Help on blood sugar drops

Joyce and Kallie

Joyce and Kallie

Member Since 2019
I started shooting low just under a few weeks ago. The first shot, I reduced the insulin because I didn’t really understand the concept at the time. In response to cutting her insulin in half, her blood glucose went up.

After that, every time I shot low, I gave her the regular amount of 1 unit.

Last week, I shot low when her blood sugar was 58 and everything went fine.

The very next cycle, her blood sugar was 56 and I shot low again. The +1 and +2 readings did not represent what was going to happen. 30 minutes after +2, her blood sugar dropped 23 points to 45. She had ravenous hunger... I got her blood sugar up and she was fine.

This current cycle started high (I don’t know why; I don’t believe she got some dog food) at 280. I gave her the usual 1 unit of insulin. A little before +10, she was attacking me for my ham sandwich and was ravenously hungry. At +10, I thought I’d better check her blood sugar and it was 41.

any ideas as to why her blood sugar can suddenly drop to hypoglycemia?

Thanks
 
The short answer to your question is that the 1.0 unit dose is now too high. The yellow numbers could be bounces from however low Kallie went during the cycles.

Ravenous hunger can be a strong sign that the numbers are too low. Glad you tested.

The 41 earns Kallie a reduction in dosing to 0.75 units but with the 41 so late in the cycle at +10, you should ask for dosing advice regarding tonight's shot. It depends on if Kallie is going up a lot or if she is cruising low numbers at shot time.
 
With SLGS any number below 90 earns a reduction. You've had a few cycles now where you held 1u, but needed to reduce. 41 is getting low enough to warrant MC, especially since you are following SLGS. Please test again in 30 mins to make sure numbers are coming up.
 
I had already freaked out and gave her high carb food, too, before this post.

My question was why her blood sugar could start suddenly dropping into hypoglycemia.

Her AMPS was 280 and she dropped to 41 at +10.
 
She may be breaking a bounce from her 56 a few cycles ago, or one lower number that you didn't see. That, combined with getting into dog food. 1u is too much for her, please reduce.
 
Christie, it’s about +11 and her blood sugar is 154.

Do you know how much of a reduction I should give? From 1 unit.

I’ll re-read SLGS. But, would appreciate your input.

thanks
 
I see I need to reduce by 0.25....

Ok, so I will give her 0.75 and then in a week do a 12 hour BGC and follow the instructions after that...
 
Joyce and Kallie said:
I dint see an acronyms page. I don’t know what GTMA means
Click to expand...
Great Minds Think Alike.

Joyce and Kallie said:
I see I need to reduce by 0.25....

Ok, so I will give her 0.75 and then in a week do a 12 hour BGC and follow the instructions after that...
Click to expand...
It depends on what the PMPS number is. We do not know if Kallie is going to bounce or rise up naturally or if she will start to go down again once the high carbs wear off.
If you get a test 15 minutes or so before shot time and post the number, someone will respond.
 
Edit to add: I agree on seeing where she is at for PMPS before shooting 0.75u...

Let's see how things go with the reduction, yes, with SLGS you hold the dose for a week and do a curve. You've had a few cycles with extra tests (more than SLGS requires) which is excellent, good job! Ideally, once you get a feel for Kallie's onset (when insulin kicks in) and nadirs (lowest point in the cycle) that will help tremendously.

Sorry...GMTA is great minds think alike, since both Kel and I were typing the same thing at the same time ;)
 
Last edited:
With SLGS you need to reduce the dose if your kitty drops below 90.
Do not feed again now until PMPS so that the number is not food influenced.
As @Red & Rover (GA) suggested, get a test 15 mins before PMPS and post so we can see what it is.

Yes you need to reduce the dose to 0.75 units.....but let's see what the PMPS is.

And it would be a good idea to get a +1 and a + 2 during the next cycle to see where Kallie is going.
 
Are you going to be able to test during this next cycle if necessary?
And do you have plenty of test strips and higher carb food if needed?
 
I have to leave very soon for the school pick up run but I will be back in time to watch for the +1 (hopefully) and the +2 and we can see from there when to test.
 
It will be interesting and of benefit to see what the 0.75 unit dose does. I noticed on your spreadsheet that you went from 0.5 units to 1.0 units.
 
Joyce and Kallie said:
I had already freaked out and gave her high carb food, too, before this post.

My question was why her blood sugar could start suddenly dropping into hypoglycemia.

Her AMPS was 280 and she dropped to 41 at +10.
Click to expand...
I want to clarify for you and others reading that 41 is not “dropping into hypoglycemia”. Hypoglycemia occurs when there are symptoms. Many cats will be hungry when numbers drop fast. We are trying to correct this misunderstanding of hypoglycemia; it’s not based on the BG, it’s based on the symptoms.

