Help!!

Shadow is 75 at +6 and just threw up everywhere. I woke up to test him because he was lower tonight than normal. I think he threw up because he was trying to eat some of my flowers... Do you think I need to stay up to keep testing? We're probably at about his Nadir

 

Yikes! Poor Shadow and poor you! What kind of flowers? Are they poisonous? Probably good that he threw up. You probably get another test before you go back to bed. Maybe give his tummy a chance to settle and see if he will eat a little bit.
Liz

 

Good advice from Liz.

What kind of flowers were they. (Please say they weren't lilies.)

 

The flowers are just a spring/summer mix that are in a vase. I had to euthanize one of my foster dogs yesterday so my husband brought me home flowers...

He's eating them because he's so hungry... He's tiring to get anything he can.

+6.5 is 61- gave him 1/2 can of food. I have to be up in 4 1/2 hrs to go to work...

 

No, I don't think there are any lilies in the mix...

 

If he's 60 on an AlphaTrack you need to feed high carb. That's quite low. The AlphaTrack is calibrated differently than a human meter -- it reads 30 points higher. A 60 on the AlphaTrack is like a 30 on a human meter. It's not surprising that Shadow wants food. When numbers are low, cats try to eat to bring their numbers up. Please give Shadow a tablespoon of HC and re-test in 30 min.

Sticky on how to handle low numbers.

 

Can you see the picture of what he ate?

 

I'll mix Karo with his LC food? 1-2 drops with the other 1/2 can?

 

If those are mums, those are toxic to cats, from what I searched on google.
Liz

 

Maybe you should rub the karo on his gums. He's really low.
Liz

 

Jan --

It looks like you're missing dose reductions. I suspect you've been using the same cut offs for the AT meter as a human glucometer. If Shadow's numbers fal below 80, you should be reducing his dose.

 

Ok- gave him karo and the other 1/2 can of LC food. So since the 61- 15 minutes ago he has had 1 can and karo. Recheck in 15?

And, what to do about the flowers... I don't know if they were mums...

 

Does your vet have an emergency number? How is shadow acting now? I found this web page. I'll keep looking.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/plant ... settas.htm
Liz

 

Check again in 20-30 minutes after he eats the karo laced food. It takes a while for the food in the tummy to get to the bloodstream. We'll be watching for your next number.

 

He's acting fine... Purring and rubbing up against me. Called the E vet- they need to know what the flowers are to be able to tell me what to do...

 

Hi,
About the flower, the yellow, white and purple bits look very much like mums.
Did he threw it all up?

There is a 24hr animal poison helpline you can call.
http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/

 

Found a website with pictures of plants cats shouldn't eat. Some just cause vomiting. Mouse over the link to the name and it shows the picture. Look here

 

Yes, he threw up a lot... I think they might be mums with carnations...

 

Or just google chrysanthemums and choose "images". You'll get a bazillion. Can you mail the picture to the e vet?
Liz

 

Think they are mums and carnations which cause GI symptoms...

 

The ASCPA list of toxic plants says carnations are also a no-no and to contact your vet. If you are sure that's what they are, your vet should be able to advise what to do.

 

BG- 95

 

He gets a reduction in the morning. I'm not sure if just 0.25u or more since you missed previous reductions.
Liz

 

E vet said not much to do... if they are mums and carnations they will cause GI upset... can start Pepcid.

I hadn't given him a dose reduction because he hadn't been below 80 ( the night after we just went down to 2.75 he dropped, but I didn't really think that counted... we had just dropped him)

Will go to 2.5 in the morning.

Will recheck another BG in 15-20 minutes

 

Good point. I'm not sure what Sienne saw when she said that you missed dose reductions. 2.5u sounds good. I'm going to sleep for an hour. Are you ok? Great job catching the low tonight!
Liz

 

Yes, we're ok- thanks everyone. BG now is 123... Shadow seems very happy- he liked his midnight snack. Goodnight.

 

Ok
Liz

 

You should probably keep testing for a while. The karo will wear off and we want to make sure his numbers don't go back down again. Is he still hungry? A couple tsp low carb food would be OK.

Congrats on the reduction to 2.5 units. If he is high in the morning (over 300) you can shoot 2.75 units for one more time and then go to 2.5 tomorrow night. We call that "shooting through the bounce". It helps them get over the bounce. If he's below 300 tomorrow morning, start the new dose then.

It's Pepcid AC you want to use, I think it's 1/4 a tab. Glad the e-vet said he didn't need to come in.

 

the bluish purple flower is statice. I don't see it on the list of bad ones. and the others are definitely chrysanthemums and carnations.

Paws crossed it will all leave his system quickly.

 

Been lurking on your condo - looks like you're going to be ok. Sorry you lost your foster drooler and bummer that the sweet sentiment has brought more trouble. If it makes you feel any better, your misfortune has taught me that mums are bad for kitties - I didn't know that. Good job in handling the low numbers - scary! Hope your night goes easier and Shadow stays healthy.

 

Shadow was just fine this morning. AMPS was 215- went down to 2.5 units. I was very surprised that he was that low. Had my husband check a +6 and he was 185...

So, did I not leave Shadow at his doses long enough before increasing for the last month or so? What is going on that now he's needing decreasing doses? Would the stress of moving from the shelter down South, the transport to NH, and adjusting to a new house have caused BGs to be elevated for this long?

Now I'm a little nervous that I need to be testing him through the night all the time.

Thanks for everyone's help last night. =)

 

You did a great job last night! I'm glad that Shadow is doing fine. And nice AMPS! Cats are like a mutual fund - past performance is no guarantee of future results. :lol: :lol: I like to think of it as a moving target. Sometimes they need more insulin and sometimes they need less. We call it going up and down the dosing ladder. Drives us all crazy but that's the way they are.

You might try to get a +2 every night. If that is much lower than the PMPS, then Shadow is likely to have an active cycle, where he goes lower and you will need to test more.
Liz

 

I copy what Liz said - great job last night! I see by your SS that Shadow was on antibiotics. An infection as well as stress could add to the higher BG. As he gets healthier, and his pancreas spends more time in good healing numbers, the hope is he'll need less insulin. Is his tummy all better from the floral episode?

Another thing I like to do at night is a before bed test. I also try to do that test at the same time in the morning. That way I have an idea from my daytime testing of how the night cycle might go. That does make a big assumption that the cat will be predictable. :lol: :lol: But it does give me an idea if Neko will be safe at night if I hit the pillow.

 

Yes, Shadow's belly seems fine. He was awake, meowing, and ready to eat this morning :smile:

It seems like when he's in the 200s PMPS it's likely he'll be going low overnight. I'll start testing more before bed..

So, we haven't yet seen a rebound... might I see that as late as tonights PMPS or even tomorrow?

 

Poor Kitty, yes right about the flowers,I don't keep any in the house anymore,they eat everything, they even eat the mint. Glad he is doing better