Jubalee AMPS 203...Give Insulin?

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Kadie (Juba's Mom)

Kadie (Juba's Mom)

Member Since 2015
Hello,
I just tested our kitty Juba at 1:30pm MST and her BG was 32.
We have given her about a tablespoon of FP mixed grill, a small handful of kibble, and a finger drop of karo syrup.
We will retest in half an hour and update.
 
Kadie, good job on the feeding.
At the moment, that syrup will have been the most useful in giving Juba's blood glucose a boost as it works fastest.
If you get a chance to test sooner than half an hour (say, 20 mins since previous test), then that would be good.
And as Chris says, 'breathe....' :bighug:
 
Just checked her BG test again at 1:55pm MST and it was 45.
So definitely going up.
And I can't seem to edit her spread sheet online...how do I do that?
 
She's going in the right direction which is good Kadie :) As Chris says, she just needs a little more of a boost to those numbers.
 
We just gave her some more kibble and my husband is on his way back from the store with a higher carb canned food. We only have pates in the house right aside from kibble.
 
For preference, I'd mix a little syrup with the pate food over using kibble - the wet food will get into her system faster than the kibble so will bring her numbers up faster. And when she's back in good numbers, the wet food is also back out of her system faster so won't affect her numbers as much later on. The kibble isn't a bad thing when she's low, just not quite as fast to get into her system to boost her numbers.
 
Sometimes I have trouble with the spreadsheet, can`t scroll down. So what I do is reduce it enough so that I`m at the appropriate cell.
 
What I do when I have several test results in the same cell is this

Type the first number and hit the SPACE key....type the second number SPACE @ SPACE +4.5 (or whatever)

If you look at our spreadsheet on 4/14 (the PM cycle) you'll see what it looks like

You will have to color code the cell yourself though. Just go to the little icon at the top of the page that looks like a little bucket of paint tipping over and choose the correct color
 
Kadie, can't help with the spreadsheet but how many hours is it now since Juba had her shot? (We're in different time zones)

Be aware that the glucose/syrup you're giving now will get into Juba's system fast, but it also wears off quite quickly, so this is an action that you may need to repeat: The insulin is still very active in Juba's system so the numbers may go up and down over the coming hours.

You're doing really well. And you're not the first person who became proficient at hometesting because their cat was in low numbers....;)
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Kadie, can't help with the spreadsheet but how many hours is it now since Juba had her shot? (We're in different time zones)

Be aware that the glucose/syrup you're giving now will get into Juba's system fast, but it also wears off quite quickly, so this is an action that you may need to repeat: The insulin is still very active in Juba's system so the numbers may go up and down over the coming hours.

You're doing really well. And you're not the first person who became proficient at hometesting because their cat was in low numbers....;)
Click to expand...

Juba's last insulin shot was this morning at 9:00am MST. She received 1 unit of Lantus. So it's been about 5 hours
It's been about half an hour since we gave her karo, some kibble, and some higher carb canned cat food.
 
Let's see where she's at in 15 minutes

And by the way...CONGRATULATIONS on getting the tests in!! I know how hard you've struggled but it looks like you've got it figured out!!
 
So if you shot at 9am, we're at about +5 now

Here's the day's results (close anyway if I'm figuring my times right)

AMPS 332,+2 85, +4.5 32, +5 45

Since we're all in different time zones here, we use the "+ system"...how many hours since the last shot

That way we all know where you are in the cycle...how long it's been since you shot last
 
Pop the top off and then put it back on and press down hard to "squeeze" out the gravy (that's where the carbs are anyway) into a bowl

Give him about 2 teaspoons and test again in 30

If you shot at 9am and it's just now 2:30 there, that last test you just got (44) would be the +5.5
 
Kadie, this may all be rather alarming and confusing for you, but, just so that you can see that there is some kind of 'process/procedure', here is some info from the Lantus sticky about dealing with low numbers (and this may be something useful to print out and keep handy somewhere in the event that there is nobody online to help when you post.):

"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."

Edited to add link to the above info:
LANTUS & LEVEMIR - SHOOTING & HANDLING LOW NUMBERS
 
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At this point, Juba has nothing to prove...it's obvious she needs less insulin, so if you want to "carb her up" and give her several teaspoons of gravy, it's fine now

Once we get her above 50 (preferably into the 60's), we'll stop feeding her, but we'll want to continue testing.....at first, every 30 minutes for the next 2 tests ....if she's still climbing good then, you'll test again in about a hour
 
Thank you everyone for keeping up with what's going on with Juba!
We just gave her a few teaspoons of the FF gravy lovers, and are going to retest in about 15 minutes again.
I updated Juba's SS, but for .5 numbers, how would I write that in?
 
What I do when I have several test results in the same cell is this

Type the first number and hit the SPACE key....type the second number SPACE @ SPACE +4.5 (or whatever)

If you look at our spreadsheet on 4/14 (the PM cycle) you'll see what it looks like

You will have to color code the cell yourself though. Just go to the little icon at the top of the page that looks like a little bucket of paint tipping over and choose the correct color
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Kadie, you're doing a great job with Juba.
But how are you doing? Are you OK?
Click to expand...
I'm doing better than the first low BG reading @Elizabeth and Bertie! That low number so early in the day was scary. She's never gotten that low so early before.
The numerous vets who have seen Juba have constantly told us she is a [very] secretive kitty. Unlike our little boy who will let us know if he gets the teeniest scratch, lol.
I'm so glad my husband took leave this week (it was our anniversary week) and so he's home.
 
