Near hypo last night for Tank...what to do this morning?

My cat Tank was near hypo last night. My previous thread was named: New to this...Tank's glucose level is 635! Please HELP! At 7:00am (at the vet's office) his level was 635. The Dr. said to give him 3 units of Prozinc insulin. She gave him a shot of 3 units at that time. He had been eating dry D/M food.

Throughout the day, he was absolutely fine. At 6:15pm, I gave him his shot (3 units) but I gave him Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets after finding this website. That's when I posted the thread about his level being so high.

After some concern from other board members, I went to Wal Mart and bought a home test kit. Throughout the night his glucose level dropped (all the way to ps 5.25 52). Through the INVALUABLE help provided by other people on this site, I was able to avoid a hypo situation. Thank you very much.

It's time to feed Tank and give him his shot. It was suggested to NOT give him the 3 units with the low carb food. : ) Any thoughts about what to do this morning? I tested at 6:15am (10 minutes ago) and his reading is pre-shot 511)

What do I do now? Unfortunately, I will need to go to work. But I can check on him at +6 if needed.

 

I'd go down to 1 unit and give him the low-carb food. If you're scared, you can try 0.5 unit.
Then if you can test at +6, that would be great. It would give you an idea of what's going on.

 

ps - I hope you managed to get a bit of sleep after last night :smile:

 

Thanks so much. I did give him 1 unit at 6:30am and he ate the Fancy Feast. I will post again at +6.

Thanks for your advice and your support.

 

that sounds good.

there aren't many people on the board in the morning as everyone is going off to work.

 

We have members from all over the world so there is always someone around 24/7.

Have you been able to set up a spreadsheet yet so you can track his bgs. Instructions are in tech forum. It will be helpful to all if you could do this and attach to your signature.

What is his bg at +6

 

Good to hear you went with 1 unit this morning. That's exactly what I would have suggested. Be prepared to see higher numbers than you would like for the next few days. Tank's body may not be used to getting into those double digit numbers and it may kick in a protective action from the Liver for a little while. Just know that it will get out of his system and in 4 days or so you should better see what numbers the 1 unit is giving you guys.

 

Agree agree agree, you did good giving him the 1u, some peeps might have panicked and gone up....you have been a wonderful mom to tank and your getting some very experienced advise from other sugar kitty moms (and dads) so keep us posted.

 

Hello again. I was unable to come home from work at lunch so I did not get a 6 hr reading. Just tested him now (I am getting better at that!) and his level is 408. So it's
10.75 408

Thoughts on dinner? Do I continue the Fancy Feast and stay at 1 unit of insulin? 2 units?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would stick to the low-carb food and 1 unit for a few more shots, especially until you can get a bit of mid-cycle data.

It takes a while for his system to adjust to a dose change, so will need a few days to stabilize before you can really make an informed decision about whether to increase. I suspect you might end up increasing a bit in the end, but until you have a bit more data, it's hard to say. I doubt you want a repeat performance of last night @-)

I don't remember now, did you say whether he'd been tested for ketones? If he's positive for ketones, that might change the recommendations, but I have (thankfully) not had to deal with that, so I'll let someone else give advice if that's the case.

 

My suggestion: Continue with the lo-carb FF canned food and only give 1 unit of insulin when it is time.
You need to stick with the same dose for a time to see how it is working.
Changing the dose every day, or two does not allow time to see how well it is working.

BTW, you did GREAT last night

~M

 

*waves at the picture of Tank*

I'd stay with the low-carb food and one unit of insulin. If you could get a reading before you head to bed for the night, that'd be good, too, just to see how low he's going. But you shouldn't be dealing with anything along the lines of last night

Oh -- and welcome to the Vampyre Club!

-- Jean and her Gwyn

 

oh! yes, hello Tank!! Great to *see* you - you are a handsome boy!

 

Thanks y'all. I made a spreadsheet AND a signature.

 

Holy crapsicoli Tank! You got a twin brother out there somewhere? perhaps in southern california??
check out my Stinky! two very very handsome boys!
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q270 ... /?start=20

 

Wow Cindy! They DO look alike! So cool.

 

Hi Chris, it will be really interesting to watch what tank does with the 1U for the next few days. Already it's apparently better than the 3U Hmm?
That is a darling picture of your little (big) boy.
Lori

 

I think the change in food alone could really start reducing his numbers but I'm not sure how long that takes.

As soon as I found out my cat, Bug, was diabetic last year, I switched his food and his numbers kept getting lower and lower and he needed less and less insulin until he went completely into remission for about six months.

