy in his back legs, so it's kind of hard to determine if it's from that or a hypo symptom. Please respond with any other advice on if we need to do anything else.

 

Hi Heather. You are doing exactly right. I know how scary those greens are when you can't be sure they're going to level out!

I just went through the very same thing with Josie. I think that you should also see some uptick from the gravy. I think the wobbling is probably from the neuropathy: I know it doesn't feel like it, but he's still in the "good greens."

More in a minute.

 

Okay. So I know just a very little about how Humulin works, but I just took a quick peek at your spreadsheet, and it looks like his nadir is usually around +4. Is that right?

 

@Jenna Josie Thanks so much for replying. Yes, his nadir is usually around +4 and he normally starts going up after that, so hopefully there shouldn't be too much longer of his numbers being this low. I just retested about twenty minutes after giving him the gravy and he was up to 71.

I do realize now that he wasn't quite low enough to be in immediate danger, but yeah, first time seeing a number that low and you just can't help but overreact a little. I'm just glad I caught it before it went into the lighter greens.

 

Yay for not dropping!

And yes, I know just how you feel! These boards are littered with my overreactions!

I think you can hold off on the gravy, especially since he’s so near his nadir. I’d just sit tight a bit and see if he doesn’t start coming up now with what you’ve already given and as part of his regular cycle.

I have to be up in a few hours. Do you feel comfortable with where Victor is now?

 

He's up to 98 now which is a relief. Hoping it stays this way.

 

Yes, I think he'll be okay. He's up to 98 now and he's pretty much at his nadir so he should continue going up normally before too much longer. Thanks so much for your help and support

 

I feel confident he will! You did great catching him and making sure he didn’t go to the scarey greens. Maybe one more test in 30 mins or whenever his +4 is, just for your peace of mind.

Good night!

Oh! Also, don’t forget to take the 911 off from your title. You can do that in the Thread Tools box at the top right of your thread.

 

I will do another test around that time just to be sure his numbers are staying up, and I will take off the 911 tag.
Good night, to you too.

 

@Kris & Teasel @JanetNJ So as you can see we had a minor first scare with Victor over his PM cycle. Should we do anything different with his AM dose this morning or his PM dose later on? I know it wasn't too bad and he didn't actually go low enough to be in hypo (thankfully), but I have to admit I'm really uneasy about giving his full dose.

 

So glad he didn't go down too low- those greens can be scary when you don't know what direction they are headed.

 

Exactly, which is why I've developed the habit of always testing at +2 ever since he started going into the lower blues and upper dark greens, so I at least have some idea and can hopefully take action to prevent him from going too low before nadir if necessary.

 

Hi Heather,

Whew! Exciting for you! You did great and I'm glad @Jenna Josie was around to support you. Is Victor still eating only dry food except for Fancy Feast gravy to boost his BG? If you've started the switch to wet you might be getting an effect from that. Also, many kitties run lower at night and if this becomes an established pattern we can help you figure out a slightly lower dose to give in the evening.

The action you've been getting at 4 u tells us that he's at/near his good dose range for the way he's eating right now. How about this: if his AMPS is high pink or red (and it might be up there from bouncing) try the 4 u dose this morning. For tonight, try 3 u in the evening. This is an experiment to see how he does. These experiments are a necessary part of learning how to dose. Please keep us posted on exactly when the food change is going to happen.

 

We haven't started the switch yet, but will be sure to post when we are ready to do that. My concern about this morning's dose is that I really need to get some decent sleep after having been up until 6am and my mom has a dentist appointment in the afternoon, so if I'm in asleep, there won't be anyone to keep an eye on him to make sure he's doing okay.

 

It's always your call. You could try a reduction to 3 or 3.5 u. You need to be rested too.