15/6 - Djoko PMPS 308, +3 74 , +4 68

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/06-06-2020-djoko-pmps-637.230584/

Hello,
Djoko is going down very fast today and I am concerned he may get too low. I have been feeding with low carbs every 20 minutes or so but it does not seem to slow his slide.
Should I give him a bit of HC wet food to avoid hypo? It is called Friskies Savory Shreds Chicken & Salmon Dinner in Gravy. Not sure the % of carbs but probably higher than 10% as fourth ingredients is wheat gluten.
Thanks,
Marj

 

HI there

They usually say to save HC for dives under 40 (or even 50 with some cats). If you don't think the LC is enough to help him stay in this range after his onset ...you could try some medium carb...do you have anything that is 8-10% carbs? Are you able to monitor though his +5 which seems to be when those lower numbers have been happening?

Are you taking reductions under 50? Anything lower than 69 on the Alphatrak is pretty low....have you checked the BGs from the libre with a glucometer...they can sometimes be different since they measure different parts of the blood.

 

Hello,

This is on Libre so it reads lower. Last time, I waited for him to get into hypo and we stuffed him with food and he got a pancreatitis attack straight after.
It is very challenging to manage feeding his small meals and counteracting the insulin effect. I had no idea what this can contains in terms of % and I am unfortunately out of cans of 7% so I gave him two spoons because he was not interested in his LC food anymore (I have started to feed him a lot at 9pm noticing he was going down to fast. He normally eats every 2 hours). I am sure it is better to wait until the cat is lower but I am trying to see if this wouldslow the curve (no idea if he has hit his nadir but still early) and prevent a pancreatitis attack. I hope this was the right course of action otherwise will load up with medium carbs for next time.

I will check with AT2 if he gets lower than 3. I checked couple days ago and when he was at 3.1 on Libre, he was at 5.3 on AT2 so a little buffer here.

What should I do if he is not interested with his normal food? I also have dry food but though wet high carbs was better (especially with TR). Maybe I should lower the dose just a bit to avoid episodes where I have to feed it a lot at once or in a short timeframe just because his pancreas is very sensitive? Last time I checked he was at 63 on Libre. I will stay uo until I know what is going on.

 

Now at 72 so I guess the carbs kicked in. I won't feed him unless he goes under 3 and if he does, I will feed him LC. Maybe I gave him too much of HC. I never know what to do.

 

I really like this idea of medium carbs. Thank you!

 

I would steer clear of the dry food.
So far the numbers are holding it seems.
Since you realize the libre reads lower...I am not so sure you would need to intervene with the High Carb foods. I saw you were using the libre but figured the 2.9 on that could have been below 69 on the AT reader...good to know it wasn't. I don't think the size of the meals is what keeps them from going too low- it's the carb content. So, when you say I had to feed him a lot to keep him from dropping- that is when sometimes feeding the same small amount of a slightly higher carb content can help.

As for not being interested in food...my cat has never been too low and not been interested in food, so I am not sure about that. I keep baby food and some higher carb mousse on hand to entice him if I need to and would just add honey or gravy to it instead of trying to serve him a larger meal..
There is a post on feeding the curve that is sometimes helpful ...I will see if I can find it.

 

this post was helpful to me when trying to understand the timing of meals and how to use different carb contents to steer the hourly blood sugars and help stop those overnight dives.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/8-10-tashie-pmps-high-questions.101989/#post-1087990

 

I think I was concerned he was going to repeast the cycle on last June 5 (where he was at 3.1 on AT2). Every time he starts a new sensor. I have to test to see how it calibrates before the one before this one did not read as low compared to AT2. This one gives a little buffer as I said. Next time, I try to hold longer because each cycle is different. I am wondering if he will go lower after digesting his HC. How long does it take to digest HC? I checked on catinfo and it was 14% carbs. He si alwats hungry - don't get me wrong - wakes us up 4-5 times a night even though I have a feeder that can serve 4 meals.
Problem is his digestive issues and he cannot eat too much at once. Anyway. Lesson learned! At least, I did not give him dry food.

 

I think medium carb is the answer. I will get some tomorrow.

 

He seems pretty stable for now. At +4, he was at 68. I may have to feed him again but would opt for LC.

 

I'd call that the higher end of MC food honestly....HC to me is like 20% carbs. The food in my hypo kit is 26% carbs.
There used to be a loose guide for what constitutes MC vs HC but 14% isn't high enough.
I have no carb, low carb (3%), lower carb ( 6-8%) my MC which is 12-14% then the big guns >20% for emergencies. You might want to just experiment with carb counts and see what gives you the flat numbers you are looking for.

 

He’s looking good. It’s a big drop tonight from the day cycle. Keep feeding small amounts of lc and hopefully he will surf.

 

Yes this was unexpected. I cut his cerenia pill and I would day that instead of 1/4 of 16 mg, it looked more like 5mg. I am wondering if this could have played a role because he has started to get lower at +1 and onset is normally 1h30-1h45. There was double action it seems.

His ears are getting a bit flat and he seems a bit more lethargic so I really hope it did not trigger a pancreatitis episode. He did eat more than he normally does in a shorter timeframe so I will wait until he drops under 3 on Libre to feed him, if applicable, so that his pancreas gets a little break. He seems to be surfing which is great.

 

passed out