I had started with Fancy Feast, but then I read that grain free was also important so I switched to Wellness canned Turkey and Chicken which are each 4% carbs. I have several cats so I also free feed Innova Evo dry which is only 8% carbs and grain free. I don't think Fancy Feast has any that are grain free. It can be expensive, but I get the 12.5 Wellness cans that are more economical and I buy the big bag of Innova EVO and I'm in a club where I get one free after I buy 10 bags.

 

Thanks for so much wonderful feedback, everyone.

I was able to create a spreadsheet for Tank (thanks for that resource!) and I have started to chart his information. He has been eating Fancy Feast since Monday night. Last night and this morning his pre-shot numbers have been in the 400s (down from 635!). I was unable to get a post-shot six hour reading yesterday and last night. I was at work and then I was SLEEEPING! I can't believe I slept through getting up for that. I will try again for a midway shot today so we can see what that number looks like.

Once I have him regulated, are the glucose level checks something I will do every time he gets a shot? Or once in a while? I'm sure I will get better at testing but he puts up a fuss when I try to prick his ear. If it's necessary, it's necessary...just wanted to ask about the frequency.

 

Yes, you always need to get a number before you shot. It is amazing that they can be running along, consistent numbers and then all of a sudden, throw a really low number. You have to be on top of it until he is off insulin.

Time to be thinking about a curve - testing every 2 to 3 hours during a day (weekend?) so you have a complete picture. Another option is to get the numbers over a series of days - one day a +2 and +8, another day +3 and +5 for example. Now that you have a spreadsheet, it will be easy to start putting together the picture.

Don't forget those treats, after every poke, successful or not. They really are the trick to this process. The kitty associates the treats with the poke and starts showing up at the regular times.

And you can use neosporin to help with his ears.

 

When I first started testing Esse, she was so placid and tolerant, I didn't understand why other people had difficulty.

Then came the squirm monster, Eeyore. He would wriggle, squirm, lay over, bite my arm (gently), whatever he could think of to do to avoid getting poked. Same thing with his shot. It was quite difficult with him...but you know what?

Now, he knows it's test time. I take the test strip bottle, shake it, and tell him "test time." he hops into "his" spot, lets me poke, and then goes about his day. Sometimes, he just lays in his basket and I poke away. He no longer squirms, wriggles, and tries to avoid it. He's gotten used to it as being routine, and it now is our routine.

As for frequency, I test at shot times without fail. And I try to get some 4, 5, 6 testing too (although not every day). And I try (but often fail) to get bedtime checks in too.

They do learn, as do we, how to make this less difficult. The ears "learn" to bleed, we learn what works, and the fuzzbutts learn how to tolerate it. I wasn't sure I believed that in the beginning, but it's definitely true.

Hang in there - you're doing wonderfully and amazingly well...I'm proud of you!

Best-
Michele

 

I was able to go home and test Tank. At +5 he was at 311.

Any thoughts on how long should I gather data before I start giving him 2 units?

 

> this morning his pre-shot numbers have been in the 400s
> I was able to go home and test Tank. At +5 he was at 311.

Yay for getting a mid-day reading! I just wanted to see how far he was dropping; sometimes. post-hypo, a cat can be over-sensitive to insulin for a couple/few days.


> Any thoughts on how long should I gather data before I start giving him 2 units?

In general, you'll want to give it a few days on a new dose before you think about adjusting the dose. That allows time for the dose to 'settle in'. The only exceptions to this would be if Tank hypo'd again, and possibly if he starts throwing ketones.

You should hopefully start to see the pre-shot numbers dropping soon. Before suggesting a dose change, folks are going to want to see a couple more mid-day numbers and maybe a curve. You know how too little insulin can cause high BG numbers? Well, too *much* insulin can also cause high BG numbers (that's called rebound). A curve gives us an idea of what's happening over time.

ProZinc users will give you advice on adjusting the dose when the time comes, but it's possible they'll ask you to adjust the dose by 0.5 or even 0.25 units, instead of a full unit. 'Cause it's possible that 1u is too little for Tank, but 2u is too high. Like Goldilocks, you're looking for the dose that's 'just right' for Tank.

 

Chris I agree with JJ and think Tank should ride out the 1U for another day or 2....if he starts coming out of the 400's into the 300's at amps/pmps ride it out another day or 2 and see how far he'll come down. if you hit another 500 # raise by 1/2U.
does this sound agreeable to you?

 

Thanks for the information and the encouragement! I DID follow your (fantastic) advice and kept him on the 1u ever since the "incident" Tuesday night. And guess what?! This morning his level preshot was 392! Still high but I was so excited not to see a number in the 400's! Wow. I think the low carb diet for sure is helping too. I am beginning to calm my nerves a bit and just let Tank/food/dose do their thing.

Wow. Thanks for this site. Really.

Chris