Kadie, some cats do nadir early when they're going for a reduction. On all but 2 of Rosa's reductions, she'd gone low in the first 4 hours of the cycle. At other times, her nadir would vary anywhere between +3 and around +13 but she always seems to drop early when she's about to go low. The reason we like to get a +2 test is that it helps us to work out how active the cycle is likely to be - just like this morning with Juba's fast drop to +2 which is often an indicator that it will be a very active cycle. It may be that she, too, will be a cat who nadirs early when she's going to go low but that +2 test will help you to know when that's more likely to happen.

I'm glad you have your husband home with you today - it really does help to have support in person as well as the support from here especially the first couple of times you have to deal with low numbers.
 
Hey...the first time China went below 50, I panicked....I'd learned to give some Karo/honey/syrup, but didn't know how much

I dumped about half the bottle in a bowl and let her have it! (I was surprised she liked maple syrup so much!)

Needless to say, it brought her up...and up....and up.....LOL

After that is when I learned it was supposed to be a drop or 2
 
Yeah...who'd have thunk??

We read all this information about cats being obligate carnivores and how they can't process carbs and need only protein ....nobody says a word about maple syrup.....LOL
 
Juba is 52 at +6.
Should we give her a little more of the gravy lovers? Or just retest her in another half hour and see where her numbers are?
 
Usually once they get above 50 we'd see if they'll continue to come up on their own. But it depends a bit on how you're feeling - you might want her a little higher for comfort...and Juba has nothing left to prove today. I don't think there'd be any harm in giving her another teaspoon of gravy to make sure she won't just drop back down in half an hour - getting her into the 60s would give you a little more breathing room. @Chris & China what do you think?
 
I'd test again at +6.5....52 is still awfully close to "under 50"

Let's get her up into at least the 60's before stopping the food ...but you'll still need to continue to test for awhile
 
Please, never shoot 1 unit again. Julie suggested 0.5 unit and that's a good place to start. Depending on where she is tonight, you might skip tonight and shoot 0.5U tomorrow.
 
OK...no more feeding right now, but you need to test again in 30 minutes....if she's still coming up good, you can probably wait an hour for the next test after that

It's still possible for her to come back down so we want to get tests for at least 2 hours since the last feeding
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Please, never shoot 1 unit again. Julie suggested 0.5 unit and that's a good place to start. Depending on where she is tonight, you might skip tonight and shoot 0.5U tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Definitely no more 1 unit of insulin at one shooting!
Our vet last night prescribed us to try that, but said every cat is different, and the 1 unit might be too much.
She didn't receive any insulin last night, and probably won't tonight, depending on her numbers...which probably won't sky rocket.
We will continue testing her the rest of this afternoon and into tonight though.
 
Chris & China said:
OK...no more feeding right now, but you need to test again in 30 minutes....if she's still coming up good, you can probably wait an hour for the next test after that

It's still possible for her to come back down so we want to get tests for at least 2 hours since the last feeding
Click to expand...

Alright, will do @Chris & China. We will have another result in about half an hour.
 
You've done a great job steering Juba's numbers! I've been trying to catch up on your two threads. I agree with what Julie suggested, -- 0.5u twice a day providing you don't see your kitty's numbers dropping again. Just as an FYI, if you plan to follow the Tight Regulation Protocol, Juba would have gotten a dose reduction to 0.75u with that first drop into the 30s. (Doses are reduced if BG falls below 90 with the Start Low Go Slow approach.)

Depending on where numbers are at PMPS, it may even be advisable to skip a shot on order to deplete the insulin depot.

I'd encourage you to keep your subject line updated with Juba's recent numbers. If you put your mouse over the "thread tools" by your subject line in the first post in this thread, you'll see a menu for editing the subject line. You can keep Juba's recent numbers visible on the board that way.
 
Yeah...that's probably the kibble kicking in

You can wait and get one more test at +8 and she'll probably be even higher....also, her liver will have kicked in at some point to release stored sugar and hormones to get her numbers up too, so tonight by PMPS, she may be really high...but even if she is, you don't want to shoot that 1 unit dose again!!!
 
@Sienne and Gabby, I "think" Kadie compromised with Julie yesterday and instead of shooting the full 1 unit yesterday, she shot .75 and the .75 is what she was on for that first drop into the 30s. She shot the full 1 unit this a.m. after Juba dropped into the 30s last night and the vet told her just one full unit once day starting this a.m. (Only mention it to double check so you geniuses have the right information to calculate with. )
 
Rose said:
@Sienne and Gabby, I "think" Kadie compromised with Julie yesterday and instead of shooting the full 1 unit yesterday, she shot .75 and the .75 is what she was on for that first drop into the 30s. She shot the full 1 unit this a.m. after Juba dropped into the 30s last night and the vet told her just one full unit once day starting this a.m. (Only mention it to double check so you geniuses have the right information to calculate with. )
Click to expand...

Actually we shot the 1 full unit night before last, yesterday morning, none last night, and 1 unit this morning.
Clearly 1 unit per shooting is too much for her.
My next question is, if we continue to test her again say, every hour until her dinner (no snacks in between) and she's high, like HIGH, should we give her a dose tonight, or wait until her normal shoot tomorrow? And of course AMPS before giving her any insulin?
 
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