1/13/18 - Luci - Increased to 1.25 today = 164 at 2+ Concerned about 75 at 4+

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Sue and Luci

Sue and Luci

Member Since 2017
After 5 days on Lantus 1 unit, we increased dosage (based on vet recommendation and FDMB member agreement) to 1.25. At 7:58 a.m. - Happy to see that lower number at 2+. I wanted to wait till 3+ but due to schedule conflict will not be able to get that one. Will have to wait till 6+ to try again.

I'm going to try to get up tonight at least at 3+ and get a BG reading.

Thank you all for your support, patience and kind words during this stressful time. Luci thanks you too for helping her mom and dad to help her!:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::D
 
A couple of observations...

When you see a drop from your pre-shot test to your test at +2 and the drop is reasonably sizable like the 80 point drop today, it's likely that numbers may keep dropping. You'll have a better ideate +3. (For most cats, the +2 is around the same as the pre-shot number since the spike in numbers having eaten has come back down. A drop at +2 often suggests it could be an "active" cycle -- in other words, numbers may keep dropping and you may need to monitor.)

It looks like you're not (able?) to get any tests during the PM cycle. I'd really encourage you to get at the minimum, a before bed test. From your post above, is sounds like you head off to bed fairly early. Would it make sense to move your shot times so you have more opportunity to get some tests in during the PM cycle? I ended up moving Gabby's shot times to 5:00 so I could get early test in during the AM and so I wasn't up all night testing.

 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
A couple of observations...

When you see a drop from your pre-shot test to your test at +2 and the drop is reasonably sizable like the 80 point drop today, it's likely that numbers may keep dropping. You'll have a better ideate +3. (For most cats, the +2 is around the same as the pre-shot number since the spike in numbers having eaten has come back down. A drop at +2 often suggests it could be an "active" cycle -- in other words, numbers may keep dropping and you may need to monitor.)

It looks like you're not (able?) to get any tests during the PM cycle. I'd really encourage you to get at the minimum, a before bed test. From your post above, is sounds like you head off to bed fairly early. Would it make sense to move your shot times so you have more opportunity to get some tests in during the PM cycle? I ended up moving Gabby's shot times to 5:00 so I could get early test in during the AM and so I wasn't up all night testing.
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I will try to monitor as often today as possible.

As for the testing in the evening - I agree 100% - I'd love to get the PM show on the road at 5 p.m. but there is no way I'm going to get my hubby up at 5 a.m. to hold Luci - so since this is a 12 hour program - I have to wait for him to get up in the morning - yes, I get up early - usually by 6 a.m. but hubby stays up late - and neither one of us could wrangle Luci into a BG single handedly...she's a two person cat - I've tried to entice her to sit on my lap as I comb her...and we're working on that...perhaps soon I'll work up to being able to convince her that my lap isn't the worst place in the world - but for now, we team up on her, set her on our kitchen island on a towel and he holds on and does the poke and I get the blood drop on the meter - we're both holding her head by this time - gently to keep her from shaking and slinging that precious drop all over...he's got a good grip on her body and her back feet are working most of the time in the I'm going to get out of this the minute anyone lets go...

I admire your cats that are sitting still for pokes; I figure I'm doing good by being able to give her the insulin shot when she's 'not looking'! She's usually eating her breakfast/dinner at that moment - but occasionally she wanders off - like this morning and I have to walk behind her while she slithers under the furniture on her way to the lanai - which is where I finally caught up with her this morning and slipped that injection into her subque...she wasn't happy about it...but then she went to her resting spot and seemed content enough...whew...I hope she doesn't get any ideas about running off...I'd never be able to catch her! She's fast and can hide easily under the bed...sofa, or other tight spot...

Thanks for your thoughts though. I plan to get up tonight and get a BG - my hubby will get me up as he's not asleep yet...I'll just lose another nights sleep..no biggie since I haven't gotten one this week because of my back, coughing spells and Luci worries...
 
Best I could do is 2+ and 4+ today - should be able to get more BG's this afternoon. What's going on? Why are her numbers coming down so fast with a dose increment of .25?

Should I change her diet? Give her carbs (kibble 18% carb)? She's been eating very well today - finished a 3 oz can of FF and is not working on a half can I gave her for lunch after last BG.

Please advise.
 
SueGeorgeandLuci said:
Best I could do is 2+ and 4+ today - should be able to get more BG's this afternoon. What's going on? Why are her numbers coming down so fast with a dose increment of .25?

Should I change her diet? Give her carbs (kibble 18% carb)? She's been eating very well today - finished a 3 oz can of FF and is not working on a half can I gave her for lunch after last BG.

Please advise.
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Hi Sue. You def want to slow her down. But avoid the kibble if you can. So you have higher carb wet and will Luci eat it?
 
With that drop to 74, @ +4 can you give some food, perhaps a little higher in carb than you usually do. She seems to be dropping quite fast and it's 30 min since you posted that 74 on a new thread, if you didn't feed the 74. Can you get another test in now please.
 
Hi,
I wanted to second Heidi's suggestion to avoid kibbles - think it is your latest resort, like a nuke, and offer a little wet food with higher carbs - half an ounce or 1 Tablespoon. Test 30 min after eating to know what kind of food bump it gave.
If you are leaving to make sure he ate the wet and leave another 2 tsp of it out.
He already had his lowest point @+4 on Jan 10 AM - and then gone up...

