BG on human meter is 54, 4 hours after shot

Ok. What's up? I heard bg this low & cats would be dead. Hes fine. Threw up his dinner, guessing it was the miralax. I gave him 1/2 teaspoon mixed in his dinner. Bg was at 198 this morning. Came home from work, dinner time bg was 166, then +2 was 154. Now +4 is 54. Checked twice.

 

Are you using a human meter? If so, the take action number is 50 and you're awfully close with a couple of hours to go before nadir. Give him a small snack of his regular low carb food, wait 20 minutes and retest. Post the result here.

 

Did that at 9:30, gave him is usual bedtime meal.
Then retested, and gave the same number. (Human meter) I gave him a couple freeze dried duck liver treats and his last sheba meaty steak, just now.

Hes acting fine. Walking around, chasing this fly around the house.

 

Do you have lots of strips? Wet cat food in a sauce or in gravy? Karo, honey or maple syrup?

By my very rough calculations, the Sheba meat stick was 22%.
https://www.sheba.com/Products/Meaty-Treats-Chicken (turkey and beef flavours the same)

 

To clarify:
- you tested at +4 and got 54
- retested mmediately and got 54 again
- fed his bedtime meal at 9:30. How long was that after the repeat 54s? What time zone are you in?
- retested after this meal and got 54. How long after the meal was this test?

 

I always test before his meals. He gets his insulin, 5:15-5:30am & 5:15-5:30pm. Then he gets his shots during his meals at those time (twice a day). Im in michigan, i think its eastern. Its 10:55pm now.

Tonights dinner he threw up. I gave him a 1/2 teaspoon of miralax cause he hasnt been "normal" and i was told that would help. He spewed his meal all over the living room. Making howling noises ive never heard out of him. After 5 minutes, a lil bit of catnip & a couple natural balance treats, he was fine. Back to normal.

So, His bedtime meal is around 9:30pm. I tested before, which is his +4, and got 54. I thought maybe it was a gliche, and did it again and got 54. So, i gave him his food, which is homemade shredded chicken in broth with his supplements mixed in (The Missing Link, hes been on that for 3 weeks). And posted in the general forum.

I was told to wait a few & test again, after hes done eating. Waited until 10:15pm and got 54 again. And i gave him a couple of his freeze dried duck liver treats.

I was told to give him medium carb something. The only thing i have is one sheba meaty stick left over from last month, which he gobbled like it was his last meal.

After all this, hes acting fine. Talking, walking around, playing with this fly that got in here (which i think he got & ate, mmmm protein), bright eyed bushy tail normal Mufasa. Nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Maybe test again now to see where he is?

 

Most cats do not show any signs of hypo until it is a drop-everything-and-drive-like-crazy to the ER situation. I only saw outward physical signs with Rover once. And that was scary.

Testing every 20 minutes when a cat is near the cut-off of 50 is the way to keep your cat safe and prevent the expensive drive across town.

 

Ok. Now he's at 66. Going up. Good signs.

 

Did you put some honey or syrup on his gums?

 

I dont have honey but i do have syrup.

 

You don't need that at this point. Just keep an eye on the numbers and make sure they stay where they are.

 

Ok. Im awfully sleepy. Do you think i should stay up longer? 5:15am comes quick.

 

How long ago was your 66?

 

11:15

 

I'd wait five more minutes and do a test, then if it's 66 or higher you can call it a night.

 

You have my sympathy. I hate staying up late.

 

Well considering it takes me 4 hrs to finally fall asleep. Lol. It sucks.

 

Ok hes at 70 now and trying to tear the bag of treats out of my hand. Ladies & gentlemen, jenny from the block is leaving the building. Nighty night.

 

Give kitty a couple of extra treats for all of that poking! and sleep well.

 

Hope you get to sleep quickly.

 

Good night!

 

Glad everything turned out OK and Mufasa's numbers started coming up . When you get back on, make sure to remove the 911 from your thread title once you get some responses / eyes on your thread and definitely if you're going to bed. I thought it was a current emergency but then realized it's 2 hours old . And be sure to add what meter you are using in your Signature

 

I missed the PJ party! Glad things turned out well!

Also, he might be a bit more sensitive to insulin for the next day or two, so I'd be sure to keep an eye on things. Oh wait, just saw your SS and you got 106 this morning? Are you skipping or trying the stall and retest thing?

 

I had tested him this morning. Got the 106. Gave him his insulin and fed him. I am on my way home to check on him, on my break from work. I have some surprises for him. Some chicken and pumpkin freeze dried treats. And a can of food with some gravy in it. I got him the Sheba perfect portions. And then I got him a crazy catnip toy thing.

 

53, +5 hrs after insulin. Giving him the sheba gravy, but only half & ill check it again.

 

Hi Jennifer. So just to clarify: you gave 2 units of insulin on a 106?

 

How much time do you have before you need to go back to work?

 

Yes. Was that wrong?

 

I need to be back as soon as i can. I thought maybe check it in 10 min?

 

#spoiled

 

Usually at this point in your data, I would say to skip the shot if he's under 150 and you won't be home. He's okay right now. At +5, he's close to nadir, so the gravy should bring him up just fine.

Also, I think based on the numbers last night and right now, that it's time to lower your dose a bit starting this evening. Can you do 1.75u tonight?

