Ok, so if you look at Tucker's spreadsheet he did a bit of a bounce yesterday but today went to more reasonable numbers. His PM test was 9.9 (178) and he ate a huge dinner and has been in bed with my daughter. For some reason, I woke up at 1am and thought "I didn't test Tuck before bed"......and went and woke him up. He was happy, purring and laying on her pillow so I almost didn't take him away to test him. Lucky I did because the test came up 1.8 (32). I gave him some gravy fancy feast and he gobbled it right down, never stopped purring during this whole event. I've waited about 45 minutes and retested and he rose to 2.1 (38). It's 2am here and obviously I'm not able to go back to bed with his numbers this low. Should I just keep giving him gravy fancy feast every 90 minutes or so and retest? Thanks for your ideas. @JeffJ @Bobbie And Bubba @Bron and Sheba
Thank you! Honestly, Tucker is just hanging out with me at 2am on the bed purring his fool head off. You would not think he is so low. I'm about to retest and that will tick him off....
Dang... go figure right!?! Everything will be OK… Like I said some one with lots of experience will come by soon By the way... you are welcome
Wow, Patty, what is Tucker up to? You know what to do but I know it's good to have people alert to the situation. I hope the FF gravy is having an effect.
I know, right? It's now 2:30am and I'm just trying to stay awake just in case he does anything funny/not funny.
Super, I have this saved in my notepad: If your cat is testing in low numbers and you are not getting a quick response to your post, there are several things you need to do. (Low numbers are under 50mg/dL or 2.8 mmol/L.) Depending on how carbohydrate sensitive your cat is, feed approximately a teaspoon or less of gravy from high carb food or high carb food only. (If you have a cat with GI issues, using a couple of drops of syrup plus low carb food is an alternative.) Test again in 15 – 20 min. Depending on the numbers, give more HC food. Repeat the above steps every 15 – 20 min. until your cat tests in the 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) or above range for 2 consecutive tests. Continue to feed in small amounts to keep numbers in a safe range. Test in 30 - 40 min. and repeat the test and feed process until there are 2 consecutive tests where numbers are stable or rising. Test in an hour and follow the same steps. DO NOT become complacent. If number have risen after one or two tests, it’s important to continue testing. Numbers may bobble up and down as the HC food and/or Karo wear off. DO NOT get one test where your cat has risen from low numbers into the 50s and go to sleep or leave the house. You are putting your cat in a risky situation. When in doubt, leave HC food out. I know you know this, but it might help to read it again. Standing by.
Ohhh that is perfect! He has just hit the first threshold of 2.8 on the dot, so I'll take the recommendations from there. I'm going to have to save that post somehow, it is so helpful. Thank you!
You are very welcome. My heart always beats a little faster with these darned hypos! Hugs to you.... and Tucker, it's time to settle and stop scaring Mom!
With the 2.8 (50) being borderline, I would test again - 20 minutes from the last test - to see if you need to give the gravy again. I can't quite tell by the timeline but it looks to me like Tucker has been taking his time coming up. Did you feed the 50? How much gravy are you giving?
Hi Patty - sorry to see the new hypo. You have been through them before. If he doesn't come up with gravy, I would give karo or some sugar. Then continual monitoring and testing until 2 hours after last food to see if he is stable. After this day, I would reduce him a lot. I know Wendy said 0.25-0.5. That is the protocol. I would drop him by at least 0.5. Then I would not try to drop his BG too much daily. This is what I have generally done with Leo, since his BG has bounced much of his diabetic life.
Ok, the timeline looks like this: 1am test was 1.8 (32) so I gave him a tablespoon of gravy fancy feast. I waited about 45 minutes and retested and he had come up to 2.1 (38). I gave him a spoon of fancy feast. I waited 20 more minutes and tested and he was 2.8 (50). I waited another 20 minutes and retested and he got a 4.9 (88).
Protocol is 2 hours after last food. The readings you are getting now are directly food influenced. However, he usually comes up after food. Just like Leo. I would test again in an hour and see how he is. We are going to Sunday lunch (12:30 CST). I will be back at 2:00pm CST.
Hi Jeff, thanks for posting. When we dropped him back to the 4.75 he did have a bounce and hit the mid teens on his testing, and I thought we had messed up by reducing the dose. Today's 9.9 was exciting because it was a healthier number without being scary and it was just so good to see him pretest not being in double digits. NEVER thought he would go to 1.8 after a 9.9 pretest. He is acting 100% normal through this by the way, he's sitting here having a big old bath while I'm typing this, purring his fool head off and oblivious to the anxiety he is causing.
Ok, it's 3am here so I'll set an alarm and test him at 4. If he has come down again I need to give him another teaspoon of food but if he is still up at 88 or higher I can go back to sleep without giving him more food until 6am brekkie?
I can check in periodically. I will be heading across the river to the veg fest later in the afternoon (not as exciting or laid back as it sounds). Yup. Unless there is a big drop (heading towards 50 again), you could think about giving some LC or MC, encouraging a surf rather than a bounce.
Before you go to sleep for an hour, could you update the thread title with the new numbers and remove the 911? You can always put it back on. It will save a few heart palpitations for anyone coming online.
Could you update your thread title wiping the latest test readings, somwe don't get so worried? Looks like he is in a safer range now. I used to use corn syrup/karo/honey for numbers in the 30's to get her out of there quickly. I hope Tucker surfs some safer numbers for you now. Can I ask why you didn't reduce with that 38 a couple nights ago? A reduction is strongly recommended when you get a number in the 30's. ETA: the link to your last post where he should have been reduced. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...5-is-2-1-38-amps-6-5-117.203135/#post-2253788
Sorry! I plugged my computer in after the 4am test and fell asleep. His 4am test came up at 4.4 and that was without food for 2 hours so I thought I could sleep a little bit. I got 2 hours of sleep last night and woke up to an 8.7(157) pretest. I've reduced to 4.5.
Here is a summary of the 12 hour cycle. Gravy food was given to get out of the hypo. PMPS at 8:00pm and dosed 4.75 units PMPS = 9.9 (178) +5:00 hrs = 1.8 (32), hypo +5:45 hrs = 2.1 (38) +6:00 hrs = 2.8 (50) +6:20hrs = 4.9 (88) +8:00hrs = 4.4 (79) +12, AMPS = 8.7 (157) and dosed 4.5 units I hope you can get some more sleep Patty. Probably Tucker would make a good nap partner today!
Sorry Patty, I was off line all day today, I had an issue in my family that needed my attention. I am glad that your "spidey sense" were on to be alerted to test him. See how some cats that are way too low show no outward signs of a hypo until they start convulsing? Good job momma. And I am glad you reduced him as he earned it a few nights ago. When they go that low, you can't be complacent. An immediate reduction is in order.
I see he bounced this morning after last nights low numbers but had come back off the bounce. I think because of the very low numbers last night and the fact he’s come off the bounce and there is probably still some of the depot from the higher dose still in play , I would give a BCS ( big chicken shot) just for this dose of 2.25 units or 2.50. And then go back to 4.5 units in the morning. I would still check the BSL though this cycle.
Thank you! My husband is on the phone with the vet who just rang to check up on Tucker. I think I'll wait until they are done and then have a quick chat with her, so he is going to be a bit late tonight with his dinner and meds!
The reason for the one off lower dose is to drain the depot a bit. Having numbers in the 30s leaves no margin for error. You don’t want to be battling to keep the numbers up like you have done so twice this week. Better to be safe than sorry. He will not go off track.