ETA: oops, sorry I was not aware of another thread...
 
How you doing Sue?
Sorry about the abrupt post above, I was on my phone.

74 is still a perfectly safe number, and for all we know she may just hang in these nice greens, but at this stage you cannot assume that she will.
Another possibility is that her numbers will start to rise sharply, she may bounce from the sharp drop.
Or she good continue to go down for a bit longer, this is where the food and the extra tests (sorry I know it's a two person job) will help to keep her safe.

If she is giving you grief about testing, do give her some higher carb food, give her some time to calm down, but I think its really important that you try and grab a test no later than +5.
If all she'll eat is some kibble, then that's fine to give her that, especially if you are not able to get a test.
 
I have FF wet in cans and some FF broths; The vet sold us DM wet and DM kibble last week (she hasn't had any of that in days)...last but not least is Hill's HIGH CARB treats - has had none of those since last Saturday .

I'm so confused, first we're trying so hard to get the numbers down and wouldn't you know, the very first time I increase the dosage by .25 and she starts dropping like a rock. These numbers appear to be moving down quickly - I've tried to read up about hypoglycemia and how dangerous that is...I'll be taking another BG at 2 p.m. today -that'll be her 6+ - so hopefully the numbers wil not continue to drop this quickly. She is eating her FF very well today...seems to have a good appetite. Is the DM wet more carb than FF? I know there's a big listing of all the foods out here somewhere...
 
SueGeorgeandLuci said:
I've tried to read up about hypoglycemia and how dangerous that is...I'll be taking another BG at 2 p.m. today -that'll be her 6+
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I know that testing is difficult, but I would not wait that long.
Please get another test now.

You are right to be worried that she is dropping fast, the only way to keep on top of the numbers is to step up the monitoring.
She is still in the early part of the cycle, the insulin action is still increasing and as a result there's a significant risk that the numbers could continue to drop dramatically.

Know that by the time you start to see symptoms of hypo it can be very difficult to get their numbers up, and can end up being a trip to ER
 
I don't remember exactly but I think the DM is 7 - 9% carb. FF is generally around 5% -- it varies depending on the flavor. If you don't have any FF Gravy Lovers (it's around 15% carb) or other high carb food, you can always add a couple of drops (literally) of corn or maple syrup, honey, etc.

 
I have DM Dry on hand - says it's 18% carb. Is that high? Medium? Low? I have no idea how these things work. I did see from the list that the FF is single digits -so that seems low...then the opposite of DM Dry being at 18% is many times that of FF wet...too high?

I know when I eat something that is high carb - it's rice, potatoes, baked goods..have no idea how this equates in terms of cat foods. She loves that DM dry kibble - but I don't give it to her...if this is the time to do it, she'd be all about it...

I do not have any FF gravy lovers on hand - I thought we weren't supposed to feed that...so I don't buy it. I have FF 'creamy broth' on hand. Would that be better than the DM dry at 18%?

And just to clarify - at what number should I feed her these higher carb foods? Getting ready to test in a few minutes for a 6+ reading. I don't want to freak out and do the wrong thing and send her sugar soaring after all we've done to bring it down...

Thank you!
 
So, just for reference, low-carb if anything that is below 10% carbs. Medium carb is generally 10% to 16% and high carb is anything above that. So, the DM dry food would be high carb. If you had nothing else that is high carb, giving her just a couple of kibbles of the DM should work. The problem with dry food is that it stays in the system longer than wet food, so it would raise her blood sugar for a longer period of time. That's why it's not ideal.

SueGeorgeandLuci said:
I do not have any FF gravy lovers on hand - I thought we weren't supposed to feed that...so I don't buy it.
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You don't want to feed the gravy foods as a regular diet, but it's a good idea to have some on hand for situations like this when you feel she is too low and you want to bring her up. Many of us keep a variety of food in our cabinets, divided by whether they are low-carb, medium carb or high carb. Figuring out how your cat responds to carbs is important in helping you know which one to use when she is dropping. Some cats will respond to an increase of just a couple percentages of carbs. Other cats need a fair amount of gravy to bring them up. ECID - Every Cat is Different.
 
Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey said:
So, just for reference, low-carb if anything that is below 10% carbs. Medium carb is generally 10% to 16% and high carb is anything above that. So, the DM dry food would be high carb. If you had nothing else that is high carb, giving her just a couple of kibbles of the DM should work. The problem with dry food is that it stays in the system longer than wet food, so it would raise her blood sugar for a longer period of time. That's why it's not ideal.


You don't want to feed the gravy foods as a regular diet, but it's a good idea to have some on hand for situations like this when you feel she is too low and you want to bring her up. Many of us keep a variety of food in our cabinets, divided by whether they are low-carb, medium carb or high carb. Figuring out how your cat responds to carbs is important in helping you know which one to use when she is dropping. Some cats will respond to an increase of just a couple percentages of carbs. Other cats need a fair amount of gravy to bring them up. ECID - Every Cat is Different.
Click to expand...

I will definitely get a variety of those gravy foods to keep on hand...
Thank you for the reference! :)
 
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