 

LOL...that catnip toy looks awesome!

 

Yes. I'll do the 1.75 tonight. Or should I skip tonight, and do 1.75 in the am.

 

Let's see what the PMPS looks like. In general, it's best to avoid skipping, but in the interest of safety, sometimes we have to. Post when you get your PMPS tonight and hopefully someone will be around to help advise you on it. Of course, if it's a nice high number, you'll know it's safe to go ahead! Can you grab another test before you run back to work?

 

I did before I left, I just didn't put it on here. He was at 64 at 11am.

 

Ok. 10 hours after his am dose, 124!!!! Yay!!!!
Maybe it was the miralax.

 

Hey Jennifer! So you gave him the 1.75 after that 124? I'd say it's probable that he might get low again, so make sure to get some testing in tonight so you catch it if he needs steering.

 

Yes. And you're right. Just tested him at 9:10pm before his bedtime meal, clocked in at 66.

Should i skip tomorrow mornings dose & see what happens?

 

Hi Jennifer. So it looks like that's still too much insulin. And it's really not safe to be giving insulin on numbers that are that low.

Are you working tomorrow? If so, please skip the shot if he's under 150, okay?

If he's over 150, maybe try one unit?

 

Sounds good. I made another post to see what a few others have to say as well.

 

Did Mufasa just start on insulin on July 14th? Or was he on it before then?

 

Yes, That was his 1st day.

 

What's with the Miralax? Did your vet prescribe it? My vet told me to halve the insulin dose if under 150. I think skipping it altogether causes a bounce. Just make sure he's eating.

 

I was told by a couple people to use it for constipation. Hes stopped up.

 

Skipping a dose does not cause a bounce. And halving the dose is arbitrary. We are looking at the actual data that Mufasa has shown in the past three cycles to try to determine the best way to approach his dosing.

Skipping a dose may cause the BG to remain a bit more elevated for a cycle, but Mufasa is in low enough numbers, that it would be preferable to having him go hypoglycemic while Jennifer is at work.

Also, please notice how much Jennifer is testing in order to keep Mufasa safe right now. Those mid-cycle tests are so important to understanding how Mufasa is responding to the insulin.

 

First of all, the vet told me to halve the dose if BG is low. Secondly, I HAVE been getting mid-cycle numbers. I'm back at work now, so I can only do that on weekends.

 

That's what your Vet told you for Chloe. It doesn't apply to everyone else's kitty. Mufasa does not react the same way Chloe might. There's no reason to get defensive on another's thread.

Jenny, have you ever tried pure pumpkin for Mufasa? The added fiber can help get things moving as well . I can give you more specifics if you're interested. Since you're at work during the day, I would say skip the shot if you get BG less than 150 until you can see how low the decreased dose takes him. Looks like that 2.0U dose was his breakthrough dose and he's on a mission now .

If for some reason he does bounce in the morning to like >300, do NOT raise the dose. Numbers permitting (BG over 150) I might suggest trying 1.25U

 

Yong, yes. We tried pumpkin. It used to work like a charm. I received the Pet Alive Natural Moves in the mail yesterday. It says half of capsule twice a day for under 20lb cats.

Its 5:30am now, his BG is at 184. Hes just finishing his breakfast (with the added Natural Moves). I think ill make the move to skip his shot this morning. And see how he is when i get home.

Ill keep you all posted. Thanks for all the help!!!! You guys are great!!!

 

Looking forward to seeing what number you get tonight!

 

Me too. I might stop in at lunch break to check on him. Gosh if we can get through this week with some low numbers, I will feel accomplished. Consider, this is a very super emotional week for me. (going through the loss of my grams 3 years ago, put a toll on my heart. Her anniversary of her death is today. Been super sad and crying most of the week.)

 

Oh Jennifer, I'm so sorry to hear about your Grandma. Sending you hugs today.

 

Thank you.

 

Don't forget to fill in how many units he got yesterday morning . Hope you can stay busy today so you won't be sad as much

 

I am staying busy, I think keeping my mind on Mufasa is helping. BTW, I got back about 30 min ago from checking his BG. 170!!!!! I filled in the amount from yesterday morning, and my sheet should be up to date now. Now what?

 

Wow! That is so great that he's holding the number down on his own! I still think I would try one unit tonight if he's over 150, but I'm interested if other folks think a bit more or less than that? It's a little tricky to know what dose to try since there is such a change from just a few days ago.

A healthy, non-diabetic cat usually runs between 50-80, with occasional readings up to 120. So while that 170 is a great number, he still has a little ways to go.

 

Ok, I will wait for others to see what they say. Should I make new post or keep going with this one? Should we tag a couple of people, like @Yong & @Kris & Teasel.

 

@Rachel too.

I think since we just tagged people on this one, stick with it, but you could start a new thread after this if you want.

 

Ok, BG 152. Gave him 1 unit. Keep ya posted.

 

I think that's a good dose. If it's too much, we'll know and can decrease...but considering where he went LAST night on a higher dose at a lower number, I think this will work well. I hate to keep saying this, but you'll be able to get a test or 2 in tonight right?

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope you were able to keep your mind occupied today...it helps some when you can do that.

 

I just did the +2, 152, holding steady!!!! And ill try to stay up for the +4 & +6.

 

Very nice cycle with 1.0U