Late in the cycle, you don’t want to give HC food unless numbers are really low. I have given LC and a small drop of karo for 30s after +11. Generally, the BG is headed up late cycle. If you get a 40 something late in the cycle, retest in 20 minutes and see if the BG is coming up. If it’s not, feed a tsp of LC and test 30 minutes later. Lather, rinse, repeat until kitty is out of the 40s.
 
Joyce:

In addition to what several others have posted, I want to make a few suggestions and provide clarification.
  • With SLGS, holding the dose for a week means that you reduce the dose when numbers drop below 90. Kallie's numbers dropped below 90 on Nov. 26, 28, and 29.
  • With SLGS, you evaluate the dose every 7 days and run a curve at the end of the week to determine how the dose is doing. There are no curves and you've held the 1.0u dose for almost 2 weeks.
  • Because, as you've seen, many cats experience lower numbers during the PM cycle, it's important to get a before bed test every night. There are AMPS numbers that are low and it's likely that numbers were dropping overnight.
  • Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, not on the pre-shot numbers. Thus, getting more spot checks will prevent your being surprised by a number that seems to come out of nowhere.
  • If you are shooting low, it's important to get early tests to make sure numbers don't keep dropping. If you can't, please put a note on your spreadsheet if you are leaving HC food out for Kallie.
The 41 this evening was likely the result of your not having taken the dose reductions that were warranted earlier this week. It would be helpful if you reviewed SLGS since if you've been following that dosing method, there seem to be some nuances that you may have missed. If you're unsure about how SLGS is structured, please ask. We're happy to help.
 
Marje, I thought I read that hypoglycemia may or may not show physical symptoms. One physical symptom that I read is “ravenous hunger”. I will re-read hypoglycemia info.

Sienne, thank you very much. You are absolutely correct. I messed up. I forgot these nuances. I am going to study your post carefully because you are helping me with my confusion.

one thing I didn’t think to mention in my signature section is that I feed my cat 4 times per 24 hours. It’s during a shot and about 5 1/2 hours later. I have been able to get her to lose about 5 1/2 pounds. She is about 12 1/2 pounds now.
 
  • Because, as you've seen, many cats experience lower numbers during the PM cycle, it's important to get a before bed test every night. There are AMPS numbers that are low and it's likely that numbers were dropping overnight.

  • what does this mean... I mean is there a number that shows her blood glucose is dropping too fast? Or, is it like a constant daily number that I can compare?
 
Medium carb :) - I suggested this because low carb might not have been enough, and since I don't use syrup, I'd have gone with a 12-14% carb. But that's based only on my experience.
 
Joyce, I'm heading to bed now. I'm not sure how long Christis is staying up. Bron should be around.
Congratulations on the reduction.
 
I have copied all of the information from these posts to my iPad notes. Thank you all, I see where I messed up. I will continue to study these points and the SLGS instructions. I will post any questions. I have had chronic insomnia for months -literally since my cat was diagnosed, and was having difficulty with this.

One question: if doing SLGS and shooting low, according to SLGS, I should not shoot if her blood glucose is less than 90. So, I made mistakes each time I shot below 90, correct?

thanks
 
Kallie is staying pretty flat, +3 isn't a bad idea just to be sure she isn't coming down. If the +3 is lower than 20% of your +2, I'd suggest feeding LC and testing again at +4. Im not sure what your usual feeding schedule is, but as I say if there is a drop, it would be good to feed then. I'll need to sign off shortly, hope the rest of the evening is uneventful :)
 
Joyce and Kallie said:
  • Because, as you've seen, many cats experience lower numbers during the PM cycle, it's important to get a before bed test every night. There are AMPS numbers that are low and it's likely that numbers were dropping overnight.

  • what does this mean... I mean is there a number that shows her blood glucose is dropping too fast? Or, is it like a constant daily number that I can compare?
Click to expand...

It is always a good idea to get a before bed test in to see how Kallie is going.
If the before bed test is the same or lower than the Preshot then it can indicate that the cycle will be an active one and you should test again.
It is the same with a +2 test in either cycle. If it is the same or lower than the Preshot then the cycle will most likely be an active one. So test again a bit later in the cycle to keep Kallie safe.

When Sienne was talking about the am Preshot being low, that could indicate that the numbers in the preceding cycle could have been low overnight

Whenever you test during the cycle and get a number that is quite a bit lower then the previous test, always test again in an hour to see the numbers are not still dropping or if they are, that they are safe numbers. Keep testing until there is a rise in the numbers.

Does all that make sense?
 
So, you are saying to watch out for a drop rather than a steady decline in numbers? And, if the numbers are quite a bit lower than previous numbers, -dropping, rather than a steady decline- I need to keep testing every hour until there is a rise? Once there is a rise, it’s passed nadir, correct?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top